Football Manager - Struggling to consistently get into Europe while in the Prem. In part to spending like Everton's...

Struggling to consistently get into Europe while in the Prem. In part to spending like Everton's...
2022 Save Story - ATG becoming a top Brazil club
Barcelona, PSG, Coventry City
Busting out my inner Harry Redknapp Wheeler Dealer mode in order to try and survive Serie A with no money
EquatoGuinean "WonderKid" came second in NxGen

Struggling to consistently get into Europe while in the Prem. In part to spending like Everton's...

Posted: 04 Mar 2022 01:43 PM PST

submitted by /u/red157
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2022 Save Story - ATG becoming a top Brazil club

Posted: 04 Mar 2022 01:28 PM PST

Thank you all for reading because I need to share my excitement over this save.

One of the saves I have been doing for a couple seasons (since the 2018 version I think) is youngish regional level player wants to be a coach. Starts out unemployed with the lowest level of coaching certification. Typically someone in a low level league gives me a chance. Last season started in Vanarama National North and never really went too far. I spent a little time at Monaco, but never really got anywhere. 2020's save I actually did quite well taking Shalke 04 to a quadruple and retiring as a legend from the club. It's mostly just see what happens. This season has started out in a way I never expected.

For some reason, ATG's board gave me a shot. I came in and they were just out of the relegation zone with instructions to "Fight bravely against relegation." The first team was half loans and was OLD. The average age was 37. I have never seen it that high anywhere. Since I could be relegated without an issue, I decided to focus on the kids and try to buy some decent young prospects with the tiny budget I had left (IIRC, about 25k and a 1.5M budget the next year). Somehow, the young players were all pretty good. And I managed to find a couple cheap players to move along the ancient ones. And one of the loans was an Paraguayan player named Brian Montenegro. When I showed up, he was a backup. I made him the starting striker because no one else had anything close to his ability. There was also a young goalie with a ton of potential, Luan Polli, who I started most of the remaining games. I did the, "Screw defense, just attack" attitude. It worked. As the league season went on, we kept drawing or winning. FLA and GRE were the only two losses, both on the road, and we ended up 7th which was just crazy. The board loved me.

I had never managed in Brazil in a previous save so I had no clue about the regional tournaments or different competitions. Due to rules I barely understand now, 7th qualified us for the Copas Liberators.

Season 2 rolls around. The board gives me 2M to spend on transfers and a nice kick in the budget. I look for bargains on young players and find Walce, Peglow, and Janderson all who are willing to come play for the team. Ze Roberto and Andre Luis were there and now I had a pretty decent setup. I cut ties with the ancient goalie who now HATES me and reminds me every time we play the club he went to. I cannot remember his name, but I love the hate. Because Luan is a club legend now and only 26.

As we get underway in season 2, management just wants me to avoid relegation, be competitive in the Brazil Cup, put on a "good showing" in the Copas and "Win Goias State." The win is only a "favored" item.

We destroy the state cup. I had not clue what was happening. I learned that season that effectively the state cup was a pre-season for our level of team as no one in the state was in the top division. VIL and GOI were D2 and not really competing. The season starts and my team is playing great. We went on a nice 10 game unbeaten streak and were in 3rd early. In the Copas, we had an absurdly easy draw and made it out of the group and drew a team from Argentina "River." At that point, I was thinking, "well, it was nice, but we will be out of the Copas and we can concentrate on the league." That didn't happen. Somehow we made it to the Semi Final for the Copas. We were destroyed by GRE, but the money was insane for the club. When I started we were about 250k in the red. After the Copas was done, we were at 10M in the bank. The season kept going and we had some hiccups, but ended up in 5th. I was thrilled! The board gave me a nice budget increase for transfers and for payroll. They also gave me a nice shiny new contract where I doubled my salary. The only fail was the Brazil Cup. First matchup we lost both legs. And it was against GOI, the team we destroyed in the State Cup. Oh well, only one issue.

Season 3. 10M in the transfer budget, 13M for salaries. And the club's reputation has grown enough that we actually are in consideration by some decent young players. I add midfielders as we were weak there and bring in a 17 yr old striker from Span, Iker Bravo, to develop. We get a really good Full Back for the right side who's name escapes me, and the team is rolling. We blow through the state cup. Duplicate the performance in the Copas reaching the semi final, but this time barely losing to a late goal in the 2nd leg. I lose the first Brazil cup game, again. This becomes a theme.

And this is where it becomes really interesting. We go into the final three games of the season in 1st place! The team is healthy, and FLA is still in both the Brazil Cup and the Copas. If we win any of our last three games, we win the division! Game one, draw away. To a relegation team. Not cool. Game two, home game, we got this! Mid table club FLU. We beat them 4-1 at their place! 0-0, till the 97th minute, and Walce, now a Star Defender and one of the best players in Brazil, gives up an own goal passing back to the keeper to clear. Ok, no problem, one more, just have to win or draw! Even if FLA wins, we win the league if we get a result. GRE reminds us why their payroll is the 2nd highest in the league and beats us 3-1. It never was that close.

The board is still thrilled with my work. We have multiple talented young players at the club and we have built up to where the bankroll is in the 30M range. The board announces they are building a new stadium which will be done in 2026, but it will let us move home. They keep approving anything I ask for and upgrade the youth levels, I get to add more scouts and coaches, we now have international scouting for our range. Life is good! I have literally never had this kind of start in this save. I am just loving life.

Season 4. Transfer budget is 18M and I get 50% of any sale added to it. I bring in a really talented young center back named Gabriel Noga and another full back/center back named Tuta. I sell off a couple of players for decent money and spend it on more midfield upgrades (I should remember their names as they are still keys on the team). I find another talented young player Adson. And then things get tricky. Peglow who had been my playmaker gets an offer for 15M to go play in England and pretty much wants to go. Toto who was one of the loans I kept around and who has become a top talent gets an offer for 10M and leaves to play in Germany. I grab a couple other young players who have potential, but I am worried.

Season starts, Goaias State win. It's literally what I use to get the players in shape. If you are on the first team, you will be rotated in at some point till I get as many players as possible match fit. We lose in the Brazil Cup, again. First matchup. I swear I could play St Mary's Augustine's boys U19 team and I would lose in the Brazil Cup. We have another amazing year in the Copas and find ourselves eliminated in a legendary shootout that went 15 rounds to GRE who win the tournament. I had never seen that and I still am excited and sad thinking about it. As we did last year, we are in 1st going into the last portion of the season. FLA is behind us only because we have won 23 games and they have 22 wins. Five games left. We play each other at our place in the 2nd to last game. This happens:

FLU - 1-1 draw (FLA Draws their game)

ATM - 3-3 draw at home (FLA draws)

ATP - 0-0 road draw (FLA loses! We are up a point!)

FLA time. It's a tense game. Bruno Henrique is the best player in the league and he is their main threat. I break my own rules and have Walce playing as a DM man marking him because he has never been held scoreless in any of our matchups. Both teams score on a corner and going into the 85th minute, a highlight starts. Adson has the ball and flicks it up to Montenegro who shoots past the defense, he see's Ze Roberto coming down the left side and does a 1-2 with him as they have done together so many times and GOAL!!!! Oh my god, we are going to do it, we are going to win the league!

Well, no. The kickoff for FLA is a highlight. They pass back to a defender who lobs the ball forward to a streaking Henrique...he scores. Walce is injured and I am out of subs. We are at 2-2, with some extra time left, but we are down a man. Henrique just runs the ball forward and ends our chances with a nicely placed shot. 2-3 for FLA.

We win the last game, as does FLA. 2nd straight 2nd place season. I am still excited, but worried as Montenegro has massively declined. His physical attributes have taken a nose dive and the only reason he was in that game was that he was the best healthy option available.

Season 5, this is the last one I finished for now.

I lose my star left back and Gabriel Noga. My board gives me a small boost in budget, but not much. I add some players, but I don't have a ton to work with as I need to extend some young players who are good and get their release clauses increased. I bring in a new left back and a few other players who have some nice longer term potential, but the first team is a bit weakened.

The bright spot is Iker Bravo. He is ready to be a regular starter. He is now 19, and is looking like a future superstar.

We then proceed to lose to GOI in the Goaias State league. Only losses all season to GOI. They did just get promoted to D1, but still stung. Our Copas draw is brutal, but we manage to make it out and pull off the semi-finals again. River from Argentina beats us and goes on to become the first non-Brazil club to win the tournament in the save.

We struggle a bit in the league. Sticking around 5th till about game 20. Then Bravo decides to become unstoppable. He had scored 9 goals to that point and had been so-so, but promising. Suddenly, he is constantly scoring. We won, not unbeaten, WON the next 11 games. We were unbeaten till game 36 and who else but FLA. It was on the road and was a 2-1 loss, but that knocked us out of any chance at wining the league. We won the last game and were 2nd.

At this point, I am thinking, "Maybe we find something else, this is not as interesting as it has been." As if the board heard me, they shared the budgets. 38M transfer budget...wait, WHAT? Oh, and payroll is doubled too. And now the piece that I have never seen before, as part of their season expectations the board requires, "Spend all of the transfer budget provided" I had never seen that before. I typically did try to spend the whole budget, but, wait, they just gave me a massive increase (17M the previous season) and are demanding I spend it. Oh hell yes! Then the 2nd shoe drops, the board increased the budget for coaching and met with me to encourage me to replace one of my assistants. They added three new spots to use as I see fit. And then added to the scouting team. I went nuts and massively upgraded our coaching and scouting. My new assistant is 20 for reviewing current ability and I found a goalkeeping coach to add who was a huge upgrade.

I have brought in two star players who are in their early 20s and fill in starting spots that were 2 star rated players at Center Back and Attacking Mid. I have three club players who are ready to be depth at the tender age of 20 and Iker Bravo is now considered the best player in Brazil. ATG is now considered one of the top clubs in Brazil and we have agents throwing suggestions at us for players to sign. Unless a major club comes knocking, I am sticking around because this is the most I have ever built a club. The super lucky Copas repeatedly made ATG great.

I am done with 2nd place, semifinal losses, and losing early in the Brazil Cup. LETS GO ATG!

submitted by /u/yupitsanalt
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Barcelona, PSG, Coventry City

Posted: 04 Mar 2022 02:05 PM PST