Darius1998

I think so, as long as I don't get too bored. There's a good chance I might skip FM25 and wait for the next version anyway.

Mexico 2031 CONCACAF Gold Cup USA Squad We have a handy squad and are ranked 14th in the world going into the tournament. If anything, the biggest issue is that some of our Europe-based players are not regulars and have very little match sharpness going into it. In our two friendlies leading up to the tournament and won 5-1 vs Saudi Arabia and 5-0 vs Venezuela so that was nice. We had the Nations League games in March and lost a close semi-final 2-1 against the US, before beating Jamaica 3-0 in the 3rd place playoff. The US are probably the strongest team on paper but we need to reach the Final to match the FA's expectation. We were drawn into Group C with El Salvador, Suriname and Curacao, none of whom should cause major issues. Group Stage Quarter Final (if applicable) Semi Final (if applicable) Final (if applicable) Career progress

Cincinnati & Mexico 2030 Major League Soccer After starting off with a boring 0-0 at Austin, the team went on a ridiculous run - winning 6 in a row to make the Eastern Conference playoffs. I don't remember the format being quite like this when I last played in the MLS so it felt rather weird. We lost 3-1 in Boston and could only draw 1-1 at home which made me assume we were out. Instead, it went to pens and we won. With both teams having a win each, it went to a decider in New England, where they won a shootout after a 2-2 draw to finally eliminate us. No such ridiculousness with Mexico - we won a wild friendly 5-2 in Uruguay and then beat Suriname 7-3 on aggregate in the Nations League quarters. The Americans await in the semis. Club career Season | Team | Division | Position | Cup(s) | Continent | Notes & Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-24 | Black Leopards | First Division | 2nd | 2nd round | N. A. | Gained Nat. C license 2024-25 | Black Leopards | First Division | 1st | Semi final | N. A. | Promoted 2025-26 | Black Leopards | DSTV Premiership | 4th | R1, R1 | N. A. | Gained Nat. B license, left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-27 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | SF, W | N. A. | Domestic double; gained Nat. A and Cont. C licenses 2027-28 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | QF, W | Winners | Four trophies; gained Cont. B license; left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2028 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 4th | Winners | TBC | Joined 8th after 25 games; gained Cont. A license 2029 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 1st | R2, W | Runners up | Gained Cont. Pro License; domestic double 2030 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 1st* | R3* | Winners | Won CL, resigned after 16 games ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 | FC Cincinnati | MLS | 5th/8th | N. A. | N. A. | Joined after 27 games, lost in R1 of EC playoffs International Career Year | Country | Competition | Notes & Achievements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027 | Algeria | AFCON Qualifying | Qualified; 18/18 points 2028 | Algeria | African Cup of Nations | Winners | World Cup Qualifiers | Won 4/4; resigned June 2028 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2030 | Mexico | NA Nations League | Reached NL semis Challenge Progress Club 2/10 Domestic leagues - DSTV Premiership (2026-27), J1 League (2029) 2/10 Domestic cups - Nedbank Cup (2026-27), Emperor's Cup (2028) 2/5 Club continental championships - CAF Champions League (2027-28), AFC Champions League (2029-30) 0/1 Club World Championship International 1/5 Continental championships - African Cup of Nations (Algeria - 2028) 0/1 World tournaments * - At the time of departure

Squad: A bunch of NT jobs became available after the World Cup. Mexico lost on penalties in the 2nd round and looked like the most appealing one, especially since neither Japan nor South Korea became available. The squad looks decent on first view with only Liverpool midfielder Emilio Orvananos missing out on the World Cup through injury. The Gold Cup takes place every two years which is nice. Squad: League table After passing up on a bunch of jobs in Brazil, an MLS one finally became available in mid-September. Time to swap Ibaraki for Ohio. The squad does need a bit of work here and although they finished top of the Supporters' Shield in 2026 and 2027, those days seem to have long gone. I did enjoy managing in the MLS previously so hopefully, this will be similar. Despite having a bad season, we aren't that far off making the playoffs and if we get there, who knows what might happen? We're very unlikely to make the CL though so it will probably need a couple of seasons of rebuilding before we can challenge at North America's top table.

Yeah, it will probably be North America but I'm not sure yet. The World Cup starts in a month in-game so I am hoping to land two jobs at once around that time.

Kashima Antlers J1 League 2030 League table Halfway through the season and we were top but that's obviously not why I'm providing an update! Champions of Asia! We easily went past Buriram Utd before beating fellow J-League side Albirex in the quarters. A nervy semi against Jeonbuk followed and we won 3-1 at home after a 1-1 away draw to set up a rematch of last year's final. In the first leg, Al-Nassr went ahead but then had their goalscorer sent off. We dominated proceedings but trailed going into injury time, only for new signing Rijkhoff to strike twice! In the second leg, we were cheered on by 40,000 at our brand new stadium. They went down to 10 early on but then took the lead against the run of play. Things again became a bit nervy but a second half penalty gave us what we deserved. And I'm off a day later. Club career Season | Team | Division | Position | Cup(s) | Continent | Notes & Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-24 | Black Leopards | First Division | 2nd | 2nd round | N. A. | Gained Nat. C license 2024-25 | Black Leopards | First Division | 1st | Semi final | N. A. | Promoted 2025-26 | Black Leopards | DSTV Premiership | 4th | R1, R1 | N. A. | Gained Nat. B license, left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-27 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | SF, W | N. A. | Domestic double; gained Nat. A and Cont. C licenses 2027-28 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | QF, W | Winners | Four trophies; gained Cont. B license; left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2028 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 4th | Winners | TBC | Joined 8th after 25 games; gained Cont. A license 2029 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 1st | R2, W | Runners up | Gained Cont. Pro License; domestic double 2030 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 1st* | R3* | Winners | Won CL, resigned after 16 games ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- International Career Year | Country | Competition | Notes & Achievements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027 | Algeria | AFCON Qualifying | Qualified; 18/18 points 2028 | Algeria | African Cup of Nations | Winners | World Cup Qualifiers | Won 4/4; resigned June 2028 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Progress Club 2/10 Domestic leagues - DSTV Premiership (2026-27), J1 League (2029) 2/10 Domestic cups - Nedbank Cup (2026-27), Emperor's Cup (2028) 1/5 Club continental championships - CAF Champions League (2027-28), AFC Champions League (2029-30) 0/1 Club World Championship International 1/5 Continental championships - African Cup of Nations (Algeria - 2028) 0/1 World tournaments * - At the time of departure

Kashima Antlers J1 League 2029 League table Been a while since an update as I have been busy and Japan has been a bit of a slog for some reason. Anyway, we were imperious in the league and never really looked like missing out. After losing at the end of April to Vissel Kobe, we didn't even lose in the league till the penultimate game against Shimizu. After getting battered at Vegalta Sendai in the League Cup (lost 4-2 away, 5-4 overall), we retained the Emperor's Cup. Edhart scored twice to take his tally to 32 goals and 12 assists in 34(21) appearances. Quite extraordinary that no European teams have offered the €8m he agreed to be sold for. The Champions League was the big story though and unfortunately, it just didn't happen for us. We comfortably blew away Shanghai Port, Ulsan Hyundai and Vissel Kobe to establish ourselves as the best team in East Asia but Al-Nassr were just a little too strong. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic ruined us at home as we lost 3-1 and we didn't manage an away turnaround. At least both games were close so maybe we are not too far off. No issues so far in the 2029-30 campaign. I thought Ulsan might be a banana peel as our squad had seen a lot of turnover but we beat them 4-1 away and 4-0 at home. Club career Season | Team | Division | Position | Cup(s) | Continent | Notes & Achievements ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2023-24 | Black Leopards | First Division | 2nd | 2nd round | N. A. | Gained Nat. C license 2024-25 | Black Leopards | First Division | 1st | Semi final | N. A. | Promoted 2025-26 | Black Leopards | DSTV Premiership | 4th | R1, R1 | N. A. | Gained Nat. B license, left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2026-27 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | SF, W | N. A. | Domestic double; gained Nat. A and Cont. C licenses 2027-28 | Cape Town City | DSTV Premiership | 1st | QF, W | Winners | Four trophies; gained Cont. B license; left EoS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2028 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 4th | Winners | TBC | Joined 8th after 25 games; gained Cont. A license 2029 | Kashima Antlers | J1 League | 1st | R2, W | Runners up | Gained Cont. Pro License; domestic double International Career Year | Country | Competition | Notes & Achievements -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2027 | Algeria | AFCON Qualifying | Qualified; 18/18 points 2028 | Algeria | African Cup of Nations | Winners | World Cup Qualifiers | Won 4/4; resigned June 2028 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Challenge Progress Club 2/10 Domestic leagues - DSTV Premiership (2026-27), J1 League (2029) 2/10 Domestic cups - Nedbank Cup (2026-27), Emperor's Cup (2028) 1/5 Club continental championships - CAF Champions League (2027-28) 0/1 Club World Championship International 1/5 Continental championships - African Cup of Nations (Algeria - 2028) 0/1 World tournaments

Been a while since I last played this save but I got back into it somewhat over the past week or so. 2028-29: Season Review La Liga: 3rd, 76 points (no position change, -8 points) Copa del Rey: Winners! Champions League: Quarter-finalists, lost to Inter Supercopa: Semi-finalists, lost to Barcelona Decent season in the league, in spite of our points tally reducing due to fixture congestion. Barcelona lost 5 of their first 13 in the league and then just never lost again. We spent most of the season in a battle for 3rd with Atletico and Valencia while Real Madrid were also with us for the first half of the season before pulling away. The big story though came in the cup. After winning at Tudelano and Recreativo, we were drawn at home to Barca in the quarters and beat them in the 7th minute of stoppage time, Rayo were up next and after an away draw, we eased past them at home before thumping Real Madrid 3-0 in the final. The Champions League was a rollercoaster. After ending up 21st with 11 points in the league stage (although we did beat RM 4-1), we played Man Utd who beat us 3-0 in the league stage and thrashed them 6-0 at home, losing 1-0 away to go through. Milan had beaten us 2-1 as well in the league stage but we won 2-0 at home and drew 2-2 away to set up a tie against Inter. Unfortunately, they were really efficient and beat us 4-1 at their place and a 2-1 win at home wasn't enough for us. Transfers No one in. A bunch of people left on loan. Youth Intake A great intake gave us 4 elite talents. Mikel Bengoetxea (GK): We already have 2 excellent GK prospects but this guy might be even better. Martin Quintanilla (DM/MC): A controlling defensive midfielder. Asier Gurrtuxaga (DC/MC): Good player in a position where we do need some future reinforcements. Alberto Guerrero (AML/DL/ST): Yet another wide player, we have like 5 or 6 very talented ones at this point. Squad GK: Agirrezabala, Ayesa, Hugo Palacios*, Francisco Hernandez* RB: Areso, Inigo Albisu*, Diego Martin* CB: Unai Nunez, Paredes, Josu Romero*, Jon Martin, Sergio Aguirre* LB: Munoz, Imanol, Pedro Agirre* DM: Moncayola, Guillamon CM: Sancet, Unai Gomez, Vencedor, Julen Jon Guerrero, Asier Alberdi*, Alex Rubio* RW: Nico Williams, Nico Serrano, Javier Gabilondo*, Fran* LW: Adu Ares, Victor Villanueva*, Asier Albisu* ST: Guruzeta, Villalibre, Inaki Rubio* * - Newgen The squad is in good shape and we now have some of the youngsters taking over too. Albisu is now first choice at RB while Aguirre and Romero are the first choice CB partnership. Unai Nunez and Gorka Guruzeta will be leaving this summer as they want new challenges. Two guys made the NXGN 50 list! Albisu, Aguirre and Javier Gabilondo miss out as they are already 20. Fran is already valued at €63-76m at 17. One thing that was grating was players getting annoyed for no reason. Aguirre wanted to be promised a CB spot with a central defender role when he signed his deal, played there in that very role but is now angry about not playing in his preferred role. Fran was playing for the B team and in one game, ended up playing in goal because the keeper got injured, so now he's annoyed about being played in a weak position.

Player Of The Tournament: Rodri Most Disappointing Team: Italy Surprise Package/Over Achievers: Georgia Best Individual Team Performance: Georgia 2-0 Portugal Match Of The Tournament: Germany 1-2 Spain Goal Of The Tournament: Lamine Yamal vs France Team Of The Tournament (4-3-3): Giorgi Mamardashvili; Joshua Kimmich, Manuel Akanji, Pepe, Marc Cucurella; Vitinha, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Cody Gakpo, Nico Williams Subs: Jordan Pickford, Dani Carvajal, Jules Kounde, Jamal Musiala, Dani Olmo, Bukayo Saka, Georges Mikautadze Gakpo didn't play as a striker but the actual out and out strikers were rather unimpressive I thought.

He would be getting pelted all tournament long if he did what Walker did for that Switzerland goal. I remember feeling a little relieved when he converted the winning penalty in that game. He was already getting scapegoated for being played in midfield and if he missed there, I fully expected the abuse to go up a few levels.

Pretty great day for Spanish sport fans overall too with Alcaraz battering Djokovic earlier.

For such a small region, the Basque country produces an insane amount of talent. Both Spanish scorers play at the two big Basque clubs, De La Fuente grew up there and then you had Simon, Le Normand, Laporte, Merino, Zubimendi, etc. Then there's managers like Alonso, Arteta, Emery, Iraola, Valverde and Alguacil around as well.

Best team in the tournament throughout, fully deserved.

About an inch on that onside.

What a header that is.