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Scab

Scab

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So, I'm proud to say - Vasco Sport Club are the champions of Asia!:thup:

Congrats! :cool:

Scab and JSalter - congratulations to both of you on the respective promotions! How do you each rate your chances of survival?

I'm pretty confident. We've had a good pre-season and the squad is (ever so slightly) stronger than last year. Unless I run into team blend/tactical issues I think we should be able to avoid relegation; it's just the one bottom place until the First Division is done expanding.

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Spleen!

Spleen!

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Scab and JSalter - congratulations to both of you on the respective promotions! How do you each rate your chances of survival?

Thanks. I think we should be good enough to survive, I don't think the difference between the Premier League and the bottom of the Super League is that big. I've signed 2 or 3 players that will go straight into my 1st XI, so we should be good enough.

Well done on winning the Champions League :thup:

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brettney1980

brettney1980

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Brettneys Indonesian Adventure;

Profile - Personal.

Club: Yahukimo FC

"Brettney Sastrowardoyo promises Entertainment"

Club is based in Wamena in West Papua ..

YahukimoFCMap.jpg

Wamena is the capital town of the Jayawijaya Regency of Indonesia. It is the largest town in Indonesian Papua's highlands, in the Baliem Valley and has a population of around 10,000. Wamena is the urban centre of a rural area housing West Papua's highest concentration of population, with over 300 000 people inhabiting the Baliem Valley and surrounding areas. These people belong to a number of related ethnic groups, the most prominent of which are referred to as Dani, Lani and Yali.

Because of its relatively isolated location, the main form of access to the town is air travel. Trigana Air, Aviastar Mandiri, Susi Air and Merpati serve the airport.

The town is also home to Persiwa Wamena football team, who play in Indonesia's premiere league as well as us Persekaba Yahukimo FC.

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rancer890

rancer890

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Just found the iranian leauge :D going to vacation now :D then im on!!!!

Can you tell me which file you found so I can add it in the OP. Cheers. :thup:

Congrats on your run iseemonsters. Hopefully you can beat the UEFA Champions League winner next time. :)

Welcome to the challenge brettney. Good luck with Yahukimo, one of the few clubs in Indonesia that doesn't start with a P...

---

And one more thing. I realized that the J-League db isn't the most up-to-date, and a couple players (Yuki Abe - Leicester, Eiji Kawashima - Lierse) appear twice. Sit tight if you want to manage in Japan while I find a suitable replacement...although I will try and update the file and see what info I can find to get the latest squads for Japanese based clubs.

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brettney1980

brettney1980

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Thanks guys, fancied a shot in Indonesia ever since someone did an whole history of football in Indonesia thing in here last year .. Or was it the years before!?

Anyway one of my big requirements when i was picking a club out was to not begin with a P. the other being from West Papua.

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Sazchu

Sazchu

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aqefs.jpg

~Sham Shui Po ~ Hong Kong First Division ~ Season 3 2024/25~

~League~

The 3rd season saw us play pretty well in the league which was close for the most part with the exception of south china as is often the case,

with only two losses in our first 9 games we were in a decent position ni the league and didnt have much trouble, the second part of the season was a little bit better but still similar in many ways,

in the end we managed to grab 4th place in the league which saw us move up one spot further than the previous season, slow steady and good progress up the table, in 3 more seasons we should be the champions according to those statistics.

League Table

Fixture List

Fixture List2]/url]

~Cups~

Most the time we do horrible in the cups, this time was a bit different though.

We played above our ablities throughout the Senior Shield, including a win on penalties against South China in the quarter final, we managed to reach the final game where we met Kitchee, with the whole nation watching the game on tv we managed to secure a victory, the club's first trophy while under my control.

We managed to get out of our group in the League cup but were stopped by Sun Hei in the Semi Final 1:2.

The FA Cup was another two round game with us beating Tuen Mun in the 1st round before being pummeled by our friends Tai Po 0:4 in the Quarter Final

Our unexpected win in the Senior Shield Final saw the club enter the Confederation Cup where we were in group with victory(MDV), Selangor and Home Utd.

We went easily through the group phase qualifying for the second round.

In the second round we met the mighty Kazma from Kuwait, they ended up not being much trouble and victory saw us through to the next round,

in the Quarter Final two goalless draws meant penalties had to be played and we were through to the Semi Final, something noone would've dreamt about a year ago,

the Semi Final saw us playing Najma from Bahrain and we dealt with the without much trouble.

Then it was time for the biggest game in the club's history, the Asian Confederation Cup Final, our opponents were Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya who were also playing their first ACC final,

the Iraqi team were more threatening throughout the game, with more shots than us, when the referee blew the final whistle when the score was 1:1 which meant extra time, early on in extra time Li Kin Keung scored the final goal of the match securing Sham shui Po the Asian Confederation Cup title.

~Transfers~

No money was on players during the transfer window which saw 4 players come in for free, one of those players would only stay for a year playing only a single game for the club in that time.

Transfers

~Awards and Other~

Hong Kong First Division Team of the Year: Tony

Senior Shield Top goalscorer: 3rd Camilo Rodas

Fan's Player of the year: Tony

Sham Shui Po best XI

[b]Season    Position    Senior Shield    League Cup    FA Cup      Continental[/b]
2022/23        6th     Quarter-final    Group C    Quarter-final         -
2023/24        5th     1st round        Group C    Quarter-final         -
2024/25        4th     Champion     Quarter-final  Quarter-final     ACC Champion

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rancer890

rancer890

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Thanks guys, fancied a shot in Indonesia ever since someone did an whole history of football in Indonesia thing in here last year .. Or was it the years before!?

Anyway one of my big requirements when i was picking a club out was to not begin with a P. the other being from West Papua.

I think it was FM08. Because I remember JSalter playing with Barito Putra when whatever his name told the history of Indonesian fotball IIRC.

Congrats Sazchu on the ACC Cup win. Good luck next year in the league and the ACL Playoff. Nice to see you have finally settled on a club in HK. :)

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rancer890

rancer890

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Not sure which one he's using, but there's one over here.

Cheers for the link Scab. I'll have a look to determine the 'official' one for this challenge. :)

---

And William Hall, welcome to the challenge. First one to manage in the A-League this year IIRC. Just need a confirmation screenie to prove that Newcastle United Jets were last the previous season. Much appreciated cheers. :thup:

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William Hall

William Hall

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Sorry they didn't finish last, they finished second last but in the OP

Please note that Australia, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea (and few more of the new leagues I think) don't have relegation/promotion. If you decide to try those leagues, holiday a year and then choose the club that predicted to be last in the Premier Division of the country.
And they are predicted to come last.

2h5thn4.jpg

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rancer890

rancer890

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Have updated the OP to stop any confusion since I seem to contradict myself in the OP. From now on, future challengers in leagues without promotion/relegation system must start with the club that finished last. Australia and Singapore are examples of leagues where you start with the worst team after a year on holiday. Sorry for the confusion once again.

In Japan, with the file I have, start with the worst JFL club. I know there's relegation from the JFL but the playoff system between the JFL and the regional leagues are impossible to create with the editor. I will attempt to edit some of the players in the near future with the file I have linked in the OP to delete the duplicate players.

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Scab

Scab

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Season 2012 Review - Hubei Kangtian in the Chinese National First Division

Table

FA Cup

Quite pleased with a solid 6th, but it's also way too flattering for how we played. Just that we're on negative GD should give you an idea. Thankfully it's a really even league, so scraping wins and draws here and there did the trick. I do need to work on my tactics though; it's frustrating how we can play convincingly and win 1-0 against the league leaders one week, then lose 3-4 to relegation battlers the next.

Finances

Can you guess where our "normal" league payout bonus killed my bank balance? :p Will really need to pay more attention to the exact sum next season...

Squad

Transfers

Lots of players in, most of them largely disappointing. Xianjun was the exception, but with those attributes he'd do okay in a Super League squad. Li Feng spent almost the entire season out injured, driving his morale into the ground, so once he got the chance he just wasn't up for it. I'll really need to get the goal-scoring going if we're to improve.

Aim for next season: Sort out the tactics. I'll be happy enough to just finish mid-table for now.

Season   League                  Finish   Achievements
2011     Second Division South   1st      Playoff finalists, Promotion via league expansion
2012     First Division          6th      -

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Spleen!

Spleen!

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Persiter Ternate - 2015/16 Review

Indonesian Super League: 5th (Media prediction 18th)

Indonesian Cup: Lost in Round 1

Once again, we overachieve and finish in a brilliant 5th place. Not only that, but we lost the least number of games (4 in 34), and had the best defence in the league. We also drew 17 of the 34 league games, and if we'd have turned a few of those into wins, we could have even won the title. The basis for our high finish was our home record: we were unbeaten at home, and only conceded 5 goals.

We were never actually in contention for the title, but were also never threatened by relegation, sitting comfortably in mid table for the majority of the season, before pushing up to 5th later on.

Finances

The prize money from our 5th place, £180k, makes our balance look quite good!

Best Eleven

Rico Agustiono was our top scorer again, with 14 goals in 28 games, including 4 in a 5-0 win over eventual champions Persija (he also missed a penalty). The other star of the season was Ecuadorian Luis Angulo. Signed on a free at the start of the season, he was rock in the centre of defence. Angulo wasn't the only signing from South America this season, Chilean Fabian Acosta is another quality player signed on a free.

Targets for next season: do at least as well again in the league, actually do something in the cup.

The Super League is currently ranked 28th in Asia.

Season	Division		MP	Finish	Cup	Asia	Notes
2011/12	First Division		4th	6th	R1	n/a
2012/13	First Division		4th	1st	R1	n/a	First Division Champions
2013/14	Premier Division	11th	10th	R1	n/a
2014/15	Premier Division	11th	1st	R2	n/a	Premier Division Champions	
2015/16	Super League		18th	5th	R1	n/a

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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Thanks for the congrats all! :thup:

Scab - good job staying up! The good thing about relatively evenly matched leagues is that it doesn't take too many changes to catapult up into the top few places... but then it also doesn't take much to slip into the relegation mire! Good luck next season - Xianjun looks way better than any of my Vasco players.

JSalter - nice season! :thup: It looks pretty even in your game too - what do you think the chances are of you being even higher next season? Nice to be able to sign South Americans. I'm limited to Ghana and Nigeria outside of Asia.

Sazchu - impressive season with the Senior Shield win and then the continental success! Good luck in the ACL next season. :thup:

Well done mate :thup: Just out of interest, are you planning to do the international part of the challenge once you complete the domestic parts?

I'll definitely give it a go - whether I have the commitment to take India to a World Cup victory... I don't know! On the other hand, India U-19s have won the Asian U-19 Championships for the past two competitions, so you never know, maybe they can eventually be contenders.

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rancer890

rancer890

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Scab - solid first season in the Jia League. Hopefully you can improve next season and can sort out those tactics.

William Hall - Gratz on finishing step 1. Good luck in the ACL. :)

JSalter - nice to see you survived the first season in the Super League. Hope you don't suffer from S^3 (second season syndrome :p)

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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Vasco Sport Club

vasconormal.png

Indian National Football League 2016/17 (Season 6)

National Football League: 1st

Federation Cup: Winners (defeated JCT in Final)

Durand Cup: Winners (defeated Pune FC in Final)

Indian Super Cup: Winners (defeated Mohun Bagan)

Asian Champions League: 2016 - Winners (defeated Osaka AC in Final), 2017 - Quarter-Finals (2nd in Group B - Competition not yet completed)

Club World Championship: 3rd (lost to Inter in semi-final, defeated New York Red Bulls in 3rd place playoff)

Indian National Football League Competition Ranking: 5th in Asia (+4 places)

Season Review: Another year, another clean sweep of the domestic silverware, with comfortable runs in the Federation Cup (where we beat local rivals Dempo 7-0 in a group game) and the Durand Cup leading to victory in both competitions. Interestingly, we defeated arch-rivals Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the semi-finals of both competitions. We also continued our yearly ritual of defeating them in the Indian Super Cup too, though it did take penalties to finally secure us the trophy.

In the league, we weren't quite as dominant as last year, only winning by five points compared to last year's 22 points. However, we only got four less points over the course of the season, so most of the difference can be accounted for by Mohun Bagan's dramatic improvement rather than anything to do with us. We also managed to go unbeaten again, for the third season in a row. We're now in the midst of a run of 83 league games unbeaten - it'll be a sad day when that record finally comes to an end. Also, our title win this season officially makes us the most decorated team in the history of the league, now with five league titles to our name, overtaking Dempo with four. This particular league victory also cemented my place as a club icon, which was satisfying.

Of course, in my last season review I left us in the middle of our Champions League campaign as usual - as you already know, the 2016 campaign eventually ended in a glorious victory, so I won't rehash that here. In the 2017 edition, we overcame Al-Nassr of the UAE and Qadsia of Kuwait to reach the group stage as usual. There we faced Al-Wasl, Saba Battery, and Al-Ahli. I knew the Saudi Arabians of Al-Ahli would be very tough, but I felt confident against the other teams - and so it proved, with Al-Ahli going through at the top of the group and us qualifying comfortably in second (including getting a 3-1 win at home in the last group game against Al-Ahli). In the 2nd Round, we faced Al-Gharrafa of Qatar, who we dispatched in a tight 1-0 game away from home to put us in the Quarter-Finals for the third year in a row.

Finally, we also took part in the Club World Championship, which as already reported resulted in a 3rd place finish and £1.5m boosting our coffers (a portion of which I've convinced the board to spend on youth development).

Notable Transfers - In: Again, evolution not revolution was the name of the game. I am however finally getting to a situation where improvements to the squad come from players that I actually have to pay a fee for, rather than the free transfers I've mostly been getting by on so far. The exception to this rule was striker Dennis Diallo, brother of my central defender Prince Diallo (okay, it doesn't officially say anywhere that they're brothers, but they have the same last name as each other, and were born in the same town in Ghana about 18 months apart). Dennis arrived from Ghana on a free transfer, and hasn't quite hit his stride yet - but my scouts and backroom staff are very enthusiastic about his potential, and at 19 there's plenty of room to grow.

Notable Transfers - Out: Despite making noises about leaving all year, Josimar is still with us, which meant that the only outgoing players were reserves who were out of contract.

My Player of the Season: Josimar - again, he was the pick of the bunch. He just turned 32, but he's still one of the most dominant players in the Indian league. He's also just four goals away from becoming Vasco's all time top scorer, so here's hoping he stays around long enough to achieve that feat.

Most Valuable: Dennis Diallo - £625k

Top Scorer: Josimar - 22 goals (43 appearances)

Fans' Player of the Year: Josimar

Next Season: We'll definitely be hoping to continue our Champions League run, just like we did last season - got to try to get into the Club World Championship whenever possible to maximize our chances of getting one over on the Europeans/South Americans. Mohun Bagan have been getting better, but I still don't think that anyone can challenge us domestically, so we'll look to continue our dominance there. Hopefully the improved youth facilities the board are working on will help raise the quality of our new young players. I'll be keeping one eye on the India job so that when it becomes available, I can hopefully jump at the chance.

[b]Season     Division    Position    Federation Cup    Durand Cup    Continental      Achievements[/b]
2011/12    NFL         7th         2nd - Group B     N/A           N/A              None
2012/13    NFL         1st         Semi-Final        N/A           N/A              Champions
2013/14    NFL         1st         Winners           Winners       CL - 4th Grp B   Domestic treble
2014/15    NFL         1st         Winners           N/A           CL - 1/4 Final   Domestic double
2015/16    NFL         1st         Winners           Winners       Winners          Domestic treble, ACL Winners, 3rd in CWC
2016/17    NFL         1st         Winners           Winners       CL - 1/4 Final*  Domestic treble
*Competition not yet completed

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William Hall

William Hall

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2012/13 Finals Series Review

(as well as the ACL fixtures jammed in between)

Gold Coast United 1 - 0 Newcastle Jets (Major Semi Final Leg 1)

Suwon Bluewings 2 - 3 Newcastle Jets (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

Newcastle Jets 2 - 1 Gold Coast United (lost on away goals) (Major Semi Final Leg 2)

Thanks to the A-League's finals system we are still in it.

Newcastle Jets 5 - 2 Nagoya Stolz (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

Newcastle Jets 6 - 3 Central Coast Mariners (Preliminary Final)

Beijing Guo'an 0 - 1 Newcastle Jets (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

Typically my top scorer and my goalkeeper are on international duty for the Grand Final, this has to be fixed.

Gold Coast United 1 - 1 Newcastle Jets (6-5 Gold Coast United win on penalties) (Grand Final)

We lose the Grand Final but nonetheless we qualify for next seasons Asian Champions League.

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William Hall

William Hall

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2012/13 Other Asian Champions League Match Reviews

Newcastle Jets 2 - 0 Suwon Bluewings (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

Qualified for Second Round

Nagoya Stolz 1 - 2 Newcastle Jets (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

Newcastle Jets 2 - 1 Beijing Guo'an (Asian Champions League Group Stage)

End of Group Stage

Newcastle Jets 3 - 0 Brisbane Roar (Asian Champions League Second Round)

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rancer890

rancer890

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Solid season there William Hall. Good luck in the rest of your ACL campaign. :)

Congrats on getting the India job iseemonsters and you didn't have to holiday 5 years to get them...good luck with the international element of the challenge. :)

I updated the top tier league reputations in the OP to match the numbers in FM11. Will be adding some leagues in West Asia in the coming days and will re-upload the J-League db soon to get rid of the duplicate players and try and find a way to make promotion and relegation to and from the JFL work. It won't be 100% realistic that's for sure because of editor limitations, but I'll see what I can do.

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rancer890

rancer890

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He's doing fine, rancer, still playing FM regularly :thup: I can't remember how well he done on this challenge, didn't think he ever got the India job. I do remember him getting sacked several times though.. ;)

Well get him on the computer and have a go at my challenge again! Unless you're hogging the computer and have the copy of FM11. :p

You have one copy in total or one each?

And nice work William Hall getting to the Semis in your first year in the ACL. Good luck in the playoffs. I know first hand how horrible playoffs can be. :)

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William Hall

William Hall

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2013/14 Finals Series Review

and CL games in between

Brisbane Roar 2 - 2 Newcastle Jets (Major Semi Final Leg 1)

Newcastle Jets 2 - 1 Jeonbuk (ACL Group F)

Newcastle Jets 1 - 1 Brisbane Roar (win on away goals) (Major Semi Final Leg 2)

Changchun 0 - 2 Newcastle Jets (ACL Group F)

FC Hiroshima 1 - 4 Newcastle Jets (ACL Group F

Newcastle Jets 3 - 0 Brisbane Roar

We've won the Grand Final! But lets get past Step 1 soon.

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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Good luck with India, iseemonsters1. I tried and failed to win the world cup with them in FM09 so I'll be keeping an eye out to see if you can! :thup:

What are the players currently like? Do India have anyone anywhere near world class yet?

Thanks STR - do you have any tips for me? :p

We don't have anybody even close to world class yet. The previous manager retired from football at the age of 61 (presumably out of embarrassment) after their last result, a 0-0 draw with the Northern Mariana Islands, a team so illustrious they haven't even been given a world ranking.

For their part, India are currently ranked 148th in the world, below such footballing powerhouses as Nepal, Tahiti, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. They've only qualified for one competition since I started the game, the Asian Challenge Cup in 2016, where they promptly crashed out in the group stage. They haven't even been close to qualifying for the Asian Cup, the Olympics, or the World Cup.

On the other hand, the majority of their squad are regulars in my Vasco team, which just won the Champions League. The challenge will be to get them to replicate their club form at international level - that way we might at least make it to a major tournament.

There is some hope for the future too - the India U-19s won the Asian U-19 Championship in 2014 (when it was held in India), and then successfully defended their title in Japan in 2016. As these players start to make their way into the senior squad, maybe we'll start to see some progress.

Thanks for the congrats all - definitely looking forward to the challenge, as well as keeping on trying to take that final step with Vasco and win the Club World Championship!

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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Totally off-topic but as someone with HK roots and a supporter of Asian football, Nicky Butt, yes that Nicky Butt!!! signs with South China!

*WELCOME TO HONG KONG NICKY BUTT* :D :D

I heard rumours about that possibly happening last week - even if he's not on £200k p/w I bet he's still on a pretty decent wage - I bet some of the people playing this challenge wish we could afford to pay our players those kind of wages! :p

I don't know how closely you follow this stuff Rancer - but any thoughts on how well he might do? One last payday, or do you think he could make an impact?

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rancer890

rancer890

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I heard rumours about that possibly happening last week - even if he's not on £200k p/w I bet he's still on a pretty decent wage - I bet some of the people playing this challenge wish we could afford to pay our players those kind of wages! :p

I don't know how closely you follow this stuff Rancer - but any thoughts on how well he might do? One last payday, or do you think he could make an impact?

Well he's on a 3 month contract for the time being. He's going to have to get back into match fitness since he took that pundit job with ESPN. But as you probably know since you're an American, not all DPs on MLS work out. A lot of Hong Kong football fans will want to see him though. I know many football fans in HK love Man United.

But in a football standpoint, I don't really see how much he can do in only 3 months. I hope he's in the next DB in the next patch though.

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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But as you probably know since you're an American, not all DPs on MLS work out.

I'm actually a British expat, but I've lived in the US for the past three years! :p I try my best to keep using British spelling on these forums (lots of extra Us, lots fewer Zs) so that nobody knows I've gone over to the other side! :p The Butt situation should be interesting to follow either way. :thup:

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iseemonsters1

iseemonsters1

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Vasco Sport Club

Asian Champions League 2017 Update

The continuing story of this year's Champions League campaign...

Beijing Guo'an 2-1 Vasco - Asian Champions League Quarter Final (1st Leg)

Beijing were going to be serious competition for the defending champions, and they proved as much with a thoroughly deserved 2-1 win in the first leg in China. They had the advantage in terms of shots and possession, and led 2-0 at the half-time interval. We were a little better in the second half, with my new signing, Azerbaijan international midfielder Elvin Aliyev grabbing what could be a vital away goal on 53 minutes. However, our chances of progression were made more complicated when another new signing, midfielder Khokon Hossain, got sent off just after the hour mark. We held the deficit to just one goal, which meant there was all to play for in the home leg.

Vasco 2-1 Beijing Guo'an (Agg: 3-3 Pens: 9-8) - Asian Champions League Quarter Final (2nd Leg)

Beijing came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in the second leg, and scored after just 18 minutes to eliminate our away goals advantage and make the tie 3-1 on aggregate - a lead they must surely have been hopeful of hanging on to. We had also lost first choice striker Dennis Diallo to an ankle injury that would rule him out for up to six weeks after just five minutes. But the Beijing goal was just the shot in the arm we needed to spur us into action, and we were level on the night just past the half hour mark with a goal from left back Suresh Hansda. Early in the second half, attacking midfielder Manish Maithani got the goal that we needed to level the tie. But despite a barrage of shots from the Vasco attack throughout the rest of normal time and on into extra time, Beijing held on to take the tie to penalties. And what an epic penalty shoot out it was, with all eleven players from each team getting to take a spot kick before our young goalkeeper Mohd Towdihul Mishu slotted the decisive kick past his opposite number for a legendary victory.

Al-Hilal 4-2 Vasco - Asian Champions League Semi Final (1st Leg)

Al-Hilal, the champions of two years ago, were undoubtedly the toughest draw we could have gotten - their squad is packed with foreign stars, and while ACL rules obviously prevent them from fielding all of them, they would undoubtedly be formidable opposition. And my worst fears were confirmed as the Saudi Arabians raced out to a 3-0 lead with only 20 minutes gone. Defender Prince Diallo pulled one back midway through the first half, but Al-Hilal restored their three goal advantage with a little over a quarter of an hour left to play. With time ticking down, I was fairly convinced that this would be the end of our Champions League adventure - but then in injury time, Sabeeth got another goal for us to make the final score 4-2. A defeat on the night, yes, but those two away goals could prove to be vital...

Vasco 3-1 Al-Hilal (Agg: 5-5 - Vasco win on away goals) - Asian Champions League Semi Final (2nd Leg)

Our chances of progressing took another hit before the second leg as our prolific striker and talisman Josimar picked up an injury that would rule him out of the game. With Dennis Diallo also out, we would be without our two first choice strikers and looking to overcome a 2 goal deficit. We started brightly, and young back up striker Mahmudul Pintu scored a penalty to put us back within striking distance after 19 minutes. Ten minutes before half time, however, my third choice striker Sabeeth was injured, meaning that my fourth and fifth choice forwards would be tasked with helping us to get another goal and progress in unlikely circumstances. Not only that, but just after the hour mark, the Saudi Arabians equalized on the night to make the aggregate score 5-3, and surely end our hopes of reaching the final once and for all. Only they didn't - with our backup strikers battling hard but failing to make an impact on the visitors' defence, our midfield stepped up with Khokon Hossain restoring our lead on the night after 65 minutes, and then Azerbaijan midfielder Elvin Aliyev scored the goal on 78 minutes that sent the record home crowd into raptures and put Vasco through to their second consecutive Champions League final on away goals.

Vasco 0-2 Seongnam - Asian Champions League Final

After an epic but emotionally draining run to the final, we would face a superior Seongnam side at the Umm-Affai stadium in Qatar for the chance to repeat our success of a year ago and defend our Champions League title. But despite Josimar and Dennis Diallo returning to the side to ease our attacking injury crisis, it was not to be. While we had a controversial penalty appeal turned down, there was no doubting who the better side was on the night, and the South Korean side came away with a thoroughly deserved 2-0 victory as we fell at the final hurdle.

Nevertheless, the run to the final was an adrenaline pumping thrill ride with some epic comebacks and nail-biting moments that I really enjoyed, even if we couldn't quite get the fairytale ending we wanted - still really pleased with our performance this season. Roll on next year and our chance to get our revenge! :thup:

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rancer890

rancer890

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I'm actually a British expat, but I've lived in the US for the past three years! :p I try my best to keep using British spelling on these forums (lots of extra Us, lots fewer Zs) so that nobody knows I've gone over to the other side! :p The Butt situation should be interesting to follow either way.

lol your location tells it all though. You're in America. ;)

Thought all along you were an American who dislikes the word 'soccer' and the use of other American terms in football at all costs. Kinda like me. :p

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rancer890

rancer890

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North Queensland Fury manager Mark Schwarzer has been appointed ahead of the A-League's most successful manager William Hall. :(

Tough luck there William Hall. :thdn:

As much as Australia deserves to have a World Cup eventually, I'm hoping 2022 World Cup goes to the US of A (since there's no way Canada will ever get to host a World Cup because we don't have the facilities). Then I can start saving money and hopefully seeing the World Cup in the US in 12 years time. :p

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