Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...

Career The "Goal a Mile" challenge goes to Italy - 30 seasons done!


Mr Tree
 Share

Recommended Posts

Never enjoyed ITN management during club careers either, so I totally get it. Damn shame about coming few miles short. Sucks big time but still looking ok mate, nothing to worry about. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks @Ian @Paul186 and @BatiGoal - it was a frustrating second half of the season but it's only a game :)

We have managed to escape! I hope I'll see Roma smashing it for the next few years cos I have left them with a damn tasty squad of upcoming stars, but I need to get back to my roots...

1165296915_Screenshot_20200126-120813_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.85823ae744c00a4f49ca7f1d1ea422e7.jpg

Screenshot_20200125-173703_Maps.thumb.jpg.fe00104431d993aa9aefeb88f761e821.jpg

Yes, we've made it down to the southern division of Serie C, called Serie C/C :)

And this looks like an interesting club - I'll have more info next time but the only staff when I arrive are... TWO gold coaches!

1959747924_Screenshot_20200126-113759_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0b730c75cb559547c5d16819b33ba131.jpg

On the other hand we're languishing in 19th with a young squad just after the transfer deadline so, there's that :)

Bit of VPL first and then I'll be back with a Latina update!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks @smoggy90 and @Titjes!

Season Twenty Two

So it occurred to me, while I was preparing my guide to my new club, that I didn't include the usual new stadium picture for the best stadium we're likely to call home!

Rome's Stadio Olimpico:

OlimpicoRoma.png.ce782a70c0a6d53a0c8a156b3c8838fe.png

I didn't think any team or city introduction was necessary ;)

Quite the opposite for my new club, who I doubt many have heard of!

Latina_Calcio_1932_logo.png.f8dc7051a5dd0db45bd63af421e657f2.png

They play at the beautiful Stadio Domenico Francioni:

foto-curva.jpg.49106b66f20c583fd83b6df4712517ee.jpg

Latina was a "new town" made by Mussolini after draining swampland. It's now the second biggest city in the Lazio region, behind only Rome. It has just over 100k inhabitants.

The club had their "glory years" recently, reaching the third tier for the first time in 29 years in 2011 and getting promoted (and winning the Serie C Cup) in 2013. They even finished 3rd in Serie B in 2014, losing in the playoff final to miss out on promotion to the top flight, before going down the apparently traditional Italian route of running out of money and reforming in 2017.

A new club means a new hero:

2005033919_Screenshot_20200126-114249_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.01738cccc36df1a8ec65e81db4c0d311.jpg

I mentioned that I'd inherited a young squad, and aside from six experienced lads plus my designated striker, we had a lot of kids:

Spoiler

1563599396_Screenshot_20200126-113913_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.cd7f449dea89010a8d58dd2ac56b04af.jpg

84677638_Screenshot_20200126-113926_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b31465f21e0f348247f4afbfb67762a9.jpg

Fortunately their youth system seems decent, but a lot of them are still potential rather current ability, which made the going a bit tough as I had to survive till January without boosting the squad.

My first day in the office - the main reason for taking this picture was to show who my counterpart would be for my first match:

Spoiler

1649316746_Screenshot_20200126-120254_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.253303930ef5d6cd051c2e8942ede050.jpg

Fortunately, we picked up our first win of the season immediately, with Pagana also swiftly off the mark:

Spoiler

176729174_Screenshot_20200126-120743_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0224afb98aa020813afe88291977703b.jpg

Simone was doing well...

Spoiler

1605367608_Screenshot_20200128-185420_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0885d7bcad08aad90a3dfb0cf4e44ec4.jpg

...but the team was struggling:

Spoiler

1591204240_Screenshot_20200128-234549_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.561edca0cc7acfb7544d10c4205adca3.jpg

Actually we never felt like the worst team - I felt we were playing well and just a bit unlucky. I was looking forward to getting those reinforcements in in January, though!

We improved, although the board started getting a little twitchy...

Spoiler

1645980051_Screenshot_20200129-225206_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1a5d891d23276b106f6664e5e04a5bab.jpg

I was just about able to pull clear in time. I was going to take a shot of my great form in the run-in, but then we lost two of the last three to make things unnecessarily tight and messy :(

1301768993_Screenshot_20200130-080304_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0c78f31a224208083a31219e7bd79abd.jpg

But anyway, job done. Made some nice signings so I was able to loan out some of the kids, and a few have come back with nice boosts, so the squad is building nicely - hopefully I'll be nearer the top next season. 

The main man did well enough:

888035691_Screenshot_20200130-080415_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.8137d1f2cd2ff0ed6fef0c0f39d15d81.jpg

Slightly surprising, but I'll take it:

Spoiler

2264652_Screenshot_20200130-081408_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0cef831099d2c5e52e560bab5e643ead.jpg

And here's how he looked by the end of the season:

Spoiler

2016421607_Screenshot_20200130-080410_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.90122a4c88508d2dccbfb255798496d5.jpg

And my profile:

Spoiler

750429113_Screenshot_20200130-081209_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.79be1eebc3f794129f1bd26c402199c6.jpg

 

NEXT TIME - can we get Pagana the support he needs to fire us to a new job?

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks as always, @Paul186 and @samhardy!

Season Twenty Three

We started by dramatically salvaging our place in the Serie C Cup:

Spoiler

194260174_Screenshot_20200202-111927_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9335d83347afd293122b5bc2ad959ae6.jpg

But we swiftly lost the main man for a couple of weeks:

Spoiler

1580019085_Screenshot_20200202-115531_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1924cbcd5f879eda111d043fb5014ac5.jpg

And our cup reprieve was short-lived:

Spoiler

333723952_Screenshot_20200202-190027_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.35d94ef393a62ffd5b5028685affc4fb.jpg

We started slowly with 3 losses in our first 10, but if you give this man a few months, he'll assemble you a Serie C winning team...

Spoiler

1007699993_Screenshot_20200202-185053_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.10f34b4e6a88b5141e25fdc44bdaa5e1.jpg

And Pagana came back strong:

Spoiler

1108315732_Screenshot_20200202-213313_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.be8281bb6f2f0458311e8caf25bfa17d.jpg

And he kept rolling in the new year, emphatically beating his kinsmen and my nearest challengers in our first game back after the winter break:

Spoiler

1415576897_Screenshot_20200203-092425_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.40d70d2025c13a244ccd27b55b74be59.jpg

I was offered a chance to go back to the start of the challenge...

Spoiler

1769941011_Screenshot_20200206-103325_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.52bfd67dc07895c8094dd335fd965b91.jpg

But of course I turned it down, and Simone was still banging the goals in:

Spoiler

560195468_Screenshot_20200206-184209_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.cbf8dc6989186fcb45c397e2a06249a1.jpg

We didn't lose in our last 28, wrapping the title up with a few games to go:

2033664518_Screenshot_20200206-212406_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9a7a2209d708425ed9686ec68ea9be19.jpg

But strangely, my stars immediately dropped (I've settled on using the Detailed - Coach Report view to manage the squad) when promotion was secured - my first-choice XI were all 5-star players in Serie C, so the change was noticeable! I didn't mind too much, it gave me an early start at preparing for the step up, and I picked my team on the basis of Potential for the rest of the season - it went well (we kept up the unbeaten run), but we lost momentum a bit, so we got smashed in the Super Cup:

Spoiler

1572203867_Screenshot_20200207-111322_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.104b89ab33b492eea83771c37e4543c1.jpg

Didn't help that Pagana got sent off in the first half of the first game, and that I had crucial players on loan from both opponents!

Anyway, Pagana's strike-partner picked up the Player of the Year award, and he grabbed the silver medal for himself:

Spoiler

1912169013_Screenshot_20200207-111354_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.4d30c307f19d21a7506cbf27df590da7.jpg

But, ridiculously...

Spoiler

2038881980_Screenshot_20200207-111405_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.3811ecfc375145ab8d0976f8a01a04cd.jpg

Anyway, my main man was the top dog:

412266978_Screenshot_20200207-111418_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.14e1f29b0d78c70060e0905739f7eff3.jpg

As you can see in the bottom-right there, he had 28 overall, taking us up to 49 goal-miles earned.

And finally, the man who made this all happen:

Spoiler

1429593534_Screenshot_20200207-111337_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.e09b86589776955cf5a98171967995ad.jpg

And my profile after three-quarters of the career have passed:

Spoiler

793677251_Screenshot_20200207-111607_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.a1beeacbfeb667b7c0ba30415eca62bd.jpg

 

NEXT TIME - will we ever escape the barren hinterlands of Rome and find a new home? Or can my talented kids keep up my record of going through Serie B?

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers Paulo - how right you were...

Season Twenty Four

Firstly it's about time for a World Cup - and it's glory for Colombia!

Spoiler

1354902307_Screenshot_20200207-202626_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.8e2bacdd804dc46ea8d16dde3a1c30ec.jpg

My season started nicely enough:

Spoiler

1122018043_Screenshot_20200207-231705_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b76f3b62fe22d89a470a092adc72cae6.jpg

Although the cup run didn't last long...

Spoiler

998103621_Screenshot_20200209-155000_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.52e69c23014124143a7c9bda91ba23a4.jpg

They tried to tear me away, but I didn't have enough miles...

Spoiler

1065663519_Screenshot_20200209-091746_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.38c296f170470b27019f433b0e8a885b.jpg

Simone was doing alright with Serie B:

Spoiler

1054529282_Screenshot_20200209-213854_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.c28ab326a73c61b96a3e48fb97c100df.jpg

And so was I :)

Spoiler

1582744189_Screenshot_20200209-214824_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.f3d5a6768bcac1ac63a5005f257d08de.jpg

Meanwhile, a famous name was struggling badly...

Spoiler

1090287837_Screenshot_20200209-214829_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0f8c0e5a6bc229765813de4b7a473db3.jpg

They were my next opponent - pleasantly surprised that the game let me have a last-minute winner :)

1817432010_Screenshot_20200210-154857_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.c35a0c861c5a886e3c8fe7433e63b678.jpg

It seems we don't start well but we finish strong - only 3 defeats in the last 27 games saw me coast to promotion (behind a dominant Fiorentina):

1204323827_Screenshot_20200211-120438_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.27639ae5631cee258897153b77bfe714.jpg

The final league table:

Spoiler

1809940002_Screenshot_20200211-123700_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.dae8a6b029f4137664926aa1cef36ce5.jpg

Unfortunately Simone's season ended early:

1098351718_Screenshot_20200211-115622_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1525883e252fd9481e98cc868867759e.jpg

15 goals for the year, taking us up to 64 in total. Unfortunately we seem to be totally buggered now, no clubs in this region at all, and he's not gonna do well in Serie A :(My loanee star did superbly:

Spoiler

357797300_Screenshot_20200211-222754_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.7cc8c6acc2744e83d81d1bfa2fcbf765.jpg

...even taking the senior prize too ahead of my winger:

339864126_Screenshot_20200211-222816_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.d394e2099981b4621e167855daca154d.jpg

But of course, that wasn't enough to get him in the Team of the Year :(

2059810794_Screenshot_20200211-222733_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.10d00f9cd8022f5f1a0bd75fd7bb9577.jpg

Yes, I got mine of course:

Spoiler

97514942_Screenshot_20200211-222803_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9e82ab4e100e6f28a858a12e374fd0c6.jpg

Here's the kid - looks tasty. Why the hell are his parent club loaning him rather than playing him?!

Spoiler

1916737441_Screenshot_20200211-223427_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.ec454ff5bcf30ee68f53c2e0b9f6b2b8.jpg

791760561_Screenshot_20200211-223433_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9bfb60b0612c41aef57ffd04fe7fcada.jpg

This guy was a great help too, this year and last:

Spoiler

273131851_Screenshot_20200211-223448_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.ea3a555d01ca23e3763578f64fb9e50b.jpg

350087567_Screenshot_20200211-223455_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.20555816c91f007f101413f16cf48c56.jpg

One final footnote - alas, my old friends finally lost their top-flight status:

Spoiler

1969518454_Screenshot_20200211-123758_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.954c341989281523a7f3c579c3607985.jpg

 

NEXT TIME - relying on luck really to find us a reachable club to move on to...

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

been doing some more research but i really am boxed into a corner here - it's still a long way to any other club (Casertana or Napoli). Pagana's not gonna be good enough to get many goals in Serie A. oops! this career is gonna end up far from successful :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All good, is what it is, took a couple of wrong turns and some unlucky breaks. Ever since I won the Champions League, it's fallen apart!

I'm 80% through so I'll see it to the end, but kinda itching to try my next save so... We'll see

Link to comment
Share on other sites

cheers Paul. quick update here, i got through a few games but now sidetracked again by VPL so it may be a little while til i can post season 25. the good news is that after worrying how we'll ever move forward, i just went for the "i guess i'll have to surround him with great players and hope they bounce enough goals in off him" approach and it's worked to an extent, so maybe 3 seasons of this can get me within reach of Naples etc.

it's certainly been fun, but i'll probably do a North to South UK one instead next year - a bit more richness of leagues and clubs. Here i'm just getting promoted twice and then struggling, plus clubs are in clusters (with a lot in the North!). no worries, was worth doing, and if you really went for it i'm sure you could get down to Sicily, but it's just a bit of a pain looking up every single bloody club - at least i know the UK a bit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still a wonderful journey Tree. This has been a real treat to watch but ya some things have not fallen in place. Anyways just finish on a high mate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season Twenty Five

We were a tiny club, albeit with a decent budget, so I scrambled desperately to recruit some players to give us a chance in Serie A.

We lost our first game 5-0 at Torino, despite playing quite well, so that was a bit worrying! But we soon found our feet...

Spoiler

60850532_Screenshot_20200217-081031_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.82f6ee5f6e0f2add72df9dc49e44830d.jpg

Not only was that a good win, it earned us some recognition...

483109065_Screenshot_20200217-081048_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.5e04916c04043beeefa1257130df2918.jpg

And it ended Napoli's unbeaten start to the season :D

1160503916_Screenshot_20200217-081023_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.95e0eab72dd874f95c211883ca56cace.jpg

This was a curious message to receive - my young midfielder left confused as to which country he should report to :)

Spoiler

133012807_Screenshot_20200217-081959_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.f474c3cafbf707caa6e5009f6f087118.jpg

Per above, I was nestled in just behind my two former teams, which obviously led to a lot of soul-searching on their side...

Spoiler

2087734846_Screenshot_20200217-182507_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.bf71516ecaca4c829960f1eef1553b78.jpg

152370289_Screenshot_20200217-205819_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.4b180beffeac24972350c4a91bec0f06.jpg

You might've noticed above, I got Lencioni back on loan, and he earned some awards:

Spoiler

1210869785_Screenshot_20200220-223957_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.db0a366671791c39d41c0d218aede511.jpg

Not just young player of the month, but...

1481379353_Screenshot_20200220-223827_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.041c5fa7aec872872d0b8141ab57bbb4.jpg

(Jamba was also on loan - what a name!)

Lencioni was joined by my young centre-back in the team of the year:

334218345_Screenshot_20200220-223855_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.09a9a4a6488b86f8767fa318eb0b96b1.jpg

And of course, another trophy for my personal cabinet:

1449145984_Screenshot_20200220-223834_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.a62936a9b08abb7254f28b8fa7e1a057.jpg

We got knocked out of the Italian Cup though :(

Spoiler

1745702089_Screenshot_20200221-081815_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.f36950852b3358a24ffc3930ad9e202d.jpg

But Pagana was doing well for himself:

Spoiler

668281205_Screenshot_20200221-155309_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.850c1befefc740a56cb6c353b37f785e.jpg

And youth academy graduate Scaletti started to blossom, joining Nives in the centre of my defence and earning some honours:

Spoiler

1950244531_Screenshot_20200221-155257_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.bda0e42fbd97bdf5739120d8de48b4ca.jpg

Pagana maintained his good form (while AP Vittadello was too cool for school)

Spoiler

2129338071_Screenshot_20200221-203412_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.4ce19aeeedbd38ab642a2d82abd8a32c.jpg

And our attacking prowess was reflected in the team of the month:

Spoiler

568319689_Screenshot_20200221-203350_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.cbc8ea4ec3bd50be268c420c0e4ced4d.jpg

All this meant that I needed to avoid defeat in a tricky last game of the season, and I did...

Spoiler

380480042_Screenshot_20200221-232157_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.d4ce8aa6d82c902b5cedd65be5548bd5.jpg

...so I finished...

THIRD! Champions League football is coming to Latina!

32810982_Screenshot_20200221-232213_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1099e62af0c4d065c33a98d32a0858c9.jpg

Just 1 loss in the last 13 to maintain the recent record of finishing well :)

My loanees got the top two spots in the young player of the season...

Spoiler

1101815193_Screenshot_20200221-232411_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.c2a1bce270623c269b66ff040d52825d.jpg

Plus a clean sweep in player of the season!

Spoiler

1981674395_Screenshot_20200221-232423_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.eb3f26d4e7f7e74292c43c293f1042d6.jpg

The goals helped sway the voters, I suppose. Somebody get the poor boy a pay-rise!

163618410_Screenshot_20200221-232401_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.faa6f7990f340d8c3ea9a94ff98a852e.jpg

And as for my main man, he notched a fantastic 22 goals, taking us to 86 goal-miles overall - a huge and unexpected boost!

982075589_Screenshot_20200221-232310_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.855df1db8e208d3259de24645a3678ee.jpg

A couple more years like that will get Naples etc on the horizon. Impressive considering this is how he looks:

89215849_Screenshot_20200221-232304_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.63d48187a91f8fa2529b63d489fbf624.jpg

(VERY keen observers might notice he earned himself an 11x pay increase during the season too - gotta look after them!)

My profile as we enter the final straight:

Spoiler

2063838317_Screenshot_20200221-233144_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.81096fe2748b2ab546cf34e773553b9c.jpg

 

NEXT TIME - can I boost the squad? Can I get Lencioni back?! Or will the raised expectations and champions league football be my downfall...

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers @Paul186- your support is always highly appreciated! Are you ever gonna post a career for us? :)

i should say too, we've risen from bottom of Serie C to 3rd in Serie A in 3.5yrs - and we still have 3 of the day one squad in Pagana, CB Nives, and BWM Rossi, who's now my captain. I can't actually ever remember seeing my defensive mid have a run of form like this before!

1189183736_Screenshot_20200225-181419_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.57d7c9e09511eb0b00706caa79a540fb.jpg

Season 26 coming up soon - expectations did get raised and Pagana hasn't been the same, but it's certainly been "interesting"!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season Twenty Six

So first things first, could I get my man Lencioni back for a third season, or even permanently?! Well not permanently, nothing's permanent in this life........

Anyway, no chance - he finally got his big-money move, I didn't have anywhere near the budget to compete with that:

Spoiler

1251490016_Screenshot_20200222-095633_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.c2dd16bcc6f3a5f3e2def73ac89df161.jpg

1289872324_Screenshot_20200222-112157_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.906edddbbb0c65f1a5cc10edfefd389f.jpg

Decent pay-rise, that!

We did our best with recruitment, breaking the club record with €8m on some German winger who had an up-and-down season but looks tasty long-term. We got a decent Target Man in from Benfica on loan but we had a couple of good options ourselves - pretty happy with the squad, developing nicely.

One of last year's signings broke through and took the player of the (calendar) year award:

Spoiler

1100957954_Screenshot_20200224-112544_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1b67afaae9d032b9759209bb3e24676b.jpg

I took this screenshot on that day to show you all...

1933707646_Screenshot_20200224-112604_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b61ffdfcf7215e2497258118fda1b8c0.jpg

...but actually, he became a 5-star gold dude by the end of the year, refused to discuss terms on a new deal, and then bids for his €11m release clause came in. I nipped onto his page and offered him the maximum possible, and he accepted, so he's getting paid 10x as much now!

Our Italian Cup campaign didn't last too long:

Spoiler

433630420_Screenshot_20200224-211625_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.4f746ba2a21bbabd9c520e19968d2f04.jpg

Had a fair few games like that, unfortunately - decent young squad but things could go against us. We beat Genoa 6-0 in the league game, and we handed out a few pastings along the way - check out my goal difference in the final table!

1777723406_Screenshot_20200226-182055_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.7b9f5adbd66e704529e252632ba27b33.jpg

But only three more wins than defeats tells a story too :(

Still a good season, although of course the board were "concerned" at numerous points because ain't no backwards steps allowed in the FMM universe!

Could've been worse - see my reserves!

Spoiler

1055575323_Screenshot_20200226-181341_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1af7c4b68f40a16d48e46e098a60bdbb.jpg

I don't know why their league has only 19 teams? And I don't really know why they struggled so much - my backups are getting pretty decent. But the important thing is that they developed well, results be damned.

I still got player of the season recognition, with my winger taking top spot and Rico on the podium:

Spoiler

497069746_Screenshot_20200226-182224_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.a87e02fe5e7bc7046a047d23cb2997bb.jpg

As for Pagana, he struggled a bit but got 15 at least to take his overall total with me to 101, putting Casertana within reach... Napoli is a tantalising five goals away now too...

1518560675_Screenshot_20200226-185526_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.5816ccb9efa42b6a24f4f37d4b9f42bb.jpg

My profile after 26 years:

Spoiler

519129664_Screenshot_20200226-190229_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.a579f5ef2d0cdd70b52cdfe008a591b9.jpg

 

Feels like I'm forgetting something.......

 

 

Oh yes, Latina's first ever Champions League campaign!

Spoiler

Well we took to it like a duck to water...

372014143_Screenshot_20200224-085541_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9839d36587e10b52016c3db52f3a6f18.jpg

...and it just got better...

719319066_Screenshot_20200226-164155_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.66cf86f33cbc67af083b626421c68386.jpg

...and better...

1936359792_Screenshot_20200226-164145_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1bde98d9e57aa49eb1563e39d9ffe0a8.jpg

...and better?!?!

335305910_Screenshot_20200226-164117_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.a9bccc7870bb5d11b6ca16a4e75c8505.jpg

P$G in the final... Pagana started to realise that he really might've come too far too soon 😮

1395572679_Screenshot_20200226-182311_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.5119f8398c0b58870f28e7dc937bd3d1.jpg

 

We couldn't, could we?

Spoiler

No :(

32566370_Screenshot_20200226-185510_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.ee93a93025d3c6403bc30c9afcebdd73.jpg

Two first-half goals and then 75 minutes of tension, but we missed three of our five pens, with young midfielder Bellusci missing the crucial one at the end.

A bloody good effort though!

That was the last game in 34-year-old winger Pinna's career - I bet he'd love it if I asked him to reconsider, but I've got youngsters ready to play more so he can bog off, but he's done me proud since signing him at the start of the season in Serie B, and what a game for him to finish on, if not quite the fairytale result:

78863359_Screenshot_20200226-185448_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0d2ea10244445f25ee37d9df8740b37d.jpg

 

NEXT TIME - is it time for the last move in this career?

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hold up - I assumed we were done n dusted, but I didn't realise...

Spoiler

 

...we'd be diving straight into the Club World Championship!

So Pagana grabbed a couple more goals, Pinna played a couple more games, and...

685279245_Screenshot_20200227-152532_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b7c65544ca1adaa3ef9739d85df1b998.jpg

702544612_Screenshot_20200227-153347_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.065c09161b4f17093bc9a06b4179a650.jpg

The new season ticked over in the meantime, so Pinna retired before the final 🤦🏼‍♂️

But we survived his loss to defeat the team who beat PSG in the semis...

1293421553_Screenshot_20200227-213350_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.42c92f3bff940a7650f29f0636ab6ed0.jpg

From bottom of Serie C to champions of the flaming world in less than 5 years!

Rico has popped massively too 😮

938289498_Screenshot_20200227-213735_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.d618673afc6cb1439d1f2d7c5e18b492.jpg

I'm hoping I'll find another job soon to be honest, but obviously I won't be too unhappy to stick around with these boys if I have to!

 

 

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Incredible stuff getting to that CL final in the first place, and so closing to winning it. Fantastic effort. The CWC is a pretty decent consolation prize. 

Napoli next?.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks @Paul186- my trophy cabinet hasn't been been mega-impressive in this career but yeah, bagged a few.

And thanks too Mr @BatiGoal- alas, your guess was incorrect....

Season Twenty Seven

We got off on the wrong foot - the rise from the bottom of Serie C to world champions just not good enough for some, apparently.........

Spoiler

267332153_Screenshot_20200228-084051_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.12e2cdb331ac37615d0390f6c39d04bb.jpg

As Pagana had "done his job" and was unlikely to get us much further, I decided to use better strikers, with Corchia stepping up nicely. Clean sweep with my old mate Lencioni taking third...

Spoiler

671550819_Screenshot_20200228-145021_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b6aa48329fd31c59406709ff9919840b.jpg

Corchia went mental in Sicily:

Spoiler

1672516038_Screenshot_20200228-150817_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.048c6187a20152dfc3edfdc04d01d5c9.jpg

Sending us top:

Spoiler

1392811632_Screenshot_20200228-150825_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.b063a5a579df4e921b08a3648187f976.jpg

But with Pagana having earned enough miles to get us to Napoli.......

Spoiler

313518118_Screenshot_20200228-150757_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.4ea0eacc604149cb4b26c5af0d35c267.jpg

We decided... not to:

Screenshot_20200228-150246_Maps.thumb.jpg.3a29f438d7902ca211fe76cc23198968.jpg

And instead...

1362144164_Screenshot_20200228-150850_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1a45ef731d06f409c08e99f03246d067.jpg

Yes it's off to the city of Caserta, famous for its 1200-room UNESCO World Heritage Site Royal Palace, as well as (not so much) this beautiful stadium:

Stadio-pinto-di-caserta.thumb.jpg.dce21a4857afa3bac5808fd74e8e5700.jpg

Yes, off to join Casertana, who've twice made it to Serie B in their history, only to be immediately relegated both times.

Casertana_F.C._logo.png.553700e540e85a7d560ff1fb9045c9c2.png

Could I make it a hat-trick?! :D

1546473667_Screenshot_20200228-164239_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.1cc1a7a421af065cbf036ec51e86f229.jpg

Of course, I needed a new hero!

2044601411_Screenshot_20200228-162714_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.265c425b49409468dd339bfd83d6b09f.jpg

He looked alright, and he scored in a very encouraging debut win for me:

Spoiler

906527875_Screenshot_20200228-164110_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.5d344aef69580a8047b7ead66a6e1ba1.jpg

But as ever, I messed up the screenshots, so I did this to show that was his first goal of the season:

Spoiler

549958491_Screenshot_20200228-164217_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.2642373effd2cb694720fa3af4a19f89.jpg

I also missed showing that we were just outside the playoffs when I arrived, languishing in mid-table in 11th or so. But a fast start for me saw three of my attackers go straight into the following Team of the Month:

Spoiler

258444094_Screenshot_20200229-142308_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.5a275cde372b723bf2a7aa1bdddb06bf.jpg

We did get knocked out of the Serie C Cup though:

Spoiler

838453706_Screenshot_20200229-144326_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.e15d2918172609297da3eb49ba7c8bde.jpg

And we lost our man to a minor injury...

Spoiler

125881739_Screenshot_20200229-154732_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.dad92f377a1b9a22fe355189d934c0e7.jpg

But we did well enough to get into the top 5 by the end of the season, although the top two were simply uncatchable:

170981555_Screenshot_20200303-154638_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.e1f6c80458cfbcc8fb709a01dc74f636.jpg

My winger got player of the year:

Spoiler

2084660795_Screenshot_20200303-161804_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.80d38994ed0f15eb3f986987b72ac8cb.jpg

And he was joined by his mate in Team of the Year:

Spoiler

2117042451_Screenshot_20200303-161819_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.7d1a70880618cbaf6c529527ff11a3dd.jpg

The playoffs started pretty nicely:

Spoiler

1845230494_Screenshot_20200303-155714_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.422cc8ff1ef81f6e261b05d60c2160e1.jpg

And we were rolling to such an extent that I had to just bang it out, worrying that leaving the game would reset my luck or something. So we made it all the way to the decider, and...

Spoiler

471639746_Screenshot_20200303-170640_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.f0743473a6c818d1e9ff90335ce8eeb9.jpg

All three goals scored by my reserve wingers there, with one of the main boys missing the end of the playoffs due to an injury :(

So promotion again, another to add to my Neil Warnock challenge - I'm up to nine on this save now, I think.

My boy ended up with a solid 23 goals:

476295564_Screenshot_20200303-170750_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.0fad6e5a2639450cd9995af20390e862.jpg

Meanwhile, alas, Latina couldn't hold on to top spot without me. Look at my ex-clubs lined up 2nd to 4th :D

Spoiler

1519674736_Screenshot_20200303-170117_FM20Mobile.thumb.jpg.9de9e13a60f1e0787f2f0ab375b039c8.jpg

 

And at long last, an updated summary of the journey so far!

1338469960_ScreenShot2020-03-03at22_55_07.thumb.png.6e0724a4f06697d9c85aa2230739578b.png558228205_ScreenShot2020-03-03at23_58_06.thumb.png.3c1c69c15627006ada29a6379d3c89b5.png

NEXT TIME - back in Serie B - all about seeing how far south we can get now in the final 10% of the career

Edited by Mr Tree
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wonderful journey so far. Balls denying me a correct prediction 😂 but very nice choice in going with the lesser knowns. 

Now speed south, man, pedal to the metal!! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...