Career NucleusNT completes the Zbigniew Boniek challenge

[Nucleus]

This is my attempt at the Boniek challenge, I have decided I will start my career with Lech Poznan, mainly due to their impressive training facilities and great youth facilities. My chosen “Boniek” is someone who is not yet at the club. He currently plays for Górnik Zabrze and his name is Szymon Zurkowski.

At 19 years of age he looks fairly ok for a player at that level, hopefully I could train him to be natural in the AMC position where I intend to play him. He rocks an impressive 17 in stamina, 15 technique and a nice 14 in passing and teamwork. So with a bit of intensive training I hope he will turn into a player of real quality.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by NucleusNT

[Nucleus]

Season 1

Transfers in

The only money spent was on Zurkowski himself, he’s fairly hard to buy from the off so nearly had to rethink my game plan, but we managed to snap him up in the end, other notable signings were Remi Streete who I managed to grab from Luton after they’d signed him on a free, it was a straight swap for one of my unwanted players so I have no idea why it says “free”, Denilson also came in on a free transfer along with Jordan Brown as a backup striker. Jonathan Zongo would prove to be a revelation for this season as you’ll find out later on.

Transfers out

Not much to see here, just usual squad reshuffle.

[Nucleus]

LOTTO Ekstraklasa

Never in doubt really, however I did struggle initially to adapt to this league, different kettle of fish altogether.

In the end however we cruised it and finished up 18 points clear at the top, with the 3 losses coming towards the back end of the season, that’s one league title down and only one to go.

Our man ends up top of the assists charts which was also a bonus.

Polish FA Cup

Not a requirement but it’s always nice to win a trophy.

Europa League

The less said about this the better, just couldn’t get going in the group stages

[Nucleus]

Season review and player statistics

All in all it was a really good first season, we grabbed our main transfer target and won a domestic double.

Zurkowski tops the assists for the team, only 17 but it can only get better.

A really nice improvement on his attributes, and at only 20 years old there’s more room for improvement.

Join me soon for season 2 where we will hopefully grab our second league title in Poland before embarking on a journey into Italy for the second part of the challenge. Thanks for following.

[BatiGoal]

Congrats coming up with the hardest pronouncable title  goodluck! 

[Nucleus]

Season 2

Transfers

Had a bidding war for my LB and managed to squeeze out nearly £10m from Dinamo for him which was a nice bonus for the transfer kitty

With that injection of money I had a bit of a reshuffle, Van wolfswinkel coming in as a replacement striker, Nick Pope coming in from Burnley to be our new #1 and a few big names coming in on loan.

Super Cup

Really struggled this year and this seasons curtain raiser was the start of a really bad run of form for the side.

FA Cup

A third round exit this time round, we couldn’t defend our title. This highlights the struggles we had this year, I couldn’t get anything to work until the new year, where a change of tactic would be our saviour.

Champions League

A third placed finish in the group stages (which I forgot to screenshot) knocked us down into the Europa league

We managed to sneak a 1-0 victory in the home leg, but finally succumb 2-0 in the second leg. Our European troubles continue.

League

We did manage to sneak the league title on the final day. I have no idea why, but this year we struggled as a team so much. Giving away silly penalties, stupid sending offs, and conceding late goals was a big part of this season. But a league win is a league win, and with this the first part of the challenge is complete. Two league titles in two seasons means we can now hopefully find a job in Italy to finish the challenge.

Szymon Zurkowski

A very slight improvement on last season. He struggled at the start of the year, but came strong at the back end of the season. He looks like a really good player now.

[Nucleus]

Season 3

Our main objective now is to secure a job in Italy, but with my manager reputation not being good enough at the moment I couldn’t secure anything, there was an opening at Fiorentina and Lazio, but I’ve heard nothing back (very unprofessional of them). So for this season it was a case of being successful and hoping in the near future that something would crop up.

Transfers

Few loans and a couple of freebies but nothing major, I was confident that with the tactical reshuffle I’d made that my squad could be successful.

Getting rid of some deadwood

Super Cup

This trophy avoids us again as we lose out to rivals Legia.

Champions League

Rock bottom of a rock solid group, twice in a row we’ve been put in a group of death, hoping for more luck next year.

FA Cup

Went to extra time but we managed to clinch a 3-2 victory to win our second FA cup in three years

League

Much better this year, only losing twice all season, and winning the league much more emphatically than last year.

Szymon Zurkowski

A much better season from the main man. 31 goals from 38 appearances coupled with 16 assists and an average rating of 7.97. This was his breakthrough year and I just hope I can keep him until I find that job in Italy.

[Nucleus]

Season 4

Still no job openings in Italy, so the main objective this season again was to be as successful as we could be.

Transfers

A couple of big signings this summer, Denis Cheryshev coming in for a cool £8.5m plus player exchange and Diego Rico the Spanish left back coming in for £3.7m

Few going out but they weren’t part of my plans for this year, Jon Flanagan being the player exchanged in the Cheryshev deal

Super Cup

No messing about in this years curtain raiser as we comfortably win 4-0

FA Cup

Another FA Cup for the collection

Champions League

A third placed finish in a tough group game sees us knocked down into the Europa League

A really good effort! Going all the way to the final where we finally get defeated by a much better quality Arsenal side

League

An undefeated league season, absolutely buzzing with that

Szymon Zurkowski

Another great season from our man. I really hope something comes up in Italy soon because clubs are circling this man like sharks at the moment!

[Nucleus]

Season 5

Still no luck with a job in Italy. So I will keep the updates short and sweet until that happens.

Transfers

Super Cup

FA Cup

League

Champions League

Gutted to not make the final after facing the Spanish trio

Team stats

Szymon Zurkowski

Hopefully this season has boosted my manager rank quite a bit. Desperately need that Italian job to finish the challenge

[Nucleus]

Season 6

No word on any jobs in Italy, so we carry on trying to be as successful as we can. I have no doubt that the job will soon be coming my way.

Transfers

Super Cup

FA Cup

League

Champions League

An unbelievable achievement for the team! Absolutely chuffed to bits with this trophy, never thought I’d achieve European glory with Lech Poznan.

Szymon Zurkowski

Consecutive Polish player of the year awards.

Achievement Unlocked

[Nucleus]

Season 7

Finally!! We land a job in Italy’s top flight, and even though I didn’t hold much hope for the team, they surprisingly had a good squad and a decent transfer kitty. So first things first...

Zurkowski arrives for a cool £27m an absolute steal in today’s market

Transfers

Forgot to screenshot transfers, but the only purchase I made was Zurkowski himself, a few free agents arrived also, outgoings were just deadwood that I had no use for.

Italian Cup

A first round exit to Inter. Not expecting much this first year, just squad building now to finish the challenge.

League

An 8th place finish. Not too bad. We finished as the best of the rest.

Szymon Zurkowski

Those attributes look really nice. A 20 in dribbling, passing and stamina. He took to Italian football like a duck to water also with 20 goals and 25 assists. Game changer.

Player Awards

Serie A player of the year, European footballer of the year and a place on the world XI. Super season

[Mikee1984]

Just had a good read through all of this, looks like a great challenge and your making it look easy keep up the good work. Btw your man is turning into a real star his stats look awesome.

[Nucleus]

9 minutes ago, Mikee1984 said:

Just had a good read through all of this, looks like a great challenge and your making it look easy keep up the good work. Btw your man is turning into a real star his stats look awesome.

Thank you. It’s a really cool challenge, trying to get to Italy is the only frustrating part! There’s so many polish youngsters to choose from also

[danovic78]

Great progress here. What a find he has been! Winning the Champions league with Lech is quite an achievement.

Tough job now to take Frosinone to the top in Italy.

 

[Nucleus]

1 hour ago, danovic78 said:

Great progress here. What a find he has been! Winning the Champions league with Lech is quite an achievement.

Tough job now to take Frosinone to the top in Italy.

 

They’ve actually got a half decent squad plus some nice resources already at the club so I’m not sure it will take that long 

[danovic78]

37 minutes ago, NucleusNT said:

They’ve actually got a half decent squad plus some nice resources already at the club so I’m not sure it will take that long 

That's good, only a couple of seasons for Euro glory then! 

[Nucleus]

7 minutes ago, danovic78 said:

That's good, only a couple of seasons for Euro glory then! 

Maybe three! ? next update will be out shortly

[Nucleus]

Season 8

Transfers

Managed o get £46m for a player who was deemed an outcast, I believe he was Diego Forlans regen who was at the club when I took over

With that money we strengthen key positions, Claude Fortune coming in at RB, Walace being our new CM, De Marco being a backup GK and Jonathan Morales was I believe Messi’s regen who was a steal at £10m

League

Pipped at the post! Juventus sneak the league by a single point. Any other season and we would have been champions.

Coppa Italia

A hat trick by Morales against Roma sees us take home the cup! Absolutely brilliant

Szymon Zurkowski

Attributes look really nice still, stats not as great this season but we weren’t relying on him as much this year due to having better players around him.

Challenge Objectives

Ekstraklasa Titles - 2/2 ✅

Serie A Titles - 0/1

Coppa Italia - 1/2

European trophies - 0/2

European super Cup - 0/1

[Nucleus]

Season 9

Transfers

Two major signings this season. Plizzari coming in to be our new number one GK and Woodbury coming in as a major attacking threat

Italian Super Cup

Nice win in this seasons curtain raiser

Coppa Italia

Knocked out in the semi final this year and unable to defend our trophy.

Champions League

Ace through the group stages, but fall at the first hurdle in the knockout rounds.

League

Stormed through the league this season, we can now check off this part of the challenge. Happy days

Szymon Zurkowski

Few injuries this year which hindered him a bit, sill a vital part of this team however.

Additional content

A nice shiny new stadium after only two seasons here, and of course we named it after the man of this challenge ? Not sure if this allows me to go on the leaderboard for @FuddledFox stadium challenge?

Challenge Objectives

Ekstraklasa Titles - 2/2 ✅

Serie A Titles - 1/1 ✅

Coppa Italia - 1/2

European trophies - 0/2

European super Cup - 0/1

Edited January 25, 2018 by NucleusNT
Spelling

[Nucleus]

Season 10

My tactic this year was to have two squads. My second squad would play the league games as that wasn’t a requirement anymore, my first team would play in the cup games and in Europe. 

Transfers

£73 million spent on 7 players that would become key men this season, mainly regens, but at this stage of the career mostly everyone is

Again, just shifting the deadwood

Italian Super Cup

A really nice victory over Milan

League

An unbeaten league season. We steamroll everyone in our way. 80% of league games were played with my second string team. Shows our strength in depth this season

Coppa Italia

Our second Coppa Italia, another objective checked off!

Champions League

Ease through the group stages

Destroy Zenit in the last 16

Dominant against Atletico

A 5-3 victory at the Etihad in the first leg sees us into the final

And what a final it was! 4-4 after 90 minutes, a hatter for each side, but we proved too strong for the oil rich PSG in the end and secure our first European trophy in Italy, only the one more to go.

Szymon Zurkowski

His attributes haven’t really changed in the last few seasons, but still, he is a major influence on this team.

Challenge Objectives

Ekstraklasa Titles - 2/2 ✅

Serie A Titles - 1/1 ✅

Coppa Italia - 2/2 ✅

European trophies - 1/2

European super Cup - 0/1

So we require just the One European Super Cup and one more major European trophy to complete this challenge. With the team I have at my disposal this challenge should be over after the next update! (Here’s hoping) ??

[BatiGoal]

Some ride you and Zurkowski (looking awesome btw) have been on. Truly quality stuff and that CL final was just epic nearly there now.

[Mikee1984]

Wow you certainly don’t mess around do ya, you just absolutely smashed Italy there and with little Frosinone  aswel that was ace. I see you wrapping this up next season good luck ? 

[Nucleus]

33 minutes ago, BatiGoal said:

Some ride you and Zurkowski (looking awesome btw) have been on. Truly quality stuff and that CL final was just epic nearly there now.

Thanks mate, he’s been quite a find, I might try him in a new save when I’ve finished with this one

22 minutes ago, Mikee1984 said:

Wow you certainly don’t mess around do ya, you just absolutely smashed Italy there and with little Frosinone  aswel that was ace. I see you wrapping this up next season good luck ? 

To be fair they weren’t doing too bad before I took over ? they had a decent squad and transfer kitty. Hope I can wrap this up this season ??

[Nucleus]

Season 11

Transfers

Hopefully this is the season we complete the challenge, not many transfers in, just a few as backups, Alexis sanchez’s regen coming in for £3.2m! Bargain!

Walace the only major departure, but we’d signed Alberto Rossi as a replacement for him

Italian Super Cup

European Super Cup

Never in doubt, we brush aside Valencia to check off this part of the objective

Coppa Italia

Another Coppa Italia for the collection

League

And another league title too

Club world championship

Easiest Cup there is really, always nice to win it. World champions ?

Champions League

We’ve done it! The challenge is complete! It’s been a long 11 seasons, but it’s been a challenge I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’d advise anyone and everyone to try it

Szymon Zurkowski

188 goals scored and a 195 assists under my management. Great player

Challenge Objectives

Ekstraklasa Titles - 2/2 ✅

Serie A Titles - 1/1 ✅

Coppa Italia - 2/2 ✅

European trophies - 2/2 ✅

European super Cup 1/1✅

Final trophy cabinet

Edited January 26, 2018 by NucleusNT

[Mikee1984]

Congrats mate that was another impressive season, and great that you nailed the final pieces of silverware. Great work.

[BatiGoal]

Congrats! to end this with Frosinone is just incredible. Well played bring on your next challenge!

[Titjes]

Great career mate

[danovic78]

Great effort here! As @BatiGoal says to do with Frosinone is amazing.

That 7-4 Champions League final! 

[Nucleus]

6 hours ago, Mikee1984 said:

Congrats mate that was another impressive season, and great that you nailed the final pieces of silverware. Great work.

Cheers mate

4 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Congrats! to end this with Frosinone is just incredible. Well played bring on your next challenge!

Thank you, not sure which one to go for next ?

56 minutes ago, Titjes said:

Great career mate

Thanks mate

7 minutes ago, danovic78 said:

Great effort here! As @BatiGoal says to do with Frosinone is amazing.

That 7-4 Champions League final! 

Thank you ? that 7-4 got me going, screamed like a little girl ?

[PriZe]

Congrats mate! Great achievement