[FM23] ¡Somos El Nacional!

[bpecanha]

Bienvenidos! I've decided to start with El Nacional, one of the most traditional clubs in Ecuador. The reason why I chose this club is because they have a very particular transfer policy: El Nacional is allowed to sign Ecuatorian players only, so this is going to be a Bilbao-esque save. I'm going to extend this to staff as well, so any staff member at the club who isn't from Ecuador is going to be released.

For this journey, I've opted to choose former midfielder Christian Lara as the manager. Lara is a former Ecuatorian international and played in the 2006 World Cup. Lara was a small and technical player, so the intent will be to play offensive, quick football, in a suitable style for Ecuatorian players.

About El Nacional: they are a team founded in 1964 in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Los Puros Criollos (pure natives) are back in the top flight after winning the Serie B in 2022 in real life (in FM, however, I've started in 2022 with the club already in the first division). With huge success in the 70s and 80s, El Nacional is one of the biggest winners in Ecuatorian football, adding 13 Serie A trophies to their cabinet - the last one in 2006. They are only behind the duo from Guayaquil (Barcelona, with 16, and Emelec, with 14 league wins). in FM, El Nacional plays in the Municipal General Rumiñahuí stadium, a 7.233 all-seater.

     

El Nacional is predicted to finish 13th of 16 clubs in Serie A, with odds of 201.00 - anything better than this is going to be faced as a good outcome, since our financial status isn't good and our board only wants us to avoid finishing bottom of the league.

I'm going to update this save in a month to month basis, and I'll bring my first steps in the next posts. Here's the database setup:

Edited June 28, 2023 by bpecanha

[bpecanha]

SQUAD, STAFF AND TACTICS

Before presentating the squad, I'd like to say that there are currently 35 players in the club - this is an unsustainable number, even more because we are on a 500k debt right now, using all our wage budget and we're only going to play in two competitions this year: the Ecuatorian Serie A and the Ecuatorian Cup. That being said, I'm planning to offload at least 10 players, but I simply can't find good deals right now, so I'm waiting patiently. Let's see who we have at our disposal in the club:

GOALKEEPERS:

Leodán Chalá is one of the best players in the club, and I'd say he's one of the best goalkeepers in the league as well, so he's obviously our best option right now. David Cabezas seems to be a reliable option in the bench. Jordán Congo is transfer listed, and Sebastián Zumba is likely going out on loan.

CENTER BACKS:

I'll explain it later, but I'm using a 5-3-2 system in my start at the club, so first I'm showing the center backs. It's a position where we lack quality, although we have promising players like Rommel Cabezas, Norman Micolta, Jhonnier Chalá and Jeremy del Castillo. I haven't found my back 3 yet - Jhonnier Chalá seems to be our most reliable option, but the rest of the spots are open. Jerry Parrales is also being used a lot, and even Daniel Patiño is being tested in the position. Ronal de Jesús and Jipson Orovio are likely to leave in the near future, they both are transfer listed.

LEFT BACKS:

Another position in which we are stacked, with three options. I've used all of them and Orlín Quiñonez seems to be the best of the lot - he was injured when I arrived, and then Eddy Mejía was our first choice. He had good games, but I feel he lacks consistency sometimes. Bryan Nazareno is a good player, but he's a defensive-minded left back and I'm using offensive wing backs, so maybe he's the one who's going to be sold.

RIGHT BACKS:

Here we have the exact opposite situation of the LB role: lacking players and desperately in need of someone. Daniel Patiño (listed as a CB) was our first choice at the start of the season, but his performances were below average - that's why I decided to play him as a CB. Adrián Angulo doesn't have the level and is transfer listed. With that terrible situation, despite our short budget, I had to find a good deal in the market and got Junior Ayoví on loan from Guayaquil City - hopefully he'll be a good addition. Ayoví was our only signing in the first transfer window.

MIDFIELDERS:

Another difficult position and one that we are looking forward to bring reinforcements in the next transfer window. I have decided to give a chance to Miguel Caicedo in the starting XI and he didn't disappointed me, one of our best players so far as a BWM. Kevin Arroyo is our backup player in this role, and Bryan Tana is playing as an Advanced Playmaker - Manuel Balda and Diego Armas should be the main options here, but they both were playing so bad. Balda actually found a bit of his form playing as DLF in attack, as well as Madison Julio, who's playing as a AMC or ST. Armas isn't playing well and was benched.

Bryan Oña was transfer listed at first to help us make some money, but no team wants him right now, so I'm considering giving him a chance. Jesús García is clearly a U20 player, he's only there because I'm not using a U20 setup right now.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS, WINGERS AND STRIKERS:

I have put them all together because this part of my tactic is a mess, to be honest. I don't know if I stick with a 5-3-2 or 5-4-1, I've been rotating players a lot and it's hard to find someone who performs really well here. Ángel Quiñónez, Maicon Solis and Byron Palacios are our best options right now. Jorge Ordóñez and Steven Gómez are options in bench; Carrillo, Asprilla and Caicedo are transfer listed, while Valverde and Linthon are listed for loan.

Talking about departures, only one player left so far: midfielder José Bueno was loaned to Serie B side America de Quito.

STAFF MEMBERS

This isn't a great staff team to be fair, but this isn't terrible. César Benalcázar is a good Fitness Coach for this level. I want to make progress and hire a HoYD as soon as possible, but our options aren't good right now. Our former assistant manager, Adriano Samaniego, had his contract terminated because he was from Paraguay.

TACTICS

These are our three main setups - I don't train them at the same time, but they are used regularly. The idea is to play using the wings with fast players, getting players in good positions quickly and retaining defensive shape at the same time. I'm getting mixed results. Sometimes, it works like a charm, but in some matches we are absolutely dull.

[bpecanha]

ECUATORIAN SERIE A - FEBRUARY TO APRIL/22

That was a really decent start to the season, especially considering we were predicted to finish 13th. February was magical, with a solid win against Aucas and great result against Barcelona de Guayaquil, one of the favourites to lift the trophy. Our defensive work paid off against them and we were the best team through the match.

In March, our form started to drop, with bad results against Guayaquil City (the surprise of the league so far) and mainly against Orense at home. Libertad was a decent draw, but I'd like to highlight our fixture against Delfín - one of the most entertaining and thrilling matches I've ever played in Football Manager. They scored in their first shot and then we were the better team by far, conceding no chances. El Nacional finally got a penalty in the 24th minute, but Ordóñez hit the post. Three minutes later, Jaramillo was sent off for Delfín after a terrible foul, but somehow they found the net again in their 2nd shot.

The second half was madness. Byron Palacios got one back for us quickly and it seemed that we would get the comeback sooner or later, considering the amount of chances that we had. However, their goalkeeper (Juan Martín Rojas) turned into prime Neuer. That was true until the 92th minute, when he made a huge mistake after an easy cross and somehow dropped the ball in the feet of Maicon Solís, who only kicked the ball to the net. Two minutes later, Diego Armas sent a free kick to the area and Jerry Parrales netted a beautiful header to give us a spectacular victory.

 

April was our worst month so far, but I understand it, since we have faced a lot of tough teams in sequence: Emelec, Independiente del Valle and LDU Quito. El Nacional actually played well against LDU, but were totally outclassed against Emelec and Del Valle - don't be fooled by statistics in the IDV match, they were dominant from start to end. At least we got crucial wins against Cumbayá and Universidad Católica (Quito).

LEAGUE TABLE:

With four games left to end the Opening Stage of the league, we are heading to end in a respectable mid-table position. My main plan for this year is to stay in this part of the table and try to fight for a Copa Sudamericana spot - hopefully it'll be possible. Our main concern is our current form, we can't let our recent matches (against big clubs) affect our performances against the smaller ones. We are in 12th place in Last 5 Games table.

I have made a 3 month update this time because I had already played those matches before creating the topic. Now I'm going to post month to month updates, as I said in the introduction.

Edited June 28, 2023 by bpecanha

[bpecanha]

MAY 2022

I went back to the 5-2-3 WB Wide because I felt it was giving us better results and it paid off, with two wins and one draw against teams at our level (ou worst than us). Our exhibition against Técnico Universitario wasn't one of the best, but we were lethal in the 2nd half and got the win. Mushuc Runa was a boring match, nothing to highlight here. In the other hand, the match against Deportivo Cuenca was crazy stuff. They outclassed us in the first half, but somehow only managed to score one goal. We levelled the score in the 2nd half, only for them to score again. However, my tactical tweaks were on point this time and we started to put pressure on them. Quiñónez equalized, and then Palacios scored the winner in the last kick of the game with a weird header, causing absolute pandemonium in the stands.

This match against Cuenca ended the Apertura (or the Opening Stage) of Serie A. We've finished in a respectable 6th position, only two points away from Guayaquil City, who finished 2nd. This is certainly better than I was expecting and definetely gives us some hope to clinch a Copa Sudamericana spot next season. Now, we need to maintain the rhythm in the Clausura. One thing is certain: even if we improve in the next years, we'll still have a lot of work to do to beat Independiente del Valle - they have great players, great facilities and are demolishing the league.

TRANSFERS:

We are trying to offload some players, but nothing has been done yet. Adrián Angulo was close to sign with Venezuelan side Zulia, but refused to play there in the end. However, El Nacional is looking for good business and secured the loan signing of IDV center back Andy Velasco - we also have the option to buy him for $ 32k.