The Special Two-ne | A FM24 Save by [F/Z]

[fslashz]

The Save.

I don't want to spend so much time on this part as to not bore the reader. However, I have to detail the main aspects of this save. This save is heavily inspired by the careers of one of my favorite managers in football, Jose Mourinho. I have always enjoyed him both because of the teams he managed, the way he managed, and just the attitude he brought to the game of football. It was mesmerizing to me when I was first getting into the history of football. His Champions League run with Porto especially is one I will always adore.  This save has also been inspired by a few of the amazing careers on this website I have enjoyed reading, especially for a more tactical/data/deeper dive into what Football Manager can offer in terms of playing it. Specifically, @Shrewnaldo, @_Ben_, and @MattyLewis11 have been huge inspirations thanks to their awesome saves.  Lastly, I would like to thank @GIMN for both his amazing FM Oneshot youtube series (which have been absolute joys to watch) and for the incredible Mustermann skin that I will be using for the duration of the save and which you can find here:
 

 

The main goal of the save is simple. Start our career in Portugal/Brazil and work our way up the ranks until we hit a top job opportunity in the world of football. Then, we try to win titles and the Champions League. I plan on doing a few posts per season going over how we are doing in the league campaign as well as recruiting philosophy and trying to work around problems I face in the save. If that sounds good, please consider sticking around with this blog!

 
The Job.

It's weird. You don't usually expect to get a high-tier job immediately. 34-year-old Celso Villalobos was a man completely new to the managing world. He had played around the lower divisions of Portuguese football and retired at 30, focusing on working his football badges and using the funds he obtained from his career to work up to a UEFA Pro License. He did this not because of the money but because he loved football and idolized the iconic manager Jose Mourinho. But as soon as the new season emerged, he entered the job market. And that same manager is me. F/Z. The writer. From now on, I'll be talking in first person as if I am Celso Villalobos, to make it easier for all of us.  June through October were cold months. Clubs in Portugal didn't have many openings and in Brazil, where my Portuguese would be fluent enough for the players to understand, no club was willing to bite. During this time, when discussing the thought of potentially joining first-tier side Moreirense in an interview should they sack their manager, I was laughed at. November was looking to be another bad month. It wasn't until the 28th of November that CD Feirense offered me an interview. And, this was a realistic job for where I was standing. The club was down in the relegation places in the 2nd division and it would be a good starting point to manage. And after the interview, I was preparing myself to join Feirense. Ever since I put in an offer for the side, I was confident that he could lead the struggling side to survival and that's where my feet would land...

...but fate had other plans.

Ok. Why are we talking about Famalicao? Didn't you just say that Moreirense laughed at you for even suggesting you wanted to manage them? They're a side that just got promoted! Well yes. Moreirense are a newly promoted side and the fans also laughed at me when I even suggested the possibility of joining their club. But there is one main difference between Moreirense and Famalicao. One is a club that knows they are fighting off relegation. One that can prepare and have trust in the manager who has been manning the ship to steer them into survival (which they are currently doing, just avoiding the playoffs). The other is Famalicao. They are a team who are very comfortable in those mid/top half places of the league. Despite being very new to the system (joining in 19/20), the club has enjoyed comfortable 6th to 9th places each year. That was until this season. By the time that I was interviewed, they were in 15th. But that wasn't the only thing wrong. The club was more than £2m in debt and had a transfer budget in red. I had been proposed a big fat £0 p/w in wages. Lovely. I knew they had fairly rich owners, but should I take the job it would be rude to ask for a lifeline immediately.

So I had two choices. I could go to Feirense. I'd have a pretty lax career path with the only goal being to survive relegation. It would start me off with a good league to learn how the Portuguese leagues work and I could improve my resume over a few years and move to a slightly bigger club in the top leagues. The only problem was I'd have to wait a few years to get that big opportunity should I not be able to promote Feirense. I'd have a decent budget to make moves around January time and could start the club culture I would want to build early. And then there's Famalicao. A team with virtually no budget and very high expectations for a club fighting off the other teams who would come for the throat and any chance of survival. A club that would put my first job as one in the top tier. From a player who had rarely played in that type of league in his career. Straight to managing his squad to play against the best sides Portugal has to offer. And I had no wiggle room to make signings if I didn't want to fire-sell some of my players off. And a part of me felt it wasn't realistic. Did I deserve this as my first job? If Feirense was like a safe investment at a bank that would slightly grow over the next few years, Famalicao was like betting every last pound you had saved on yourself going up against an insanely tough challenge and saying that you'd just win. But, sometimes, you just have to take your chances and run with them. Say that you'd win and win. So ultimately, the choice was obvious.

  Welcome to Famalicão. 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2023 by fslashz

[_Ben_]

Good luck!

[SteinkelssonFM]

Best of luck my friend, I will be following on closely.

You may want to take a little read of this 

https://steinkelssonfm.medium.com/fm21-jorge-mendes-challenge-season-one-64070b021cac

The side were closely affiliated with Jorge Mendes, would be good to see if you continue with their recent recruitment philosophy.