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Deleted Account #151676
#199217 Transfer Rumours 2014/15
This
Every transfer window since he left, wishful thinking United fans dreamed this up.
#199109 Champions League 2014/15
#199105 Champions League 2014/15
Five now.
Apoel Nicosia are doing well to keep the score down against Barca, 1-0 at the moment.
#199088 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
After weighing up all my options I decided to step down as national team manager, It was a tough decision but after looking through the fixture list for the Euro 2028 qualifiers, I just couldn't bring myself to get excited about another two year campaign against the likes of Finland, Moldova and Andorra after the glorious World cup triumph last week.
I'd happily endorse Massimilano Allegri for my job, he's been a wily opponent whenever we have come up against his Inter side during his two spells with our old rivals. I just hope that he, or whoever takes the job will continue the work I have done with developing a young and exciting side, I think it would be a bitter pill to swallow if he recalls old has-beens at the expense of the youngsters I brought through.
As Dan quite rightly points out this now gives me time to fully concentrate on dethroning Juventus and select other records I'm aiming to break;
Most Serie A titles - Juventus -33 (Milan - 26)
Most consecutive Serie A titles - Juventus - 6 (Milan - 5)
Most Serie A games won in a row - Inter - 17 (Milan - 12)
Most Serie A points in a season - Inter - 97 (Milan - 92)
Most Copa Italia Wins - Juventus - 10 (Milan - 9)
Most Champions League wins - Real Madrid - 10 (Milan - 7)
Longest unbeaten run in top European league - Milan! - 58
That lot should keep me busy for another decade at least, after that I plan to retire and watch Christian's journey into management.
#199073 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
If he can continue our current form and finish within the top ten I'll happy take my sentiments back, however the steaming pile of shit that has been our last couple of seasons under him and the feeling that this good start is merely the calm before a storm continue to linger.
#199017 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
I certainly doubted it at times, losing to South Korea, then going to extra time against Argentina, having to comeback from two down against Peru. Once we beat Portugal so comfortably though I was quietly confident going into the final, however having lost the Euro's final a couple of years back there was still nerves ahead of the game.
Thanks Dan, yeah, it looks nice on the mantel next to the wedding photo and carriage clock.
Still not decided if I should step down as Italy coach now though, what do you guys reckon?
#198952 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Mexico 2026
I took charge of the Italian national team four years ago on the back of a disappointing showing at the 2022 tournament in Qatar where the Azzuri, then under the guidence of Vicenzo Montella, only made it to the second round. Unacceptable for a team with the rich history and traditions that Italy have.
Since I was given the job in July of 2022 I think it's fair to say I have re-established Italy as a major force, reaching the final of Euro 2024 and qualifying with consummate ease for this competition with as many as 65 players making their International debuts under me as I've restructured to favour youth.
Now in beautiful sunny Mexico, on the eve of the championships, it's time to find out just how far I have brought my talented bunch of youngsters in the last four years;
My final squad;
GK - Nicola Leali
GK - Alberto Brignoli
GK - Luca Savelloni
RB - Christian Maldini
RB - Stefano Centazo
CB - Alessio Romagnoli
CB - Franco Campana
CB - Daniele Nardini
CB - Elio Capradossi
LB - Endrit Kruja
LB - Brunao
DM - Marco Veratti
DM - Ariel Aguirre
CM - Bryan Cristante
CM - Tiziano Tulissi
AM - Alessio Depprau
AM - Guissepi Antonacci
RW - Nicolo Di Marchi
RW - Lorenzo Insigne
LW - Giovanni Mariottini
LW - Alessandro Ciarrocchi
ST - Ciro Olivero
ST - Dominico Martino
We played four pre-tournament warm-up games;
Not an amazing set of results but they achieved their primary purpose of getting my players fit for the first group game;
A late comeback rescued us as substitute Olivero leveled up before Tulissi put us ahead with just minutes remaining to complete a Milan double salvo.
The same goal scorers as in the Russia game, this time however we were in full control throughout this encounter and booked our place in the last sixteen with a game to spare.
With us already qualified for the next round I used this final group game to rest some of my key players, Korea took advantage of a bit of complacency amongst our ranks and snatched a surprise win to top the group, leaving us in second with Argentina waiting
Argentina of course are no pushovers, as they proved in this encounter, ultimately though we won out in extra time with Nicolo Di Marchi netting both goals to edge out the South Americans who were hotly fancied to win this tournament.
We were very much at the business end of the World cup now and there was no margin for error, we got a favourable draw against Peru in the quater finals but knew we couldn't afford any complacency;
When we went 2-0 down I thought we would be catching the plane back to Rome tomorrow morning, however my lads rallied magnificently, Mariottini pulled one back quickly, however the real drama game in the final five minutes as Bolonga forward Martino levelled the score before Tulissi bent in a beautiful freekick with just two minutes left to complete a stunning turn around as we sent another South American outfit home.
With the team through to the semi-finals the tension was unbearable, Portugal awaited, a tough tie, however we were slight favourites for a narrow win, that didn't prove to be the case at all though...
We absoloutly destroyed them! from start to finish we were the better team and could have won by six or seven. I couldn't have asked for any more from my players in such a huge game, although now I had to ask them to go one better.
Thats right, the Azzuri had reached the World cup final for the first time since in twenty years, the biggest prize in all of football was sitting in front of us within touching distance, all we had to do was overcome one of the other football superpowers, Spain? Germany? Brazil?....erm, Not quite....
Yes, the Republic of Ireland beat off the Japan, Belgium and France to reach this point, certainly on paper we should have beaten them comfortably, but Japan, Belgium and France probably thought the same thing! Could we do it? could we win our fifth World cup, equalling Brazil as the most successful team ever in the competition?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fuck me I've never been so nervous before a game, the memory of losing the Euro 2024 final two years ago resurfaced vividly before the game, I just couldn't face trudging up to the podium to collect a silver medal again.
Thankfully though my lads put my nerves at ease quickly as Mariottini put us ahead after just six minutes, all the goals were scored by my Milan players, in fact fourteen of the sixteen we've scored in this tournament have come from the Rossonari contingent, would it be unfair to say A.C. Milan have just won the world cup?
Credit to Ireland for getting this far but they were no match for us on the day. Some will point out that aside from Argentina we had an easy passage to the final, but hey, I'm not complaining!
There were several awards for my players;
Tulissi also finished second in the golden boot with his seven strikes, one behind Portugal's Manuel Couto.
The World cup final was my fiftieth match in charge of the Azzuri, I think this would be a good point in which to move aside and let somebody else have a go as I have now won the highest honour in the sport and can go no further. I will decide on my future with the national team before the September friendly with Germany in Berlin. What do you guys think? Should I call it a day or continue on for Euro 2028?
#198808 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Champions again! Unlike last year there was no last day drama as we ended up running away with it;
Despite a few shock defeats to teams we should have beaten and the devastating Champions League exit, it has overall been a good season, we went unbeaten at home in all competitions (In fact we dropped only four points at the San Siro all season) and haven't lost on our own patch since February last year when Napoli won 1-0.
Udinese, who were top for most of the season really fell away in the business end of the season. This season's surprise package was fourth place Cagliari who defied pre-season relegation predictions to qualify for the Champions League. It was also shocking to see both Napoli and Lazio relegated to Serie B, two big rivals going down...shame.
A nice confident finish to the season with plenty of goals, capped with an extra time win over Inter to retain the Copa Italia;
So thats a second consecutive domestic treble for us, my ambitions of overtaking Juventus as the all time most successful club in Italy have moved a step closer as we move up to 26 Serie A's to Juve's 33. That of course means we have at least eight years to go before we get one up on the old lady, with that in mind I have signed a new deal.
Two more trophies have moved me up to second in the all time Italian hall of fame, again chasing a Juventus man;
Antonio (now Real Madrid manager) had an amazing thirteen years in charge of Juve and I have the utmost respect for him and his achivements. however I fully intend to surpass him!
We have two players in team of the season;
Both Ricardo and Tiziano have been brilliant throughout, I was surprised that Nicolo Di Marchi and Stephane Fournier missed out on selection though;
It is great to see that seven players that are in my initial World cup squad are in this selection.
Club legend Nicusor Staniciu has decided he wishes to leave this summer in order to find a new challenge in his career, he has been with the club for ten years, scoring 65 goals in 276 games, winning the league eight times in that period and winning Serie A player of the year on three occasions. It will be sad to see such an influential player go, however at 33 he has been declining for the last couple of seasons and it is probably the right time. Goalkeeper Marco Sampaio is also off to the Bundesliga to join Freiburg after getting upset with his limited opportunities.
My initial thirty man squad for Mexico 2026 (Caps/Goals)
Goalkeepers
Andrea Brignoli - Saint-Etienne (2/0)
Nicolo Leali - Fiorentina (40/0)
Luca Savelloni - Sampdoria (0/0)
Defenders
Christian Maldini - Milan (37/1)
Franco Campana - Arsenal (22/1)
Daniele Nardini - Roma (0/0)
Paolo Vannini - Milan (2/0)
Brunao - Fiorentina (1/0)
Alessio Romagnoli - Inter (52/6)
Stefano Centazo - Udinese (2/0)
Endrit Kruja - Milan (34/0)
Midfield
Ariel Aguirre - Dortmund (9/0)
Emilano Carbone - Udinese (14/0)
Marco Veratti - Real Madrid (123/19)
Bryan Cristante - Man City (59/8)
Tiziano Tulisi - Milan (48/4)
Pannaci Cannistra - Spartak Moscow (10/2)
Alessio Depprau - Milan (17/4)
Pasqual Di Giacomo - Atletico Madrid (3/3)
Wingers
Lorenzo Insigne - Liverpool (57/24)
Nicolo Di Marchi - Milan (37/15)
Alessandro Ciarrocchi - Roma (9/2)
Giovanni Mariottini - Milan (19/3)
Strikers
Andrea Petagna - Udinese (25/2)
Guiseppi Antonacci - Milan (2/0)
Domenico Martino - Cagliari (0/0)
Giuseppe Chianese - Napoli (1/0)
Edoardi Chiodi - Fiorentina (7/4)
Ciro Olivero - Milan (4/0)
That squad now needs whittling down to 23, it will likely be the uncapped players who miss out, with the exception of Domenico Martino who had a great season with Cagliari, scoring 22 goals in 29 games.
Had a reasonable season, getting an average rating of 6.95, although his place is no longer guaranteed with the emergence of Paolo Vannini, still it's nice to have two good Italian fullbacks. I'm not sure if Vannini will make the final cut for the World cup, he and Cenzato are pretty evenly matched so it's a close run thing for the second right back spot.
#198575 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Too tough as it turned out...
The mighty Milan are back on top of the Serie A pile as the season draws to a close, we have a six point lead over Udinese with as many games to go as well as ensuring we once again will play in the Copa Italia final as we overcame Roma, putting together a record win streak in the process. However it wasn't all smiles as we allowed a first leg advantage over Manchester City blow up in our faces in the second leg as we crashed out of Europe in the second round.
Beating Udinese was a huge result which saw us climb above Walter Mazzarri's team, winger Nicolo Di Marchi scored the only goal in that game.
My new signing Guisseppi Antonacci has made a superb start to his career here at the San Siro, scoring four and assisting eight goals in sixteen games. As I predicted he was a real steal for just £750k. Unfortunatly he wasn't able to play against his former club Man City as he wasn't registered for the Champions League, we could have done with an outlet for all the pressure in the second leg.
In addition to that record breaking win streak, there was also an attendance high as our largest crowd ever witnessed us defeat hated rivals Inter 2-0 despite Endrit Kruja's sending off leaving us with a numerical disadvantage for most of the second half.
We will meet Inter again in a few weeks time to contest the Copa Italia final. you may recall we met previously in the 2022 final with our nuisance neighbors emerging victorious in that encounter after a dramatic penalty shoot-out. I would dearly like to ensure it is us celebrating this time.
In other news; we have inducted our latest quota of youngsters to the under-18's;
No prizes for guessing which three I'm most excited about.
Mauriano in particular looks as if he will be a wonderful player, In fact looking at those mental attributes I don't think I would have much reservation in putting him in the first team should the need arise through injury or suspension. Certainly he is one to keep an eye on.
Of course my focus at the moment is on the World cup this summer, however we did find out our group for the Euro 2028 qualifiers;
This group isn't as straightforward looking as our World cup qualifying campaign where we earned enough points to advance twice over, Denmark and Greece are sure to put up a good fight. I'm still confident of getting through to the tournament which will be held in England however.
Although I may not be Italian coach for this campaign, it very much depends on our performance in Mexico this summer. The minimum expectation is for us to reach the semi-final. Currently we're ranked fifth in the world so it's definitely an achievable goal. How I would dearly love to win the World cup after the heartbreaking defeat in the final of Euro 2024.
My regular changes to 3-5-2 have seen Christian starting more and more games on the bench, even in games where I do require fullbacks Vannini has developed into my first choice with a string of impressive performances, he offers something that Christian doesn't going forward. Having said that Chris has been covering the suspended Endrit Kruja at left back where he has done reasonably well, perhaps the two of them could play together rather than being rivals.
#198420 [FM14]Johno's career
#198238 The Susie Book Club
One of the perks of working for WHSmith is I get to take chart books like this home for free in order to give an informed opinion should a customer ask for recommendations.
#198187 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Thanks Dan.
Thankfully they did just that!
Thanks mate.
On the whole our form has been ok as we entered the second half of the season, however slip up's against smaller opponants keep happening, big wins over the likes of Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina were offset by losses to Chievo and Empoli, I'm going to have to re-think our awayday stratagy because anymore slip ups like that could see title 26 drift from our reach.
As it is though, we still have a good chance of retaining our crown, we have a game in hand and none of the other teams in the title race have exactly blown all comers away so far;
We've also progressed in the other two competitions as Bayern indeed did us the favor we required by beating Feyenoord for us as we held up our end of the bargain in beating FC Cophenhagen;
We are going to need to sharpen up if we are to stand a chance of reaching the quarterfinals for the third year running;
We've also booked our place in the last four of the Copa Italia;
It could well be another Milan derby in the final if we beat Roma, the first leg will be my 250th game as manager of the Rossonari. It's been a wild ride that hopefully still has a long way to go yet!
I made one signing during the January window;
I recently gave the Manchester City striker his Italian debut, so when the English club made him available for just £750k I couldn't resist snapping him up, he has a four and a half star potential rating according to my assistant Alessandro Del Piero so he could turn out to be an absolute steal.
Not much to report at this time, I've been keeping my eye on the other Serie A teams to see if there is anyone else I would consider for my World cup squad, however I think I have a general idea of at least my initial 30 man squad now, obviously injuries and losses of form could change that between now and June.
Is coming under increasing pressure from Paolo Vannini for the starting rightback place, Vannini seems to be improving every week, especially since he got his first Italy cap in November. The two have roughly started the same amount of games recently. I have been experimenting with three at the back, Vannini is comfortable at centre back whereas Christian looks uncomfortable there.
#197813 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
Clearly all this Man City, Arsenal and Chelsea talk is irrelevant. we are going to win the league.
#197678 Old careers
Your best bet.
#197609 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Mexico 2026
The draw for the tournement has just been made;
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Iran
Mexico (Hosts)
Nigeria
Group B
PR China
England
Peru
Serbia
Group C
Argentina
France
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia
Group D
Italy
Paraguay
Russia
South Korea
Group E
Canada
Ivory Coast
Portugal
Spain
Group F
Belgium
Cameroon
Croatia
USA
Group G
Colombia
Czech Republic
Germany
Japan
Not a bad draw for us really, we should be able to beat any of those three teams, although if we get through we will likely have Argentina or France to contend with in the second round which is much less easy. Group G looks the most interesting from a neutral point of view.
In preparation for the tournament I have arranged friendlies with Colombia, Bulgaria and Japan.
I've made a shortlist of about sixty players, they are the ones who I will halve to form my preliminary 30 man squad which will then become my final 23 after they have had the aforementioned friendlies to state their cases for a seat on the plane to Mexico. Good luck to them all.
#197516 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Thanks guys.
[/center]
A much improved couple of months have seen us climb back into our rightful place in Serie A, battling for title. However things havn't gone so well in the Champions League as we have dropped out of the qualification places with just a game to go.
Beating Inter will be the highlight for our fans of course, but stuffing Roma 5-0 was also well received by the Rossonari faithful. An epic 4-4 draw with Udinese gave those in attendence a real treat as we came from behind on four occasions to earn a deserved point against what looks to be our biggest threat to the title.
Our unbeaten record continues, only Napoli have beaten us at the San Siro in the league since defeat to Juventus in April 2023. Our fortress seems to be holding strong.
Udinese are the second team in Italy nowadays as Juventus, Napoli and Lazio have fallen from grace. Inter remain a threat but Udinese are consistently producing the highest class of youngster who are fueling their push for honours, Walter Mazzari's side are the only side who have stopped us from having eight titles in a row after their 2021 triumph.
Three of my players in team of the month, It's also good to see several of my Italy stars in there, Carbone and Ciarrocchi can be reasonably sure of a place in my squad for the World cup and Cenzato and Nardini have done there chances of selection no harm after having recently made their international debuts.
Unfortunately the future doesn't look quite as promising in Europe with our hopes of advancing relying on Bayern, although I don't see Feyenoord beating the German giants, having said that I didn't see Carpi beating Roma on the final day last season to hand us the title, so what do I know?
Our place in Mexico is already assured, so these four games were merely a chance to test one or two fringe players ahead of the tournament.
Perhaps some may have expected a higher scoreline against Moldova, however I saw no need to force the issue here as my team did a professional job in earning a simple three points. Some were surprised that I had selected Carpi striker Nicolo Nuti for this one, the striker had scored 8 from 8 for the Serie B side so I gave him a shot. Anyone who is playing well for his club side will be in contention for my squad. Unfortunatly Nuti looked out of his depth, but at least I gave him a chance.
Inter winger Christian Forni made his Azzuri debut in this one and performed well alongside several players who I have recalled from the cold. things threatened to go south when the Georgians took the lead, however we calmy went about our accurate passing game which was rewarded when one of those recalled me, Federico Vannucchi, scored what proved to be the winner.
Played eight, won eight. I couldn't ask any more than that. In fact we qualified with such ease we could have advanced twice over.
After the qualification campaign was over we headed to North America to play a couple of friendly games on the continent ahead of Mexico 2026;
I took a chance on selecting Paolo Vannini for Italy, he's been in good form for my Milan side and with not much to choose from in opposition to Christian at right back I gave him a chance which he seized by getting a 7.2 rating, not bad for an 18 year old debutante. Also making their bows were Manchester City playmaker Giusseppi Antonacci, Udinese defender Saverio Madrigali and Napoli forward Guiseppe Chianese all of whom played well in this walkover.
A much tougher game, however we were still able to leave California with the win thanks to my Milan winger Nicolo Di Marchi. Just one new boy in this fixture as Fiorentina's recently nationalised Brunao decided to give up on his ambitions of playing for his native Brazil in order to make his International debut with us.
Recently passed his 300 league game landmark, I look back at his career with a lot of pride;
He has achieved a lot in his 29 years, winning four Serie A titles, featuring in ten cup finals, six of which he has won. as well as representing his country at the 2020 Olympics at U23 level and in Euro 2024 as a senior, collecting 37 caps and scoring once so far for the Azzuri. How I would dearly love him to collect the World cup this summer. The only major trophy I never won as a player.
#197368 The Night Thread Mk. IX
I've donated to the Justgiving page which is aiming to raise money to re-house the animals and rebuild the shelter. they have raised almost £70k in the space of a few hours. JustGiving
#197338 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
I should also apologise ahead of time that my updates are likely to be much more sperodic from now on as I recently found out I'm to be become a dad next year! obviously there are lots of things that need sorting out before our little bundle of joy arrives so I may not get too much time on FM.
A big thank you to everyone who continues to read my updates, I'm probably going to stick with this one instead of buying FM15, As I say I likely won't have much time to play so it seems silly to spend £35+ on a brand new game. Thanks again for reading. Rick.
[/center]
We've not got off to the greatest start in the world as we stuttered into life in the new season;
Wins over Bayern and Lazio pleased the supporters, however slipping up to the likes of Novara and Empoli are just not acceptable to a club such as ours, those results were results of me feilding weaker selections, perhaps that was arrogant of me, underestimating the opponents, however I expect my younger players to be able to grind our results just as much as I do the senior stars.
Still, it's early days, there is plenty of time to get back on track and hopefully win our 26th Serie A title as we chase Juventus's record 33.
Mission accomplished!
I will be leading my Azzuri squad to Mexico next summer, with two games to spare.
A straightforward win in the end, Franco Campana's first international goal pulled us from behind before Finland again took the lead, once Spartak Moscow midfielder Pannaci Cannistra put us back on terms though we shifted through the gears and fully deserved our win.
Cannistra and Chiodi continued their goalscoring form from the Finland game to ensure qualification, Roma winger Alessandro Ciarrocchi got himself on the scoresheet for the first time with a lovely solo run culminating in a cool finish, he made his debut in the home fixture against Albania back in October.
Nice and easy, the only challenge now is to try and finish the group with a 100% record, I'll likely put out a changed squad for the final games against Moldova and Georgia next month as I look to give my fringe players a chance to impress me ahead of the World cup, where we have become the first European qualifiers (aside from the mighty reigning champions Switzerland of course
With Hugo Mallo now gone, Christian only need contend with up and coming Paolo Vannini for a starting place now, I gave Vannini the Super cup final nod where he coped well with the cup final atmosphere and earned a solid 7.1 rating, however Christian was back in the side for every league game aside from the win over Cagliari when his young apprentice returned for first team action, thankfully the own goal he scored didn't end up costing us the game so it shouldn't affect his confidence too much.
Christian also started both Italy games, getting 7.0 in both, Udinese's Stefano Cenzato was his back up, however with time running out before I have to pick my squad for Mexico, could Vannini force his way onto the plane? I would certainly love to take another Milan player with me, however he will have to earn his seat like everybody else.
#196572 The Night Thread Mk. IX
She's gone to the docs today for a blood test to confirm but the home pregnancy test came up positive. I'm really excited to be a dad but at the same time I'm nervous about money and stuff, I'm going to have to find a better paid job sharpish.
#196559 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#195969 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Hard to believe I'm now gearing up for my fifth year at the helm of the Rossonari, time has flown by. This year affords us the opportunity to equal one of Juventus's records as we look to become one of only four clubs to have ever won Serie A five times running, the others are Juve, Inter and Torino. No team has ever made it six in a row. We still need eight more Scudetto's to equal Juve's overall title wins. One step at a time.
I've not been busy in the transfer market, as usual I had all of incoming business done long before the window opened with Atletico Madrid midfielder Cabecao signing on free transfer and Napoli forward Ciro Olivera setting us back £29M in a structured deal. (screenshots in the February/March update above)
Outgoing I have recouped a large portion of that Olivera signing with the sales of centre back Manuel Gaggero to Manchester United for £16M, German midfielder Yannick Gerhart who has taken up a new challenge with Red Bull Leipzig after six years with the club and reserve players Enrico Lovari and Cristiano Galgiardini who leave for £2M and £400k to Cagliari and Palermo respectively. Hugo Mallo also leaves the club by mutual consent after falling out of favour at right back, he's now with Spanish second division side Gimnastic.
So here is my squad in it's entirety;
Goalkeepers
I'll perhaps need to sign a back up to cover any injuries in this department, although I'm very happy with my two primary shot stoppers. Both are very dependable and organise their defence well. Sampaio will be expecting more games this year however as Krul isn't getting any younger and will need to be replaced sooner or later.
Defenders
We do not lack for quality at the back, Aleksandar Dragovic was honored with his testimonial this July which was nice, whilst not as fast as he once was he is still an expert ball winner who's reading of the game is absolutely top notch. Normally he partners Brazilian Ricardo at the heart of defence with Dimitr Hristev rotating when necessary, young Alan Volk has been with the club for a number of years now, spending time out on loan with Steaua Bucharest and Bayer Leverkusen, The departure of Gaggero gives him an opportunity to impress me in the first team.
At fullback, Christian and Endrit Kruja have long been automatic selections, however both have younger men putting on pressure for their places now with the emergence of Paolo Vannini and Janis Seidel, I'm particularly keen for Vannini to develop as he has come through our own youth system, and with very few players capable to deputising for Christian at International level, Paolo could be in for a big year.
Midfielders
Giles Castel is one of the finest ball winners in the world, with the arrival of Cabecao I have a bit of a selection headache now, young Daniel Chiappa will also need game time in that role as I look to aid his development. In the role of playmaker, Alessio Depprau and Diego and two fine options to have, Stanciu no longer has the legs for that role and now plays deeper, providing a rotation option with Tiziano Tullisi.
Wingers
Nicolo Di Marchi and Giovanni Marriotini are two of the best players on the planet, they are essential to my hopes not just domesticaly but also for the World cup next summer. They rotate with Age Nesset and Petr Vlcek who are also very capable.
Strikers
Whilst I have some top notch strikers on the book, this is the main area of weakness in my squad, the goals didn't flow too freely last season with Pezzi, Fournier and Vesely nowhere to be seen in the Serie A top scorers list, we instead had to rely on goals from the midfield, perhaps that is due to me constantly having to rate them for the lone striker role. The addition of Ciro Olivera will just intensify competition as Vesely goes out on loan to NAC Breda in Holland.
My squad handled pre-season well, capping it with another Super Cup win
A show of resilience, whenever Fiorentina took the lead we would battle back. I think we deserved to win in the end.
We begin the campaign with yet another meeting with Fiorentina (I'm beginning to get sick of them!) before we welcome Lazio to the San Siro, not the easiest start but I'm confident.
We have also learned our Champions League group;
Again, not a particularly easy draw, but we should get through, probably in second to Bayern.
Right then, here we go again....Looking for five in a row!
#195781 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Thought I was going to have an aneurysm whilst we waited for the Carpi-Roma score, when Roma equalised I was sure they would go on to win, however Carpi pulled off a massive shock with their late goal, much to my delight!
#195697 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Thanks Dan, yep turned out it was a little too tough....
Fucking hell! My heart has't stopped pounding since the final game of a truly exciting Serie A season....
Major victories over Juve and Lazio as well as holding Inter to a draw despite having had two sendings off put us in good shape as the season boiled down to the very last day.
The five teams who were still in contention in my last update were down to two, us and my old club Roma. Roma had the ball in their court due to their superior goal difference, we would have to score at least seven in our final game against Palermo if, as expected, they beat Carpi at home. A tall order indeed. did we manage it?....
Sooooo Close....agonising stuff to get that close to the goals we needed, of course if by some miracle relegated Carpi could fell Roma at the last hurdle we would still be champions of Italy for the fourth year running....
Champions again! This has been by far the most testing of my four Scudetto's given how close it was in the end. I feel bad for my new second favorite team Carpi who were still relegated despite giving us the miracle we needed, I'll have to arrange a friendly with them pre-season to give them some nice funds....it's the least we can do!
So after that drama it was on to the Copa Italia final, a competition I have more losing finals in than winning ones;
2024 - Milan 1-2 Fiorentina
2023 - Milan 5-1 Livorno
2022 - Milan 1-1(p) Inter
2018 - Roma 1-1(p) Milan
Could we make it two for three?
Ricardo's sending off after just twenty minutes threatened to send everything tits up, however my lads kept working admirably hard dispite Fiorentina's superior numbers and were rewarded with the last kick of normal time to cap an amazing week for the club.
Here's how my squad got on this year;
Everybody pulled their weight and deserved their winners medals. I'm particularly happy with the emergence of the youngsters such as Paolo Vannini, Daniele Chiappi and Janis Seidel. Old favourites such as Tiziano Tulissi, Riccardo and Nicolo Di Marchi were also at their sublime best. This is probably the end of the road for Hugo Mallo and Yannick Gerhart, both of whom have been forced out by the youngsters.
I didn't deserve it this year, I voted for Roma's Daniele Baldini who has done great work since he took over just over a year ago, he is the seventh manager at Stadio Olimpico since I left in 2018, it's good to see them finally gaining some stability.
The two trophies have moved me up to fourth in the all time Italian greats;
Continuing in a personal theme, I also recently passed the 600 game milestone;
Nothing this month, the next games are at home to Finland and away to Albania in September as we continue on the road to Mexico 2026. I've also set up two friendlies for next november against Canada and the USA as a North American acclimatisation exercise.
Had a decent season, even though his starting place is coming under some pressure from Paolo Vannini now. The highlight of 2024/25 for Christian will no doubt be scoring his first goal for Italy against Uruguay last November.
#195635 Barclays Premier League 2014/15
#195459 The Night Thread Mk. IX
#195455 Maldini - A Father & Son tale
Thanks Guys.
The title race is really enthralling this season as anyone from Roma at the top to Udinese in sixth have a good chance of the championship. We are the only team in those six with a game in hand, although with games running out and matches against Juventus and Inter in April we can afford no more slip-up's.
It's going to be a frantic finish, particularly with us still going in the Champions League after beating Valencia 3-0 on aggregate, our path to the semi's is blocked by mighty Real Madrid, we're going to have to put on two season's best performances in order to reach the final four;
Some major transfer news for next season;
Ciro is a lethal finisher who has been the driving force behind Napoli's recent reemergence after scoring 21 goals in 28 games this season and 18 in 24 in 2023/24. He will set us back £28M over the next four years. If he maintains that sort of strike rate he will justify the fee easily.
The Brazilian international's contract is up at the end of the season, I didn't need much encouragement to try and lure him from Atletico Madrid on free transfer, which the midfielder graciously accepted, he could be a great signing.
We have also inducted our new class of academy graduates, although it's not a very inspiring group;
One World cup qualifier to report on;
A nice easy win which keeps us sailing nicely towards the finals in Mexico next year.
Earned his 32nd cap against Moldova in addition to picking up a couple of man of the match awards in the games against Valencia (first leg) and Udinese. Unfortunately he seems to be becoming somewhat susceptible to minor injuries and has missed a few games. Paolo Vannini has deputised well and was very close to making my Italy team, however I plumped for another international virgin in the form of Roma's Daniel Nardini as he has several seasons under his belt at Serie A level whereas Paolo only made his first team debut shortly before Christmas. He is very much in mind for future squads though if he keeps his current form up.
#195413 The Lower League Thread
I'm going to see my local team, Gresley FC play Lincoln United in the Northern Premier League First Division South. (quite a mouthful that)
#195392 Transfer Rumours 2014/15
Imagine the amount of Basingstoke careers on FM15 if it happens.
#194976 The Night Thread Mk. IX
Not yet, I started taking lessons about a year ago but my knee started causing me trouble again so I stopped, dislocating my knee whilst driving couldn't have been dangerous. I have a new brace for it now so I want to try again.
#194974 please help regarding commentary txt