Career Please stand up for the new "Skoblar" - Completed

[Kanegan]

So, after rushing off two challenges in a row , the Lee Dong-Gook Challenge and Curse of Chelsea No. 9 , i thought for a change i will attempt something of my own.

Here is the challenge which i created a while back:

So, essentially the summary is i will be heading to Marseille and recruit a Croatian striker and we need to emulate his achievements which are:

1.   2 x Ligue 1 

2.   1 x Trophee des Champions

3.   1 x Coupe de France

4.   Top goalscorer for three years in a row in Ligue 1

5.   44 goals or above to be scored in a Ligue 1 season

6.   305 goals or above to be scored in the entire club career.

 

He stayed in Marseille for 6 seasons so i will be giving myself exactly 6 seasons to achieve all of the above which i have updated in the challenge.

So, the player whom i have chosen for the challenge:

 

Bio: Ivan Santini, born in Zadar, played for his hometown side's youth team, until the summer of 2006, when he moved to Inter Zaprešić where he signed his first professional contract and made four first team appearances, scoring his first professional goal in the process. The next season, he moved to Red Bull Salzburg where he spent the duration of the year as a youth player.

He made his debut on the professional league level in the 2. Bundesliga for Ingolstadt on 8 March 2009, when he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute in a game against TSV 1860 München and scored his first goal. From 2009 to 2012, he played for Zadar. On 31 January 2012, Santini joined Freiburg in a sixth-month loan move with a clause in which Freiburg can buy out his contract. On June 2013, he signed a contract to join Kortrijk. On 18 June 2015, Santini moved to Standard Liège on a four-year contract, for a fee of €2 million. On 3 August 2016, Santini moved to Caen on a three-year contract, for a fee estimated over €2 million. In January 2017 he became the first Croatian player after Dado Pršo to score at least 10 goals in Ligue 1. 

 

So, this man has been a bit of a journeyman joining 6 clubs in a space of 9 years. I am hoping he becomes a permanent fixture on my Marseille side. His aerial and shooting stats are the reasons i selected him as i am building my first ever lone striker tactic so would be fun.

Also, i have never managed in France so this looks all new to me so wish me luck guys.

 

 

Edited October 8, 2018 by Kanegan

[URz]

Good luck! Looks an interesting challenge.

 France is a fun league .... once you get used to the mangled club names 

[Kanegan]

22 minutes ago, URz said:

Good luck! Looks an interesting challenge.

 France is a fun league .... once you get used to the mangled club names 

Thanks. Looks like you are having fun with it in your Subolo save. I am aiming to do the same.

[Kanegan]

So, since i have already completed my 1st season, i thought i will post it, so here goes:

Season 1

Of course, my club of choice is Olympique de Marseille, or better known simply as Marseille. To start with, here is my transfers for the season:

Transfers Out

Spoiler

Transfers In

Spoiler

Not a lot of changes which i generally do in 1st year to get the feel of the squad. Tagliafico is somebody who i have been meaning to use for sometime and Arthur is a no-brainer.

 

Season Performance

Very nervy season but in the end, i managed to emulate my last career by winning the League title and Continental title double though it is the Euro Cup but got messed up in the cups.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

The league was very close and i am not sure how we won the league as ours and Monaco's points and GD are the same. On checking the rules, i got the answer. Both of us had beaten each other in our home so finally it was the goals scored by us which made the difference as we scored three more than Monaco. Talk about being close!!! This was tighter than a nurse's ****, you get what i am referring to. 😤

Ivan scored only 31 goals in the league, much lower than the target so i am hoping this does not become the norm. He missed out on a couple of league games due to injuries as well, so hopefully next year he gets much better. The top goalscorer was in the bag though.

 

Cup Runs

Spoiler

 

Euro Cup

Spoiler

So, a dilly dally run in the Europa with progressing on away goals against the mighty Man U our closest game.

 

Playmaker

Undoubtedly, it is Arthur who is our playmaker of the season with 23 assists and 7 goals at an AvR of 7.34. But the idiot that he is, he kept complaining throughout the season that he wants to move to a bigger club and i am fed up of him so i am transferring his ass out the next season.

 

Main Man

Teamwork, movement, decisions all have dropped after one season though aerial and shooting remains constant.  48 goals from 56 at an AvR of 7.92 is a decent effort and he put in 20 assists which i would have loved to be less and goals more. Only 2 hattricks for the season.

 

Awards

Spoiler

Santini wins Europe's best player and the Star of the Season while also getting into the World XI while we get three representations in Team of the Season.

 

Challenge Update

 

There you go for season 1. Hopefully, a better season comes along or i may have shot in my foot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2018 by Kanegan

[URz]

That’s a good start with 2 of your targets already achieved in the first season 👍

That was a very tight league season with 3rd place PSG only a point behind you and Monaco.

[Kanegan]

57 minutes ago, URz said:

That’s a good start with 2 of your targets already achieved in the first season 👍

That was a very tight league season with 3rd place PSG only a point behind you and Monaco.

Not yet achieved. Half way there.

[URz]

2 hours ago, Kanegan said:

Not yet achieved. Half way there.

I was kinda thinking of your challenge in terms of 9 sub achievements of which you’ve already nailed 2. 👍

[Kanegan]

36 minutes ago, URz said:

I was kinda thinking of your challenge in terms of 9 sub achievements of which you’ve already nailed 2. 👍

Ok, understood. Nice way of looking at it.

[Wretchedalien]

Nice start to hopefully another great career! 

[Kanegan]

Just now, Wretchedalien said:

Nice start to hopefully another great career! 

Thanks mate. The second season is 90% finished and the update will be posted tomorrow. 

[Kanegan]

This will be a short update as i forgot a lot of screenshots.

Season 2

Forgot the transfers but we picked up Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandez from Sporting to replace the outgoing Arthur who we sold off to West Ham for 71mil.  Deserves it for being such a pansy.

 

Season Performance

Retained the league title with a much better performance and also won the Trophee des Champions, ticking off that part of the challenge. But failed to win the French Cup and Champions League while getting knocked out in European Super Cup on penalties. Forgot the screenshots though.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

So close but no cigar!!! Santini scored 40 goals falling short by 4. He has turned 30 now so the next might be the last season where he can aim for the same as after that, his attributes will drop.

 

Main Man

60 goals in the season with 4 hattricks. He definitely amped up his performance going for more goals and less assists. But i need a better performance from him in the league otherwise this career is screwed. The top goalscorer is in the bag though again.

 

Awards

Spoiler

Awards galore for Santini again.

 

Challenge Update

 

 

 

[URz]

Another good season and lots more of the list ticked off 👍

The whole challenge comes down to a 44 goal ligue season! You’ve got at least one or two good years left with Santini to crack this I think/hope 🤞

[Kanegan]

Just now, URz said:

Another good season and lots more of the list ticked off 👍

The whole challenge comes down to a 44 goal ligue season! You’ve got at least one or two good years left with Santini to crack this I think/hope 🤞

Yes, hope to god that he can achieve this as otherwise the career will be futile. He has started slow in the 3rd going goalless in the first 3 league matches so just hope that it is not the sign of things to come and he can turn around fast.

[Kanegan]

Season 3

Transfers Out

Spoiler

Martins was my big money sell as couldn't refuse that money as i had bought him for a meagre 37 mil. dollars last season.

 

Transfers In

Spoiler

Krovinovic, de Ligt and Mario found their way to our team with Ikoko and Rahman signed on to be our two wingbacks. Very happy to get Rahman on free transfer. He has been a solid wingback for us.

 

Season Performance

Hattrick of league titles with Coupe de France won as well so ticked off all the trophy requirements of challenge. Just fell short of 100 goals and 100 points in the league though.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

Poor by Santini. He nets only 35 goals in the league - 5 less than last season. His assists are starting to go up and his teamwork of 17 means i am really worried about finishing this part.

 

Cup Runs

Spoiler

Coupe de France was the most unusal match i witnessed. PSG went ahead through a Kylian Mbappe rebound after he failed in the penalty.  Rahman equalized 5 minutes before the break. In the second half, PSG went twice ahead through Davies and Cavani but we equalized through Krovinovic and Santini and in the extra time, PSG had three disallowed goals before we held our nerve on the shoot-out. We were very lucky. PSG dominated us on all fronts but we were the winners. FMM gods must be having a good day to shower their blessings on me otherwise it is always the other way around.

 

Main Man

The top goalscorer is in the bag so we tick off that part as well. Now, the only big challenge is the 44 goals in league which i am worried will never happen.

 

Awards

Spoiler

Santini strikes again with the awards.

 

Challenge Update

So, only two challenges remaining now, the total club goals which we are on mark and the single season league goals (which is turning out to be the hardest). With only 3 seasons left to play, i don't know if that challenge can be completed.

[URz]

Still a great season for the team achievements 👏 and that Cup Final must have been exciting/nervy to watch unfold before you 😅

With all of the other achievements ticked off, maybe a season with everything focussed solely on Santini and Ligue goals can pull it out of the hat for you 🤞

I look forward to next season. Good luck!

[Kanegan]

Thanks. Ya hopefully he does the job as i have tweaked my tactic so 🤞

[Kanegan]

Season 4 - Make or Break

This is the season which will determine whether this career has legs or not as Santini turns 32 next year so it's not long before his performance starts to drop.  I tweaked my formation this season so let us see.

Transfers Out

Spoiler

Just trimming the squad letting out the useless graduates for free.

Transfers In

Spoiler

Adding some young French players in the squad as i am short in domestic front and Tapia got picked up to give me another option in DLP.

 

Season Performance

Our 4th league title in a row. I concentrated mainly on the league rotating my players for the other competitions. We got dumped out of Champions League in group stage finishing 3rd but bounced back by winning our second Europa League. We continue failing at the Coupe de la Ligue but won the other two domestic cups.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

He was everywhere - topping the assists, POTM and AvR charts. Absolutely marvelous performance but did he get the real record??

Well,

Spoiler

Yes, he does it, just about clearing 44. 

And how does he celebrate?? By doing what he does best - in the remaining two finals after the last league match:

Destroying PSG in the Europa final even with 9 players courtesy of a Santini hattrick and then decimating Monaco in the French Cup final.

 

Notable matches and Cup Runs

Spoiler

 

Other Notable Player

Krovinovic came to his elements this season with 19 goals and 18 assists. He would have got more if i wouldn't have concentrated only on Santini.

 

Main Man

His best season so far - scoring 64 goals and even getting 21 assists. What a player!!! The formation tweak definitely worked this time.

 

Awards

Spoiler

The usual Santini sweep in the awards. So good to see two of our defenders - Rahman and Zouma making it to the League XI of the Season.

 

Challenge Update

So, all the challenges ticked off with only the total club goals remaining. I require 80 goals more to break the record in 2 seasons which makes it 40 in each. Santini has been hitting an average of 50 per season so i am pretty hopeful for this. A big sigh of relief at having Santini achieve the Ligue 1 goals target as that was the hardest part.

 

Thanks for everyone reading and supporting this thread. Stay tuned for Season 5. Any feedback/comments are welcome.

[URz]

Brilliant season for Santini 😎😎

Really glad your tactical tweaks paid off. Hopefully a nice stroll to the club goals total 👍

[Wretchedalien]

Nice season and nice read! Kiu! 

[Kanegan]

Season 5 - Inching Closer

The penultimate season as we strive for Santini to get closer to 305 goals.

Transfers Out

Spoiler

 

Transfers In

Spoiler

 

Season Performance

The usual league title comes home and we also win the two domestic cups but we keep failing in Champions League. The Super Cups also eluded us this season.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

The injuries started creeping up as Santini couldn't carry his goalscoring form at the later stages finishing with only 30 goals. Krovinovic carried on his good form but De Ligt was the surprise package topping the assists chart this season.

 

Notable matches and Cup Runs

Spoiler

PSG has been our personal punching bag. They have never beaten us in the last 5 seasons. Also, Santini is a big match player as he always score in the finals. This season also he carried his form scoring in all the finals he appeared in. He was unavailable due to injuries in the League Cup but we still hammered PSG 4-2.

 

Other Notable Player

Another brilliant season from Krovinovic. The two Croats have really lit up the team.

 

Main Man

The injuries dropped his form a little but he was still able to go at little more than a goal a game at an AvR above 8. Stellar!!! Just stellar!!!

 

Awards

Spoiler

Shocking. 😲 How the hell did Pellegri won the best player ?? He only scored a meagre 17 in the league at an AvR of 7.58. This is blasphemous.

 

Challenge Update

So, only 24 goals remaining to achieve the final goal. Forbidding any serious injuries, we should get there easily.

 

Thanks for everyone reading and supporting this thread. Stay tuned for the final season. Any feedback/comments are welcome.

[URz]

You’ve got this 👍

[Kanegan]

Just now, URz said:

You’ve got this 👍

Thanks. 50 goals is the average so it takes me to 332. I would be aiming for 350 so let's see.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Kanegan

[Kanegan]

Season 6 - Final Swansong

After being down with fever for the last 2 days, i finally managed to rustle off the final season, so here is the update for one final time:

Transfers Out

Spoiler

Transfers In

Spoiler

 

Season Performance

Ok, we had reserved the best for the last. The first ever "Invincible" league season winning 34 and drawing 4 notching up the 100 goals and 100 points double, taking the clean sweep of trophies and in course, finally winning the Champions League.

 

League Performance

Spoiler

Same story as last season. The month long injury pegged back Santini's form as he mustered only 33 goals. Thauvin gets the most assists with 14.

 

Notable matches and Cup Runs

Spoiler

Only 3 hattricks for Santini this season but his 100% goal record in cup finals continued as he managed to score in all the three finals.

 

Champions League

Spoiler

Milik, our new signing this season stepped up beautifully clobbering 5 braces including one in the final to finally gift us the Champions League.

 

Arkadiusz Milik

He was mostly used as a sub but he delivered when needed.

 

Other Notable Players

Another player who had a great debut season for us. He stepped up in absence of Krovinovic whose 3 month long injury meant he missed a lot of the matches and Sobhi plugged the gap with 12 goals and 23 assists combined with Thauvin who had his best season so far.

 

 

Main Man

He fell just one short of the 50 goals that i had predicted for the season but still maintained an AvR of 8.12. 

 

Awards

Spoiler

 

Manager Profile & Trophy Cabinet

Spoiler

 

Challenge Update

So, the challenge is complete in all aspects.

Thanks for everyone reading and supporting this thread.  It was a nice challenge and i hope someone takes this on. Any feedback/comments are welcome.

[URz]

Really enjoyed following this challenge @Kanegan. What a great last season 👏👏

Milik looks like a great find - high greens in all the right places!

[Kanegan]

12 minutes ago, URz said:

Really enjoyed following this challenge @Kanegan. What a great last season 👏👏

Milik looks like a great find - high greens in all the right places!

Thanks @URz, Yes, Milik is a great find and of course the last season exceeded all my expectations. It was a fun ride. I am not sure if i want to get any more careers in or wait for 2019 ?? What about you??

[URz]

10 minutes ago, Kanegan said:

Thanks @URz, Yes, Milik is a great find and of course the last season exceeded all my expectations. It was a fun ride. I am not sure if i want to get any more careers in or wait for 2019 ?? What about you??

I’ve decided to move out of my OME comfort zone and only play EME on FMM19  😱 so I think I may do one last career in OME. Got a couple of ideas but not quite decided yet.

[Kanegan]

27 minutes ago, URz said:

I’ve decided to move out of my OME comfort zone and only play EME on FMM19  😱 so I think I may do one last career in OME. Got a couple of ideas but not quite decided yet.

Ok , cool. I played my first two careers here in OME but then changed to EME and now i just can't touch OME again.