[FM24] C.F Estrela da Amadora - "I Love This Game!"

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

all I can do is think positively and push forward

Yep. The loss to Athletic is undoubtedly a blow but very unlucky to face them so early.

Maybe play the youngsters in the domestic cups and, as you say, focus on the league 

[Dong21]

2 hours ago, warlock said:

Yep. The loss to Athletic is undoubtedly a blow but very unlucky to face them so early.

Maybe play the youngsters in the domestic cups and, as you say, focus on the league 

That's the plan! Upwards and onwards we go.

I've already made a fair bit of progress since the last update. The joys of a lean fixture list 

[Dong21]

September 2025

We began September scoring 10 goals across two games. The goals were split across seven different players, demonstrating the goalscoring prowess we possess within the squad. The most exciting thing for me was the performances of 17 year old midfielder Vezo who I used from the bench in both games. Not only did he play well, he directly contributed, getting three assists across the two matches. White and Costinha missed out on these matches due to injuries. White was ruled out for six weeks with a hernia and Costinha pulled an ab muscle, missing two weeks of action. The goal scored by Barco against Chaves won the league's Goal of the Month award.

We played another youthful side in the Cup, giving starts to Cerqueira, Vezo and Tavares. This proved to be a success and striker Tavares got his first goal for the club. 

Following the departure of Turati, Valdimarsson is our undisputed number one 'keeper. I therefore decided to reward him with a new five year contract. How did he thank me? By causing a comical own goal that cost us three points against Santa Clara. My Icelandic stopper rushed out and booted the ball against one of his defenders, pinballing into the path of the opposition striker who was presented with a tap in. I was disappointed that we were unable to come back and win later in the game. 

October 2025

More frustration followed against Maritimo. Much the better side, but unable to deliver the win. We had the added disappointment of a penalty shout denied by VAR. Afterwards we learned that White had once again picked up an injury, this time it was knee tendinitis ruling him out for five weeks.

We got things back on track with a convincing win against Boavista in the Taca de Portugal. McKennie got on the scoresheet but also got himself on the transfer list. For the third time this season he passed to an opposition player which then led to a goal. I have had enough. I have decent cover in defensive and centre midfield, so I can afford to lose him. He has plenty of time on his contract, so I hope to get a decent fee for him in January.

Our 2-0 win against S. Joao Ver should have been by a much wider margin. We had 25 shots and an xG of 4.55! The highlight of this match was the return to the starting eleven for youngster Freitas after three months out injured - he won the penalty that Brenner converted. 

After being equally unhappy at not being sold and us not reaching the ECL group stage, I was surprised when right back Costinha approached me to ask for a new contract. I pounced at the opportunity and agreed a new four year deal with him.

 

Edited August 5 by Dong21

[Dong21]

November 2025

November arrived and with it came our first significant test in the league, a visit to the Estadio do Dragao. Porto, now managed by Arne Slot, completely bombarded us. Our defence stood strong however and I was delighted to come away from Porto’s place with a point and a clean sheet. 

Next up was a significant victory against Vitoria, a team I see as a direct rival for European football. We started off with a cautious approach, but went a goal down. Somewhat fortuitously their goalkeeper went off injured on the 40 minute mark, therefore I decided to go more attacking. This mentality shift, along with my instructions to shoot on sight, paid off as we scored twice to come back and win the game. The scoreline could have been broader had forward Brenner's shot not hit both posts but not the net. This result saw us rise to 2nd in the league, at this early stage.

The cup game against Mafra was a good opportunity to play some reserves. The theme of the game was centre backs scoring, as Kovacevic scored and Relvas got a brace.

We finally lost our first game of the season and it was in an unjust manner. We played well, evidenced by the fact we had 61% possession, but elite forward Gyokeres scored with a wonder-strike from distance.

Other notable events this month were that I declined a job interview at Villareal and that I noticed former player Bradley Dack had surprisingly retired earlier aged just 31. Good job I sold him only months earlier!

December 2025

It was three wins out of three in a delightfully brief December.

Against Arouca we were disappointed to concede a penalty, but pleased with win overall. Yet again our defenders got on the scoresheet, continuing our improvement from set pieces this campaign.

Against Gil Vicente in the Taca de Portugal we made 10 changes with only one of these forced, as striker Silva pulled his hamstring in training and was ruled out for a month. Young centre back Cerqueira scored his first goal for the club - a header from a free kick. Gil Vicente couldn't muster a shot, so it was a good performance all round.

Finally, we ended the year by thrashing Rio Ave. I would have been pleased to end the game 4-1, but a stoppage time goal from striker Baloyi was icing on the cake. Baloyi became the club's youngest goalscorer at age 16 years and 215 days. To add to the joy, it was another youth prospect Vezo who got the assist. 

We saw after the game that Benfica beat Sporting meaning that we moved up to third in the table. Having no European football to distract us seems to be working for us!

Edited August 6 by Dong21

[warlock]

Can't believe you're only three years in the future... feels like a decade since you took over in Portugal .

Still mixing it with the big boys 

[Dong21]

I looked it up earlier and it's only a few weeks away from being a year since I started this save 

Life just consistently gets in the way (in a good way) and I don't get much time to play - but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy it!

The slow march to the finish line continues 

[Dong21]

January 2026 - Transfer Dealings

Same as in the prior season, we have had an active winter transfer window. 

First, I'll cover who is staying put. During the window we received and rejected bids from Celtic, RB Salzburg, Al Shabab and Lyon for first choice 'keeper Valdimarsson. After losing Turati in September I was determined to retain my other top class goalkeeper. Having recently signed a five year deal and no release clause, I was in a position of relative stability, however the Icelandic star became unhappy for being denied a shot at Champions League football. I told him to stay here and help achieve that goal here, which he seemed happy and motivated by.

Next up to attract attention was my 19 year old midfielder Freitas. Vitoria asked to take him on trial which I obviously rejected and Sporting and Braga made bids of similar value to that of which I paid for him a year previous. Freitas is a player I would like to try and develop, so all efforts to pries him away were blocked.

Finally, PSV made a paltry bid of £18m for right back Costinha on deadline day which I obviously rejected. I was turning down £40m in the summer. This made Costinha unhappy again, however I had the same chat I had with Valdimarsson and again it worked. This is a short term solution as Champions League qualification is unlikely and so the unhappiness is just postponed until the summer.

New Arrivals

I made two marquee signings in January and both are the exact calibre of player I desire; talented players, better than what I already have, undervalued and at an age at which they should hopefully continue to improve. 

I broke the record for most expensive club signing for the third time this season when I acquired Arnau Comas from Basel for £17m. That may sound expensive, but as you can see above he is already valued at over £30m shortly after joining. Comas is a defender with great technical pedigree having come through the famed La Masia academy in Barcelona and he went on to have three high-performing seasons at Basel in Switzerland. Upon arrival, my coaching staff declared him the most talented centre back at the club. Not long after arriving we received the news that Comas had been selected as the Swiss league's Defender of the Year.

If Comas was undervalued, Rodrigo Muniz was definitively a bargain. One of my favourite pastimes is identifying and triggering delicious South American release clauses. When I saw that Rodrigo's clause was only £5.75m I had to move swiftly. Following a spell at Fulham, the advanced forward had returned to Brazil and was about to start his third season at Athletico Paranaense before I swooped in and brought him back to Europe. He is yet to have been prolific at his previous clubs - 11 league goals last season is his current best - but I feel my system can get the best out of him.

There was one more permanent signing this window, but this one was out of necessity rather than opportunity. Unhappy at his lack of game time, Brighton decided to terminate the loan of backup goalkeeper Verbruggen as soon as the transfer window opened. This left me with only one first team quality goalkeeper for the second half of the season. I took another look at the loan market but could not find anyone suitable, therefore I decided to scour the free agent list. 

Ivan Arboleda had recently become a free agent after a successful season with Independiente Santa Fe in his native Columbia. He is certainly not a long-term solution, but he is good enough to act as cover until a full time replacement arrives in the summer. Speaking of which...

Pre-Contract Transfers

When we have been a club with less resources, we have had to bide our time, wait for players to be released and finally when their wage expectations have dropped then tried to make an approach. Through our methodical approach of buying and selling, coupled with success on the pitch, we are now capable of proactively targeting players whose contracts expire in six months time.

Another Arnau from the Barcelona system - I'm developing a 'type'! Our scouts rate Arnau Tenas as a Portuguese Liga quality player who has the potential to even out develop Valdimarsson. Crucially, the Spanish youth international was happy accepting the contractual status of 'cup goalkeeper' when signing, so there will be no hurt feelings when he is asked to be second choice. Again, he meets the exact profile of players we are looking to acquire.

The final deal appears to be the finest signing I have made to date. I was frankly shocked when Atalanta star Ederson was interested in joining Estrela. He is an excellent midfielder who features regularly for the Serie A side. I think the reason he wishes to depart is that they failed to qualify for Europe last season and are on course to do so again. Our staff rate him a 4.5 star player, our best quality by a mile. I am excited to see how he contributes from the summer of 2026 onwards.

Departures

There were three major departures to report on this window. 

Centre back Kovacevic has been unsettled for some time, by virtue of never being able to secure a starting berth in the team. He was a young player I wished to develop however having seen the opportunity to bring in Comas I decided to balance the books and cash in on my Serbian stopper. The best bid we received was £9.5m from Brest, so that is where he departed to. 

The second sale was one I was delighted to do. Ever since his three goal costing errors earlier in the season I had decided that McKennie would be shown the door. On paper he is in his prime and interest was high from Saudi and the Premier League. After accepting multiple £28m bids, the American midfielder elected Everton as the next step in his career. A great sum for a player I wanted rid of. We are potentially slightly light in centre midfield for the rest of the season, but I want to give opportunities to the likes of Garner and Freitas so I was able to reconcile this. Plus I know that Ederson is arriving soon.

The final sale was different. This was a player I was extremely fond of. In three years at the club striker Karamoko scored 70 goals. For a club of our stature that is a player with a very impressive goal return. That said, I can't afford to be sentimental. With the arrival of Rodrigo, Karamoko was now our fifth best striker and I needed to balance the books. Technically he is the fourth best permanent striker as Silva is only on loan, but I have three young strikers coming through the ranks so I cannot stockpile forwards. Serbian side Crvena zvezda bid £13.75m and my Ivorian favourite departed.

A number of my highest rated young prospects were sent out on loan now that the cup competitions are winding down and there will be less opportunities for them to play. Striker Tavares went on loan to Bochum, home-grown centre back Cerqueira was awarded a two year contract extension and then went on loan to Rio Ave to get Portuguese Liga experience (they are currently having a great season and are in the top half) and younf midfielder Vezo was sent to third division Alverca for minutes. High potential forward Sremcevic was only granted six first team appearances during his first half a season on loan at Malaga. I therefore decided to recall him and send him back to Gil Vicente where he spent some of the last campaign.

Staff Arrival

I tend to conduct my staffing recruitment in the summer after taking a moment to review the composition of my staff. An exception was made on this occasion, as making an approach seemed absolutely vital. Having noticed that Sporting Lisbon had released the exceptionally talented goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital I simply had to make a move for the Portuguese native. Jonathan Gould had done a fine job as 'keeper coach across the last three seasons but he had to make way for my new man and mutual termination was agreed.

Finances

The final thing to note is that after the purchases of Comas and Rodrigo, and despite balancing the books through player sales, the board informed me that they were going to take away what was left of my transfer and wage budgets to protect the clubs finances. I was thinking that perhaps this is linked to the cost of purchasing the stadium, which I asked Evra to do this season. However, not long after pondering the club's finances, there was an announcement that our friends at the mysterious telecommunications company had once again injected funds into the club by way of sponsorship. This time to the tune of a whopping £26m!

 

 

Edited August 6 by Dong21

[warlock]

54 minutes ago, Dong21 said:

our friends at the mysterious telecommunications company had once again injected funds

Everyone should have a mysterious benefactor 

[Hootieleece]

I love how you are keeping within your budgets and keep finding ways to find your "type" of player.  Whenever I have a player, I want to sell there is usually no market. I am currently playing in Japan and that is a different experience. With large numbers of short slow players especially in the CB positions.

[Dong21]

19 hours ago, warlock said:

Everyone should have a mysterious benefactor 

Hopefully we don’t face a major points deduction in the future for hiding when the funds are coming from an illegitimate source, like what happened to Vitesse 

18 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

I love how you are keeping within your budgets and keep finding ways to find your "type" of player.

Thanks! We had to do some wheeling and dealing at first but now I have established the club as a side who challenges for European football I have been able to implement a clear transfer strategy.

[Dong21]

January 2026

In amongst all the transfer activity was a great month of league football. We beat B-SAD, Gil Vicente and Pacos de Ferreira by four goal margins, beat Portimonense by three goals and, of course the stand-out victory, we beat our local neighbours Benfica 2-0 in their own stadium. The only minor blip was a goalless draw against Sporting Braga, which was disappointing as we dominated and had a goal disallowed but overall was still a relatively good result.

The star of the month was clearly our Brazilian forward Brenner. He was award both the league's Forward of the Month and Player of the Month after scoring seven goals, including three sets of braces. Costinha came third in the Player of the Month awards and his biggest contribution was the opening goal against Benfica. The second goal against them was recorded as an own goal but in reality this was a long range screamer from Karamoko that had the slightest of deflections. Having only conceded one goal across six games, my defence definitely deserves a big shout out. Centre back McKenna was recognised as the Defender of the Month and 'keeper Valdimarsson was picked as the Goalkeeper of the Month. All three award winners dedicated their wins to their coaching, highlighting the tight-knit bond we all share.

Other highlights to note included young striker Tavares getting his first two goals for the club against B-SAD before being sent out on loan and forward Silva scoring an excellent overhead kick to complete a hat-trick in the cup against Cinfaes. That Taca de Portugal match was where 'keeper Arboleda made his debut and I was pleased to see him return a clean sheet. Additionally, the game against Portimonense saw Rodrigo score on his debut and left back Barco got a brace of assists.

The month ends with us in the lofty position of 2nd. I certainly did not expect the season to be going as well as it has. We have been doing a great job of beating the teams who are not challenging for Europe, but it is victories like the ones against Benfica that propel us into genuine contention. Porto and Benfica have two games in hand so it is likely we will soon fall down to 4th, but that would still be a great position for us.

The final thing to cover is our exit from the Taca de Liga. The final four of the competition came down to Porto, Sporting, Benfica and ourselves. We wee drawn against Porto in the semi's. We were near identical in number of shots, xG and possession - it was a really close game. Youngsters Cequeira and Freitas played 90 minutes each. Brenner was the hero in normal time, grabbing the goal, but the villain in the shoot-out when he was one of two players who missed their penalties. A run to the semi-final was above expectation and now we are back to focusing on the league.  

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

The month ends with us in the lofty position of 2nd

That was a fantastic month, especially in a hectic schedule. Fingers crossed that Porto and Benfica slip up in those games in hand.

[Jogo Bonito]

Your ongoing over-performance here is remarkable, put more in to context when I see your tiny attendances. This is an unusual save in that the club cannot making revenues from the fan-base, but revenues from European football are pushing you on.

A great squad review as always, and the capture of Ederson for free at 26 is an astonishingly great piece of recruitment. I'd love him at Bologna but he is worth 54 million + and under contract to 2029. You've done very well there!

[Dong21]

On 06/08/2024 at 23:37, warlock said:

That was a fantastic month, especially in a hectic schedule. Fingers crossed that Porto and Benfica slip up in those games in hand.

Thanks @warlock! One can hope for slip ups but I think it is relatively unlikely. The big three's squads remain really strong. They sell players for big profits, reinvest in their teams and have top class academies that seem to churn out endless talent.

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Your ongoing over-performance here is remarkable, put more in to context when I see your tiny attendances. This is an unusual save in that the club cannot making revenues from the fan-base, but revenues from European football are pushing you on.

Yes I find the attendance element really interesting too. We've gone from average attendances of 200 to over 5,000 in four seasons but ideally we need this to grow again to help sustain our position without outside investment.

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

A great squad review as always, and the capture of Ederson for free at 26 is an astonishingly great piece of recruitment. I'd love him at Bologna but he is worth 54 million + and under contract to 2029. You've done very well there!

I couldn't believe that (a) his contract had been allowed to run down to six months and (b) that we were the club he most wanted to join. Hopefully he can be our star man in the 2026/27 season.

[Dong21]

February 2026

Our strong league form continued into February as we delivered a perfect set of results, six wins out of six.

Each fixture was one I would expect to have won, but as we all know actually delivering that can sometimes be difficult, with unexpected banana skins tripping you up.

Rodrigo was the star of the show against Estoril. A player getting a hat-trick is a rarity for this side so I was delighted when he achieved this. It was a shame to see midfielder Jorgensen get taken off with a twisted knee (out for three weeks) but his replacement Garner then got on the score-sheet. New arrival Comas did give away a penalty, but we didn't dwell on the negatives as winning this game saw us go top of the table. Nosebleeds have begun to kick in as we managed to remain on top for the rest of the month.

The most notable thing about the Moreirense result was that both the Portugal and England managers were in the crowd scouting my players for future squads. Against Vizela there was a slight hiccup when we went 1-0 down but we then scored two to take the lead and then they had a player sent off on 32 minutes which meant the result was then inevitable. We achieved a club record of 15 games undefeated when we beat Chaves. 1-0 looks like a close game but we had 20 shots and our opponents had zero.

Jorgensen, just back from injury, then pulled his calf muscle in training (out for another three weeks) ahead of the Santa Clara game. His run of bad fitness luck continues. Both of Rodrigo's goals saw him intercept back passes and tap in past their 'keeper - this was a combination of very sloppy play from our opponents and elite sharpness from our forward. 19 year old Guyanese midfielder Dwain Lovell was signed in the summer on a free from Avion to bulk out our U23s side to aide our home-grown young players develop. Due to a shortage of options in centre midfielder Lovell has ended up getting a few first team opportunities, along with fellow youth Freitas, and in this game he got the assist for White's goal. White was the star in our thrashing of Maritimo but his partner Garner and left back Vinagre also deserve credit for their stellar performances.

I have decided to profile Harvey White above as he had an unbelievable February and is developing into a wonderful player. The marauding centre midfielder scored five goals and returned three assist during the month. This meant he was selected as both the league's Midfielder of the Month and Player of the Month. At 24 years old he continues to develop with every game he plays. The only concern is the growing interest from Premier League clubs. It would take a very large bid to tempt me to sell him in the summer!

Our striker Rodrigo has been great since arriving in January and was selected as Forward of the Month, whilst also coming third in the Player of the Month standings after also scoring five goals. I would also like to mention our young forward Sremcevic who is on loan at Gil Vicente, who won the league's Young Player of the Month accolade. Having completed a perfect month of results, I was also rewarded with the Manager of the Month award.

Obviously I am delighted with our league standing, but I must caveat this with the fact that all three of our large rivals have games in hand and we have to play each of them before the season concludes. That said, we are in a good position and look forward to the final three months of the campaign. 

Edited August 11 by Dong21

[Dong21]

March 2026

There were only four games this month, but all of them were important ones. 

The Taca de Portugal is not a priority for us, but we decided to go relatively full strength against Sporting to try to maintain momentum. Full of confidence after February's complete set of wins, we decided to approach the match with an attacking mentality and it paid off. We were extremely dominant with 74% possession and 9 shots on target compared to their two. Last month's main man White was once again the start, with an assist and a goal.

The next game was the most crucial fixture. We knew that a loss would leave us vulnerable to being overtaken. We twice took the lead and twice were pegged back by Evanilson goals - that man has been a thorn in our side for years now - but overall I was delighted to come away with a point. It was a nervy affair, made more stressful by the fact Porto scored two goals which were ruled out as marginally offside. The highlight of this game was that our second goal was scored by 16 year old subsitute forward Baloyi.

On paper, the easiest game of the month was against Vitoria. After so many positive recent results we thought this would be another win, but I need to give Vitoria credit they were deserved winners. We just didn't turn up and they had many more chances than we did. Rodrigo had two goals ruled out as offside in the first 10 mins but other than that we were poor. Our 15 match unbeaten run was over and our rivals gained on us. To make things worse, Garner twisted his ankle and was ruled out for four weeks.

The final result is probably our finest performance of my managerial tenure at Estrela to date. We've beaten Sporting Lisbon before, but never this convincingly. White and Brenner were sublime; the former got two assists and the latter scored a hat-trick. Brenner's first goal was a rocket from well outside the box. Costinha and Comas were class as well and young Freitas came off the bench and assisted the fourth.

Sporting have been playing catch up and now have overtaken us in the league, with us now being the ones with a game in hand. Benfica beat Porto, in the last round of fixtures, to overtake them. It remains extremely tight at the top, with four teams still in contention to win the league - ourselves being the most surprising candidate! 

 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

four teams still in contention to win the league

Exciting! You'd probably have to make Benfica the favourites with their games in hand but everything still to play for.

Good luck mate 

[Dong21]

April 2026

Next up was Moreirense and the game was an end-to-end thriller. Rodrigo scored twice and right back Costinha got two assists. After the game it was confirmed that we had at least qualified for the Europa Conference League next season, but we still had the chance to achieve more than that potentially. 

Rodrigo once again got a brace, this time against Arouca which was my 200th game in management. The best goal, however, was a screamer from left back Barco. Benfica had gained ground on us mid-week by winning one of their games in hand but slipped up at the weekend by drawing with Vitoria.

We held a team meeting prior to the Rio Ave fixture in which we eased expectations regarding qualifying for the Champions League. This was well received in the meeting, but clearly didn't have the desired effect as we then went on to draw. Due to no European football I have been playing a relatively fixed side for the last few months. For this game I rotated in Fabio Silva - he scored but then later was taken off with a twisted knee. His replacement, Brenner, came off the bench and scored. A day later Sporting beat Benfica to go level on points with us at the top and keep Benfica from overtaking us both. After the game we were told that we had qualified for the Europa League.

Despite getting seven points out of nine, it felt like our form was faltering. Conceding seven goals in three games is never good. The confidence from when we last played Sporting had dissipated. Sporting came into the game with a run of 20 home games unbeaten and they continued that record by beating us 2-0. We weren't terrible - we had more possession but less xG - but Sporting were deserved winners. With the game tied at 2-2 on aggregate, we went to penalties. After a run of good penalties from both team, our defender Relvas had his saved by their 'keeper and Sporting won 7-6 on penalties. They would go on to lost on penalties in the final, against Porto. To make things worse for us, Rodrigo and Costinha both went off with knocks and missed the next match against B-SAD.

Our woes continued when we conceded near instantly against B-SAD. The team showed great resilience however, coming back firstly with a goal in stoppage time of the first half and then a winner deep into the final injury time. The first goals was scored by right back Couto, in for the injured Costinha, and the second was a quality strike from left back Barco who is turning into a key performer for us. In fact Barco won the league's Goal of the Month for this winner and was also selected as Young Player of the Month.

Proceedings were soured slightly as I brought on a young right winger, Yahi, to play right wing back at the end of the game but this ended in disaster as he tore his wrist ligaments and was ruled out for six weeks. Even worse, after the game we learnt that centre back McKenna who has played more games than anyone else this season (39 times), had had his campaign ended as he damaged his Achilles tendon after twisting awkwardly in training. The Scotsman will be out for five months.

Despite shipping lots of goals and having to criticise the form of my goalkeeper in private, I was once again selected as Manager of the Month. We are three points clear at the top of the table and have three games left to go. Our three rivals all have four. Our run in is tough; we first play Gil Vicente (12th), then Sporting Braga (7th) and then the all important tie against Benfica (3rd) on the final day.

Wish us good luck!

[Chevie]

Excellent league form! Do I smell a first league title in the air? A shame there won’t be a cup final to look forward to but at least can throw all your eggs into the league basket. Good luck!

 

[Dong21]

7 minutes ago, Chevie said:

Excellent league form! Do I smell a first league title in the air? A shame there won’t be a cup final to look forward to but at least can throw all your eggs into the league basket. Good luck!

Thanks @Chevie! 

I've just wrapped up the season, so another update is incoming shortly... 

[Jogo Bonito]

Great updates as always, and looking forward to seeing how the season played out!

[Dong21]

5 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Great updates as always, and looking forward to seeing how the season played out!

Hitting 'Submit Reply' any moment now 

Edited August 12 by Dong21

[Dong21]

May 2026

Throughout my tenure as Estrela manager full backs have always been critical to the success of my sides. It started with Mansur, then it was the ever-present Costinha and more recently I've had two great contributors on the left hand side in Barco and Vinagre. Against Gil Vicente they once again were the creators of goals; Costinha set up two and Barco set up the other. We were cruising to a 3-0 win when Gil punted the ball up the pitch to Boselli who I assumed was offside, but on replay you can see my team all ran out as the ball was hoofed but he was onside and was able to tap in. This win was our 20th home game unbeaten.

As you can imagine, I was keeping a close eye on the results of my rivals. Benfica were the key threat and so I was delighted to see they lost 3-2 to Rio Ave. To make things even better, in the mid-week they also lost their game in hand against B-SAD 1-0. The wheels were falling off for them at just the right time for us!

The penultimate game of the season was against Braga, a side who have challenged us in the past. Once again we did a team meeting easing expectations and once again what followed was not the result we needed. This was just one of those classic FM games where you have so many shots but can't get the goals. We had a whopping xG of 4.3 and their goalkeeper got a match rating of 8.2. Their first goal was fair enough, their second was very unlucky for us. An aimless cross hit Antov and sailed past my unsuspecting 'keeper. We pulled a goal back in the 93rd minute, but it was too little, too late.

I thought that this was our title aspirations over. The crucial game was against Benfica. To lose one of our other final games was not an option.

To my surprise and delight, Sporting drew 0-0 with Estoril on the same day we lost. Just three days earlier Estoril had drawn 0-0 with Porto. I owe Estoril's manager Luis Freire a nice bottle of wine!

This meant that we went into the final game of the season top, Sporting were one point behind us, and Porto and Benfica both one point behind them. It was extremely tight! We knew we had to win against Benfica to win the league. A draw would see us both likely overtaken as Sporting and Porto both played bottom half of the table teams. We decided to put fate into our own hands and go into the match with a positive attacking approach.

With a packed stadium cheering us on, the players stepped out onto the pitch determined to make history. A tiny club, promoted to the Liga de Portugal four years ago and only formed as a club in 2020, it was time to overthrow the historical giants of Portuguese football and have a new name etched into the league trophy.

And that is what we did! Firstly left back Barco crossed to right back Costinha who smashed in his chance at the far post. Several seasons ago we settled on this formation as the one we wanted to play with and have profiled and signed players to fit that ever since, so it is enjoyable to see it work out on this stage. Next up to score was Jorgensen, who for my money was having the best game of his Estrela career to date playing with an attacking vigour that we hadn't seen the like of before. Trossard scored with a rifled-in shot to make things a little nervy, but less than three minutes later we scored a complete team goal. The ball started at right back, went to our 'keeper and then the move quickly involved every member of the team before subsitute Brumado scored the crucial, title clinching winner. Barco was the rightful man of the match after setting up both of the first two goals.

Estrela da Amadora are crowned Portuguse Liga champions 2025/26!

Several years ago I was receiving near-daily news stories speculating that Evra was about to leave the club. I'm so pleased that he stuck around to see me guide the club he took a chance on to an unprecedented first league title.

At the start of the season I stated that my aim was to come fourth and be seen as the best of the rest. I truly thought that the 'Big Three' were insurmountable. Even as the season progressed and we were seemingly locked in a four way battle for the title, I thought that we would slip up and that they would not. Turns out neither was the case! 

I like to think that I have recruited well, incrementally improving the calibre of the player at my disposal and taking time to only add players who fit my style of play. That said, there is also an element of luck - other than losing McKenna for the final three games of the season we suffered no notable injuries during the season. This was night and day compared to other seasons. The biggest factor in this, in my opinion, was our European exit. Losing to Athletic Bilbao in the first month of the season was the best thing that could have happened to us. It allowed us to play our best eleven the majority of the time and achieve the unexpected.

Edited August 12 by Dong21

[warlock]

Absolutely magnificent performance 

When the dust settles, the table doesn't lie - best team, best performance, best manager. And a little bit of luck doesn't go amiss 

[Jogo Bonito]

Well done indeed, a fantastic success and what a final day. So many pressures and a game against Benfica, excellent work and 'finally' a worthy home crowd of 15,000 to support you!

in the words of Claudio it's time to celebrate with a Dilly Ding, Dilly Dong! 

[Hootieleece]

Is this save over now that you've won the league or are you going to try and dominate Portugal?

Congratulations on winning the League!

[Dong21]

32 minutes ago, warlock said:

Absolutely magnificent performance 

When the dust settles, the table doesn't lie - best team, best performance, best manager. And a little bit of luck doesn't go amiss 

29 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Well done indeed, a fantastic success and what a final day. So many pressures and a game against Benfica, excellent work and 'finally' a worthy home crowd of 15,000 to support you!

in the words of Claudio it's time to celebrate with a Dilly Ding, Dilly Dong! 

Obrigado amigos, @warlock and @Jogo Bonito! Your unwavering support and interest in this save has certainly been a factor in keeping me motivated to keep playing and writing about this save, and it has paid off not far from a year after I started it 

29 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Is this save over now that you've won the league or are you going to try and dominate Portugal?

Congratulations on winning the League!

Thanks @Hootieleece!

I am currently undecided on continuing. On one hand, I've achieved the ultimate objective of this save and it feels unlikely that we can outperform the Big Three two seasons in a row, particularly with plenty of European fixtures to contend with. On the other hand, I am enjoying the same and intrigued to see how we would fare in the Champions League. Plus, our youth team is coming along nicely. More on that in an upcoming post.

I'm off to near Dubrovnik for a week from Wednesday so I'll use some of the time by the pool to reflect on whether to stay or go 

[warlock]

1 hour ago, Dong21 said:

I'll use some of the time by the pool to reflect on whether to stay or go

A worthy use of downtime 

Knowing how quickly you normally play, I might suggest there's not enough time before FM25 for a new save but one more season with Estrela could be worthwhile 

[Jogo Bonito]

Just seeing your reply now, you deserve all the credit for durability which I really struggle with when time is limited and I am away from a career for any length of time. I hope you're enjoying Dubrovnik, maybe that could be your next (short) managerial itch to scratch if you do decide you are done here!

[Dong21]

On 17/08/2024 at 20:37, Jogo Bonito said:

I hope you're enjoying Dubrovnik, maybe that could be your next (short) managerial itch to scratch if you do decide you are done here!

It’s funny you say that, before returning to this career I did set up a save with Hajduk Split, but only played it for one evening. I had read an article about their young American talent Rokas Pukstas and it had sparked my imagination. Obviously there is appeal in managing Perisic, and now Rakitic too.

Next week I’ll write up my usual end of season summary, as well as a separate post about the youth team and then I’ll decide what’s next. 

[Dong21]

2025/26 Squad Performance 

Following the conclusion of our fourth season, I will take a moment to reflect on the performances of my squad across the campaign.

As they are league winners I am going to be somewhat indulgent and profile each of the first team players.

Goalkeepers

After sharing the first choice shot stopper role last season, this year Valdimarsson was our undisputed number one this time around. The Icelandic international conceded less than a goal a game across the season and delivered us 15 clean sheets.

Colombian Arboleda arrived as short term cover and it can be seen as a success that he only featured once for us. He will drop to third choice or depart the club, following the pending arrival of Barcelona 'keeper Arnau Tenas. 

Both Valdimarsson and Arboleda now depart to represent their countries at the 2026 World Cup.

Right Backs

Costinha didn't reach his assist or goal levels of the prior season, but can still be proud of a great season. His performances may have been impacted by his unhappiness at, first, our failure to make the Europa Conference League group stage and, second, my refusal to accept transfer bids for him. As expected, his tune has changed now we have won the league and qualified for the Champions League - he is now more than happy to stay. He is still arguably the best player at the club. 

Back-up right back Couto also had disgruntled spells. His disatisfaction was based on playing time. He featured in 37 games, which I feel should have been enough to satisfy him. What was he expecting, when competing with a top class operator in the form of Costinha.

Collectively, Estrela had the league's second highest amount of dribbles completed (560) and our full backs will have contributed heavily to that statistic.

Left Backs

If last season was all about right back Costinha, this season was all about my pair of left backs Barco and Vinagre. 

Vinagre started the season as first choice and Barco then went on to eclipse him with simply undeniable performances.

Barco got 17 assists and Vinagre returned 16.

If one of them played the full season, perhaps they would have achieved a staggering 33 assists. Either way, we can say the LWB position achieved this feat.

Barco got the most assists in the Portuguese Liga (14) and delivered more key passes than any other player (89). Barco's league xA was, a quite incredible, 11.58. Furthermore, he lead the league in terms of chances created (38). It should also be mentioned that Vinagre achieved the most high intensity sprints per 90 minutes (22.6) out of any player across the league and in second place was Barco with (21.2). 

Both players were exceptional but it is Barco who got the majority of the plaudits. Perhaps because he performed well at such a young age. The Argentine was voted both the Fans Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season, along with winning Goal of the Season for his strike vs. Chaves. This was supported by the fact he got the most assists (17), highest average match rating (7.5) and most Man of the Match awards during the Estrela campaign.

Centre Backs

Across the course of the season, no team faced fewer shots that ourselves (218), demonstrating the quality of a defensive job our centre backs and defensive midfielder delivered.

By the end of the season, our first choice back three was established as, captain, McKenna, Comas and Relvas.

Comas only arrived in January but has already had a big impact, in fact he was voted as the club's Signing of the Season. Last season our centre backs did not score enough from set pieces. This improved this season and Relvas played a big part, netting seven goals. Both players are improving players and have valuations close to £40m each.

Antov played a lot of games without ever particularly impressing. That said he had a solid season and was not responsible for any notable mistakes. I will happily keep him around as a squad player if he will accept a downgrade in status. Young Englishman Awe was one of the main players to suffer from our failure to play regular European football. Had we had more fixtures then he would surely have played more. As a result his potential has declined slightly. I have however found one positive; he delivered the most passes per 90 minutes (66). Hopefully he is young enough that his decline can be corrected. 

Last but not least, Captain Fantastic, McKenna. When I signed him two seasons ago I had relatively low expectations for the Scot, but he has gone on to play more games than anyone in a title winning side. Ever-present on the left-hand side of our back three, McKenna never lets us down. 

Unfortunately his current long-term injury has already impacted his bravery. Hopefully this doesn't impact his style of play and there are no further impacts from his spell on the sideline.

Centre Midfielders

After McKenna and Valdimarsson, the player who played the most amount of games for us this season was defensive midfielder Silva. The £5.25m we paid Man City for his services is now looking like a bargain. Sure, he didn't score any goals or produce any assists, but the defensive cover he provided the defence whilst our full backs bombed forward was invaluable. 

His deputy, Danilovic, was once seen as invaluable. A long spell out the team due to injury changed that, but he has remained a valuable squad player. In fact, he has now reached 90 league Portuguese Liga appearances for Estrela, a record for our young club. If an enticing offer comes in this summer, there is a chance he could move on.

I was pleased by my sides ability to keep hold of the ball, with an average of 55% possession across the league season. Jorgensen and Garner are both technically proficient players who have enabled us to play a possession-based style of football. Jorgensen will be disappointed by the number of injuries he had, meaning he wasn't able to fully establish himself as White's full time centre midfield partner. Garner, a bargain £1.5m signing from Everton, should be delighted that he provided 12 assists from just 20 starts. He was a crucial member of the squad across the campaign.

Left back Barco scooped all the main accolades, however my personal Manager's Player of the Season award goes to midfielder White. The young Englishman stepped up and put in match winning performances in crucial games, which is what you need in a title winning campaign. White was clinical from the spot, scoring five out of five league penalties.

White's value has risen to £60m following his top class season and the Premier League and La Liga vultures are circulating. Hopefully I can fend them off long enough to see how a partnership of White and Ederson performs. 

I decided to keep the squad light on centre midfielders as (1) we have carried too many in seasons past, (2) from the start of January I have been aware Ederson is arriving and therefore there was little point signing another midfielder, and (3) I wanted to give opportunities to young prospect Freitas. I will feature Portuguese starlet Freitas in more detail in an upcoming youth update, but needless to say I was delighted to be able to feature him 14 times for the first team. 

Strikers

Brenner arrived from the Brazian Serie A in the summer and has been a delight to manage ever since. His 23 goals, across all competitions, was more than any of my forwards delivered last season and his 17 league goals is a new club record. The best thing is that I think there is more still to come from the 26 year old. 

His strike partner Rogrigo only arrived in January and still managed to notch 11 goals. In fact, no player in the Portuguese Liga had more shots on target per 90 minutes (2.2) than Rodrigo. He is another player who is yet to hit his prime.

I did not give Silva as many opportunities as he perhaps deserved. When he did play he had a strong scoring record, I just had to prioritise the players permanently contracted to the club. When Silva was signed he was our best forward on paper, but Brenner and Rodrigo then joined the club. That said, I think it was a worthwhile signing and I was pleased to have another Portuguese player in the squad. If he is up for grabs again, either on loan or in a cut price deal, then I will certainly entertain signing him.

Finally, our third Brazilian forward and the only striker to be with us for longer that 12 months, Brumado. The pressing forward had less than half the starts that he had last season, but scored only seven goals less - an impressive return for an impact player. Again, if there had been European football then he would have got lots more opportunities. I'm glad I fended off interest in him, as he certainly made a contribution to our success. 

[Hootieleece]

A good team you have put together and it is gratifying to see you play with relatively unknown players and they do well in your system.

 

[Dong21]

On 28/08/2024 at 14:10, Hootieleece said:

A good team you have put together and it is gratifying to see you play with relatively unknown players and they do well in your system.

Thanks @Hootieleece! Squad building is definitely my favourite part of the game.

[Dong21]

Youth Success

As alluded to in previous posts, success at Estrela da Amadora in 2026 has extended further than just at first team level.

When I took the reigns at this fledgling club there was no youth set-up. I started by hiring specialist youth coaches, I harassed Evra near-monthly for continuous improvements to our youth coaching and recruiting facilities and I proactively signed players who I thought would compliment our U23s side. I'm pleased to share that this approach has bore fruit.

Of course, I can't take complete credit for this success as I didn't manage each of their fixtures, but I can certainly feel satisfied with my contribution to the outcome.

Success began for the U23s in the first half of the season when we topped the table in the U23s Premier League South, including two victories over Porto and 3-0 win against local rivals Sporting. This qualified the team for the U23s Premier League, where points from the first league phase were halved. Our league success was resounding as we finished six points ahead of second place Gil Vicente and seven ahead of the famed academy of Benfica.

League success was much more than we were expecting but things got even better at the end of the season when we were entered into the U23 Cup. We won our group, including a 1-0 victory over Porto and then met Sporting Lisbon in the Semi Finals. It was a close affair, across two legs, but we ran out 1-0 winners on aggregate. The crucial goal was scored by 18 year old striker Aymoré and it was the young man again who scored the winner in the 1-0 Finalvictory over Porto. So we beat all of the big three to claim the trophy!

Aymore is a relatively low potential player who will not go on to claim an Estrela first team berth, but his heroics will certainly be remembered. Let's take a look at the players who shone throughout the season and have a chance of breaking through in future seasons.

Striker Baloyi is a product of the Estrela academy and my coaches consider him the player with the highest potential at the club. I am personally motivated to support his development as much as possible. You may have seen in the post above, the South African came off the bench nine times for the first team and managed to score two goals which I think is extremely impressive considering he is only 17 years old. Baloyi was the U23s most frequent match winner. Current plans are to keep him around and give him opportunities in cup competitions next season.

Baloyi has recently turned pro, but unfortunately a sports hernia ruled him out for six weeks and the final stages of the U23 Cup campaign.

Baloyi was a product of the academy whereas midfielder Lovell was signed by the club on a free transfer as part of a batch of signings I made primarily to bulk out a thin youth squad. The primary objective was for these players to enable the growth of our home-grown players, so the fact Lovell has managed to star this season is a complete bonus.

Due to a relatively small pool of centre midfielders, Lovell ended up having the opportunity to feature for the league winners on six occasions. The young Guyana international did not look out of place in the side. As an attacking midfielder he doesn't really fit into my tactical approach, but had adapted well when played as a centre midfielder.

The other gem in our youth academy is Portuguese midfielder Freitas. Recruited from Benfica in the prior season, he has already made 15 first team appearances (three of which were starts). This number would have been higher had it not been for a three month injury at the start of the campaign. Luckily it does not seem to have set his development backwards. There has been plenty of transfer interest in our starlet, all of it has been rejected and this will continue to be the case this summer.

Edited August 31 by Dong21

[Dong21]

Loan Report

In addition to the players already profiled in the first team and U23 squad, we also had a number of players out on loan. The majority of these were on loan to get game time which in turn should help them fulfill their potential. A few of these players have high potential and I am invested in seeing them progress. I will spotlight below a few of our players who spent time away from the club last season.

In just four short years we have built a tradition at Estrela of signing English centre midfielders. Hall was acquired on a free transfer from Birmingham two years ago and is personally seen as a long term project. Last season he had a disappointing spell at Sunderland, but fared much better this time around, playing 52 times for Bristol City. As Danilovic has begun to plateau, I am tempted to move him on and make Hall my second choice defensive midfielder for the season ahead.

Striker Silvério was signed for just £325k from Beleneses and I'll admit I don't think I realised the calibre of talent I had bought. Only 19 years old, the Portuguese striker took the Championship by storm. His 16 league goals for Preston made him the fourth highest scorer in the division and has rocketed his transfer value to around £30m. As you can see from the above, the high level of playing time has meant he is growing all aspects of his game continuously.

As much as I am passionate about the development of young striker Baloyi, centre back Cerqueira has a special place in my heart as the first high potential graduate of the Estrela academy under my oversight. I kept him around in the first half of the season, as you need to play two home-grown players in each Taca de Liga game, but after our elimination I sent him out on loan in January. His time at Rio Ave seems to have positively benefited his development. I am going to have to think carefully about whether Cerqueira stays or goes out on loan again next season.

Mahomed Vezo is not a player I expect to have a full first team career with Estrela. Firstly, we don't play with wingers and secondly I think he has a ceiling lower than where we have got to as a club. That said, I wanted to feature him here because before going out on loan in January he made a notable contribution to our league campaign. In just four substitute appearances, the 18 year old achieved four assists. I will be making sure he receives a winners medal!

It's nice to celebrate successes, but I need to balance this update out with a mention of a loan spell that didn't quite work. Striker Tavares was signed for a hefty £10.5m eighteen months ago and therefore is a major development project for me. At the time, he was considered high potential. Now either that hasn't played out, or the quality of the other strikers at the club has improved, as our scouts no longer rate him that highly. Probably a bit of both. Bundesliga 2 side Bochum let me down, as they only gave him one start whilst on loan. I blame them for stunting his development. Despite his dip in forecasted potential, he is a Portuguese forward who I have spent a lot of money on, so I am tempted to give him a shot in the upcoming season.

The final loanee that I wanted to mention is unique in that he was not a player I loaned out to develop him. I wanted rid of Tagawa but nobody would make a reasonable bid. In the end I had to settle for loaning him out to Genk. The reason he is worth mentioning is because he was hugely successful in Belgium. The Japanese attacker scored 11 goals, got 7 assists and was named the Pro League's Player of the Season. Hopefully this means he attracts a decent transfer fee this summer! 

Edited September 2 by Dong21