Career Conquer Europe

[ATLien96]

Hello FMM Vibe! Just found out about this place, this is my first post here. Figured I'd post current save.

Goal: Attempt to win the top flight in England, Spain, Italy, & Germany as well as the Champions League with a club from each.

Started with my favorite European club that I've followed since I was a young kid, AC Milan. The first season was fairly meh, finishing 5th in the league and losing in the Europa semi final to Chelsea while rebuilding and experimenting with tactics. Settled on a high pressing 4-2-2-2. The second season would bring the first Serie A title and a Europa final loss to Atletico Madrid (who will show up again) that really stung. This season also marked the first season of the best strike duo I could ever imagine. Silva & Piatek would both score 30+ goals in this campaign as well as the next 2. Season 3 was pure magic in the league, going through all 38 matches unbeaten, finishing 25-13-0. (11 of those draws were in away matches, most Serie A thing ever.) But Atletico would again prove to be a thorn in our side, this time coming back from a 2-0 first leg defeat to win on aggregate 4-3 in the CL semi. So, that summer I decided to swing for the fences. Cutrone & Paqueta, who had both developed well, were shipped to Barcelona & Arsenal respectively, and the influx of cash was spent on Ousmane Dembele, the final piece of the puzzle. We were unable to recreate the unbeaten season, but still were able to cap off a 3rd straight league title. In the CL, our old foe Atletico would face us in the quarter final and lose 5-0, a vindicating performance. Real Madrid would fall in the semis, setting up a rematch of the 2005 UCL heartbreak, Milan vs Liverpool. The star of the night would be Piatek, with a hat trick in a 3-2 victory. The Italian chapter was closed.

The job search was harder than expected. Bayern passed up on me for Guardiola, and another top flight job wouldn't come up until the mid-season break in England. Watford came calling, and tired of waiting, I answered. Halfway through the season, 1 point clear of relegation, with a declining squad. The players all hated me and wanted out fairly quickly, and goals just wouldn't come. On the last day we were one of the 3 teams fighting to avoid 18th. A win would've kept us up (the other 2 lost) but we only managed a 1-1 draw at home vs Tottenham. Took the drop and blew it up over the summer, bringing in a new core of mostly 16-20 year olds. The Championship was a rough grind, but the squad got better & better down the stretch, and we finished 6th. A crazy 7-5 aggregate win vs Wolves set up a do or die match vs Aston Villa. 1-1 after full time, no goals in ET. Leon Rigg, an 18 year old keeper poached from Manchester City's reserves, would play the hero, saving 2 to seal a 4-2 win on PKs. That brings us up to the current season, sitting 9th in the EPL after 6 matches.

Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and if interested I can continue to update. ☺

[Ashez]

Sounds like a quality adventure so far mate, so many twists and turns! 

[Ian]

Nice career you’ve had there so far. You got revenge for Istanbul but really you already did that in 2007.😉

Good read though and with one or two screenshots would be great I’d say.😀

[ATLien96]

Here's a few that I have. Current squad, the unbeaten table, & the CL champs list.

 

[Thirsk]

Wow, from AC Milan to Watford. I'm intrigued already. Not many would have selected a club on the brink of relegation halfway through the season! 

And the fact that you stuck with them even after relegation to the championship is just awesome to see. I personally would have lost some heart after that.

Then the play-off heroics in a penalty shoot-out to set up a premier league season of redemption...ok, I need to know what happens next haha.

Keep it up!

[ATLien96]

Season 7

Never thought I'd say this but thank you Manchester City! (Let me go rinse my mouth out with soap now.) With 2 matchdays left in the season, Watford trailed Crystal Palice by 3 points for the final Europa spot. A win vs Arsenal on Sunday set up a very nervous Monday match sim, but City did their job, putting us level on points heading into Decision Day. A win would do the job, as goal differential was very much in our favor. Watford vs Fulham, Crystal vs Stoke. A very tense 1-nil win paired with a 1-1 draw in rainy Stoke later, the fans were in ecstasy. European football is coming to Vicarage Road!

A tactical change was made mid season, as my 4-2-2-2 was producing meh results and leaking too many goals. A striker was dropped for a CDM, and the 4-1-2-2-1 was a lot more consistent. Still had problems in away matches, may switch to a counter mentality for those next season.

A few end of season honours came our way as well. Joshua Zirkzee, a 23 year old Dutch Target Man, won the Golden Boot with 24 goals in 35 matches. He beat Harry Kane by 2. Also I was named Manager of the Year, a happy surprise.

With a few more transfers, I feel I can have this team in contention. Stay tuned.

 

[MikeF]

Nice work mate. Someone else trying to conquer the world with Watford! 

 

[ATLien96]

Another season, another 7th place finish. League consistency has yet to make Watford home, as it seemed like we traded win streaks for loss streaks on the drop of a dime. It was at times genuinely upsetting. Hopefully this isn't our ceiling.

But a bit of news sparked a masterpiece of a cup run. The board announced mid-season that the team would be getting a new 30k seat stadium. Vicarage Road needed the sendoff it deserved. The road to the Europa Quarter Finals had been easy. Several mid tier league team had fallen to us, including Besiktas, who were mercy slaughtered 8-1. But on deck was a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, and that game was absolutely nuts. Our 3 attacking stars Zirkzee, Samedo, & João Pedro all scored in the first half. But then Pool scored once. Then twice. In the 85th, a third time. It felt like we had let it slip through our hands. A 3-3 draw meant we could not lose the next game. Lady luck smiled that day however, as a first half goal from our CM Joseph Cheshire in 1st half stoppage time ended up being the only goal, and we held on for dear life after an 81st minute red card. Next up, the other club from Liverpool, Everton. This time, we couldn't keep it even away, as we lost a very tense match 2-1. The next match would be the last European match at the original Vicarage Road, and the boys would not be denied. 42 minutes in, last year's Golden Boot winner Joshua Zirkzee smashed home a free kick for the opening goal, making it 2-2. Then, after a halftime talk that I guess was too inspiring, CB Johahn Kragl picked up a red card. Dropping a striker out of our 4-2-2-2 for a new CB made our attack very sketchy, and Everton blew several chances. Finally, Matheus, subbed on as fresh legs 70 minutes in, scored an absolute stunner. Crowd went wild, he was mobbed by his teammates. A few more minutes of game time and it was over. We had done it. A 2-0 win with a man down, and a 3-2 aggregate win. From there, the Final vs Porto was a breeze. Both teams scored in the opening 10 minutes (the scorer for FCP, Suso, being a former backup for me at Milan), but the 3 headed monster of our attack each pitched in a goal, and the 3-1 win was so sweet. And with it, Champions League soccer next season.

The off-season was also busy, with some big names from our team moving on. Zirkzee (ST) left for PSG, Taft (LW) & Rigg (GK), both domestic stars playing for England, to Schalke (honestly don't get why they wanted out, hopefully SI fixes transfer logic at some point). To replace them, Francis Anderson (LW) and Roberto Nieri (ST) were bought, while Nial Trotter, a homegrown keeper from my first academy class, was promoted. Hopefully these young guys are stars.

Next season I hope to finish anywhere above 7th and get past the CL group stage.

Edited June 15, 2019 by ATLien96

[Ian]

Nice Europa League win there. Good luck next season in the league and Champions League😀

[ATLien96]

Season 9

Finally, we've done it. 3 seasons ago, Watford was in the Championship. 3 seasons later, we are the Premier League champs. The final stretch of league play was a week from hell, having to play 3 league matches & a Europa semi leg in a 7 day span. Started off 1 point behind Chelsea, but was able to overtake them. 2-1-0 to their 1-2-0. Such a stressful but fun way to steal the crown.

In the Champions League, we'd fall in the group stage, finishing behind Schalke & my old club Milan. That put us in the Europa League, which we lost the final of to Manchester City 2-1. The FA Cup would also see us lose in the final, to Chelsea. We did bring home the Super Cup however, beating Dortmund.

So I've now crossed EPL champ off my list, now just need to win a CL in Watford to finish up in England. After that Spain or Germany awaits.

[DonkeyDele]

Really interesting career this has been mate

Also you know how dangerous it is to go up 3-0 against Liverpool, especially at Anfield! Seems like SI even coded their comeback abilities into the game with the latest patch 😂

[ATLien96]

@DonkeyDele yeah they are hard to beat, probably the second toughest to me. First is Tottenham, they always seem to score in the first ~5 minutes against me every match, and then if I open up to get a goal back, they crush me. Real thorn in my side.

[DIRECTFX]

Nice to see AC back on top they seem to be taking forever in real life to get back to challenging for Serie A title and CL ... Juventus need some challenge. How has Milan done since you left ? Juve back winning em all ? Good stuff so far can’t wait for Spain/Germany teams coming up.

[ATLien96]

6 hours ago, DIRECTFX said:

Nice to see AC back on top they seem to be taking forever in real life to get back to challenging for Serie A title and CL ... Juventus need some challenge. How has Milan done since you left ? Juve back winning em all ? Good stuff so far can’t wait for Spain/Germany teams coming up.

Yeah, bad ownership was killer in real life. You have to spend money to win in this game, and they were basically broke.

Once I left, I watched them closely for a bit. Hired Max Freund from Bayern. I had set up a nice young core that should've kept them winning a few years. Instead, he benched most of them and sold Piatek, who was always good for 30-35 goals. 4 runner ups to Juve and 1 title, no noise in Europe.