gggfunk Posted Thursday at 20:35 Share Posted Thursday at 20:35 (edited) Welcome all to my Zero To Hero story. As some of you may already know, this is not my first attempt to write here about this kind of save, but this time I intend to do it properly. Thank you again for all the comments in my previous thread, I really hope you will like this one even more. First of all, I want as much realism as possible, hence my manager will have no badges and Sunday league experience. However, I won't start unemployed as I don't want to waste time by waiting several months to get a job in a random club to which I have no connection at all. Instead, I have chosen my starting point - it's 4th tier of Swedish football. I won't be playing as myself this time as I needed a fresh start, plus I've never been to Sweden anyway so it would be weird. The manager and his background will be fictional, but some elements will be based on myself. More details below, let's go... Save Structure I have loaded 45 leagues from 23 nations, large database, original game mode. No editor files, no editor use. No save scumming. First transfer window off for realism purposes. The Story I'm Marcel Bukowski, a 31 years old Polish guy born in Jelenia Góra. Football has always been my life and I'm a big fan of Arsenal London and FC Barcelona. Obviously, I dreamed of becoming a professional player but I realized very fast that I lacked talent to be anybody more than just a Sunday league footballer. When I was twenty, I stopped playing for good and became a youth coach at a local amateur club. I really liked the job but there was no money in it and I had to do something for my future, so I finished my studies and started looking for a real job. Unfortunately, the situation in Poland was far from perfect and even though I had my diploma I couldn't find a good position. Luckily, I had a cousin in Sweden and I asked him if it's worth to go there and if he could help me to settle. This is how I ended up in Stockholm. I lived in the capital city for a few years while working many different jobs, mostly in the construction. As I already spoke good English, I wanted to do something better for my career. One day I learned from my friend that there was a vacancy at the airport in the city called Lulea. Even though it was around 1000km away from where I lived, I decided to try and apply. Long story short, I got the job and moved to the north part of Sweden. All this time I kept my strong passion to football and I regularly attended league games of a local club Notvikens IK. Honestly, I fell in love with the club! The people, the atmosphere, the cool badge, kits, all of it was special! After being a regular guest at the stadium I got to know the club's owners and we even became acquaintances. We talked about football and they always admired my tactical knowledge. Still, I was very surprised when one day they asked me if I would be interested in a part-time job as a youth coach. I had to make sure that it wouldn't overlap with my full-time airport job and when it was clear it was fine, I agreed and started working in my beloved local club. June 2023 We were in the middle of the season, the first team played well and sat at safe 8th place in the Division 2 Norrland. Unfortunately, during the summer our manager had to resign from his position due to personal reasons and the club urgently needed a new boss. As there wasn't a quality replacement available and our situation in the league was rather safe, the board decided to wait until the season is over. To my surprise, they asked me if I want to become the interim manager. I couldn't say no! My contract is valid only until 30/11/2023 and the salary is €230 p/m. Obviously, I had to keep my airport job... Edited Thursday at 20:41 by gggfunk 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelinho Posted Thursday at 20:46 Share Posted Thursday at 20:46 I like the narrative so far! Let’s get this going 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hootieleece Posted Thursday at 20:56 Share Posted Thursday at 20:56 subbed. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 05:41 Author Share Posted Friday at 05:41 (edited) Season 1 (2023) - July Notvikens IK ----- Introduction Here I am, the manager of Notvikens IK. Let this moment last forever! The club Notvikens IK is a semi-professional Swedish football club located in Lulea in Norrbotten County. Since their foundation in 1936 the club has participated mainly in the middle and lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Division 2 Norrland which is the fourth tier of Swedish football. They play their home matches at Tunavallen in Notviken, Lulea. They got a cool badge, right? We are in the middle of the season and our situation in the league looks like this. As you can see, all the players are only on part-time deals that end on 30/11/2023. Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 05:55 Author Share Posted Friday at 05:55 (edited) Season 1 (2023) - July Notvikens IK ----- First weeks at the club On my first day I asked the owner if I could start my coaching course to have at least the basic National C License. Not only he agreed, but also promised to cover the costs! Please meet Jacob Engstrom who will be my assistant manager. As I'm a big fan of teams like Arsenal and Barcelona, it's obvious that I like attacking football. Therefore, I told my players that I don't want them to play defensively, I want goals! The core principles of our style should include dominating possession and relentless pressing. We will use a basic Vertical Tiki-Taka with some small adjustments. Let's see how this works in Swedish lower leagues! Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 06:09 Author Share Posted Friday at 06:09 (edited) Season 1 (2023) - August Notvikens IK ----- First Games My official debut as Notvikens IK manager took place on July 29th when we faced our rivals Bergnasets AIK in the domestic cup. We won 2-0! Then, it was time to come back to the league. We played six games and won three of them, so I can't complain! The 0-7 loss in the Svenska Cupen Second Round doesn't look good, but we faced a team from the highest division so I had to be understanding for the boys. Actually, we were supposed to play this match on our ground, but the rivals made us an offer of €20k to buy the home advantage. Well, the additional money is always nice plus we had a chance to visit a bigger stadium, so I didn't hesitate to accept the generous offer. Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 08:35 Author Share Posted Friday at 08:35 (edited) Season 1 (2023) - September Notvikens IK We have been on a great run this month, winning three games and drawing one. Unexpectedly, we became one of the contenders for the promotion, but I don't get my hopes up yet. After the win against our biggest rivals IFK Lulea, the board told me that they want to extend my contract and appoint me as the long term manager. However, they noted that they won't be able to give me a pay rise as they simply cannot afford it right now. As I love the club and really enjoy being the manager, I agreed and signed a new deal until 30/11/2024. Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 10:24 Author Share Posted Friday at 10:24 (edited) Season 1 (2023) - October Notvikens IK Our form dropped at the final stage of the season and we managed to win only one of the remaining games. Overall, I'm happy with our performance as when I started the club was at 8th and we finished at 6th. We can still improve in many aspects, but the foundation is there. Meanwhile, I completed my course for a National C License and now I can feel as a real football manager! (I still have to work at the airport to get by, though). Thanks to the board's kindness, I was able to start the following course too. Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted Friday at 13:41 Author Share Posted Friday at 13:41 (edited) Season 2 (2024) - Winter Break Notvikens IK As Swedish leagues are played only through summer due to climate, our players went for a 3 month holiday. They reported back to the club on January 29th and we started preparations for the upcoming season. The first few weeks were mostly about fitness, and at the beginning of March we finally started to play some matches. Our financial situation is not too bad for a club of our stature. The target for the new season is again to avoid the relegation, but looking at the boys I strongly believe they can do much better than this. Obviously, we cannot really do any transfers due to being able to offer only part-time contracts, but we managed to convince some young players to join our team. Emil Lager and Charbel Henriksson seem to be good prospects and I intend to give them a chance to play. Please also meet our captain Jesper Gylling and biggest star Rasmus Mansson. Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted yesterday at 06:33 Author Share Posted yesterday at 06:33 (edited) Season 2 (2024) - April, May & June Notvikens IK We started the new season with a home defeat, but then we got into a really good form and at the halfway stage we are sitting on the 3rd place. Now we have a short summer break to recharge the batteries and make a final push to ending the season as good as possible. I finished my National B License course and asked the board if I could start another one. Again, they said they are happy to approve and fund it. I was also offered to extend my contract for another year. I managed to get a €10 rise, meaning I will be earning €240 p/m. Still better than nothing! I have a great vibe with the board, I can even say they are my friends. Therefore, I was disappointed when I found out that the current chairman Anders Sundqvist is not going to start in the next elections. On a good note, I was given an assessment of the next youth intake and it seems there will be some talented kids joining us soon! Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted 20 hours ago Author Share Posted 20 hours ago (edited) Season 1 (2023/24) - Summary Around The World --- Premier League Very close results to what happened in real life that season, I like that! La Liga Getafe will play in the Champions League next season, wow! Serie A Napoli had much better season than in reality. Bundesliga Still Neverkusen... and a terrible season for BVB. Ligue 1 Business as usual. Champions League Manchester Derby in the final and The Citizens triumph. Europa League Great performance from Liverpool. Conference League Another final won by an English team. NXGN 2024 Edited 18 hours ago by gggfunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted 18 hours ago Author Share Posted 18 hours ago Season 2 (2024) - July & August Notvikens IK During the summer break we played four friendly games and we won all of them. I believe it gave us a lot of confidence as we came back to the league strongly, keeping up the good form from the first part of the season. With seven games to go we are fighting for the promotion. In the meantime, I completed my National A License and already started working on my first Continental badge. The board keep investing in my development and I'm so grateful. Unfortunately, it was the last time when the chairman helped me in anything as the elections took place, meaning the club now has a new board. I hope they will be as cool as the previous one! AROUND THE WORLD Euro 2024 Netherlands have won the tournament after winning the final game against Portugal. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gggfunk Posted 48 minutes ago Author Share Posted 48 minutes ago Season 2 (2024) - September Notvikens IK Three games to go and the playoff spot is almost secured, but our dream is to win the league and gain the automatic promotion. Can we do it? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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