Introduction
So I've managed to complete my Pentagon Challenge (FM20) after 15 in game seasons. It's probably the most fun I've had on FM and it's the first time I've managed to do it after trying it on FM14 and FM16. Obviously I started unemployed with no coaching badges and the Sunday League reputation.
I can't actually remember why but I called my manager Peter Parker. I think I might actually continue the trend and name my next one Bruce Banner and so on.
TLDR; Won each of the 5 CLs over a career of 15 years, if you don't want to read it all at least read the "Wolves" section - it's a cracker.
Mitra Kukar
So my first team was Mitra Kukar in the Indonesian League. This seemed like a pretty good job from the outside as they were sitting 3rd in the second division after 8 games so I managed to get promoted as champions in my first season.
The teams in the league were fairly equal so after strengthening my already decent squad, I managed to do the league and cup double after being promoted which was pretty insane. Another summer window of strengthening only tightened my grip on the league and we did the double again. I was also in the continental competition for the first time and managed to make it out of the group stage only to be knocked out by Jeonbuk on aggregate.
I quickly realised that I wasn't going to be able to do any better with this squad so I started looking for my next club.
Hohhot FC
Man, I fell in love with this team. Hohhot, much like Mitra Kukar, were in the second division of their domestic league. We managed to win the second division and made it to the final of the domestic cup where we were (convincingly) beaten by Guangzhou Evergrande.
So much money is chucked around in the Chinese league which means that a lot of decent players can be picked up for free/cheap when the big clubs buy too many players. The registration rules limit how many non-Asian players you can have so there's always a couple of bargains to be found. The best Chinese players get snapped up by the big clubs but they're more than happy to loan them out meaning you can get a fairly decent squad with little investment.
I signed a winger from the South Korean league and I bought a Brazilian DM from one of the big clubs and they pretty much single-handedly dragged us up the table. My first season in the top flight saw me finish 4th, guaranteeing AFC CL football for the 2024 season. We were dumped out in the first round by Melbourne Victory but we did end up finishing 3rd in the league.
My third season at Hohhot was one to remember as we managed to lift the AFC CL at only the second time of asking. Our route to the final wasn't too difficult as we managed to avoid the big Chinese clubs that would pummel me in the league, we also secured a 3rd place finish.
https://preview.redd.it/pk2mkzxl33x61.png?width=470&format=png&auto=webp&s=55160e85c36e6c5268194261317c1e1445377e37
Jomo Cosmos
A quick 7 month stint at Jomo Cosmos saw me finish 8th in the league after joining them midway through the season, also securing the Nedbank Cup in the process. I ended up resigning because I lost the dressing room after refusing bend the knee to some idiot bench player...
I'll have my revenge!
Gimnasia y Esgrima
What a team. I had some insanely good players in this side, two that I ended up bringing with me to Europe.
In my first season at the club I steered them away from relegation and to an 11th placed finish. In my second season (27/28) we had a major clear out and got rid of 18(!) players whilst only bringing in 7 replacements. It's about quality, not quantity though! We managed to win the league on the final day with a 5-1 victory over an already relegated team. We were knocked out of the Libertadores by Flamengo in the second round which was disappointing.
Arsenal stole my 18 year old CB that I quickly replaced with one of my save faves (new term) in Emiliano Rodriquez, also 18. This guy was actually insane and played pretty much every game and would pop up with crucial goals from corners all the time. I signed him and my other save fave from a relegated club.
Emiliano Rodriquez at 18
After 3 years at Gimnasia we managed to secure the Libertadores after a satisfying 3-0 victory over Flamengo in 2029. I was sad to leave but I had a feeling I'd be seeing some of those players again soon.
https://preview.redd.it/oerk9ceb63x61.png?width=615&format=png&auto=webp&s=c6bc9381448991583809b300a1b0c01b64282e61
Wolverhampton Wanderers
I joined a struggling Wolves in January 2030 and we managed to climb the table to finish 11th and made it all the way to the FA cup final where we lost to Manchester United 1-0.
In the summer of 2030 I made some astute signings, bringing in Juan Cruz Casagrande from Gimnasia, he was a 6"2 winger with bags of pace and aerial ability, he shouldn't have been good but he just suited my play style that I had to grab him. I picked up a DM from Brazil for £20m and Portuguese striker playing in Nashville(!?) for £9m, also I loaned in a Mezzalla from Liverpool with an option to buy.
We finished 2nd with 4 points separating 2nd and 5th. United won the league with a 9 point margin so obviously we were some way off. In the summer of 2031 we bought in my other save fave (Emiliano Rodriquez), exercised our optional fee on the Liverpool loanee, bought a world class left back for £50m and made the best ever free signing I've managed in FM - Martin Otten. Juve let this guy go for free and nobody else was interested so I managed to grab him on a weekly wage of £110k.
https://preview.redd.it/7sc2qfr083x61.png?width=691&format=png&auto=webp&s=15484c758d579755ad92826dd1d97427c5e590d8
Okay so this is where the Wolves save got interesting. We smashed our way out of the CL group, finishing top with 12 points, with PSG finishing 3rd. We then dismantled Juve 6-0 on aggregate. Next up, we scraped past Barca with a 1-0 aggregate win after my centre back scored from a corner at Camp Nou. Next, we beat Liverpool 4-4 on aggregate, despite losing the second leg 4-1 after a red card in the first 20 minutes. Now, something that I don't think I'll ever experience again in FM.
Champions League final against Manchester United, the team that beat me in the FA Cup final 2 years ago and consistently beats me in the league. I didn't hold much hope but anything can happen in a final so we just had to go for it. We took an early lead through my Argentinian son (Juan Cruz Casagrande - not actually my son but that's what I called him when talking to my friend) but United equalised 15 minutes later. The score stayed 1-1 and it went into extra time.
As the clock was ticking down towards the final whistle I started thinking about pens and I decided to have a look through my subs to see if I had a decent penalty taker to sub on. I spotted (ex United player) Hannibal Mejbri who was a bit-part player in my side and was actually leaving on a free at the end of the season. I figured his high penalty taking stat was worth a punt so I subbed him on for the last two minutes. Then this happened...
https://reddit.com/link/n4n165/video/hlizt2nyb3x61/player
A 119th minute winner sealed a CL victory for Wolves in their debut season. I was celebrating like mad and my fiance looked like she wanted to punch me. Disclaimer: I am actually a United fan but not in this save.
https://preview.redd.it/bt8ztpqcc3x61.png?width=320&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d053fc560e7ef0d02a15fcca76b808a329a1f53
Kaiser Chiefs
I left Wolves on a high and managed to secure a job at Kaiser Chiefs in SA just after their season had ended. So I had a whole summer to make signings and change the team but honestly, the SA league is a cakewalk when you get to play as Kaiser Chiefs.
We won the league by 8 points, won the Nedbank Cup and also won the CAF CL whilst only conceding a single goal in the group stages and the knockouts... so yeah, pretty easy.
https://preview.redd.it/gdvf9u24d3x61.png?width=756&format=png&auto=webp&s=e20570f51291e7885c69a187715c5260bcb2d79d
CF Pachuca
I did actually sign for an MLS team but immediately reloaded my save when I saw those insane rules. I had quite a few options in Mexico but I settled on Pachuca because they had the most transfer budget.
The Mexican league was surprisingly easy but as soon as I joined I was told 4 players wanted to leave and it was 4 starters so that made things a bit annoying as I hadn't set up a proper scouting network yet to find their replacements.
Lost a striker, keeper and both wingers
Managed to bring in some quality players and won both the opening and closing stages in the first season and so we qualified for the CONCACAF CL in the second season.
Throughout my 14 seasons I'd not had a single player score more than 30 goals, rarely more than 20 for a single player and the strikers in FM20 seem to miss a ridiculous amount of 1v1s. However, the strikers on this side just seem to bang goals in for fun. Zaldivia had 51 goals in 54(4) games.
Guillermo Zaldivia
Clubs keep coming in with offers of around £20m but he's just not interested in moving which is amazing. PSG poached my CM in the summer after the first season but he was fairly easy to replace, especially with all the money they gave me.
We won the CONCACAF CL in season two after beating Club America 4-1 on aggregate in the final. With a nice 19-0 aggregate victory against a Puerto Rican side in the first knockout round.
https://preview.redd.it/w8bjvfvyf3x61.png?width=1023&format=png&auto=webp&s=868d017b96d7c56796e9760e7d7dbae60e6f3130
It's been such a journey and I've really enjoyed it. There's been some great moments but I think the Wolves CL campaign was by far the best experience for me. I'm not sure what to do now. I thought about maybe joining Cambridge United (hometown club) and trying to bring them up the leagues but I might just take a break until FM22 comes out.
Below is a picture of my career, I didn't really mention the international teams because they weren't particularly fun to manage. I did actually manage to win the AFCON with Ghana after Nigeria fired me for losing in the final.
Career awards/trophies
Manager overview page
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