[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Season 7: 2028/29

League:

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Fixtures:

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This season took me an age to complete, but that did not mean we avoided relegation fairly comfortably, even if we did take the odd thrashing. The squad did not undergo any significant changes in the summer, even so we comfortably better than the weakest sides in the division. That said, most of the players who were with us back in the third tier will be leaving us after this campaign. 

The youth players, when brought in...did not do well. It's all just a waiting game at the moment, bringing in 2 or 3 quality players in the summer but holding back on big spending in the hopes our finances can improve to boost those facilities. 

Taça de Portugal, Taca de Liga:

Académico de Viseu and Braga both knock us out at the earliest stage possible. My god I hate the cups.

Standout Performers:

Miguel Falé 

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21 league goals, 24 goals total, an incredibly good signing who has time to further develop.

Rodrigo Beirão

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A player who just refuses to reach his ceiling, the defender has now made well over 100 league appearances for the club and continues to excel.

Malam Camará

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I love a good but underrated anchor man, and the Bissau-Guinean was certainly required to mop up at the back this season.

Best Youth Prospect:

Luís Silva

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Far better in the middle of the park than on the right wing, Silva is the best of our limited youth prospects. He'll never be a star player but he's starting to improve a little bit. Would love to see him score one day!

Season Summary

Any Other Business:

I got offered the Nigeria job. Very nice, but there's only one international team for me...

Next Season: 

Keep saving money! Win a cup game!

Progress:

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Whoah...well done!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

On 18/03/2022 at 09:47, OlivierL said:

How are your facilities at the moment? I produced one wonderkid at the moment and 8 of my first eleven are selected for the Africa cup in 2037. All of them are from intakes in 32, 35 , 36..

Still only basic. About a million in debt as well although finances starting to improve each month. Maybe this summer, who knows...

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

2029 Youth Intake

It seems ages since I posted one of these (mostly because it is), but the story remains the same. Are some of these players better than my existing youth products? Sure. Are they anywhere near good enough to play top-flight Portuguese football? I really don't think they are. Oh, for a chairman who wouldn't tell me to 'not waste our time with matters such as this' whenever I tried to protest another refused upgrade.

That said, if I combined Neves and Reis I'd have a pretty decent striker:

One year I'll get some decent fullbacks. 2029 is not that year. Our better players tend to prefer being in the middle.

In terms of the current season,

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we've survived with four whole games to go (!) so I'm going to play academy products a lot more in these dead rubber matches. It's sink or swim time for some of our 19-21 year olds.

 

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Start of 2028/29 Season

Not had much time to play but my interest in this save remains very much alive. Well, the leap in difficulty was definitely significant and we've been given quite a few hidings from the established Primeira Liga big boys. All in all though we're holding our own at this level as there are some very weak teams here also. It's going to be incredibly tight and another big injury or two could make a difference in a tight league, but I'm more hopeful than not that relegation can be avoided.

The cup curse continues, we didn't even play badly but still somehow conceded three and dropped out after an incredibly protracted shootout. In better news, we still love a late goal.

Not too many drastic changes to the squad this summer, and so Miguel remains our key goal threat. He's keeping us in it at the moment. Try as I might, the youth products are still pretty wretched when given an opportunity to play.

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

As you might know, I'm not doing it as youth-only, and I've still enjoyed myself immensely. But yeah, being able to bring players in made those first seasons much easier.

As for the 5th tier thing, my preference, on any version of FM, is to use the 'out of the box' leagues but I'm really not too bothered. If you start in a created league and put the effort to make Cape Verde a world force I don't think that invalidates the achievement at all!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Season 5: 2027/28

League:

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Fixtures:

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Well, the second half of the season went even better than the first, which in the end led to a bit of a procession the Liga 2 title, my first official piece of silverware! There's probably a lot of truth to the claim that FM22 is an 'easier' iteration than in previous years but given the task at hand I'm not particularly bothered. All the less so because I have an entertaining side who are fun to manage. We still retained the spine of the team that won us promotion last season, which is vindication for those who my coaches seemed to dismiss as not being cut out for the second tier. 

So dominant was our season that I have good reason to think we'll survive the Primeira Liga, but the biggest challenge is how to start to produce quality Cape Verdean players when we're hamstrung financially? I think the best strategy for now is to bring in 3-4 quality players but seek to improve facilities while repairing the financial damage. In short, I think it could be a long wait for the next title. But for now, it feels great to see Africanos getting into the big time!

Taça de Portugal, Taca de Liga:

Olhanense get revenge for last season's playoff by knocking us out of the cup. In the league cup equivalent we lost to big boys Boavista.

Standout Performers:

Miguel Falé 

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On loan from Paços de Ferreira, who I feel might regret that decision after they finished 7th, Falé won us so many points that it would not be right to consider anyone else for our player of the season. The poacher's 23 league goals are the reason we'll be in the top flight next season, and he's still only 24. Now to try and sign him.

Rodrigo Beirão

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A solid contender alongside van der Gaag as my best ever Africanos signing, Rodrigo adapted well to Liga 2 and remained a threat from set-pieces. He continues to improve, so might still be a regular fixture next season too.

Nuno Cunha

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Another player I got from a divisional rival, the free transfer from Mafra actually vindicated my late decision to release last season's playoff hero Fábio Martins. A fine player who gave me a real selection headache in midfield, and will likely continue to do so.

Vitinha 

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The solid right-back I'd long been looking for, I barely noticed Vitinha as he carried out his job with quiet brilliance. A real shame he picked up a bad hip injury with weeks of the season left, I hope he does not lose his sharpness upon his return. 

Best Youth Prospect:

Renato Monteiro

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Appearing from nowhere the young midfielder caught the eye playing his first full season for the u19s and I started to sub him on for the first team. He seemed to have little problem playing in the anchor man role and in the end I gave him a full start in our final match of the season. Very promising stuff, and perhaps a regular in the future.

Season Summary

Any Other Business:

I've finally been allowed to get my third coaching badge. Also, we'll have a new home next season.

 

Next Season: 

We are well ahead of schedule, so survival, financial stability and improved facilities are all I really want next season!

Progress:

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

2028 Youth Intake

Even with the possibility of the Primeira Liga looming and a new HOYD, it still seems like we'll need further investment to start producing especially good youth prospects. But one or two here aren't too far off the weaker members of our matchday squad. I'm also wondering if SI need to put a few more Cape Verdean first names and surnames into their database...

 

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Seriously impressive stuff!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Start of 2027/28 Season

Well, as was the case with the other challengers, the second tier looked more daunting than the reality. Playing in a regular style league rather than groups leaves slightly more margin for error than in previous seasons, and I'm confident we'll be in the playoff place at least come the end of the season.

This achievement comes in spite of the fact that we're losing money like crazy and had an eye-watering £10k cut off our wage budget mid-season! Ouch. Normal service resumed in the cups, so no extra prize money this season either.

Star man so far has been Miguel Falé, on loan from Paços de Ferreira. Unsurprisingly, he's been the best striker I've had on this challenge with 13 goals in just 17 games. Definitely someone I'll be looking to bring in permanently if I ever have a wage budget again.

 

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

It was closer than it needed to be. But finally, finally I have beaten the team who've made our lives hell!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Season 5: 2026/27

League:

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Fixtures:

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This season seemed a real slow-burner, but looking back that was mostly because we opened it with three draws. With the club losing money at a rate of knots despite a good cup run, the pressure was on, as it seemed unlikely that I'd have the money to get another van der Gaag or Paulinho in a third season at this level. In the regular season we only lost two games, but were somewhat fortunate to finish in second place. Clearly, there was a slim margin for error.

After winning our first playoff game, we went three without a win. This meant that we needed 6 points from the final two games, both at home, to stand a chance of promotion. We were outplayed by Sporting Covilhã, so were delighted to win 2-1. This made the next game against Olahense straightforward- the winner would go up. We saved our best til last as we absolutely stifled them in the first half and scored three goals. The second half was perhaps more nervy than it needed to be, but despite pushing hard Olahense failed to find the net, and, having seemed dead and buried, we were up!

The past two seasons had ended in defeat against Salgueiros, and I've never beaten them. I decided to play a few more youngsters in the Championship game, but we never really looked the part and lost 2-1, that doesn't matter too much, but I'd really like some silverware soon, or at least beat them just once.

Taça de Portugal:

Our best run, getting all the way to the fifth round but losing to Gil Vicente.

Standout Performers:

Paulinho

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I signed him because he helped Amora to the Liga 3 title last year and he proved to be worth the wages. Nowhere near our most consistent player but his 14 league goals made all the difference compared to how we finished last season. A striker who can win games on his own.

Jordan van der Gaag

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Our star player chipped in with 10 assists but more importantly just imposes order on the pitch. I always feel confident when he's on the ball in midfield.

Rodrigo Beirão 

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Another solid season at the back alongside Martim Rocha, I would like to think Beirão won't look out of place in the second tier. He's still improving.

Fábio Martins

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Last season I wrote: "My mezzala is getting on a bit but on his day he sometimes transforms into our biggest goal threat. I'm hoping I can get one more good season from him." Well, he led from the front in the biggest game in our history, scoring twice against Olahense. That's probably enough to earn him a new contract on sentimental value alone. 

Best Youth Prospect:

Luís Silva 

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Nine senior appearances this time out and Silva... unmistakably plays like a 16 year old. But there is promise there, and at least he has one assist to his name.

Season Summary

Any Other Business:

Erm...he's good but he's not that good!

Next Season: 

I think the two challengers who got to Liga 2 previously both enjoyed back-to-back promotions. Honestly, that seems like too big an ask for this squad. We need to consolidate and finishing lower-mid table would be nice work indeed.

Progress:

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

2027 Youth Intake

I almost bypassed this post entirely this time round. Despite what my HOYD says, all of the top prospects seem okay but there's no-one here who excites me.

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Great stuff. Winning the Olympics would be on a par with winning the World Cup just for how rare it is.

I guess Olympic football takes place around the same time the game decides to retire long-unattached players?

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

We're in the promotion playoffs again after putting together a really good run of form. This is really impressive given the quality of opposition - in comparison to their northern counterparts, the winners of Liga 3 south got 36 points!

We managed to knock Chaves out of the cup to earn the right to an away game at a top flight club. Unfortunately that club was minnows Gil Vicente, but valuable experience all the same. We qualified for the playoffs with three games to go and then managed to avoid defeat at Salgueiros despite fielding a weaker team than usual and in the final fixture dismantled Sporting Braga B.

We then drew Sporting Braga B, Sporting Covilhã and Olhanense in the playoff group, which is a really nice outcome since we got more points than all of them in the regular season. We should really capitalise on this fortunate draw. I'm terrified!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Start of 2026/27 Season

I am very envious seeing @OlivierL in the top flight, whilst I'm still in the third tier. I just don't have the computer nor the free time to go at that pace! In fact, this is the quickest I've played FM in over a decade.

What I would like to skip ahead to is the bit where we can finally beat Salgueiros. I was annoyed when they lost the playoff final last season as they are clearly too good for this level. And, sure enough, there they are, top of the tree again, and the only team who've beaten us.

Clearly, our issue is not that one loss but the fact that we have drawn too many games. However, the opening set of fixtures was quite tricky and eventually we started to click. I am fully expecting reaching the playoff stage once more. Also, we've actually won some cup games! Liga 2 Chaves await us in the next round.

Ailing finances meant that I could not bring in too many new players this summer after three years of upheaval, but one new player who might make the difference is my poacher, Paulinho, who is on a whopping £775 per week! He's especially needed as star man Jordan van der Gaag fractured his ribs and is out for seven weeks - we don't have much depth, so that makes us a much worse team.

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

4 hours ago, OlivierL said:

Another thing that i didn't think about is that when you get players playing for the senior team of Cape Verde, they won't be available during the AFCON , every two years  Did u had issues with that @XaW ?

And the youngsters that get call-up for the U20 , are missing BWin games because their calender isn't in balance with BWIN and other european competitions

This suddenly dawned on me the other night haha. The Portuguese leagues will just have to accommodate their future Champions of Europe!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Been unable to play FM/check the forums much this week due to various reasons, but very pleased to see the real-life CPV win in the Afcon today!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

 Season 4: 2025/26

League:

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Fixtures:

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This season we looked good value to secure back-to-back promotions as the squad was overhauled once again with players far higher than a standard we'd ever seen at the club before. In the promotion stage two precious wins over Varzim gave us hope but was not enough to see us top the group. That meant that we had to face off against Salgueiros in the playoffs, who of course had managed to go unbeaten during the regular season, and beat us in last year's Champions Playoff. I knew this would be two tough encounters and, after scraping a draw in the home leg, 

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they unfortunately managed to find an 88th minute winner at their stadium to end our dreams of reaching the second tier. Salgueiros themselves came unstuck in the final, so it seems likely we will have to find a way to beat them next season.

Taça de Portugal:

A bye in the first round, and then defeat to Merelinense in the second. This competition is not our friend.

Standout Performers:

Jordan van der Gaag

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By far and away the best player at the club, I still struggle to believe he agreed to join and I have to hope no-one triggers his release clause. If I had just two more players of a similar standard I think we'd dominate the league!

Martim Rocha 

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Following the departure of Ni Rodrigues in the summer I was very lucky to sign not one but two decent central defenders, Martim Rocha and Rodrigo Beirão (who achieved the unique feat of scoring a hat-trick from defence in his second game for the club). Rocha serves as my stopper and looks like he'll be good enough for Liga 2 soon enough. Hopefully we can keep pace with him!

Fábio Martins

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My mezzala is getting on a bit but on his day he sometimes transforms into our biggest goal threat. I'm hoping I can get one more good season from him.

Best Youth Prospect:

Luís Silva

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The standard of youth players has gone up so quickly that those from the first two intakes have barely any chance of seeing first-team action. So 15 year old Silva looks the player most likely to break through at the moment., having played three league games for us. Looking forward to seeing if he can push on next season.

Season Su mmary

Any Other Business:

No improvements off-pitch but I now have my national B licence. Baby steps...

Next Season: 

Quite simply, I want to win promotion!

Progress:

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

2026 Youth Intake

A reasonable intake headlined by the highly adaptable Luís Silva. The first hints that we might get our first international soon?

Silva will get minutes this season, I'll play him on the right wing but in the longer term I could see him as a playmaker for sure.

Miranda could well be a solid backup at the back next season. Varela and Lima are perhaps the next most likely to make the first team, but not for several seasons yet:

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

I've played youth-only numerous times from FM15 onwards but after making absolutely miniscule progress in FM21 am enjoying the novelty of buying e.g. a fullback who can bring the team up a level in one stroke. I do not envy anyone who attempts to make this challenge even harder!

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

A very strange second half to the campaign. We briefly looked unstoppable although Salgueiros could not be budged, in fact they never lost a game. We then lost our goalkeeper to injury after he'd achieved six clean sheets in a row and it immediately went very wrong with a 4-0 defeat to perpetual irritants Merelinense. But the possibility of back-to-back promotions is still alive.

We've drawn Varzim in the promotion group and they are going to prove hard to topple. They've just handed us our first home defeat in 14 months. I would prefer to be in better form going into the next stage but hopefully some r&r will see us regain our December form.

 

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

@TeoTimishI've uploaded my original save file - if you want it, send me a DM. Bear in mind this was from the Beta and you'll start with the exact same squad I did.

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

9 hours ago, TeoTimish said:

@Joy_in_Leeuwarden

" If all else fails, I may be able to upload my own 30 June 2022 save file for anyone interested "

don't know if you can do it for me , and have no ideea how to make it , but for sure i'm interested

I'll have a look this evening if you're still not having any joy with the reloading pal.

[[FM22] The Cape Verdean Challenge]

Start of 2025/26 Season

Well, my approach has been the polar opposite of the other two people to take on this challenge so far. For the second summer in a row we had a revolving door policy as I had tens of trialists at a time to try and find players who could make a good fist of promotion at the first time of asking.

The policy seemed to work, nine of the starting eleven in our first match of the season were debutants, and several got off to an immediate good start. After we thrashed Gondomar 6-0, we had a defender who had scored 4 goals and a winger with five assists from the first two games. Instead of sitting back I continued to further strengthen the squad and found real quality in midfield in the form of Fábio Martins and Jordan van der Gaag. Apart from Salgueiros who were very much too good for us to deal with, we've held our own and are looking good value to progress to the promotion stage.

So then, similar to last seasons start. I figure I've now chosen the path of 'promotions now, Cape Verde players later' but there's still a couple of youngsters who are rated pretty highly. What is annoying is our continued refusal to perform in cup matches, that's one win in four seasons now.

It took a long time to convince him to join, but van der Gaag is the best player we've had at the club by a country mile. A few more players of this quality and we'll have a team that will be second tier standard, let alone this division. And he hasn't truly bedded in yet!