The Ultimate Football Manager Challenge

[XuluBak]

 

Recreativo Granada

2021-2022

I admittedly went into my first season managing Recreativo Granada a bit clueless about some nuances of managing a B side, so this was a crash course learning experience. After a bumpy start, we found a good run of form that had us near playoff places heading into winter break. At which point, the first team poached our top striker and CB, while our 2nd striker, that I'd signed pay-as-you-play, was poached from someone willing to give him a full-time contract. That was followed by one win in three months, without scoring more than one goal in a single match. It wasn't pretty. At the tail end of that poor run, we switched to 4411, and things finally started going our way again, closing out the season with four wins from six to finish 9th. Just good enough for 'top half' that the board had requested. 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

I have a fondness for Granada, and this was a great option to begin my managerial career, but always a short-term option to get my foot in the door. I resigned shortly after the conclusion of the season, and spent the summer working on my National B and applying for positions all over the place. Some interest to take over larger B teams around Spain, but I wanted something that would offer me greater control. Dulwich Hamlet (VNL South) made an offer, and I was tempted, but decided to hold off and see what happened early in the 2022-23 season...

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by XuluBak

[XuluBak]

 

Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D.

 

My decision to wait and see what came available in the fall seems to have worked out quite nicely. I'd have been happy with a lateral move, but Racing offered a massive and entirely unexpected jump at this point in my journey. The newly promoted side had taken seven points, with one win, from eleven. Not quite bottom, but firmly in the relegation zone. It looks like the previous manager was trying to do too much, too soon, but I think they've got enough to stay up, 

[Crispypaul]

  

  

   Crispypaul
Sevilla
La Liga
2040/41

League - Season Review 1 | Season Review 2 - had a very close run against Athletico but managed to lift the title in the penultimate game.

Cup - Fixtures  - Couple of lower league teams thumped early on.  Three home ties were passed comfortably, and local rivals Betis were beaten over two legs in the semis. In the final, even at half time but a goal just after the break and an Athletico player getting sent off on 60 minutes led to us lifting the cup.

Europa League - Fixtures | Table - boring run through the groups, then had Atalanta in the 2nd knockout round whom we defeated over two legs.  Thumped Monaco at home in the quarters then had a score draw away.  Unfortunately PSG were too much for us in the semi final.

Finances - all fine.

Transfers - filled some holes in the squad, helped by Roma buying one of our players for a lot. 

Squad

Key players:

Esau - super prolific striker

Jeremy Odutayo - previously managed him at Napoli, was great in Spain too

Jaime - strong left back

Afonso Ramalho - top class winger

Kris Roelandt - great Belgian winger

Darlan - veteran striker was very prolific also

Mark Sorenson - excellent Danish wonderkid

Uruguay

 

WC Qualifying 2042 - I forgot screenshots but we should qualify for this

 

Future: with Spain (and the domestic side) all done I resigned to focus on Uruguay.  I just have the Copa America left and that's it (although I will leave Uruguay if Brazil or Argentina come up after the World Cup).

Domestic
Season	 Team			Division		Position			Notes						
2020/21  Cape Town Spurs     	South African 1st  	 1st				Champions, Promoted
2021/22	 Cape Town Spurs	South African Prem	 2nd				Qualified for Champions League
2022/23	 Cape Town Spurs	South African Prem	 1st				Won CAF CL, Cup, Resigned at end of season
2023/24	 Tigres			Liga MX		 	 4th/1st			Won both Apertura and Clausura, qualifed for CL
2024/25	 Tigres			Liga Mx		    	 1st/1st			Won Apertura, Leagues Cup, CONCACAF CL
2025	 Suwon Samsung Bluewings K League 1		 2nd				Won KFA Cup
2026	 Suwon Samsung Bluewings K League 1		 1st				Won KFA Cup, AFC Champions League
2026/27	 Hamburg		1. Bundesliga	         17th				Joined February, Relegated, Resigned
2027/28	 Fenerbahce		Turkish Superleague	 1st				Won Turkish Cup, Europa Conference League
2028/29	 Hoffenheim		1. Bundesliga		 2nd				Won German Cup
2029/30	 Hoffenheim		1. Bundesliga	     	 1st				Won German Cup, Lost in CL final, resigned
2030/31	 Everton		Premier League		n/a				Left after 48 days
2030/31	 PSG			Ligue Un		1st				Won French Cup, lost in CL final, resigned
2031/32	 Boca Juniors		Liga Profesional	1st				- 
2032/33	Boca Juniors		Liga Profesional	1st				Won Cup, Copa Libertadores, CWC 3rd place
2033/34	Napoli			Serie A			2nd				-
2034/35	Napoli			Serie A			1st				Won Cup, CL, resigned
2035/36	Liverpool		EPL			1st				Won FA Cup and Europa League
2036/37	Liverpool		EPL			1st				Won FA Cup, CL, CWC
2037/38	n/a
2038/39	n/a
2039/40	n/a
2040/41	Sevilla			La Liga			1st				Won Copa Del Rey, resigned




International
Year	   	Team				Achievements
2023		Nigeria				Won AFCON, resigned after
2026		Iran				Appointed after World Cup
2027 		Iran				Lost in Asian Cup SF, resigned
2028/29		England				Won Nations League
2029/30		England				Won 2030 World Cup
2030/31		England				Won Nations League
2031/32		England				Won Euro 2032, resigned
2034/35		Mexico				Won Gold Cup
2035/36		Mexico				Resigned
2035/36		Maldives			Went on a free holiday, resigned
2036/37 	England				lost in Nations League final
2037/38		England				Lost in WC final, resigned
2038/39		Australia			Won Asian Cup, resigned
2039/40		n/a
2040-41		Uruguay				

			
Challenge Progress

Club
 10/10 top domestic leagues (Cape Town Spurs, South Africa, 22/23; Tigres, Mexico, 23/24; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, South Korea, 2026; Fenerbahce, Turkey, 2027/28; Hoffenheim, Germany, 2029/30; PSG, France, 2030/31; Boca Juniors, Argentina, 2031/32; Napoli, Italy, 2034/35; Liverpool, England, 2035/36; Sevilla, Spain, 2040/41)
 10/10 domestic cups (Cape Town Spurs, South Africa, 22/23; Tigres, Mexico, 23/24; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, South Korea, 2025; Fenerbahce, Turkey, 2027/28; Hoffenheim, Germany, 2028/29; PSG, France, 2030/31; Boca Juniors, Argentina, 2032/33; Napoli, Italy, 2034/35; Liverpool, England, 2035/36; Sevilla, Spain, 2040/41)
 5/5 club continental championships (Cape Town Spurs, Africa, 22/23; Tigres, North America, 24/25; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Asia, 2026; Boca Juniors, South America, 2032/33; Napoli, Europe, 2034/35)
 1/1 club world championship (Liverpool, 2037)

International
 4/5 continental tournaments (Nigeria, Africa, 2023; England, Europe, 2032; Mexico, North America, 2035; Australia, Asia, 2039)
 1/1 world tournaments (England, 2030)

Edited March 7, 2022 by Crispypaul

[Crispypaul]

Real Madrid still haven't sacked Zidane - he finished 5th again and trophy-less.  That'll make it ten years since Real Madrid have won any silverware if he sees out the season.

71 year old Diego Simeone also signs another contract to 2043, which would mean he would have been at the club for 32 years if he sees it out.

I have no idea what is going on in Spain with the managers there.

[goonergez]

Black Leopards: January 2022

The beginning six weeks of my managerial career has come to an end and with it my first few matches in charge as well as an entire transfer window have come and gone. My first match in charge was on the day of my appointment as I took my side to divisional rivals Hungry Lions FC in the preliminary round of the South African FA Cup. We got my reign off to the perfect start by taking the lead in the opening minute of the game, holding on to win the contest 1-0 and book our spot in the proper stages of the competition. We've been given a tough draw away against top flight side SuperSport United in the First Round.

We've managed to win all three of my league matches in charge so far and already things look much better than they did when I took charge of the club. The first league match was a tough one where we did well to fight back from a goal down to win, before we beat Polokwane City in a satisfying victory. Our opponents that day being the side who rejected my attempts to take over as manager shortly before I was hired with this club. We ended January against AmaTuks who sat second in the league and comfortably clear of us in the table We took an early lead through a penalty and then held on well. My reign has seen advances made and so far I have to be extremely pleased.

We've climbed up to the middle of the table and that's a very pleasing beginning indeed. I said when I took charge that I felt there was a lot more quality in the squad that had been shown and so far we've done it. I still believe making the play-offs will prove to far for us but we've definitely shown we can make a top half spot our own. Off the field I have made moves to strengthen the financial side of things by allowing three players to depart the club. Clearing the wage bill will be a really big task for me over the first six months or so of my reign and we've done a decent job of that so far. We did make one signing in the transfer window though, desperately looking to add depth to a midfield lacking in numbers.

Although 36-years of age its clear to see that Manti Mekoa possesses some really strong creative attributes. I'm not expecting to get full matches every time out of him but he looks like a really good adddition and we snapped him up on a free transfer until the end of the season. He'd been without a club since the summer when he was released by Cape United of this league after their relegation. He's been on the books of some top flight sides though and its easy to see why.

For now my focus remains on trying to trim the wage bill here whilst also looking to take the club as high up the league table as possible. I said I would be happy with a top half finish and I see no reason to change those expectations now. If we can push towards the play-off spots then fantastic, but I would be happy to just finish in the top-8 and ensure that we end the season comfortably clear of any potential relegation drama. I see absolutely no reason as to why we can't achieve that based on what I have seen during my early days at the helm.
 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	tbc


0/10 Top Domestic Leagues
0/10 Domestic Cups
0/5 Continental Championships
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[goonergez]

Black Leopards: 2021/22 Review

My first season in charge of a football team has drawn to a close and for the most part it was a pretty successful one. I left you at the end of January having won all of my matches in charge, although from then we struggled a little more for consistency. We climbed up the table with haste though and eventually finished just short of a spot in the promotion play-offs. Victory over Cape Town All Stars on the final day putting us the closest we had been to said spots.

Outside of the league and we also put together a really nice run in the South African FA Cup as well, shocking everybody in reaching the Quarter Final stage. We saw off SuperSport United 3-1 away earlier in the tournament, but unfortunately Maritzburg United defeated us 0-1 to knock us out. We had surprised many though and I’m really proud of the run we managed to put together.

I can be nothing but happy with what we managed to achieve since I took over and I feel like there is still plenty more to come from my team. We improved steadily but there are definitely areas of the team we need to look at improving. A real clinical goal scorer being the main priority of the summer. I did manage to pick up a piece of good news in the closing stages of the season though.

Unsurprisingly I was rewarded for our improvements with a new contract until the end of next season. Expectations have increased a bit too, with the board wanting us to finish in the top three next season and qualify for the promotion play-offs. With the right work over the summer I am sure we can achieve it. Especially as I’ve managed to improve the financial side of things a fair bit since my arrival too. It’s going to be a busy summer but I think there will be plenty more outgoings than there will be incomings. We did get one piece of news that’s both exciting and alarming though

Thankfully it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. I would be excited to lead this side in a new stadium but the financial implications of this going through really worry me. Financially this club is losing money regularly and unless we get promoted quickly I don’t see it improving particularly swiftly. With any luck the new stadium won’t happen for a while and with any luck I’ll be in a new employment by the time that takes place.

The biggest problem I’m having at the moment is gaining support from my players. I keep getting messages saying that the players don’t respect me because of my lack of experience. Thankfully that hasn’t affected us on the field and also the club have funded me to undergo a National C Licence course. Hopefully that will improve things in that sense.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	ongoing


0/10 Top Domestic Leagues
0/10 Domestic Cups
0/5 Continental Championships
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[Safe Hands]

My best save last year was trying this, when I started in South Africa and worked my way to the Japan job. I messed up the datebase though and never got back into the game. New year, new attempt. Was going to wait for full game but I don't get much time to play so starting now. Decided I didn't want to start in a league higher than 100 in rankings and wanted Europe first as other than a brief save with Sunderland, didn't really touch last year. Limited my choices to lower leagues of England, bottom 2 division in Scotland, lower leagues Spain or some other leagues which would have slowed processing time. So hoping for job in National league div 1 and work my way up. Profile below will post again once have a job.

[BigJack]

Giving this a third attempt.

Set Up

Manager Profile

I held back from taking a role too early and in late December managed to bag the Cape Town Spurs (formerly Ajax Cape Town) job in the Glad Africa Championship. The rebranded club had a massive appeal to me due to the standard of the training and youth facilities. Finances are tight but workable, only issue is the board want promotion this season. 

[Crispypaul]

Minor update - I resigned from Uruguay after getting knocked out in the quarters by Wales of all teams

However giants Brazil came calling so I joined them ahead of the 2044 Copa America.

[vikeologist]

8 hours ago, BigJack said:

Giving this a third attempt.

Set Up

Manager Profile

I held back from taking a role too early and in late December managed to bag the Cape Town Spurs (formerly Ajax Cape Town) job in the Glad Africa Championship. The rebranded club had a massive appeal to me due to the standard of the training and youth facilities. Finances are tight but workable, only issue is the board want promotion this season. 

I was embarrassed I didn't remember your previous 2 attempts. I was still going to be all like, 'Hey BigJack. Welcome back. Hasn't been the same without you, but then i saw that this is your first ever post on the forum, so if you have posted here it must have been with a different username.

Bear in mind that if your previous username was something like Big Jack, that's an entirely different name, and you can't expect me to join the dots.

[vikeologist]

1 hour ago, Crispypaul said:

Minor update - I resigned from Uruguay after getting knocked out in the quarters by Wales of all teams

However giants Brazil came calling so I joined them ahead of the 2044 Copa America.

The end is near!

[BigJack]

3 hours ago, vikeologist said:

I was embarrassed I didn't remember your previous 2 attempts. I was still going to be all like, 'Hey BigJack. Welcome back. Hasn't been the same without you, but then i saw that this is your first ever post on the forum, so if you have posted here it must have been with a different username.

Bear in mind that if your previous username was something like Big Jack, that's an entirely different name, and you can't expect me to join the dots.

Yeah was 2 attempts with a  different profile. Ill try find my previous posts. Username was lewis89 but i cant access the profile (not due to this site). 

[darren1983]

Season 2023/24 Review

 

League - Going into the season I had confidence we would be one of the better sides and it bore out that way. We started quite slowly actually as we were dominating sides but could not score more than a goal a game for the first 4 or 5 games, I knew that once our attacking players clicked we'd be fine and we were, we hit top spot after 9 games and stayed there all season. That makes it sound easy but we did our best to mess it up, not once but twice! Around the middle of the season (just after the 2022 world cup) we went on a run of 7 straight draws in all comps, we just couldn't buy a win, in that run we played the bottom 2 and teams in 2nd and 3rd but then a 90th minute winner in a game at (then) 4th placed Pretoria Callies set us on a run of 6 straight wins and looking like cruising to promotion, we then drew 2 and lost 1 of our final 4 games as injuries and suspensions hit us hard and we kind of stumbled to promotion even though no one really got close enough to challenge us.

Cup - this was where we started our run of draws, a crazy game where we just couldn't defend and lost on pens.

Transfers - most of the players (10) we signed show up on the page for last season along with a few on this seasons one. We also released 45 players across 4 squads so the turnover was massive

Squad - brought the average age down and improved the quality, what more could I want?

Key Players

Musawenkosi Mdhuli - the main man, signed after his release from Sundowns and 17 goals later he was top scorer in the league from the wing. He started on fire with 12 from 12 but then after a injury never regained that form
Kiyaam Bull - was here when I signed and he's been the only ever present since my first game. Very good CB
Siphosakhe Ntyia-Ntyia - one of only a couple players over the age of 23 that I brought in and he was class, very prone to yellow cards though for some reason

Career Progress

Season	     Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
2021/22      Black Leopards		Championship		5th 		Took over after 11 games down in 15th place
2022/23	     Black Leopards		Championship		1st 		Promotion. Got 1st coaching badge and started on the 2nd 

Challenge Progress

0/10 top domestic 
0/10 top domestic cups 
0/5 club continental 
0/1 club world championship

0/5 continental competitions 
0/1 world tournaments

What's Next?

Towards the end of the season I had a job interview with kaiser chiefs but they went elsewhere so for now I'll give the prem a crack with these boys, finances mean I'm willing to move to a bigger club if I get the chance as our wage budget is lower this season than last but with no jobs open currently I'm happy to stay. ACON is this summer so hoping an international job or 2 come up post that as sooner I get started on there the better really.

[BigJack]

Season 1 2021/22 - Cape Town Spurs

Results    League Table    Squad    Transfers    Facilities    Finances

We took over in late December with the team sitting 5th and 7 points of 1st place. The boards aims of winning the league made me think we must have a half decent team, and that turned out to be the case as we lost just 1 of our 15 remaining games to finish in 1st place. Signing just 4 players on free transfers along the way.

You'll see above that the clubs facilities are great but the finances are pretty poor. The boards expectations for next season are to finish in the relegation play offs. I am going to need to wheel and deal and build a side capable of just staying up and also try turn a profit monthly. The first youth intake has given us a decent little striker Neil Zondi 22a is nothing special but I'm hoping we can develop him and sell him on to speed up boosting the clubs coffers. 

Club Career
							Leagues			Cups
Season	Nation		Division	Club		1st	2nd		1st	2nd	Cont.	CWC	Other Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	S.Africa	Gladbank Champ	Cape Town Spurs	1st	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Promoted to DSTV Premiership

 

[goonergez]

@darren1983 I have an update on my progress with the Leopards coming this afternoon but fair to say your update made very interesting reading for me. How did you get Bull to sign on as for me he was desperate to walk at the end of the first season. 
 

@BigJacka very good start to your career there. Lucky to get hold of a 7th placed team first up like that. Your side went up as champions on mine but have just been relegated back after finishing rock bottom.

im loving that there’s a little South African contingent of us sat in this thread 😂

[goonergez]

Black Leopards: 2022/23 Review

My time at this club has to be seen as a real success story really as I took over the side in 15th place before guiding them to a finishing spot of 4th and just four points adrift of making the promotion play offs. My side managed to surprise me from the moment I arrived and things had gelled nicely for me at the club. Having faced my first challenges here on the field it was time for my opportunity to prepare a team ready to lead for a full season. Our exploits from last time around didn’t go unnoticed though and we were ranked amongst the favourites to lift the league title.

The summer was as I expected it to be really. A total of forty one players left the club on free transfers although only one of them I wanted to keep. Centre back Riyaam Bull refused to discuss terms on a new deal and left the club at the end of his deal. We went into the campaign with seven new arrivals and a squad that looked capable of achieving the boards pre season goals of making the top three and securing a spot in the promotion mini league.

We ensured a successful season by lifting the league title and with it automatic promotion into the Premier League of South Africa. In truth we were never really in doubt but made the table look a little less pretty by losing five of our final seven matches. Getting over the finishing line proving extremely difficult as we let a twelve point gap at the top slip to a lot less than that during a woeful end to the campaign. The goals of Cape Town City loanee Diego Appollis made all the difference as we played a similar standard to last year. His 22 league goals across 29 matches helped us as we added that clinical nature in front of goal this season.

Outside of the league we only had the South African FA Cup and I was highly anticipating it after reaching the Quarter Finals last term. This season wasn’t pretty though and we lost on penalties to Hungry Lions FC in the preliminary round of the competition.

My first full campaign in football management draws to a close and I’m left with decisions to make. My contract with the club ends shortly and although I’ve rebuffed a couple of new offers by them already I am inclined to sign on for next season. They put me through my National B Licence this season and so that’s two coaching badges in just about eighteen months. I’m pleased with that especially as the club is around a million pounds in debt at this stage. I’ll only leave if one of the big clubs come available this summer. It seems unlikely but I can hold hope yet. I did attend interviews with both Maritzburg United and Amazulu this season though. The former offered me the job and the latter didn’t. I decided Maritzburg wasn’t much of a step up though and at this stage I’m going to hold out for one of the real top dogs in South Africa to become available. I’m not sure it will but it’s a good idea to keep my options open at this stage.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2023/24	Black Leopards		SA Premier Division	tbc


0/10 Top Domestic Leagues
0/10 Domestic Cups
0/5 Continental Championships
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[darren1983]

3 hours ago, goonergez said:

@darren1983 I have an update on my progress with the Leopards coming this afternoon but fair to say your update made very interesting reading for me. How did you get Bull to sign on as for me he was desperate to walk at the end of the first season. 

Not too sure really, when I took over he was unhappy but only about his lack of playing time, I played him every game and he dropped his worry so I offered him a new deal as soon as that report came through, this season we almost lost him as Sundowns offered him a contract while I could only offer him a 4 month deal till the end of the current season, I fully expected him to sign for them but he turned them down and I offered him a deal at end of the season so still have him. Just lucky I guess.

Congrats on your promotion as well though 

[goonergez]

Cape Town City: Takeover Report

I come with news of a new job role as I have left my position as manager of Black Leopards and taken over at the reigning Premier Division champions in Cape Town City. I really enjoyed my time with the club and I leave with memories of winning the First Division title. I was deep into pre-season with my former club before the position here came available and having kept my eyes open for new opportunities with no luck it was a welcome boost. The opportunity to join one of the biggest sides in South Africa was an option I just couldn't refuse and it gives me the immediate opportunity to challenge for honours. My new club have won the last two Premier Division titles and last season also won the Super-8 Cup.  There were also appearances in the semi-finals of both the South African FA Cup and the South African Knockout Cup, as well as a quarter final appearance in the African Champions League. I now have the opportunity to try and win silverware and I cannot wait to get stuck in. The immediate opportunity to compete in the Champions League is a nice added bonus as well.

The board here don't seem particularly ambitious, asking merely for a finish in the top half. Anything other than a title challenge will feel like a real disappointment to me although it is nice to kick off here without too much pressure. I also want to try and win one of the domestic cup competitions and get my top flight career of to a flying start. I've been presented with a £325,000 transfer kitty and a side that doesn't look short in any areas really. I join with a couple of weeks to go until the league season kicks off, although we have already been eliminated from the Super-8 competition. I've got a couple of weeks to look for new arrivals and to try and get my side ready to defend the league title.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2023/24	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	tbc


0/10 Top Domestic Leagues
0/10 Domestic Cups
0/5 Continental Championships
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[XuluBak]

Real Racing Club

2022-2023

With bottom three largely decided early, the homestretch was essentially four teams playing musical chairs for safety. Fortunately, we had all relevant tiebreakers in hand, alleviating some pressure. Surprisingly, it was our away form that ultimately saved us. After starting the campaign 0-5-11 on the road, we took 12 points from our final five, including securing our safety with a matchday to spare in Almeria. 

Results

Spoiler

Table

Spoiler

 

Other than surviving, this was far and away the highlight of our season...

Spoiler

Copa del Rey, third round:

Looking forward

Not planning on going anywhere anytime soon unless someone comes in with an offer that's too good to pass up. Already up to working on my Continental C, so could be due for a big jump if I can secure promotion. I have a lot of work to do with the squad though. Too many "decent" players without much separating them. 

[Cheekybananafm]

Well I'm back! I completed this challenge on FM17, 4 years later it's time to give it a go once again, a proper go this time!

[Cheekybananafm]

First Job - Hougang United (Singapore)

Club Overview                        Club Vision                    Playing Squad

Not a bad first job, I go straight into the Singapore S League, there are only three games of the season to go and we sit 2nd bottom (there is no relegation!)

[BigJack]

11 hours ago, goonergez said:

@darren1983 
 

@BigJacka very good start to your career there. Lucky to get hold of a 7th placed team first up like that. Your side went up as champions on mine but have just been relegated back after finishing rock bottom.

im loving that there’s a little South African contingent of us sat in this thread 😂

The team were really good for that league and 7 points with 15 games wasn't the worst scenario to start. I was surprised myself to get this size of club. 

Good luck with the team change. I have kept my eye open for any bigger roles opening up but none have so far. Is there a massive difference in quality between your old and new sides? 

[SK]

@goonergez What a job offer to get so early, especially with the crack at the CL straight away. What happened to the manager that was there?

[SK]

2043/44

 

So a new season began. After cycling through some more deadwood and older players I was able to significantly strengthen my team and look set to try to one better in the CL. My main man Lapasset came in on loan  again and Campbell came in on a 100 million deal. He scored the final goal in the CL final last year and is a big step up from what I had. I bought in two RBs as well as another defensive cm to give me better depth, someone I knew from my France days.

 

CL- the main tournament I was after. I actually got off to a shocker losing 3-1 to Atletico. From there I was comfortably in PSV at their ground before back to back wins agains Torino almost had me qualified. Annoyingly in the 4th game PSV upset Atletico keeping PSV alive to qualify second. I proceeded to lose to Atletico again but luckily PSV lost to Torino so I qualified with a game to spare. 

 

In the knockouts I drew Leipzig, a game I didn’t think I’d have too much of a challenge with. Turned out I was right as I won 3-1 at home then 2-1 away from home to cruise into the QFs. Up next English champions Arsenal. I played a blinder in the first leg winning 4-0 away from home. A 2-1 home win then took me to the SF to play last years winners Dortmund. First leg I played amazing earning a comfortable 2-0 win and the all important home clean sheet. Second leg I scored early to give me a vital away goal. To be honest I got battered from there and despite conceding two late goals I held on to qualify for the final.

 

In the final I drew Madrid. Two injuries happened in the weeks preceeding, my star striker and my backup LW. In the final I dominated the first half, missed some quality chances to be 0-0 at HT. I was a bit sloppy in the second half and Madrid could’ve easily scored. Luckily Lapasset popped up to score with 25 to go. They scored with 5 to go but it was ruled out for offside and I won 1-0 which was well deserved.

So I have ticked off the continental trophies part of the challenge which completes the Pentagon Challenge which was what I first was going to do before finding out about this challenge. Will stay for one more year to the CWC. My team is very setup now, players have good partnerships all over and the tactics are down pact. I feel there’s only a few clubs who can match me now so I’m feeling good about ticking off the CWC next year. Will look for a new club after that. 

 

League- see below. My team is way too good for France now. I rested players before CL games and still blew the competition away. Broke records for most wins, points and goals scored. 

Cup- lost in the SF but I really didn’t care to be honest.

 

 

I had 6 WC qualifying games, I won all 6 with a GD of 20 so I was feeling good for the Copa America. I got rid of a few of the older players and moved my tactics from a 4312 (with the one as a winger) to a more conventional 4321 which seems to be working well so far.

 

Copa America- I was handed a straight forward  group. Going into the tournament I thought the only teams who could give me a scare would be Argentina, USA and Uruguay, funnily enough they were all drawn in the opposite group. Thankfully Mexico wasn’t in it.

 

I started well enough to beating Ecuador and Peru 2-1. Both times needing fairly late goals to get me over the line. I took the opportunity to heavily rotate in the third game to freshen things up and got another win beating Peru 3-0. 4th game against China and I played a full strength side, firstly to try and get top of the group finalised and also so I could play my second string side last game. A 0-0 draw came about but I absolutely battered them which all but secured top spot. Last game against Paraguay ended 6-0 with my second side running rampant.

 

In the knockouts I was given a gift of a draw. Uruguay were eliminated meaning Venezuela finished in 4th. I decided to play my second string side which was rewarded with a 1-0 win that was quite comfortable albeit needing a goal in the second half. I got China in the SF but there were no concerns this time as I scored 3 early goals. This allowed me to play very conservative fatigue saving tactics and also take off some of my main players as the game ended 4-0. In the other SF: USA vs Argentina was a day later and went to ET so I knew they would be much more fatigued then me. In the final I had arch rivals; Argentina. They looked a bit more sluggish then me and I raced to a 3-0 lead in the first half despite missing a pen. I scored early in the second half to make it 4-0. Argentina got one back with their only shot on target but that’s how it all ended and the trophy was mine. To be fair I couldn’t have been given a nicer run if I tried but still I did it convincely without going behind once. 3 of my players from my Corinthians days started and one came off the bench which was a nice touch. 

So a massive year ticking off two major trophies. Copa America especially because now it frees me up to have a crack at the Euros or Asian Cup next cycle. I’ll stay to the WC as most my team is at a good age still then I’ll move on. 

 

If I can win the CWC then the club side will be very well under control and shouldn’t take too long to finish up. 

 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	3rd (promoted via playoffs)		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA Premier League	4th
2022/23 Kaiser Chiefs	        SA Premier League       1st.  Won Knockout Cup and Be the Coach.
2023/2024 Kaiser Chiefs         SA Premier League       1st. Won Super 8 and Be the Coach. CL Finalists.
2024/25 Kaiser Chiefs SA Premier League 1st. Won Knockout Cup and Champions League.
2025    Guangzhao.               Chinese Super League.   3rd. Started in 3rd with 5 games to go.
2026    Guangzhao                Chinese Super League.   1st.  Lost the final of CFA Cup   
2027    Guanzhao                 Chinese Super League.   1st   CFA Cup winner
2028   Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League   1st CFA Cup Winner  Super Cup Winner
2029.  Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League    1st  Super Cup Winner
2030.  Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League    1st. Asian Champions League Winner Super Cup Winner
2030-2031 Hertha Berlin          Bundesliga.             10th (took over 13th).  German Cup Runner up. Resigned at seasons end
2031-32 Inter Milan              Serie A                 1st    Super Cup Winner
2032-2033 Inter Milan            Serie A                 2nd.   Italian Cup Winner and Super Cup Winner
2033-34.  Borussia Dortmund.     German Bundesliga.      1st.   German Cup Winner
2034-35 Cruz Azul.               Mexican First Division. 1st.   Mexican Cup winner
2035/36. Cruz Azul.              Mexican First Division. 1st
2036/37 Cruz Azul                Mexican First Division. 2nd    NACL Winner
2037  Corinthians.               Brazilian First Division 5th.  Took over in 9th place with 9 games to go.
2038 Corinthians                 Brazilian First Division  1st   Brazilian Cup Winner
2039 Corinthians                 Brazilian First Division  1st   Brazilian Cup Winner Copa Libertadores Winner
2040/41 Barcelona.               Spanish La Liga           1st
2041/42 PSG                      French Ligue 1           2nd.   French Cup Winner   
2042/43 PSG                      French Ligue 1           1st.   CL Finalist
2043/44 PSG                      French Ligue 1           1st.   CL Winner

International 
2021-2023. Nigeria. Lost in QF of AFCON. Sacked. 
2023- present- Ghana. Lost in R of 16 AFCON. Resigned before being sacked.
2026-2027 Ivory Coast AFCON Champsions. Resigned after.
2029- 2032 Mexico. Lost in 3rd Round at WC. Gold Cup Winners. Copa America Finalist 
2032- 2036 France. Lost in Nations League Final 2033, Lost in WC Final 2034. Lost in SF Euro 2036. Resigned after Euro 36 
2036- 2038 Italy. Lost in Nationa League Final 2037. Made WC QF. Sacked after WC 2038. 
2038-2040 Chile . Lost in QF of Copa America. Sacked. 
2040-Present. Brazil. WC 3rd place. Copa America Winner

6 International Tournaments (3/6)

- FIFA World Cup			
- UEFA Euros (Europe)			
- AFC Asian Cup (Asia)							
- Copa America (South America)		Brazil (2044)
- Gold Cup (North America)		Mexico (2027)	
- AFCON (African Cup Of Nations)	Ivory Coast (2031)				
 
10 Leagues 
THE BIG FIVE (4/5)
- La Liga (ESP)				Barcelona (2040/31)
- Premier League (ENG)			
- Bundesliga (GER)			Borussia Dortmund (2033/34)
- Ligue 1 (FRA)				PSG (2042/43)				
- Serie A (ITA)				Inter Milan (2031/32)	
 
AND 5 OTHER TOP LEAGUES (4/5)
- Chinese Super League  	        Guangzhou(2026-2030)
- Brazilain First Division.      	Corinthians (2038,2039)
- Liga MX Apertura \ Clausura (MEX)	Cruz Azul (2034/35, 2035/36)
- Dstv Premiership (RSA)		Kaizer Chiefs (2022/23-2024/25)
	
5 Champions Leagues (5/5)
 
- UEFA Champions League (Europe)	PSG (2043/44)
- Asian Champions League 		Guangzhou Evergrande (2030)		
- Copa Libertadores (South America)	Corinthians (2039)	
- North American Champions League	Cruz Azul (2026/37)	
- CAF Champions League (Africa)		Kaizer Chiefs (2024/25)		

 
FIFA Club World Cup (0/1)			- 

10 Others (Domestic Cups from 10 separate nations) (7/10)

- DFB-Pokal (GER)			Dortmund (2033/34)
- Brazilian Cup (BRA)			Corinthians (2038,2039)
- Coupe de France (FRA)			PSG (2041/42)
- Copa MX (MEX)				Cruz Azul (2034/35)
- Chinese FA Cup (CHI)			Guangzhou Evergrande (2027/28)
- Nedbank Cup (RSA)			Kaizer Chiefs (2026/27, 2027/28)
- Italian Cup.   			Inter (2032/33)


Total Trophies 23/32

[SK]

@vikeologist I am looking for leagues that have more than 1 domestic cup for when I need to finish this off. I know Portugal does so thats one. I came across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Israel as nations with more than one cup. Do you know off hand if all their cups are eligible? If not, all good I can look into it myself.

[goonergez]

7 hours ago, SK said:

@goonergez What a job offer to get so early, especially with the crack at the CL straight away. What happened to the manager that was there?

I thought it was a fairly realistic offer if I’m honest? Do you think it’s a bit unrealistic? The manager departed to take over the Nigeria job so I jumped straight in. I just figured my really good start with the Leopards meant they saw me as an exciting prospect. I hope other people don’t think it’s a ridiculous move early on?

[SK]

34 minutes ago, goonergez said:

I thought it was a fairly realistic offer if I’m honest? Do you think it’s a bit unrealistic? The manager departed to take over the Nigeria job so I jumped straight in. I just figured my really good start with the Leopards meant they saw me as an exciting prospect. I hope other people don’t think it’s a ridiculous move early on?

Oh it’s completely realistic. I remember getting offered Kaiser Chiefs after two years. 
 

Just super handy to get a job where the team has already qualified for the CL and is good enough to win the league. You’d normally think have to spend a season building to that (the manager would’ve had to been sacked normally which means underperformance). That’s all I meant.

[goonergez]

35 minutes ago, SK said:

Oh it’s completely realistic. I remember getting offered Kaiser Chiefs after two years. 
 

Just super handy to get a job where the team has already qualified for the CL and is good enough to win the league. You’d normally think have to spend a season building to that (the manager would’ve had to been sacked normally which means underperformance). That’s all I meant.

Oh I’m glad you agree 😂yeah I am super lucky to pick up such a decent job and to be honest I’m surprised I was offered it. I’m certainly not going to complain though. I think I may need a season to rebuild though. There’s some very average players here and I’m actually surprised that they’ve managed to win back to back league titles.

[goonergez]

10 hours ago, BigJack said:

The team were really good for that league and 7 points with 15 games wasn't the worst scenario to start. I was surprised myself to get this size of club. 

Good luck with the team change. I have kept my eye open for any bigger roles opening up but none have so far. Is there a massive difference in quality between your old and new sides? 

I’ve only managed to get about five games into the new season but the gulf in quality is clear. Black Leopards have drawn a couple and lost three whereas we’ve won all but one so far. I had really big issues bringing players in whilst trying to get Black Leopards ready for the top flight. Everybody I went in for ended up heading elsewhere. It didn’t help that the finances were shot. Cape Town are in much better shape. I’m hoping for a nice 2-3 year spell here to clear everything needed from South Africa. Anything less is a bonus but knowing me it’ll end up being a lot more.

@Cheekybananafm excited to see how you get on in Singapore. It isn’t somewhere I’ve ever ventured. At least in a small league with no relegation there is plenty of scope for fairly quick progress.

[SK]

24 minutes ago, goonergez said:

Oh I’m glad you agree 😂yeah I am super lucky to pick up such a decent job and to be honest I’m surprised I was offered it. I’m certainly not going to complain though. I think I may need a season to rebuild though. There’s some very average players here and I’m actually surprised that they’ve managed to win back to back league titles.

Yeah 100%. Hopefully the rebuild doesn’t take much and you can start ticking off some trophies, CL in particular.  Good when progress starts being made. 

[goonergez]

53 minutes ago, SK said:

Yeah 100%. Hopefully the rebuild doesn’t take much and you can start ticking off some trophies, CL in particular.  Good when progress starts being made. 

It feels very strange being at 0/32 when i was not that long ago sat at 31/32 and in the same predicament as you. Hopefully you will have less trouble with the Copa America than I ended up enduring!

[Safe Hands]

Those starting in South Africa has it still that crazy rule where you can only sign players on 1 year deals? Really annoyed me last year had a great team with Cape Town Spurs last year, romped the league but whole team was dismantled by time i got to the prem

[goonergez]

2 minutes ago, Safe Hands said:

Those starting in South Africa has it still that crazy rule where you can only sign players on 1 year deals? Really annoyed me last year had a great team with Cape Town Spurs last year, romped the league but whole team was dismantled by time i got to the prem

Oh yes. It’s only in the second tier though

[BigJack]

Season 2 2022/23 - Cape Town Spurs

League Table    Cups    Squad    Transfers    Finances    Results 1    Results 2

Our first season in the top flight was a success. Predicted to finish 14th and with the boards aim to finish in the relegation play off, I had the luxury of no real pressure to succeed. We started the season how we finished the last and remained unbeaten going into the 2 month break for the World Cup. Once the season was back up and running we was a different side, and only mustered 1 win from our next 10 league games. A couple of tweaks and our form picked up as we managed a 5th placed finish which exceeded all expectations. 

We lost in the Quarter Finals and the Semi Finals of the Nedbank Cup and the Telekom Cup.

You will see we have improved the clubs finances this season also but are still some way off being stable. I will have to be smart with transfers again this season and spend as little as possible to keep the club ticking over. We have a decent little side and with a few additions im hoping to push on this season and close the gap between us and the sides above us. Youth prospect Neil Zondi 22a is developing nicely, and with 13 goals to his name this season, I am hoping he can fire us to a cup win or something next season. 

We have also managed to bag our first coaching license of the save and start the B license.

 

Club Career
							Leagues			Cups
Season	Nation		Division	Club		1st	2nd		1st	2nd	Cont.	CWC	Other Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	S.Africa	Gladbank Champ	Cape Town Spurs	1st	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Promoted to DSTV Premiership
2022/23	S.Africa	DSTV Prem	Cape Town Spurs	5th	n/a		SF	QF	n/a	n/a	Achieved National C coaching badge

 

Edited November 4, 2021 by BigJack

[SK]

21 minutes ago, goonergez said:

It feels very strange being at 0/32 when i was not that long ago sat at 31/32 and in the same predicament as you. Hopefully you will have less trouble with the Copa America than I ended up enduring!

I could imagine. I’m going to try a few different challenges once I’ve done this one before coming back to this in a few years. Itching to do a long term save somewhere. 
 

Actually managed to win it (last big update I did). Huge relief to say the least. 

[darren1983]

4 hours ago, goonergez said:

I thought it was a fairly realistic offer if I’m honest? Do you think it’s a bit unrealistic? The manager departed to take over the Nigeria job so I jumped straight in. I just figured my really good start with the Leopards meant they saw me as an exciting prospect. I hope other people don’t think it’s a ridiculous move early on?

I think it's fine myself, I had a job interview with Kaiser Chiefs before I'd even won promotion, didn't get it but in my mind it was the bigger clubs seeing a high win % and a young manager playing attacking football. Good luck with Cape Town though. 

[Safe Hands]

Cheers mate. Going a different route this year and started in lower reaches of Spain.  Only few games in so will post update end of the season. Love South Africa once in the prem but will wait until I can get a job in the prem before heading there this save.

[darren1983]

Well it turns out that @goonergez isn't the only one to jump ship right after promotion as I too have done it. However I have gone to a different side so finally our two careers will go their own way now  

I have taken over at Mamelodi Sundowns. The defending champions, their manager left to take over a international side after the ACON so here I am

 

I have gone from a 68k transfer budget with 19k on wages to 3.8m on transfers and 118k on wages. This should be a good move

Added to the fun is that I also applied for a load of international jobs after the ACON, Asia Cup and Cold Cups and ended up with the Egypt job

These guys usually produce decent regens so should have a decent shot at the ACON in a couple of years time

 

[BigJack]

International Management

Hiring    Nation    Fixtures

We are at the start of the third season and have taken our first steps into international management. The Ivory Coast job came up in April and I applied straight away. They went into the 2023 AFCON without a manager and having lost in the 2nd round have finally decided to employ someone. I'm guessing this is either a bug or everyone they tried to hire turned them down (except me).

We have already played out a 2-2  draw with Scotland in a friendly just days after me taking the role. And have a couple more friendlies upcoming before a 2 legged 2nd round World Cup Qualifier against Central African Republic. The winner of this goes into a 4 legged group with the winner of that qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.  

Next year sees us competing in 2025 AFCON Qualifying Group B. It looks a relatively straight forward Group and means we have 18 months to build a side before a major tournament. I am also hoping to use my role here to get a scope on some good talent to sign for my club side and already have a deal almost done for this youngster Ibrahim N'Goran.

[Crispypaul]

      

Brazil 
Copa America 2044

Group Stages - Table | Fixtures - won every game as expected

 Quarter Final

Spoiler

Brazil 5 Costa Rica 1 - no contest

Semi Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Uruguay 1 Brazil 3 - my old team put up some challenge but not enough as we got through to meet Argentina in the final.

Final (if applicable)

Spoiler

Brazil 2 Argentina 0 - a dominant performance which could have been more, but was enough to lift the Copa America.  And with that the challenge is complete!

 

 

Spoiler

Domestic
Season	 Team			Division		Position			Notes						
2020/21  Cape Town Spurs     	South African 1st  	 1st				Champions, Promoted
2021/22	 Cape Town Spurs	South African Prem	 2nd				Qualified for Champions League
2022/23	 Cape Town Spurs	South African Prem	 1st				Won CAF CL, Cup, Resigned at end of season
2023/24	 Tigres			Liga MX		 	 4th/1st			Won both Apertura and Clausura, qualifed for CL
2024/25	 Tigres			Liga Mx		    	 1st/1st			Won Apertura, Leagues Cup, CONCACAF CL
2025	 Suwon Samsung Bluewings K League 1		 2nd				Won KFA Cup
2026	 Suwon Samsung Bluewings K League 1		 1st				Won KFA Cup, AFC Champions League
2026/27	 Hamburg		1. Bundesliga	         17th				Joined February, Relegated, Resigned
2027/28	 Fenerbahce		Turkish Superleague	 1st				Won Turkish Cup, Europa Conference League
2028/29	 Hoffenheim		1. Bundesliga		 2nd				Won German Cup
2029/30	 Hoffenheim		1. Bundesliga	     	 1st				Won German Cup, Lost in CL final, resigned
2030/31	 Everton		Premier League		n/a				Left after 48 days
2030/31	 PSG			Ligue Un		1st				Won French Cup, lost in CL final, resigned
2031/32	 Boca Juniors		Liga Profesional	1st				- 
2032/33	Boca Juniors		Liga Profesional	1st				Won Cup, Copa Libertadores, CWC 3rd place
2033/34	Napoli			Serie A			2nd				-
2034/35	Napoli			Serie A			1st				Won Cup, CL, resigned
2035/36	Liverpool		EPL			1st				Won FA Cup and Europa League
2036/37	Liverpool		EPL			1st				Won FA Cup, CL, CWC
2037/38	n/a
2038/39	n/a
2039/40	n/a
2040/41	Sevilla		La Liga			1st				Won Copa Del Rey, resigned




International
Year	   	Team				Achievements
2023		Nigeria				Won AFCON, resigned after
2026		Iran				Appointed after World Cup
2027 		Iran				Lost in Asian Cup SF, resigned
2028/29		England				Won Nations League
2029/30		England				Won 2030 World Cup
2030/31		England				Won Nations League
2031/32		England				Won Euro 2032, resigned
2034/35		Mexico				Won Gold Cup
2035/36		Mexico				Resigned
2035/36		Maldives			Went on a free holiday, resigned
2036/37 	England				lost in Nations League final
2037/38		England				Lost in WC final, resigned
2038/39		Australia			Won Asian Cup, resigned
2039/40		n/a
2040-42		Uruguay				World Cup QF, resigned
2042-44		Brazil				Won Copa America, CHALLENGE COMPLETE!

			
Challenge Progress

Club
 10/10 top domestic leagues (Cape Town Spurs, South Africa, 22/23; Tigres, Mexico, 23/24; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, South Korea, 2026; Fenerbahce, Turkey, 2027/28; Hoffenheim, Germany, 2029/30; PSG, France, 2030/31; Boca Juniors, Argentina, 2031/32; Napoli, Italy, 2034/35; Liverpool, England, 2035/36; Sevilla, Spain, 2040/41)
 10/10 domestic cups (Cape Town Spurs, South Africa, 22/23; Tigres, Mexico, 23/24; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, South Korea, 2025; Fenerbahce, Turkey, 2027/28; Hoffenheim, Germany, 2028/29; PSG, France, 2030/31; Boca Juniors, Argentina, 2032/33; Napoli, Italy, 2034/35; Liverpool, England, 2035/36; Sevilla, Spain, 2040/41)
 5/5 club continental championships (Cape Town Spurs, Africa, 22/23; Tigres, North America, 24/25; Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Asia, 2026; Boca Juniors, South America, 2032/33; Napoli, Europe, 2034/35)
 1/1 club world championship (Liverpool, 2037)

International
 5/5 continental tournaments (Nigeria, Africa, 2023; England, Europe, 2032; Mexico, North America, 2035; Australia, Asia, 2039; Brazil, South America, 2044)
 1/1 world tournaments (England, 2030)

 

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by Crispypaul

[goonergez]

@Crispypaulwell done mate! Fantastic achievement!

[goonergez]

Cape Town City: 2023/24 Review

I entered my second full season as a manager in charge of a new club having walked away from my second tier winning side at Black Leopards. I joined the back to back Premier League champions in Cape Town City in what was a very exciting and intriguing move for me and my career. My opening season and a half had been impressive and I earned the job with Cape Town City who had lost their manager to the Nigerian national side. For me it was a fantastic opportunity to try and win some trophies and begin my progress through this challenge.

The squad I inherited was pretty impressive and looked more than capable of stringing together a march towards trophies. Having joined just a couple of weeks prior to the league season kicking off I steered clear of the transfer market, although I spent some money in January. We brought in a couple of young prospects and a new striker. We parted with £200,000 to sign 23-year old striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane from Maritzburg United after he’d enjoyed a decent start to the season with them in the league below. I was confident he could make a difference in our squad especially over a packed fixture list.

A truly sensational league campaign ended with us lifting the trophy and making it two consecutive titles for me in a row as a manager. This one was much sweeter though, my first top flight title as a manager. In truth the title was rarely in doubt and we romped to the clubs third straight league title in style. Defensively we were sublime all season , goalkeeper Sifiso Mlungwana keeping a ridiculous 20 clean sheets. We also managed to score plenty of goals, although spread throughout the team. That’s clear by the fact our top league scorer managed just 12 goals across the campaign. The only disappointment for us was that we couldn’t quite complete the whole season unbeaten. A disappointing 0-1 defeat to Amazulu on the penultimate match day of the season preventing us from completing that feat. One defeat across a whole league season is nothing to sniff at though and I have to be happy with how it went for us.

South Africa is a difficult nation to crack mainly down to the vast array of competitions clubs compete in. Before my arrival the club had already been knocked out of the Super-8 Knockout Cup which left me just two other domestic cup competitions to navigate. That became one less early in the season as we drew 1-1 with Royal AM before losing on penalties early on in the Knockout Cup. Lastly was the South African FA Cup and we performed much better in that one.

 

We did brilliantly to get ourselves all the way to the final before suffering a shock defeat to Chippa United, a side languishing in mid table of our division. Having knocked out the likes of Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs on route we were probably guilty of approaching the final in somewhat complacent thought. In truth we dominated the final and we were definitely hard done by to lose out. We produced 23 shots on goal to our oppositions 3, but were undone by some sloppy defending just before the half time break. In the second half we produced an onslaught but just couldn’t find the back of the net. A very disappointing end to a very good cup run.

Finally we had the joy of competing in the African edition of the Champions League and an opportunity to try and go far in a continental competition. We easily managed to navigate through to the group stage, beating Namibian side Saint George 4-0 on aggregate and then Moroccan side Raja Casablanca 3-1 on aggregate. The group stage handed us a nice enough challenge and although we lost twice to holders ES Tunis we beat both ASC Kara and Al-Merreikh Omdurman home and away to clinch second spot and a place in the Quarter Finals.

We easily saw our way into the semi finals before facing a real challenge to see off Zamalek of Egypt. Trailing 0-2 away in the first leg we grabbed a huge goal deep into stoppage time to give us a valuable away goal. The second leg was probably the most tense match of my managerial career but eventually we prevailed. We left it until the 64th minute before centre back Siyabonga Ngezana powered home a header to give us an aaay goal lead at 2-2 on aggregate. We dug deep to hold on and book our spot in the final. Delightfully our South African rivals Sundowns saw off holders ES Tunis in the other semi final to give us a genuine opportunity to win the competition.

We saved the best until last as we put in a superb performance to lift the trophy for the first time in the clubs history. A truly brilliant first half saw us race into a 2-0 lead and put one hand on the trophy. We conceded a goal with a little over quarter of an hour remaining, but our defence held firm to hold on and win the trophy with a 2-1 victory. An unbelievable and completely unexpected triumph for us.

A sensational season draws to a close and I pick up the first two trophies towards this challenge. We had a fantastic season and the two winners medals really feel special at this stage. It’s a shame we couldn’t complete the league season unbeaten and also that we lost in the South African FA Cup final but I’m happy enough. 

Now my focus shifts to the next leg of my journey and trying to find the third club of my managerial career. For now I’m going to keep my eyes open but I’m also happy enough to stay for a while into next season to try and pick up a domestic cup. If I could grab one then that would complete the African leg of my journey, and it would do it pretty quickly too. 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2023/24	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	1st (C)		South African Premier League Winners, African Champions League Winners


1/10 Top Domestic Leagues (2023/24 SA Premier League)
0/10 Domestic Cups
1/5 Continental Championships (202324 African Champions League)
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by goonergez

[SK]

2044/45

 

So after the huge successes last season, I stayed on for one last season with PSG to win the CWC. I strengthened heavily bringing Lapasset on loan again, a new cb and new cm to give me more depth. Quick summary below, to be honest I wasn’t fussed with anything other than the CWC. 

 

League- won this again, with 99 pts.

 

Cup- knocked out in the 9th round.

 

CL- knocked out in the semis by Inter.

 

CWC- I started this with a convincing 3-1 win over GRE. Next up was Kaiser Chiefs and a fully rotated side got the job done 2-0. A few big European sides got knocked out, unfortunately I still had Madrid in the QF. I was dominant throughout and scored late in the first half.  They didn’t really threaten and I won 1-0. Up next was Dortmund, they drew their first game so had played a full strength side in their second game. I was hoping this would give me an advantage with condition and it proved to be the case as I flew out to a 3-0 lead. I scored early in the second half and closed out a 4-0 win. In the final, I had FLA, I completely dominated the first half and scored in the 33rd minute. In the second half I continued to dominate but they scored with 20 to go against the run of play. I couldn’t believe that I may throw this away. Luckily with 5 to go, I won the ball in their half and did a quick counter attack to make it 2-1 and from there I held on.

So with the CWC done I feel a huge banana skin is out of the way and the club side of things should be just a formality. All in all I’m glad I stayed the distance with PSG. Whilst the CWC was going on I was interviewing with both Barca and Man City. A day after the final Man City offered me the job to replace the sacked Julian Naglesmann (who came 7th but somehow won the CL). 

 

WC qualifiers. Another 6 games, another 6 wins. Looking good for the World Cup. Got a couple of ageing players so going to have to make the call if I can squeeze one more tournament out of them or not. Otherwise all is good for the WC. 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements

2020/21 Uthongathi FC		SA First Division	3rd (promoted via playoffs)		
2021/22 Uthongathi FC		SA Premier League	4th
2022/23 Kaiser Chiefs	        SA Premier League       1st.  Won Knockout Cup and Be the Coach.
2023/2024 Kaiser Chiefs         SA Premier League       1st. Won Super 8 and Be the Coach. CL Finalists.
2024/25 Kaiser Chiefs SA Premier League 1st. Won Knockout Cup and Champions League.
2025    Guangzhao.               Chinese Super League.   3rd. Started in 3rd with 5 games to go.
2026    Guangzhao                Chinese Super League.   1st.  Lost the final of CFA Cup   
2027    Guanzhao                 Chinese Super League.   1st   CFA Cup winner
2028   Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League   1st CFA Cup Winner  Super Cup Winner
2029.  Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League    1st  Super Cup Winner
2030.  Guangzhao                 Chinese Super League    1st. Asian Champions League Winner Super Cup Winner
2030-2031 Hertha Berlin          Bundesliga.             10th (took over 13th).  German Cup Runner up. Resigned at seasons end
2031-32 Inter Milan              Serie A                 1st    Super Cup Winner
2032-2033 Inter Milan            Serie A                 2nd.   Italian Cup Winner and Super Cup Winner
2033-34.  Borussia Dortmund.     German Bundesliga.      1st.   German Cup Winner
2034-35 Cruz Azul.               Mexican First Division. 1st.   Mexican Cup winner
2035/36. Cruz Azul.              Mexican First Division. 1st
2036/37 Cruz Azul                Mexican First Division. 2nd    NACL Winner
2037  Corinthians.               Brazilian First Division 5th.  Took over in 9th place with 9 games to go.
2038 Corinthians                 Brazilian First Division  1st   Brazilian Cup Winner
2039 Corinthians                 Brazilian First Division  1st   Brazilian Cup Winner Copa Libertadores Winner
2040/41 Barcelona.               Spanish La Liga           1st
2041/42 PSG                      French Ligue 1           2nd.   French Cup Winner   
2042/43 PSG                      French Ligue 1           1st.   CL Finalist
2043/44 PSG                      French Ligue 1           1st.   CL Winner
2044/45 PSG                      French Ligue 1           1st.   CWC Winner

International 
2021-2023. Nigeria. Lost in QF of AFCON. Sacked. 
2023- present- Ghana. Lost in R of 16 AFCON. Resigned before being sacked.
2026-2027 Ivory Coast AFCON Champsions. Resigned after.
2029- 2032 Mexico. Lost in 3rd Round at WC. Gold Cup Winners. Copa America Finalist 
2032- 2036 France. Lost in Nations League Final 2033, Lost in WC Final 2034. Lost in SF Euro 2036. Resigned after Euro 36 
2036- 2038 Italy. Lost in Nationa League Final 2037. Made WC QF. Sacked after WC 2038. 
2038-2040 Chile . Lost in QF of Copa America. Sacked. 
2040-Present. Brazil. WC 3rd place. Copa America Winner

6 International Tournaments (3/6)

- FIFA World Cup			
- UEFA Euros (Europe)			
- AFC Asian Cup (Asia)							
- Copa America (South America)		Brazil (2044)
- Gold Cup (North America)		Mexico (2027)	
- AFCON (African Cup Of Nations)	Ivory Coast (2031)				
 
10 Leagues 
THE BIG FIVE (4/5)
- La Liga (ESP)				Barcelona (2040/31)
- Premier League (ENG)			
- Bundesliga (GER)			Borussia Dortmund (2033/34)
- Ligue 1 (FRA)				PSG (2042/43-2044/45)				
- Serie A (ITA)				Inter Milan (2031/32)	
 
AND 5 OTHER TOP LEAGUES (4/5)
- Chinese Super League  	        Guangzhou(2026-2030)
- Brazilain First Division.      	Corinthians (2038,2039)
- Liga MX Apertura \ Clausura (MEX)	Cruz Azul (2034/35, 2035/36)
- Dstv Premiership (RSA)		Kaizer Chiefs (2022/23-2024/25)
	
5 Champions Leagues (5/5)
 
- UEFA Champions League (Europe)	PSG (2043/44)
- Asian Champions League 		Guangzhou Evergrande (2030)		
- Copa Libertadores (South America)	Corinthians (2039)	
- North American Champions League	Cruz Azul (2026/37)	
- CAF Champions League (Africa)		Kaizer Chiefs (2024/25)		

 
FIFA Club World Cup (1/1)	        PSG (2044/45)

10 Others (Domestic Cups from 10 separate nations) (7/10)

- DFB-Pokal (GER)			Dortmund (2033/34)
- Brazilian Cup (BRA)			Corinthians (2038,2039)
- Coupe de France (FRA)			PSG (2041/42)
- Copa MX (MEX)				Cruz Azul (2034/35)
- Chinese FA Cup (CHI)			Guangzhou Evergrande (2027/28)
- Nedbank Cup (RSA)			Kaizer Chiefs (2026/27, 2027/28)
- Italian Cup.   			Inter (2032/33)


Total Trophies 24/32

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by SK

[vikeologist]

@Crispypaul Congrats on completing, and with a quickness I can only dream about. There is a part of me tempted to give the challenge another go just to see if I can do it more quickly (2075 and 2057).I don't think 2057 is that bad. Both times I think I've completed the club side of things quickly. It's the international side that holds me up). I could always start and throw my dollies out of the pram once something goes wrong.

Was this the first time you'd tried the challenge. I feel like you've been a longtime friend of the thread.

@SKCongrats on navigating the banana skin. I'm not sure we've ever had anybody unable to obtain the CWC (or the Confederations Cup which used to be the B skin) but of course people just stop posting. That's why it's nice when peopl like @goonergez share the pain as well as the gains. Nice for the thread. Less so for them. I've kind f said this before, but I loved the early years of this thread, largely because of all the disappointments (and many, many sackings) that befell Normandy Wept and myself.

@goonergezOf course congrats on your successes. You should be able to win one of the cups next year. I don't wish to establish you as a symbol of failure. You did win all those trophies last time round. Believe me, the person who's had the most failures on this challenge isn't you. I appreciate all of you that take the time to post on here  and who don't win every single trophy you need to win first time round despite having about a 44% win rate).

[berrers]

2040/41

- STANDARD LIEGE -

Having won all I could win in China with Herbei, It was time to move on... although I was targeting a french or African job none came up that were really appealing so a quick check on Standard Liege showed they were well placed in the league and in a cup semi final!

 

BELGIAN CUP

My Attempts at a quick domestic cup grab...foiled by the strongest side in the country even though we did batter them in the final!

 

BELGIAN LEAGUE

The league splits after 34 games to a championship & european places mini league

Runner up in both but didn't take over until boxing day during the season... had a good run as well only losing one game...which happened to be the cup final 

 

INTERNATIONAL

- BRAZIL -

Qualification confirmed ahead of the 2042 World Cup.

 

WHAT'S NEXT

As per the last update, the aim is to get over to France or africa when possible but if no interesting jobs are there I will just stick it out in Belgium until they do and hopefully add a league and cup there!

The 42' World Cup will be my last tournament with Brazil as well...so hopefully 4th time lucky on winning that!

[karax268]

couldn't resist the temptation anylonger, so starting this challenge again

 

 

No club wants me yet. So I'm starting my career with the national side of Indonesia.

They are curently in the Qualis for the asian cup

The board expects us to qualify. that gives me four games to make an impact

[Safe Hands]

Levante B team

 

 

Decided to start this year a little different and loaded the lower leagues of Europe's top divisions. First interview was with Levante B team, they were struggling near the bottom of bottom division in Spain. 1 win in 8 but never managed a B team before so thought why not. Squad wasn't 2 bad, 2 very good players on loan. A Serbian under 21 winger and a striker from Tenerife who looked amazing for the league. they also had 2 decent players makers one very good who West Ham wanted. I decided to play a 433 to utilise my strong players and we started with a 1-0. This followed with 2 disappointing defeats and a 3 month injury to the player West Ham were watching. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as i had to switch to a 442. This lead to a 10 game unbeaten streak and put us in the playoffs. I was disappointed as the on loan striker i expected to be a goal machine just didn't turn up all season and finished with a poor return of 8 goals

This is where the life of a B team manager get so frustrating. On the winter transfer deadline day, i presume first team manager decided to loan out half my squad. I quickly put bids in for some loan players but the club wouldn't allow it. Without any wage budget we were left with 18 players and injuries. I had only 1 fullback so had to switch to a 352, we were solid enough but couldn't create even with our highly rated play maker back. We lost 5 on the trot 1-0. 

I manged to pick up a young right back on a free who wasn't great but allowed us to return to 442 where our form really picked up. 3 games to go we were a point of the playoffs a disappointing draw at home to a mid table side was followed up with a win to a bottom league team. Meaning last game of season we needed a win away to 2nd and hope results went our way in another game. We were unfortunately well beaten 2-0 and just missed out. 

B team management was frustrating as I'm confident had we kept the squad in place and the first team stopped taking out better players every other game we would have made the playoffs. They offered me a new contract but I'm deciding against it as i cant have another frustrating season like that and most players contracts are expiring and doesn't look like the club will renew. I managed to get my C licence and working on B so hopefully other jobs open up. I'll probably stay in Spain and see if i can get a job at a team where i make the decisions. At moment i only have Europe loaded and other leagues on view only but may decide to open up another part of the world and see what happens.

Finally table below and update profile.

 

 

[goonergez]

Cape Town City: 2024/25 Review

Having won both the Premier Division and surprisingly the Champions League as well, we came into this campaign needing only one of the domestic cup competitions to complete my African journey. I was keeping my options open with regards to moving clubs but In the mean time saw this as a great opportunity to finish the first leg of my career. My hope was to grab the South African Knockout Cup as it ends just before Christmas during the season. If we could do that then I’d have the perfect opportunity to move on to either America or Asia just prior to their league campaigns beginning.

We ended up breezing our way through the competition before picking up the trophy with an absolute demolition of a performance. We reached the final beating Chippa United 4-0, then Orlando Pirates 3-1 and Stellenbosch 2-0 during a dominant run. The final was tense during the first half but we blew them away during the second period. A thoroughly deserved trophy that enabled me to move on with my plans to leave the club having completed all I needed in South Africa. It turned out that trying to find a new job and opportunity was a lot tougher than I had hoped though and so I ended up seeing the campaign through with Cape Town City. After this it was all about trying to grab as many trophies as possible before I left.

After a slow start to the campaign we found our feet and ended up winning the league again. A second crown here for me and a fourth consecutive for the club. At times we were brilliant and if we’d started better we could’ve really breezed to it this time around. As it was it seemed tight although our superior goal difference meant we had effectively won the title with a game to spare. Striker Bongokuhle Hlongwane managed an impressive 13 goals but our best performer was probably left winger Khanyisile Mayo. He found the net regularly but was just a constant thorn in the sides of defences during a fantastic campaign.

Having already clinched the Knockout Cup we also managed to add the South African FA Cup having lost in the final last season. We met Kaizer Chiefs in the final and fought back brilliantly from a goal down to win 3-1. All the more satisfying having lost out almost embarrassingly to Chippa United last season. We failed in the Super-8 Cup but that came during a spell early on in the season where we really struggled to get our campaign running with any consistency. The Champions league was absolutely devastating for us as we were undone late in the game. We found ourselves 0-2 and a man down early on but fought back valiantly. Two goals in each half saw us shockingly leading 4-2 with ten minutes to play but we couldn’t hold on. Our opponents made the most of their man advantage to claw it back to 4-4 and take the game to extra time. With our players running out of puff we came unstuck in extra time and lost out 4-5. An unbelievable effort but in the end we fell just short.

Not shown on the screen shot though was a disappointing penalty shoot out loss to Orlando Pirates in the African Super Cup. We dominated proceedings but drew 1-1 meaning we faced the lottery of a penalty shoot out and missed out. Disappointing but certainly not embarrassing.

My contract with this club is about to end and it’s time for me to leave Africa and continue my career elsewhere: so far I’ve found it hard to get interviews anywhere though and I’m a little worried that if I leave I’m going to end up stuck on the unemployment line. My aim is to head to china or America and their campaigns are at a stage where managers will start departing soon. Hopefully I’ll get a breakthrough somewhere.

I am also kicking off my international management career having been handed the job with Nigeria. Ironically replacing Eric Tinkler, the same man who I replaced with Cape Town City. They relieved him of his position after a disappointing showing in the African Cup of Nations back in February. I’m tasked with guiding them into the World Cup, an exciting challenge for sure. They are ranked 19th in the world though so the quality is definitely there. Hopefully I can perform well enough in qualification in order to have a shot at the next edition of the African Cup of Nations.

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2023/24	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	1st (C)		South African Premier League Winners, African Champions League Winners
2024/25	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	1st (C)		South African Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, SA Knockout Cup Winners

2025-present	Nigeria

1/10 Top Domestic Leagues (2023/24 SA Premier League)
1/10 Domestic Cups (2024/25 SA Cup)
1/5 Continental Championships (2023/24 African Champions League)
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[goonergez]

Toronto FC: Takeover

Having clinched all I needed in South Africa it was time to depart and find the next leg of my managerial journey. I had decided already that I wanted either America or Asia and thankfully I have now found a new role and am ready to crack on. As my contract with Cape Town City entered its last week I finally received a job offer and packed my bags. Having failed to be offered a contract following three interview processes I finally had a contract on the table and it was time to look forward. Joining Toronto FC was a no brainier really and I’ve managed to get a job offer with a really good side. In fact they entered this MLS season as favourites to win it and has certainly not hit the heights they probably should have. I join with 14 matches remaining and work to be done.

In truth things still look fairly good and the first aim here is to complete a campaign that would see us finish as high up the table as possible. A poor run of recent form saw the back of the previous manager but I am sure I can get this squad performing better again. Making the post season play-offs is essential but I’m pretty sure that we can do that with relative ease. I want us to try and chase down top spot and overturn the MLS winners from two seasons back in Columbus Crew. Getting to know my players will be the first priority, then ensuring that results on the field improve enough to consider this season a real success story.

Long term I have to aim to win the MLS and the North American edition of the Champions League. Having joined a Canadian team I cannot compete in the domestic cup here in America, which is somewhat frustrating. I just figured that joining a side considered one of the favourites to win the MLS was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.
 

Season	Club			Competition		Position	Notes & Achievements
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021/22	Black Leopards		SA First Division	4th
2022/23	Black Leopards		SA First Division	1st (C)		SA First Division Winners
2023/24	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	1st (C)		South African Premier League Winners, African Champions League Winners
2024/25	Cape Town City		SA Premier Division	1st (C)		South African Premier League Winners, SA Cup Winners, SA Knockout Cup Winners
2025	Toronto FC		MLS			ongoing

2025-present	Nigeria

1/10 Top Domestic Leagues (2023/24 SA Premier League)
1/10 Domestic Cups (2024/25 SA Cup)
1/5 Continental Championships (2023/24 African Champions League)
0/1 Club World Championship

0/5 Continental Tournaments
0/1 World Tournament

 

[Crispypaul]

@vikeologist

Thank you very much! I've tried a couple of iterations before but this is the clear favourite attempt.

I'll be starting with the dafuge challenge on Tuesday, might well be back here later on. Hope everyone gets on well with their attempts