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Career RFC Liège: Witness The Return To Glory


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Hi All,

This is my very first post and career thread.
I hope you will enjoy my write-up.

I picked up FMM22 mobile after considering FMM21 during the pandemic last year and reading some great stories on the board.
Don't have any FMM experience yet, but I did play FM06 - FM09 religiously during my school days.

Let me know if you like the style, what you would like to see / hear more off, and I will try to adapt.
It has been a minute since writing so much text in English, so I hope it will improve over time.
 
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Enter the Swiss bastard

Chapter 2:

 
 
 
 
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Enter the Swiss bastard

 

I would like to say that I have been extremely successful in the boutique consultancy, which I have been working for the last 10 years after graduating. I have been their man with numbers, and today I had delivered another exciting seminar talking about how business should use data to be successful. Using the reference of a construction company in Germany, just across the border, and how using data had transformed their business from a local tip to a regional powerhouse. And while it all felt so satisfying, I was yearning for more. Maybe they would finally make me partner in a year or two….

 
I looked up from my sad looking cup of tea, as a man rushed into the small coffee shop that I was solely occupying.
I was typing up my notes in preparation for my flight back, just outside Schiphol airport, as the man drenched by rain entered the shop and glanced at me.
The summer was pretty bad even by Dutch standards, and he violently shook his umbrella to get rid of any raindrops that had remained.
I took another glance and recognised the man, he had partook in the seminar I held earlier.
 
“Apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you, but I have been thinking a lot about some things you said…and I hoped we could talk.”, he said while he slowly approached me. I had been pursued quite aggressively in the past by some vendors that did not like the evaluation we did for a client, so I always kept an eye out for a quick exit, but this time I was a bit stumped.
 
“Well then, take a seat.” I gestured towards the empty chair on the other side of the table and analysed the man, while thinking how I would get out here if the situation gets sticky.
He was about 165 cm tall, wore an expensive purple suit with a white shirt, had lively brown eyes, which were analysing my response.
He wore multiple golden rings, making quite a rich impression and has Arabian roots based on his hair, face and complexion.
As he pulled out the chair and sat down, I did remember that he had asked a number of questions, questioning how numbers can help to deal with complex businesses, large fluctuations and uncertainties.
And the bastard consultant that I am just cockily answered “To a certain degree everything is uncertain, we just need to figure out how likely we will be right.”
He ordered a coffee and then started talking after his first sip.
“I looked you up Mr. Muller, you seem to be quite the wizard with data.”, he said.
“I am not big on the compliments, sorry may I ask for your name?”, I replied and took a sip of my tea.
It tasted bland, but hopefully the conversation would spice things up.
 
"The name is Mohammed, my friends call me Mo, but you sir…."
“Married, firstborn son is 6 years old and second kid on the way. You have been personally involved in pushing multiple startups into strong positions as part of your company. You have been instrumental in the rise of your consultancy when it comes to data driven decision-making to accelerate company growth and fostering strengths.”
“Sounds like, you know my data instead of yours”, I interrupted him.
He chuckled. “Maybe, but I think I have an opportunity that will tickle your fancy.”
He reached into a suitcase I barely noticed before and retrieved a contract.
4000. € a week, and another 2000.- € a week if I met my standard bonus objects, after tax.
Who is this guy, and what does he want?
 
“This sounds mad…and there is literally not description telling me what you need from me”
Mo grinned and slid a business card across the table, it contained a qr code and some coordinates.
He immediately stood up and left.
Fuck, now he got me curious.
 
3 hours later, I had cancelled my flight and took a rental car all the way from Amsterdam, crossed the border to Belgium, and was driving  round the outskirts of the city of Liège or Lüttich if you speak German. I took a couple more turns, and it looked like I arrived at my destination.
It looked like a large training ground, which was like 1 hour west from Aachen Germany, where I had another consulting gig lined up in 1 week's time.
My wife and my colleagues will be so pissed if I take this job.
 
image.jpeg.a6c8d43da5fc446fabd56f3063487df0.jpeg
 
It looked like a friendly was being played on the pitch, and I could see Mo and a couple other people standing by the side, so I walked over to approach them.
I was just going to open my mouth and tell him I was excited to watch Standard play as Mo called out.
“Here he is! Mr. Muller welcome to Stade de Rocourt, home of the glorious Royal Football Club de Liège.”
Fuck me, this is the first time I heard of these glorious bastards...
 
Thijs Boogaerts, Assistant Manager and Goalkeeping Coach of RFC started showing me around the ground and started pointing out some players on the pitch, with his broken English as my French and Dutch are extremely limited.
While extremely charming, I was worried about his beer belly, and I wasn’t sure how serious he was, exclaiming things such as  “You see Valery out there? He is a sniper and could hit the left nut of a fly from outside the penalty area”, when the same player a minute later shot the ball straight at the keeper to then hit the rebound wide.
I still wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do here.
 
The Match was over and Mo called Thijs to bring me a long into the Staff Room, where the rest of the staff and some board members, I wasn’t quite sure, where waiting.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as you know a club of our stature.”, Mo started as soon as I entered the room, “The fourth club to register with the FA and the first club to ever win the First Division, we decided we need more drive.”
Fucking hell, Mo might be a better consultant than I am, that man can talk.
“..and tonight, I present to a man with passion, with drive, they call him the number man, and he will lead us back to glory, Fabio Muller our new manager”
 
I was shocked, my curiosity brought me here, but I never signed any papers, did he think he could pressure me into the job?
“Boss, do you think you can lead us back to our glory days in first division?”, Laurentz Deltombe asked.
I had met the man during my tour, and while he was the club's only physio, he could barely tell a toe from a finger. They should count themselves lucky that Laurentz had not accidentally led anyone into an early end of their career by accidentally amputating a foot while trying to patch them up with a band aid. 
"That is a loaded question Laurentz, I need to look into the data.", I replied, dodging the question as good as I can.
Mo grinned, “As you can see, Mr. Muller will need some time to go through the facts, but he is a quick learner and will pick up your names with ease. I am confident, give him some time, and he will pick up the languages, and get accustomed to all of us. I am aware that he does not have a football background, but he has some experience at club level before he joined university.”
The whole room clapped like it was Jesus second coming….
My club level experience? U12...what the
 
I tried to shoot daggers at across the room at Mo, as low-key as possible, and stood there shell shocked while the room slowly emptied.
“Mr. Muller, how about you take a look at the data and tell me what is certain and what isn’t.”
My face probably was melting, luckily I don’t get red when I am angry….
"If you succeed, and you can bring my dear RFC to their rightful place, and maybe  tick off the one or other objective of mine… I will handsomely reward you with € 2’500’000.- . And I will add that to the contract."
Look I am not in the need of money, but now I just thought: You prick, it's on.
 
I spend another couple hours going through the club's finances and getting the details on the club
  • The board wants us to get promoted from the First Amateur Division to Division B
  • While I had complained that my lunch expense of €15 as a consultant was too low, the transfer budget was even lower at rock-bottom 0 €.
    • 82% of the Wage Budget is already spent
 
After researching the highlights and some players I knew…shit this will be an uphill battle.
179222240_FM22Mobile_2021-12-28-19-40-49.thumb.jpg.1c23db9ca704a930e4e1db79d22dc939.jpg
 
1345232612_FM22Mobile_2021-12-28-19-41-16.thumb.jpg.dfaace6432cde52274dacb895c535d07.jpg275082547_FM22Mobile_2021-12-28-19-41-39.thumb.jpg.e9b52edb814c17efe938f44a38002406.jpg1729600186_FM22Mobile_2021-12-28-19-41-54.thumb.jpg.dfb21e19e364597eed2cd636d16929d6.jpg
 
Edited by fmAreMyInitials
updated title, added toc
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