[FM24] Hexagon Hijinks: Victor Oanase's Global Champions League Quest - Four Sixths sounds so much better than one third. Onwards to South America

[phnompenhandy]

Bit late to the party - a whole year, in fact!

 

This is a fascinating narrative. I popped in because I've started my own minor nations journeyman (only got as far as Wallis & Futuna and Seychelles so far). You've got a whole load of self-imposed targets I'd like to take inspiration from. I could ask a thousand questions, but I'll limit myself to just one: the plan to play at least one player from every nation in the world - love it! So, my question is ... how? If you are managing an amateur club in the Caribbean and you want to sign an amateur player from Tuvalu, overlooking the scouting element and how you learn of each other's existence for the moment, will the player actually agree to sign for you, half a world away?

If it's as easy as that, I'll incorporate it into my save straight away. If it requires a bit of noodling, I'll see if I can work it into my next journeyman-around-the-obscure-world career.

 

KUTGW - you have one more follower

[KibworthBull]

10 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Bit late to the party - a whole year, in fact!

 

This is a fascinating narrative. I popped in because I've started my own minor nations journeyman (only got as far as Wallis & Futuna and Seychelles so far). You've got a whole load of self-imposed targets I'd like to take inspiration from. I could ask a thousand questions, but I'll limit myself to just one: the plan to play at least one player from every nation in the world - love it! So, my question is ... how? If you are managing an amateur club in the Caribbean and you want to sign an amateur player from Tuvalu, overlooking the scouting element and how you learn of each other's existence for the moment, will the player actually agree to sign for you, half a world away?

If it's as easy as that, I'll incorporate it into my save straight away. If it requires a bit of noodling, I'll see if I can work it into my next journeyman-around-the-obscure-world career.

 

KUTGW - you have one more follower

Welcome aboard, it doesn't matter when you enter a party, as long as you buy the host a drink - or something like that.

The idea isn't my own, someone I know on Twitter did a European one back in Fm17 or FM18. I did one on FM19 where I completed it in a made up league on the Island of Sodor, with some very relaxed rules around foreign player limits.

What I tend to do is stick to a continent at a time, so if we take Africa as an example, I started in Angola, from memory they were the 5th or 6th highest league at the time so most nations had keen players which allowed me to get ticked off whilst I tried to get the relevant Champions League. Once the Champions League was secured then I had a list of the more minor nations to work through, for them I went to a lower nation that was Amateur - Lesotho - and went through the national sides for each nation and approached every single one and signed them - Lesotho had NO restrictions so was able to fill my squad with international players from the minor nations. Within 1 or 2 seasons I'd burned through 10-15 nations - lots of squad rotation and moving players on - over time you realise that certain positions really perform well for certain formations - Right Wing for instance gets MoTM around 25-30% of the time - Assists are very heavily skewered towards MoTM - I've had an example where my Central Defender from an obscure nation scored a hattrick but was pipped to the award because my winger had 3 assists.

You find that naturally over time as your club gets bigger in that continent that your scouting improves so without any real chasing I have ticked off South America long before I arrived in the continent.

Right now I have 9 Asian nations to go and 45 in Europe. I'm not really chasing them yet, once I get the Copa Liberatordos (10-15 years) ticked off then I'll move to Europe, firstly to win the Champions League and then somewhere like San Marino to finish the rest.

Right at the start of the save, I clicked on "Load all players in International Squad" as I've found all nations have at least 4 or 5 players in there. Of varying quality.

[KibworthBull]

March 2075

We have an AA meeting to attend.

Sorry, a meeting with Alianza Atletico. It might cause some confusion.

Oscar Villacorta has a fine day at left back and we return with a 2-0 win.

We do appear to have found some sort of stride - a 5-2 win over Melgar took us top but Brandón Carrascal broke a foot - if we are still top when the Colombian returns (4-5 months) then all will be good with the world.

The injury meant we had to dip our toe (sorry Brandon) into the transfer market and bring in Cesar Bravo - he's not really good enough but will mean we have another option in the squad.

Sport Boys are unbeaten, but so were we. Sport Boys are still unbeaten.

César Guzmán gave us the lead in the last game of the month, but that was as good as it got.

A reality check?

8th is a fantastic position considering we are odds on favourites for the drop.

A new year and a new-looking Samoa squad

We play New Caledonia and Kiribati at the end of the month.

6 players could make debuts - Fauivi Tafola is a keeper who is 28 and has been overlooked for years - he's now the best we have so his time is now. Patrick Tapeni has the potential to make the Left Wing his own going forward. We don't have many young DMs so Steve Pupi at 16 is one to watch. Gavin Granger has been in previous squads but never made an appearance. Vea Talia and Tony Tafiaina are barely out of short trousers.

A shocker against Kiribati - they beat us last time, and this time we scrape a draw. Atili Amituana'i scoring his first ever goal for the nation in the dying embers. Bitner Taufaga with his record breaking 17th national team goal - Joe Sefo has 16 so this one will flip flop around a bit.

A destroying of New Caledonia, Sefo moves onto 18, as does Bitner. Amituana'i also on the score sheet again. Some cliche about buses...

We move to 146th in the world - our best position since 2007. Just one more place to go before we tick off our next achievement

[phnompenhandy]

3 hours ago, KibworthBull said:

Right at the start of the save, I clicked on "Load all players in International Squad" as I've found all nations have at least 4 or 5 players in there. Of varying quality.

Thanks. Inspired by you, I've made a list of all the nations that have never qualified for the World Cup finals (which will become a lot shorter when 2026 rolls around, but we're not there yet). Those will be nations eligible to manage in; I'm not yet sure whether to have one player from each of them, or extend it to literally every nation in the world/game.

You mention about adding/removing leagues. My rig is over a decade old and very limited, so I'll need to do that. How does it work - is it a matter of putting files of every nation in the editor data and then adding a few at a time? Does putting some that you won't manage in for the next few years on 'view-only' make a difference?

[KibworthBull]

19 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Thanks. Inspired by you, I've made a list of all the nations that have never qualified for the World Cup finals (which will become a lot shorter when 2026 rolls around, but we're not there yet). Those will be nations eligible to manage in; I'm not yet sure whether to have one player from each of them, or extend it to literally every nation in the world/game.

You mention about adding/removing leagues. My rig is over a decade old and very limited, so I'll need to do that. How does it work - is it a matter of putting files of every nation in the editor data and then adding a few at a time? Does putting some that you won't manage in for the next few years on 'view-only' make a difference?

You'll need to have the leagues in the folder before you start the save and then I normally add my next league 12-18 months before I think I'll need it - so I have Peru as only nation loaded right now, and when I am closish to winning Champs League, I'll load my European nation - that gives enough time for managers to start getting sacked and jobs becoming available. If I'm really struggling to get a player from a nation, then I might load that nation for a year or two, but normally I'll only have 1-2 leagues loaded at a time.

I've never used view-only tbh.

[KibworthBull]

April 2075

I've convinced the board to spend over £1m on the training and youth facilities, so they must love me.

A third defeat on the spin at Bolognesi was painful - as with the other 2, Guzman scored our goal.

Late goals are our downfall. A 2-0 lead is squandered against Juan Aurich, but it's a point.

Municipal are sitting bottom of the table. It's not quiet a must win, but a need to win.

Francesco Baioni slams home a penalty after Guzman's normal goal. And relax.

Baioni celebrates by getting injured and misses the next month. As does Guzman. Never rains...

We don't need strikers, when we have wingers, Francisco Romero gets two and that feels like a massive result.

A better end to the month than start.

We are extremely light on numbers. Striker Eder Morales has joined on a free. He'll have to sit it out until June when the window opens but he's a decent-ish body to have around.

Nicely mid table though

 

[phnompenhandy]

7 hours ago, KibworthBull said:

You'll need to have the leagues in the folder before you start the save and then I normally add my next league 12-18 months before I think I'll need it - so I have Peru as only nation loaded right now, and when I am closish to winning Champs League, I'll load my European nation - that gives enough time for managers to start getting sacked and jobs becoming available. If I'm really struggling to get a player from a nation, then I might load that nation for a year or two, but normally I'll only have 1-2 leagues loaded at a time.

I've never used view-only tbh.

Cheers, I can do that in my current save, which I've tweaked to incorporate a scaled-down version of your rule. I've name-checked you in my latest update:

https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/topic/587616-a-song-of-ice-and-fire-two-heroes-one-tale/

[KibworthBull]

May 2075

The Pacific cup is next month, and our Samoan side know the group now. We avoided New Zealand U23. We should be competitive for 2nd.

We have no injuries so it's the strongest 23 we can muster

A bad day at the office for our Peruvian side, as we fall to defeat at Cesar Vellajo, but we respond well to beat Cusco 2-1 with Daniel Salinas having a particularly good game. 

We've barely got the numbers for an 11 right now, let alone a strong one, so we take points where we can get them. A 2-2 draw thanks to Ndumba Mubili. Thats 5 key players watching from the stands.

But as long as we have Mubili we will score goals. He gets a treble, and we end the month with a win.

3 more games in the Opening Stage.

We are looking good for top 10

[KibworthBull]

June 2075

A busy month.

2 domestic games before the Pacific Games.

A defeat to UTC and then Cesar Guzman returns from injury with a last gasp winner.

For Samoa, we had a friendly against Antigua and Barbuda - two teams!! - Joe Sefo scored a record setting 19th national goal, just before they equalised and that's how it ended. Vital minutes before we enter competition football. Patrick Tapeni is ruled out of the tournament due to injury, Gavin Granger replaces him.

Fiji are our toughest test. They wipe the floor with us. Nuts.

A response is demanded. It takes an OG to get us going but we've finally arrived in the competition. 

It's between ourselves and Tahiti for the final qualification slot, everyone in the media is happy with the draw, but we know we are out. 

We need to win by 7 goals.

We get 4, Collin Foni gets 2.

Not the June we wanted

But we do climb to 144th in the World.

The highest Samoa have ever been.

[KibworthBull]

July 2075

The transfer window is open.

Yay!

We've signed 3 players:

• Clive Phirri is a right winger from Zambia, and will be first choice
• Fernando Córdova offers us good depth on the left hand side - especially further forward - he's Peruvian
• Eder Morales can now play after signing 3 months again. A striker

No one has departed.

Victory over Cienciano ensures we finish 5th in the opening stage.

In the closing stage opener we miss a penalty late on so have to settle for a draw at Cristal.

Both the new wingers get goals and we beat Leon in the 2nd game. We followed it up with another win, this time it was Phirri and Cezar Guzman with the goals.

Alianza Atletico will be playing 2nd tier football next season, we beat them with ease, before a much tougher test, away to Melgar. We stink the place out and get a controversial penalty for a huge win. We top the closing stage.

Sport Boys is the stereotypical game of two halves - we lead 3-0 after half an hour and then cling on for a point in the last few moments.

Tons of green. Yay!

[KibworthBull]

August 2075

After a great month last month, we look to continue the momentum at Alianza, but these boys are a bit decent so they have too much for us, despite Fernando Córdova's goal.

Back on the horse and we spaghettied Bolognesi - the traditional Guzman goal the killer one.

Eder Morales has finally scored - at the 10th attempt - mostly from the bench in his defence - and loanee Alberto Quiróz also notches his first goal as we come from behind to beat Club Juan Aurich.

Victory over Municipal means we end the month top of the Closing Stage. 2nd in the overall, but 13 points behind the leader. We might sneak Copa Liberatordos qualification.

Next month we have some Olympic qualifiers. Now that's a reason to stick around...

[KibworthBull]

September 2075

Full tilt boogie style.

Domestic and International. I was prepared to talk about the Olympic qualifiers and despite saying I wanted to manage them, I wasn't given a chance, so I had to watch on as we progressed through the group stage before falling to Fiji in the Semi-Final.

Our Samoan side faces India at the start of the month and it's a bit of a transitional squad.

Sivamalie Felise and Jefferson Lafai are due to retire at the end of the year, and Peni Tupou is injured, so Daniel Baylis and Jesse Tokuma come in. Baylis is 27 and can play either at Centre Back or DM and has never been capped before, Tokuma (28) has 2 caps from before my time and can play either at Centre Back or Right Back. It's fair to say, neither are long-term options. Patrick Tapeni is back after injury.

Pualele Talia gets a brace but we fall to defeat.

Domestically, we start September with a shocker - a 3-0 defeat to an average Huancayo.

The international break allows one or two to travel the globe before we host Cesar Vellajo and taste defeat again.

We've peaked a bit and now we are being found out as another defeat showed but César Guzmán helped us find some pride in the final game of the month. 

4 games of the season to go. At the moment we are missing out on Continental Football.

 

 

[DaneBramage]

I've read through this over the last few days, good stuff. It's impressive quite how many of the (ridiculous) targets you've hit.

Obviously the Champions Leagues are the priority, and becoming a legend will generally tie in with that, and you're well on track for having a player from every country.

But what about having a player from every continent making 500 appearances? Looks like that's one which will probably fall by the wayside.

[KibworthBull]

7 hours ago, DaneBramage said:

I've read through this over the last few days, good stuff. It's impressive quite how many of the (ridiculous) targets you've hit.

Obviously the Champions Leagues are the priority, and becoming a legend will generally tie in with that, and you're well on track for having a player from every country.

But what about having a player from every continent making 500 appearances? Looks like that's one which will probably fall by the wayside.

It might do - once I get the Champions Leagues done and the Nations I'll see how much energy I have left in the save. Brazil is good for lots of games so that might be the place for that.

[KibworthBull]

October 2075

The U23s are still in Olympic mode, which restricts who I can select for the 2 friendlies this month. A few of the older generations have had recalls.

We get a 0-0 draw against Papua New Guinea before Weinno Vaifale inspires us to a 2-0 win over Vanuatu. Daniel Bayliss makes his debut in the 2nd game

Domestically we get off to a good start, beating relegation-threatened Llacuabamba 3-0, then a 4-0 win over UTC before a double from Zambian Ndumba Mubili got us past Universitario. In truth, it's 3 wins against 3 poor sides, but it's what we needed as we hunt the top 2.

We have 1 more game left.

Victory should give us Copa Liberatordos.

[KibworthBull]

November 2075

We have reached the end....

of the season.

Just 2 orders of business.

One in the league and one friendly for the Samoan national side.

For the national team we have recalled the U23s who were away at the Olympics. Mark Magia is a new name. 3rd choice keeper.

It was my 50th game in charge. Bitner Taufaga scored in a fairly uninteresting draw.

In the race for 100 caps, Taufaga is up there, but Kudos to Weinno Vaifale who has only missed 1 match of my tenure. He's only 22 so should get to 100, possibly first too. Ssemujju was part of my Ugandan squad, many years ago.

On the domestic front, a victory should give us continental football next year.

A draw is what we got.

2nd overall in the league

There also appears to be a bug...

We not only beat this, we did it by miles. Thankfully every team in the division has been docked points, and the same amount, so let's ignore it.

We continue with the Championship Play-Off.

It's Cesar Vellajo over 2nd legs. They beat us in the league, but we beat them in the 1st leg, thanks to César Guzmán with his 21st of the season.

Shame there was a 2nd leg...

As first seasons go at the Peruvian top table, we can be happy with where we finished, but acknowledge that we have a long way to go yet.

[KibworthBull]

February 2076

You join us nearly 8 weeks later - the off-season has proved to be fairly quiet with not a lot of turnover.

We've found a Kuwati - who we can't register and we are paying him large sums of cash to sit in the stands. He can play in the Copa, but not the league.

Welcome Rashed Al-Fadhli.

He already wants to leave - because we can't register him. 

To appease him we've moved on Moses Mathebula who was 1st choice keeper last year - we've got options there.

We've gone Peruvian in the main.

• Alexander Luna is a 21-year-old striker who looks like he is an improvement on Guzman
• Bruno Alberca is 21, a goalkeeper, and will likely be close to No.1, especially as Mathebula has gone.
• Arturo Lozada is a 30-year-old Centre Back and will complement Avila and Obekop nicely.

In the out-tray are:

There maybe more as the month progresses.

First up is our first foray in the Copa Lib as we face a double header against Defensor Sporting from Uruguay. We feel a bit light on the ground still, but managed a comfortable 4-0 win to set us up for the home leg.

The 2nd leg is after the start of the league, and it's them Sport Boys coming over. dffddfdsfdfdfs

Alexander Luna gets going straight away with 4 goals on his debut. It took him 23 seconds to score his first.

£500k in the bank and we progress in the Copa Lib. Colombian side Club Deportes Tolima S.A. next.

£1.5m of that money goes into improving the training facilities... pretty much wipes out the cash we've got but the right decision.

Another point gained away at Juan Aurich, Ndumba Mubili with our goal. 

We have a shocker in Colombia - tough to turn around a 2 goal deficit - I don't think we have a fit and registered keeper either.

Ayachucho are Aya-No-Problemo 

Unbelievably Mubili manages to get a hat-trick to take the 2nd leg to penalties. But we blinked first and that's our first taste of the Copa done.

We do, however, get the Copa Sud as a 2nd prize.

 

 

[KibworthBull]

March 2076

3 games domestically, so this month we focus on Samoa as it's the Oceania Nations League 1st round and I expect to qualify.

Before we get there, however, the transfer window closed and there was no news to report - I'd love to strengthen but we are at the capacity of the foreign slots and there aren't any Peruvians I fancy.

A fast start at Municipal with 4 goals before the half hour mark, Clive Phiri the main man.

We have a Japanese goalscorer, Satoshi Nakano with his first goal for me in nearly 3 seasons. 3-0 down at one point against Cristal, we snatch the win.

30 shots but no goals against Alianza Universidad. Poor from us that.

Our squad for the Nations League. Klater Tafea is a 32yr old versatile Defender, he's never been close before apart from some U21 caps a while ago, and Dylan Carr is a Right Winger with a lot of potential - sadly he's behind 2 better right wingers.

I expect to win all 3 games.

We blow up against Captain Cook's old boys. Conceding twice late on. Klater Tafea makes his debut.

American Samoa are awful, we are worse. We are out already. Implosion.

Victory when it doesn't matter.

It means we wont see competitive football for a couple of years. Thats our extremely slim chance of a World Cup space gone as well.

[KibworthBull]

April 2076

Sigh...

Ndumba Mubili returns from Zambian duty with a broken foot. See you in 3 months.

Alexander Luna grabs 4 as we get 7 to demolish Cusco.

We now know what our Copa Sudamerica journey looks like

Our Kuwaiti disaster Rashed Al-Fadhli was spotted leaving a nightclub in the early hours before UTC. He's dropped, already transfer listed, and averages 6.34 in 6 games. On nearly £5k a week. I dropped the ball on this one.

The defeat compounds the mood of the club. Rashed makes himself scarce.

Back to winning ways against bottom side Binacional.

It's nice having a secondary continental trophy to aim for, and it's nice to beat the Chileans, thanks to a Luna double.

At Cesar Vellajo the youngsters did good, both Daniel Salinas and Yordy Caballero scoring to secure the win. Both still are teens.

The month ends with a tidy 0-0 draw in Bolivia.

Everything simmering away nicely

[KibworthBull]

May 2076

A massive 8 matches to be played this month. Buckle up tight it's gonna be a long one.

San Martin were dispatched by 4 goals in the opener before a trip to Brazil for our biggest Copa Sudamerica game to date, FOR - whoever they may be. Probably Fortaleza.

What a defensive display. Maxime Obekop gets the plaudits but every defender was superb.

The wins keep coming, but so do the injuries, Cesar Guzman out for 3 weeks now. 

Goals are hard to come by against Bolivar—our 2nd goalless draw in 2 months.

Eder Morales gets his 4th goal of the campaign against Cienciano, not bad considering it's his first start of the campaign.

We only get a point in Chile, whilst FOR win, so we will need to beat them by 2 clear goals to top the group. Rules aren't clear whether 2nd place will be enough.

We heavily rotated for the trip to Bolgonesi - our Kuwati villain scored a penalty but it's 2 dropped points. It'll be worth it if we beat FOR.

We don't. They do to us, what we did to them in Brazil.

Once again we've hit the point where our threadbare squad is exhausted.

Home to Meigar at the end of the month, 1st v 4th, 4 goals in the last 10 minutes, and we edge it. César Bravo MoTM in what should be his last game.

3 games left in the opening stage.

[KibworthBull]

June 2076

It's break time.

June is the mid-season break in Peru, which means we have 2 games.

And Samoa have a couple too.

Sport Huancayo at the start, before the transfer window opens, and before the internationals. Eder Morales bangs two, but it's Francisco Romero's performance that gets everyone excited - 2 assists and plenty of key passes. A result that means we are involved in the end of season Championship play-off.

The window opens and it's goodbye to Cesar Bravo and disaster Rashed Al-Fadhli - quite possibly the worst signing of the save. Both have dropped down to the 2nd tier.

In comes U20 international Enzo Ramírez from Cristal - a central defender, and Colombia's Diego Márquez who is a DM. 

Clive Phirri returns from injury to get a hat-trick of assists in the 2nd game of the month. One of them setting up a debut Marquez goal.

A Samoan squad with no surprises

First up, Guyana. We put in the type of performance that was missing in the Nations Cup - Joe Sefo gets a treble and we score 6, and we follow it up with 5 against the Dominican Republic. Perhaps I need to move the Islands.

 

[KibworthBull]

July 2076

Further signings before the window closed - Ibrahim Baldé - a 21yr old Guinean who is just a tad better than my existing worst foreign Centre Back in most of the important areas. Younger and cheaper too. I've been trying to sell Manuel Avila all window but he wants to stay - he won't play again. He finally accepts this fact and moves back to Ecuador later in the month.

Also on board is Christian Maguiña, a Right Back who has a lot of potential. He'll add good depth.

Closing off the opening stage, we lose to Alianza. We win it, it's not a trophy, it's a qualification.

Sport Boys is the location for the opening of the closing stage, and it's an 8 goal thriller. Balde with a debut goal.

Freddy Medina has responded brilliantly to the fact I've signed his long term replacement at Right Back - a MoTM as we hammer Juan Aurich.

The good vibes can't continue forever, and so it proves as we lose the next match. In a way this half of the season is meaningless. We've already secured our place at the end of season shin dig.

Cesar Guzman has been more of a sub than starter of late, but still knows where the goal is when he does start - 2 against Municipal gets us back on the winning line.

Clive Phirri loves a penalty - he gets 2 at Cristal, and one in open play, we seem to be scoring for fun.

[KibworthBull]

August 2076

We start off as we left it last time. Plenty of goals. 6 of them against Alianza Universidad.

Not as smooth at Cusco but we get the job done, Maxime Obekop with the key moment. 

At every club, in every squad there are players who through no fault of their own, are second choice, and sometimes they have moments in the sun, today was Fernando Córdova moment as he started at Left Wing and scored the only goal against UTC.

Eduardo Cotrina is slowly but surely forcing his way into my team in the DM slot, he continues to improve and struck the winner at Binacional - we've recently given him a new contract and he's showing us why it was a smart decision right now.

We get back on the horse with Samoa next month, so have named our squad for the 2 friendlies. Just one new name, Ae Felise in for AJ Elisaia - injuries man...

It's game no.2000 for me as a manager as we host Cesar Vallejo. A draw, a game we could have lost.

Francesco Baioni scored his first goal in 20 matches.

We are 2nd in the overall table, but remember, we have qualified already for the Play-Off

[KibworthBull]

September 2076

Which Samoa will turn up? The friendly side or the competitive side? 

Tahiti first up, last year we had 2 draws against them, but we never get going and taste the bitter taste of defeat. Dylan Carr made his debut.

New Caledonia next, and it's AE Felise's turn to debut, we lose Joe Sefo to injury early on and battle to a draw. Not how I wanted these games to go.

Back in Peru, we had 3 domestic games.

Business as Usual against San Martin - Clive Phiri the main man. 

When Cezar Guzman is in the mood, no one is safe, especially not the side rooted to the bottom of the table. He gets 3, we get 6.

Then, sadly, 2 points dropped at Cienciano.

With 5 games left we are joint top.

It's not an easy last 5 - the last 2 in particular.

[KibworthBull]

October 2076

I've gone very easy for Samoa this month. Micronesia and Tuvalu are not in the rankings. We are at full strength. Although typically we get an injury the day after announcing the squad, so Ae Felise comes out and is replaced by Farani Tokuma - a winger on either flank.

Our record against these minnows isn't great - it's also why we are not playing Kiribati. I don't know if Amateur sides can put in a professional performance, but we did against Micronesia. AJ Elisaia returns from injury and scores and we never look back.

Tuvalu proved a tougher nut to crack, but we managed plenty of goals, Joe Sefo getting a double and we make it back to back wins.

It's the last international involvement for veteran Centre Back Peni Tupou as he is to retire in early November.

In Peru, first up, we host Bolognesi. We don't allow them a shot. A stuffing and Universitario dropped points too.

Christian Maguiña is inspired as we beat Melgar to go top of the Closing Stage, but most importantly 5 clear overall - both chasing teams have games in hand.

Zambia beat Sport Huancayo, Clive Phiri with two assists for Ndumba Mubili goals.

Just the two games left.

I'm fairly certain we will finish 1st, but will that be a title? Its decided by a Championship.

[KibworthBull]

November 2076

2nd vs 1st.

Ndumba Mubili choosing the right moments to be superb. A hat-trick gives us a massive three points. 

It means we have won both the Opening and Closing Stages.

We end the regular campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win against Alianza. It was our first-ever sell-out. 12,000 people packed into our ground.

Samoa are away to Tahiti for the last game of 2076

Usual faces. 

A nine-goal thriller. We've not beaten these boys in 4 matches, since 2074.

Back in Peru, we head straight to a FINAL, and have 2 legs against Universitario.

A 1-1 draw turned into a 4-1 win thanks to a dominant last 15 minutes. A good day. Alexander Luna getting 2.

The 2nd leg is a formality. We are the Champions my friends.

 

[KibworthBull]

Happy 1st birthday to this save.

February 2077

The transfer window has been quite good for us so far.

4 new faces.

• Cesar Ruiz - an experienced DM from Cusco
• Sebastien Leyva - a DM or LW from Alianza
• Carlos Ampuero - a Centre Back who turned me down last year to sign for Cienciano
• Wilson Morales - a LW whose been on the fringes of the Melgar first team for the past 4 years.

All are Peruvians and the first 3 certainly improve our best 11.

Moving on are £375k's worth of talent. Cliver Phiri is the biggest loss - the oil money tempted him. We have a 25% sell on clause and he is valued at £11m now so it could be a good earner for us. I've also released our Japense player - 91 games with ticking of the MoTM award. He was never going to either.

I have a space for an additional foreign player - I'm trying to bring in a missing Asian nation but no luck so far.

On the pitch, Alexander Luna gets off the mark and it's 3 points to start things off.

Between the 1st and 2nd games of the season, the £185k release clause for Ndumba Mubili was met and we've now lost both our Zambians. This means we have 2 spaces available.

Melgar are beaten. Which is pleasing. Daniel Salinas steps into the Zambian whole and scores and generally plays well.

Salinas has an even better game as we hit 5 in the third and final game of the month. We are unbeaten, 3 from 3.

 

[KibworthBull]

March 2077

6 more days of the transfer window. Can we must up something?

Christian Conrado comes in as a Star goalkeeper. The 26 yr old Ecuadorian has cost me £130k - he can't feature in the continental stuff.

We've also signed Peruvian striker Luis Chavez on a free transfer. He's 22 and will be an additional squad player.

A trip to Chile sees us come undone in the Copa Lib opener - we led but faded badly.

An Alexander Luna double sees us bounce back in the league. Cristal are cracked.

We could do with a win at home to Club Olimpia in the Copa, Sebastian Leyva's match last 9 minutes, but thankfully Luna scores with 10 men on the field, just as well as he does when we have 11. 

Giancarlo Arboleda came through the last intake and looks to be a very good talent - he scores his first senior goal to beat Sport Boys. I'm hoping his is a name that gets mentioned a lot over the next few years.

Argentina's Velez are the next to come to town. A massively tough game. For our progression chances, a hammer blow. But we still have a chance, but it does mean we have to get a result in Chile and possibly Argentina.

We probably didn't need Ciancieno at the end of the month. Hell, still unbeaten in the league though.

It's also our first mention of Samoa for 2077. 2 friendlies, Barbados and Vanuatu.

New blood, Stanley Granger on the left winger, and Semi Vitale in defence.

Joe Sefo with Samoan goal number 31 as we sneak past Barbados - both Vitale and Granger make debuts. 

Another sneak, but this time past Vanauta and we make it a March double 1-0.

We jump to 141st in the world - level with the Cook Islands.

[KibworthBull]

April 2077

We start a big continental month with a league game at home to UTC, with 6 goals scored without Guzman or Luna. Luis Chavez is off the mark.

Off to Argentina, and if we want to progress in the Copa Lib this year, this is a must-win. 

A semi-fit Alexander Luna lasted 11 minutes and we conceded 4.

Realistically now we only have 3rd place to play for - that would give us Copa Sudamerica though.

16-year-old Brayan Avilés makes a surprise debut at Alianza and gets the MoTM award with a fine right wing performance. We get results in the league. It's just the cups we are struggling on right now.

Injuries are really biting right now, but we snuck through a tough game against Cesar Vallejo. 

A must-win game with no fit strikers? Christian Ramos steps up and scores a late penalty for his first senior goal. Magic.

It means IF we beat Olimpia away next month AND Catolica lose to Velez, we sneak into 2nd, otherwise its Copa Sudamerica. Either way our journey continues.

We leave it fairly late to beat San Martin.

In all comps, things are progressing well.

[KibworthBull]

May 2077

Brayan Avilés continues to impress. Every start has equalled a goal. This one a winner and we beat lowly Cantolao.

All or nothing, well not quite, in Olimpia. Liberatordos or Supamerica - neither spelt right (probably) but one or the other for us. We can't get our win, so it's Copa Sudamerica.

We still get financial rewards, they just aren't as sweet.

Maxime Obekop will soon become a Cameroonian/German/Peruvian Triple National, and he celebrated by scoring twice to beat Cusco. Not bad for a Centre Half.

We "pasta" the mustard against Bolognesi.... Alexander Luna coming back to full fitness with a goal.

Cesar Guzman still knows where the net is. Municipal are beaten. 

We need 1 point from the remaining 4 matches to seal the Opening Stage.

A Uruguayan team in the Copa Sud. £400k for losing.

Daniel Salinas comes back from the U20 World Cup and grabs two goals as we win the Opening Stage. He was one of 5 players who went to that competition.

We are unbeaten

[KibworthBull]

June 2077

June in Peru is a bit daft. We play 1 game, then stop for a few weeks, and then play another 1, and then 1 game in July ends the Opening Stage. Surely it would be simpler to have the 3 games and then a break before starting the Closing Stage?

I assume it's the database and in real life, it's more logical.

What's logical, and expected, is an Alexander Luna treble. Sport Huancayo have no response.

The transfer window has opened and it's 2 in, and a few out.

Ro Jin-Hyok is an exciting young prospect from NORTH KOREA!!!! He's a striker and it's a nation on my list. Also on board is William Medina, another Right Winger/Striker option. He's Colombian but has Peruvian nationality so no registration concerns with him.

Nothing incredible leaving - Cotrina needs games, and Ruiz is an expensive, old, back-up.

Both the newcomers made their debuts against Ayachucho but it was Seb Leyva who took the plaudits with 2 assists.

We've achieved a new ranking high for Samoa... without playing.

We actually have to play two games this month, it's an unchanged squad

We matched the Solomon Islands in every stat but the important one (#cliche) as they score 50% more than us. Steve Pupi is off the mark.

An injury to Vaisigano Mataafa means Faleniu Knight gets his first call up for Vietnam.

And then Vietnam is a rinse and repeat.

We move back to 141st in the world.

[KibworthBull]

July 2077

As we've already qualified for the end-of-season play-off we've only got 2 targets for the Closing Stage.

1. Tick off North Korea
2. Copa Sudamerica Progress

Victory over Alianza ensures we come out of the Opening Stage unbeaten.

2-0 and we mucked it up against Universitario BUT Ibrahim Balde snuck a header in in stoppage time and we win best out of 5.

M.C.Torque could be a nightclub DJ, but they are actually a side from Uruguay. A 4-2 win should have been better but we will take a 2 goal lead to their place. Alexander Luna gets the goals.

The late show against Melgar, Giancarlo Arboleda getting a late winner.

In Uruguay, only 249(!) people attend and see us go 2 down, before Luis Chavez gets the key goal. It's £430k into the bank account.

All 4 Brazilian sides avoid the others

 Our winner gets Libertad or SAN

2 routine league wins end the month

Edited 16 hours ago by KibworthBull

[KibworthBull]

August 2077

Luis Chavez is proving to be a useful 3rd striker for the club this season. Goals No. 10 and 11 helped see us past Cienciano.

Cesar Guzman is under pressure to still be the 2nd striker, 2 goals against Alianza Universidad helped us go top and did his chances no harm. He's on 70 for the club.

Players were rested for UTC. With some bigger Brazilian fish forthcoming.

Alexander Luna has told me he is considering his options - he's got nearly 18 months before he can walk away - and then he bagged two against CTB - they halved the deficit in the dying embers of the game which could be a crucial goal.

Full rotation for Alianza Atletico - the reserves do the business.

All aboard for Peruvian Airways to Brazil.

We only needed Luna. A hat-trick. What luck! His 3rd was No.50 for the club.

We are £500k richer. And there are only Brazilian opponents left.

At Cesar Vallejo, the unbeaten season ended in the 93rd minute. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

We've got a Samoan squad to prepare for next month's friendlies. Very familiar squad.

At the end of the month, William Medina gets 4 assists as we beat Universidad San Martin. Our North Korean scores as well.

Edited 15 hours ago by KibworthBull

[KibworthBull]

September 2077

A quick working holiday to Samoa for the friendlies before it's back to some league and Copa Sudamerica action.

Papa's Got a Brand New Guinea up first. It was a second half showing with Pualele Talia doing the bits to cause crazy scenes. Farani Tokuma got his first at international level.

A see-saw game in Tahiti was settled in the dying embers - Vaisigano Mataafa with the decisive flick of the boot.

Goals and Greens. Perfect

We move back to 139th in the world.

Back in Peru, Diego Márquez lays on assists to see us past Cantolao.

Fully rotated for Cusco. 

It's SAN time. The Boys from Brazil are over.

And it's all to do in the 2nd leg - at one stage we were 4 down, so only trailing by 2 feels positive. 

The reserves beat Bolognesi

Before we board that plane to Brazil.

We needed 2 - we got 1.

We are out, but we are richer. So kinda win-win

Edited 14 hours ago by KibworthBull