In early 2020 I completed an Hexagon Challenge (shameless self-plug : here ). After that, I felt like FM had not taken enough of my time yet. So I decided to start something even more time-consuming and with an even tinier chance to ever see the end : an Alphabet Challenge.
First and foremost, a quick introduction to the Alphabet Challenge for those who might not know.
The goal : Winning the top league in every country in the world, in a single save
How : Well in my book you kinda have carte blanche. Doing it letter by letter (so first the countries in A, then B etc...) gave the challenge its name but is mainly to not have 250 leagues loaded, it's more practical than anything else. If you want to do it continent by continent, or from the shittiest league to the best, why the hell not. I myself am doing it alphabetically.
You can also add some caveats, if you feel like it's not enough yet.
As stated in the title, more than a year after starting this save, I have now completed the A countries. What will follow is the story of how it happened. Sweat, blood and tears all over. I will not get a lot into details because I'm not here to write a book, but I'll happily answer the questions you might have.
TL;DR funny/weird stuff that happened : Brighton became a juggernaut. Multiple CLs and PLs win, as well as multiple players winning a Ballon D'Or. Norwich was close to winning the title for a few years as well. Arsenal got relegated and immediately got back up again twice. Austria became a big league, with RB Salzburg being the most reputable club in the world at some point, and splashing 100M on players. Albania shot up the rankings to become a top 10 league in Europe, managing to win a EC2. Hertha Berlin became a perennial CL team. Poland, Algeria and Tunisia won World Cups. Some guy won 8 Ballon D'Or ...
Disclaimer : I am following the French alphabet. So some countries below might not start with A in English or in your language, but they do in French.
Country n°1 : Afghanistan
That's where our journey begins, in the steep and intimidating mountains of Afghanistan, in the summer of 2019. 19 year-old manager Alphonse Alphabet has no playing experience, no coaching badges, but goddamit he believes in himself. And somehow, a football club agrees with him and decides to hire him to coach their football team.
https://preview.redd.it/fswtdosv09571.png?width=154&format=png&auto=webp&s=744ea6ea180f37d9f83dac5dadee74962625aeb6
Oqaban are the lucky ones. The Afghan League format is pretty simple. First a group stage with 2 groups of 4, top 2 qualifies for the semi-finals.
Recruiting was pretty difficult in Afghanistan, mainly I think because it was so early in the save so there was not a lot of regens, and there is not a lot of Afghans in the database. And, of course, with a reputation this low, no way of attracting any foreigner. So I had to resort to unorthodox methods. I mainly searched all the clients of my players' agents, and I typed any Afghan name I could find in the research bar to see if there was not a free agent with the same name somewhere (there was !). Ultimately we manage to assemble a decent team, led by (not-regen) striker Barakzai. Onto the season we go then.
Easy group stages, with 5 win and a draw, 24 goals scored. Feeling confident so far. In the semis, another easy win 3-1. In the Finale, we play a team from our group that we already beat 6-2 and 5-1. In the bag, right ? Well, no. We somehow manage to get to extra-time thanks to a pen in the 86th minute, after conceding early. They score first in extra time but we answer quickly. And then ... in the 121th minute, we somehow string passes together (already a rare occasion usually so imagine my surprise when they had 120 minutes of playing behind them) and score a legitimately beautiful goal to give us the win 3-2, and therefore the tite.
Champions of Afghanistan ! The first title of a long list.
Country N°2 : Andorra
UE Santa Coloma
League Format : 8 teams league. Play everyone 3 times, then divided in 2. Play 3 teams in your group once again.
The season in Afghanistan being really short, we are now looking for a job in the middle of the season. And the first job that opens that seems to be both interesting and atteignable is in Andorra, as UE Santa Coloma is looking for a new coach. Not to be confused with FC Santa Coloma, who is an absolute juggernaut, UE is a more discreet club, having won ... well ... nothing. Time to change that !
The best thing about the Andorran league is that there is no registration. You can recruit whoever at any time and he can play in the league straight away. We would absolutely abuse that. We brought truckloads of players, anyone who might seem half-decent got signed (we had a lot of money for some reason) and then the training ground was used for Battle Royale to sort our the starting XI.
First season didn't end too bad with a 2nd place, but only 2 points in front of 5th place and most worryingly 29pts behind Santa Coloma. A few (dozens) more recruits, and the first full season goes much better. We improve our points total by 27, and Santa Coloma being just a bit worse than last season is enough for us to run away with the title.
Champions of Andorra ! Onto the next one.
Country n°3 : Aruba
CD Rooi Afo
League format : 10 teams league. Play everyone twice, then top 4 plays each other twice (no carryover stats)
We settle down in the Caribbean after time spent in the mountains of Afghanistan and the Pyrénées. The good side of this league's format is that the first 18 games are basically preparation. You can use them to test stuff, as long as you're in the top 4 at the end, you have the same chance as the other ones. The bad side is that if you're dominant, it's all for nothing. Everything will be played on those last few games.
That's what happened to us in our first season. A first place in the regular season, but we struggle a bit in the Playoffs, and with the title on the line, absolutely choke away our last game, losing on a gigantic mistake from one of our defendes. That guy out of the team, the second season goes better. We become more clinical upfront, and better against good teams. Once again top of the league after the 18 games, we then win 5 and draw 1 in the Playoffs. More than enough to win the title. Our third.
Country n°4 : Antigua
Swetes FC
League Format : 10 teams league. Play everyone twice. That's it.
We don't move far to Antigua, and it goes well in our first year. We defend well (one of only 2 teams to concede less than 23 in 18 games) but we don't score a lot (only 20 goals scored, worst offense in the league). As a result, we don't lose but concede a lot of draws. We finish 2nd with 8 draws in 18 games ! In our second season, we manage to turn a lot of these draws into wins, and comfortably finish top of the league with 14 wins in 18 games. 4th title for Alphonse Alphabet.
Country n°5 : Anguilla
Salsa Ballers FC
League Format : 9 teams league. Play everyone once. Quick and easy.
Another Caribbean island !
The season before I arrive, they finished 5th, scoring 9 and conceding 8 in 8 games. At the very least, we will be less boring than that. And pretty easily, because in 8 games, we would win all 8, score 24 goals and only concede 3. Easy title, we like that. We would also win the cup for good measure.
Country n°6 : Azerbaïjan
Zira FK
League Format : 8 teams league. Play everyone 4 times.
Back to Europe now.
We arrive in the middle of a disappointing season, and can't do much to improve the situation with the players there, so we finish 6th. Second season goes better, as we score 10 points more, but we're still 13pts away from the top 2 (but we got to decide of the title at the last match day so that's nice). We take a huge step up in our third season thanks to a young French striker but even more thanks to our defense, who cut the goals conceded by 2 (from 33 to 17), and win the title after a 3-team race.
Country n°7 : Albania
Partizani Tirana
League Format : 10 teams league. Play everyone 4 times.
We join one of the biggest clubs of Albanian footbal, but who has not won the title in a couple year, which is of course unacceptable. It is then our mission to bring it back to glory.
We fail in our first season, falling 6 points shorts to KF Tirana. They scored 15 more goals than us, that might be the issue. The next season, we score more. They do as well, but they also concede a shitton (44 goals in 36 games) so they lose quite a few points. We don't lose as much and manage to bring Partizani back on top with a league title !
Country n°8 : Angola
Petro de Luanda FC
League Format : 16 teams league, play everyone twice. Classic.
First step in Africa !
As we arrive, the league is dominated by GDR Libolo who has won the 10 last titles or so. We are a mid table team, 40 points off the title. With good recruiting and efficient tactics, we get much more closer in our second year, finishing 2nd only 4 points behind, but they were still clearly better than us. Third year's the charm, and we manage to edge them on goal difference ! It was not easy, but we are champions of Angola !
Country n°9 : Armenia
Shirak FC
League Format : 10 teams league. Play everyone twice. Then top 6 play each other again twice (stats carry over)
Armenia is dominated for about 15 years now by Ararat-Armenia, who does not let anyone else win a single title. We arrive in the middle of the season, finish very strong and get 3rd. The summer goes well, but the start of the season is terrible, and I get (understandably) fired. We'll come back, stronger
Country n°10 : Saudi Arabia
Al-Qadsiah FC
League Format : 16 teams league. Play everyone twice.
We bounce back in Asia with Al Qadsiah, a mid table team in Saudi Arabia. From the get go, we know that we probably won't win with them but use them as a stepping stone. And that's exaclty what happened. A finish in mid-table and a good start of the season got us an offer from one of the big boys, which we gladly accept.
Weg Taïf
At our arrival, Weg has been bought by a very rich owner for a few years, and has managed to take part in title race, but not actually winning yet. Why ? Because the Memphis Depay-led Al Ahli is way too good. Our first full season, we manage to finish 2nd with 78 points in 30 games, which is pretty good ! Al-Ahli you ask ? Oh, they just WON ALL THIRTY GAMES ! Our team was very good, we conceded 6 goals all season, including 3 against Al-Ahli. They were just better. Next season, more of the same, as we finish unbeaten but 2nd. We beat Al-Ahli twice but that was not enough. We concede 5 draws elsewhere and them only one. At least we won the Champions League ... And then ... In our third full season, FINALLY we topple the giant. Once again, we beat them twice, but this time only lose one and draw one. 85 points out of 90 possible, 92 goals scored, 7 conceded, and yet it still was a stressful race. Fuck you Memphis Depay. But here it is, the first title in Weg Taif's history.
Country n°11 : Algeria
ES Sétif
League Format : 16 teams league, play everyone twice.
After that long and difficult stint in Saudi Arabia, we needed something relaxing. Algeria was exactly that. Sétif had fired their coach because he had the AUDACITY of finishing 2nd. The team was good, it needed some finetuning (there was only 1 CB in the team) but honestly not much. We cruised to a league title, unbeaten, carried by a fantastic midfielder named Salem Arribi. While we were at it, we also won the Champions League, because why not. We lost in the Finale of the Arab Club Champions Cup however. We lost to ... Weg. Can't even be mad at that.
Country n°12 : Australia
Sydney Fc
League Format : Fuck you.
I absolutely hate salary cap leagues in FM. The game is not made for that, and it shows. Fuck Australia, fuck MLS, and fuck each and everyone of them I don't know about and will discover along the way.
Anyway, we came in, won the cup, finished like 5th in the regular season, won it in the Playoffs. Yay. Get eaten by a giant spider or something.
Country n°13 : Argentina
San Lorenzo
League Format : 20 teams league, play everyone twice
One of the biggest clubs in Argentina, San Lorenzo hasn't won in a while in a league dominated in recent years by River and Independiente.
And we would struggle, oh boy we would struggle. We could recruit well, very well even but tactically it was a mess. 11th our first season, 3rd the year after but still not really in the title race. 2nd the year after but still 11 points behind. Really a weird league, where a team can almost contend for the title and then battle against relegation 2 years later. Anyway, 4th season and we fall to 6, in what was essentially a 6-team race for the title. 5th the year later, we were just shit.
And then, in 2049/2050, when I was starting to doubt everything, the miracle strikes. The stars align. Independiente has a terrible beginning of their season, while we are very good. We're making a run for it. Talleres follows us. We trade the lead a couple times. However, they enter the last matchday on top, and they play the 20th. We win our game 3-2, but more importantly they lose to the worst team in the league ! Out of nowhere, we are champions of Argentina ! Despite drawing 16 games out of 38.
Country n°9 - Part 2 : Armenia
https://preview.redd.it/3c7tc2u9t9571.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=cde136bf7184b5be1f5b98685eabe64544881ab3
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And this is exactly what we did. Ararat had won every single title since the beginning of the save. So fuck it, I'll take the easy win.
I had never seen a team so dominant domestically. I could basically throw random names on the pitch and they would go out and win 4-0. First phase, 18 games, 18 wins, 73 goals scored, 1 goal against. Schedule gets hectic in the second phase, and we lost concentration after clinching the title, but we still finish with 25 wins in 28 games, 97 goals scored and a midfielder who in 16 games played (due to injuries), scored 17 and assisted 12, including a game where he scored 6, all of them from outside the box. Astonishing.
Country n°14 : Austria
Rapid Wien
League Format : 12 teams league. Play everyone twice, then it gets separated. Top 6 play each other twice, no stats carryover
Again, double edged sword. First phase basically count for nothing so you can experiment, but no reward for dominance and you HAVE to be good against good teams.
At this point, Red Bull Salzburg is very, very good. It's not gonna be easy to beat them. We finish 4th, 20pts from Salzburg, no realistic shot at the title. And as expected, we finish 5th in the 2nd phase. A really good summer transfer window, and we're good to go. Can we fight for the title already ? Eeeh probably not. We finish 2nd of the "regular season", 8pts behind. And then ... miracle happens, once again. Salzburg has a terrible second phase, and we're just not terrible enough to capitalise on it. 19 points on 10 games and we run away with a title we did not really deserve tbh. But I'll take it !
Country n°15 : England
Sheffield United
League Format : 20 teams, play everyone twice
We're part of thhe big boys now. Premier League ! We join Sheffield in the middle of the season. We don't do much, gain a few places in the table, win the EC2, win the Carabao Cup (beating Brighton, which is no small feat) ... At the end of the season, Wolfsburg beat Man City in the Champions League Finale, leading the City coach to get fired. The opportunity is too good ...
Man City
We get the job, and oh my god that team is SO GOOD. All the players are absolutely world class. I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm still blown away by the sheer quality of the players, even in comparison to Sheffield. We do a TON of dealing in the transfer window, selling for about 300M and buying for 450M. We struggle tactically at the beginning but then everything gets sorted (I downloaded a tactic from the workshop) and we top Brighton in a close title race.
Country n°16 : Germany
RB Leipzig
League format : 18 teams, play everyone twice.
After the biggest league in the world, let's conquer the 2nd biggest league in the world. Leipzig is still in 2055 a top team in Germany, but they have never won the title. Bundesliga has been dominated by Bayern and more recently Schalke. We join in the middle of the season with the team 11th, and we manage to bring them up to 5th. And after a very good transfer window, everything clicks for our first full season. Schalke does not have a great season, and we take advantage of it, mainly thanks to our fantastic striker Mauricio José and his 28 league goals. Champions of Germany for the first time in the history of the club ! We also win the Pokal and the Europa League because why not go for a treble.
Country n°17 : South Africa
Black Leopards
League Format : 16 teams league, play everyone twice.
I arrive mid-season with the team in 6th but only 5 points behind first place. With a very good push, we can have this done in 6 months. And we almost do, but we choke on the last game, losing when a win would have given us the title. Too bad.
On top of that, my database is bugged and the South African League happens only once every 2 years. So that's a year full of cups (there's 3 of them so at least we're not too bored) and friendlies. We win 2 of those cups, lose another finale and lose in the semis of the Champions League.
Alright, now, the serious stuff. The new season. We're ready to go, PSG and the Chinese are all over our players. And ... everything goes very very well. Carried by our young Omanese striker ( 31 goals in 28 league games), we finish unbeaten and with a 16 points lead. Once again, while we're at it, we grab the cup and the African Confederations Cup for a treble.
And that's it. That was the last of the As.
17 countries, 20 clubs, a total of 1437 games played (938 won), 2876 goals scored and 36 trophies won in a career that has, so far, spanned 42 years.
What a trip. And it's only the beginning.
I doubt anyone would have read that far, but if you have, thank you.
![[Pre-WIP Project] Vikingbergen, a fantasy nation database based on the ice age island of Vikingbergen. I'm looking for people who would be willing to do the logos/kits for this nation.](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/_XfB412Ea8A7z9QqTnOQfKmvvIjm5i78dsF76HQSLSo.jpg "[Pre-WIP Project] Vikingbergen, a fantasy nation database based on the ice age island of Vikingbergen. I'm looking for people who would be willing to do the logos/kits for this nation.")
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/xjtknzdmja571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/d02o934jya571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/7zt79oyrlb571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/fm3hmcnel6571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/pkzljgfop7571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/no5fn0ud97571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/377h5dzb49571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/6vxslq7n19571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/clkccxce98571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/14dqskrlrb571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/nqqg7v2nza571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/qzhr34zh19571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/yx3mhdp1ta571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/r70z4aknba571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/88w58vc7dc571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/9pgvinspnb571.jpg){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/pcs0sl8hqa571.png){kind=link}
![[link]](https://i.redd.it/y91befozn8571.png){kind=link}
No comments:
Post a Comment