First up I’ll be honest and say that my playing time of FM19 is starting to wind down as we edge towards the release of FM20 in just a few months time, hence the long gaps between my posts these days! I might mix things up over the next few months and go back to my San Marino save from FM17 or maybe something else but we shall see. At any rate, i’m fairly close to actually completing my UEFA nations challenge so I’d better get onto the 2026/7 season!
On Top of the World
We would playing in our new ground (named after me) fresh from a stunning Champions League win last season and with a huge transfer kitty at my disposal. For these reasons, I was approaching our 8th season with a huge feeling of optimism as we were on the verge of becoming one of Europe’s biggest clubs. Incredilbly rapid growth for a brand new club!
Actually, make that THE biggest club…….that seemed surprisingly quick even with a couple of League Titles and Champions League thrown in! There isn’t too much by the way of change at the top of the reputation rankings although Atletico Madrid are now Spain’s biggest club and Leicester get special mention for making it onto the top part of the list!
Our growth in stature had also seen the clubs networking improve significantly as we now had four affiliate clubs! So far only Stade Lavallois had benefited us much but I was hoping the rest of them could contribute more in the near future. With the recent addition of Rosario Central we now even had a trans-Atlantic partner to go with Aurstria Vienna and Ascoli.
This growth however, wouldn’t count for much if I failed to meet my objectives for this save and I was keen to complete my main objective before my play time of FM19 declined even further. In order to do this I just needed players from Austria, Bosnia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Ireland, Poland and Russia to score and get Man of the Match. The end was closing fast and my transfers reflected this.
I spent every penny of my £40 million budget for the season as I managed to sign players from all of the required nations above except from Russia and Greece. Although none of these signings would normally be around my talented first eleven they would provide good depth and I was confident that all of them could help me achieve my objectives as I forced them into the starting eleven!
The pick of the bunch was undoubtedly the Austrian Baltic who looked like he would develop into a great striker so he should be guaranteed to get a goal and MOTM. The the rest were some what worse even including the £15 million Galic who was extremely underwhelming compared to scouting reports.
After a steady preseason where club legend Joveljic scored an impressive 8 goals and young CB Thys scored a first half hat trick away at Fafe we were into the season proper.
Thanks to our huge success last season we would have two early chances to win some silverware; the European Super Cup and the Trophee des Champions. I was particularly keen to try and scoop both of these competitions even though they weren’t the most prestigious. Both of them had been beyond my reach during my career so far and were potentially difficult to qualify for.
August
Firstly was the domestic super cup where we were once again playing PSG. I had some confidence that we could pull off a minor upset to add this trophy to our collection. Unfortunately this was still PSG we were up against and their record of having won 13 of the last 14 Trophee des Champions gives you an idea of the level they were at.
The game started sluggishly as both sides struggled to get going and there were few incidents of note in the first half. Then, on the hour mark German CB Fischer made a rash challenge whilst already on a booking and paid the price. Then as a team, we paid the price. There was a lot of price to be paid.
Taking advantage of the extra space on offer, PSG tore us apart for the final half an hour as we barely registered a meaningful attack. Two goals in the space of five minutes were the only shots that found their way in but they were more than enough to beat us. PSG’s dominance in this trophy would continue for at least another year!
We recovered from this minor set back in impressive fashion as we won our next three games by an aggregate score of 8-1. Koffi and Joveljic netted 6 goals between them to perfectly lead into the European Super Cup. Hopefully this one would prove easier to win than the domestic one!
Our opponents in the final were Arsenal, a team we were yet to face in this game. They were managed by Thomas Tuchel and had a starting eleven containing Joe Gomez, Christian Pulisic and Ben Woodburn quite an assembly of moderate wonderkids! With my front two firing the goals in I was ready for a good match. Boy did it deliver!
We started our positive momentum from the league by taking the game to Arsenal and we were rewarded on 25 minutes as Lecjaks (who was covering for the unfit Baltairu) converted a low cross to put us 1-0 up. Our match improved even further just ten minutes later as our ever impressive academy graduate Mur doubled our lead with a trademark solo run and goal which was his 40th for the club.
We were firmly in control of the game but Arsenal weren’t a team to be taken lightly as Woodburn got them back into the game towards the end of the first half to send a wave of panic through our young team. We held onto our lead until into the second half and even looked like we would ride out this pressure to win our maiden Super Cup. It wasn’t to be. Our concentration once again slipped to allow Woodburn to score his second of the game and a deserved equaliser with only ten minutes to go. We would need to pick ourselves up for extra time or this would be a second trophy slipping through our grasp inside the opening month of the season!
Sadly, we continued to play poorly in extra time and allowed the lethal Woodburn to complete his hat trick and sent the Gunners ahead! A disaster was on the cards as the minutes ticked down. What was once a comfortable 2-0 lead now looked like extra time heartbreak. Our rescue came from an unlikely source once again in this match. Lecjaks scored a scrappy goal from a corner to draw us level with only two minutes left in the match. I was immensely relieved whilst Lecjaks was having a dream first start for the club. Not bad for a £3 million buy from Plzen!
Penalties were as close as the first 120 minutes as both teams scored their first three. Then youth graduate Dean Stannard missed the final kick for Arsenal. My back up CB Louis Beyer held his nerve to convert our final kick and put our name on the cup, the 7th in our history!
It was interesting to see how the career of two of the games major protagonists panned out in the immediate aftermath of this Super Cup, before the transfer window closed. I loaned Marek Lecjaks out to Mainz in Germany without making another first team appearance for us in the League whilst penalty misser Stannard was sold to Burnley for £2.3 million just a few days later. Football is a cruel game sometimes.
Build up to Christmas
Back in the domestic game things had become a little……..easy.
After lifting the European Super Cup we went on to win our next 14 games in a row. A spell of games which included PSG at home (a 4-1 win) as well as Man U and Roma at home in the Champions League. We were rampant.
In truth this almost unchallenged success was making the game feel a little stale. The tactic I was using had launched us from a steady Ligue 2 side to a Ligue 1 title challenger in just a few short years and if it wasn’t for the goals of my challenge then I would seriously be struggling to stay motivated with this save. Maybe the new tactics creation feature is overpowered or there are more exploits in the match engine than previous years. As shown by my blog post in San Marino, tactics really can be overpowered this year!
Enough lamenting for now…..we had a challenge to complete. So far in the first half of the season we had manged to complete 3 of the 11 nations I needed to finish my challenge so it was time for the underwhelming Galic and Mcalinden to be dropped from the first team, never to be seen again! Money well spent!
January
Despite the transfer window bringing with it the inevitable offers for some of our players, there was some solid progress made towards my challenge. I spent another £14 million to sign a Kosovan and Hungarian striker all who looked like they would contribute well towards my challenge progress!
More good news followed as the new year rolled in and my flying winger Baltairiu won the World Under 21 Player of the year! This was especially surprising as he had something of an injury hit season which resulted in him playing less than half of our matches…….then again he did average just under a goal or an assist every game! Solid.
Such was our domestic dominance that I could freely rotate poorer players into the starting eleven for the purposes of them scoring a goal and hopefully nicking man of the match. But first…….
Club World Cup
I’d almost forgotten we had to play this, hopefully this would be a new trophy to our collection. We started off with a bye through to the semi finals where we would play LAFC. We annihilated them 6-0. It was barely a contest as Koffi scored a hat trick inside 15 minutes and we never looked like being challenged. Hopefully Boca would provide a much sterner test in the final!
After Joveljic scored a penalty on 11 minutes it looked for all the world that we would be romping towatrds another easy victory. Fortunately Emil Jensen had other ideas as he got a straight red in a presumed effort to make things more even. It didn’t work and we eventually ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.
Our progress back on European soil was pretty much in the same vein.
The only blotch during this three month stretch was a 2-1 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League 1st round second leg….which was meaningless as we hammered them 4-1 in the first leg. We weren’t even challenged in the cup semi final as we won 6-0! This drubbing was notable for one reason however, as our Hungarian forward Kevin Csoboth scored a brace and got man of he match! Mission accomplished. One more nation ticked off.
Our unstoppable form rolled onward into April as we managed to progress through to the Champions League semi’s whilst even our old adversary PSG were powerless to stop us in the league. We were on course for a historic clean sweep in all competitions this season and were even on course for an unbeaten season in the League. Such was our success in this part of the season that I could freely play the bit part players I needed to get man of the match in every game with the majority actually being successful. This meant that I only needed players from Greece, Georgia, Russia and Montenegro to get man of the match and my challenge was over!!
Finals, Finals Everywhere
Even with this impressive progress in the Europa challenge there was the small matter of a major final and two semi finals to play in the space of a month. This would be a true test of just how good we were as a team as an intense, high pressure schedule was sure to push us. First up was PSG in the Coupe de la Ligue which would also be the first major final held at our new stadium.
We put in a hell of a performance for the expectant crowd. After just 10 minutes we were already 2-1 up before we put on a footballing master class. Joveljic and Jerkovic both notched a brace as we ran in 6 goals against our nemesis, firmly putting them in their place, There were even 2 red cards thrown into a final that had pretty much everything. Trophy number 9 for the club!
Next up was the French Cup semi final where we would once again be playing PSG. In years past playing them in both cups would have been the death knell of our season however those days were long behind us!
Despite an early red card we picked the Parisians off on the counter to hammer them 4-0! We were definitely the dominant force in French football these days. A second domestic cup final beckoned where we would be playing mid-table Lyon.
In Europe we over came Arsenal 1-0 in what was an uncharacteristically tight two legged tie with Koffi scoring the winning goal in the first leg at home! With the league wrapped up by mid-March we were left with just two meaningful games in the season; The Champions League final against Man City and the French Cup final against Lyon.
Before these finals, lets take a look at the final league table.
Yeah this tactic is very overpowered……..only conceding 16 goals whilst managing to score more than the bottom three combined. Oh and we also only dropped 4 points all season as we raked in 110 points. We caused such havoc with the lower teams in the league that only the top 6 had a positive goal difference. We had well and truly left PSG in the dust as we destroyed the league record for points, wins and goals in a season.
Individually my team also won:
- Best Goal keeper (Maxime Geiger)
- Best player (Daniel Westgren)
- Best Foreign Player (Bogdan Baltariu)
- Manager of the Year (Me)
- Most Assists (Bogdan Baltariu)
- Star of the Season (Daniel Westgren)
- 5 players in the team of the year (Geiger, Westgren, Thys, Jensen and Joveljic)
- Golden Boot (Dejan Joveljic, 25 league goals)
We were ready for the two cup finals. Bring it on.
Contrast
First up was the Champions League where we would be playing Man City in the Stad de France. Although this was our second Champions League final in a row I was glad to have something of a home advantage. Man City have settled near the top of the English game having won 4 Premier League titles this decade with Zidane in charge for most of them!
We went into the game with a full strength starting 11 which paid dividends early. Clearly buoyed by emphatic run of form in the league we hit City hard, literally. An early cross was put into our box and Thys clattered Dele Ali to give away a penalty. Arp stepped up and blasted it straight down the middle of the goal and straight into the arms of Geiger who never moved! A huge early let off.
Unphased, Mur burst down the right wing as we built from the same passage of play. Beating his man he cut the ball back to Joveljic who applied a clinical finish on only 6 minutes. What a frantic opening and it was fitting a club legend got the opening goal. It was Joveljic’s 195th for the club and it could arguably be his most important one yet, putting back to back Champions League trophies within our grasp!
Perhaps the enormity of this achievement hit us after taking the lead or maybe City were spurred into life after falling behind so early, either way we couldn’t assert our dominance any further. City slowly got back on top in the game although clear cut chances were hard to come by. As this pattern dragged on towards half time both sides became increasingly nervy in what had developed into something of a poor final. Giving my side a rocket at half time had an immediate effect as we pushed on from kick off and won a free kick on the corner of the City box. Mur whipped the free kick onto the far post where CB Fisher put a bullet header into the net. Fast starts to both halves had given us control of the game!
Just like the first half, things settled down after a fast opening. This time however, City were more desperate and created better chances in the second half. Then, of all people, Hector Bellerin unlocked our defence after playing some lovely interchanges with Ali on the wing. He then crossed for Faria who cut our lead in half with a well placed volley. We had around 20 minutes to hold onto our lead and the Champions League!
Despite City’s best efforts we hung on. We saw off the closing stages without any major scares to win 2-1 and seal a historic treble. We had also become the first team to win back to back titles since Real Madrid back in 2018, what an achievement!
This left just one game in the season, with a chance of securing a Quadruple! There was just one slight problem. International call ups. 21 of them to be precise. From my fairly settled squad of 18 that I selected for most matches I only had 7 players available and of those only three of them were regular starters. Bollocks. My academy was going to be pushed to its limits!
Here is the match day squad I was able to cobble together…..
With an average squad age of 20 and with seven of the squad never having played or been on the bench for the first team I wasn’t confident. The area of most concern was in net as both experienced choices (Geiger and Benedettini) were away on duty and I didn’t have an established third keeper. Instead I had this:
At least he’d be brave while rushing out I guess?
Immediately from kick off my worst fears were realised. Lyon worked a nice move on the left and a low cross broke in the box which Atangana easily finished from 10 yards out. It was a nightmare debut for Guillou who’s first touch of the ball in professional football was to pick it out of the net in a cup final. I felt sorry for him things could only get better surely?
Actually they sort of did! Our two most established academy graduates (Mur and Roques) got the bit between their teeth and took hold of the midfield in an inspiring display. We found some control and managed to steady the ship at 1-0 down. It was far from an ideal position but I expected much worse. As we got into the second half we actually enjoyed a period of control in the game again, mainly thanks to the inspired efforts of Roques and Mur. Then on 72 minutes Mur was hauled down on the touchline near the corner flag. A chance perhaps? Roques strolled over to the ball and whipped a cross in. It popped up on the back post for the diminutive Mur to score a clinical header. At only 5″7 i’m fairly certain this was one of his first headed goals for the club and what a time to get it!
We rode our luck in the closing stages as Lyon had two goals disallowed before the end of normal time and our general lack of any sort of goal scoring threat saw the game go to extra time. My young squad were running out of gas and our subs were of incredibly poor quality leaving me hoping for penalties for the whole of extra time. By some minor miracle we actually managed it! Now, how would the kids fare in such a high pressure situation?
Not well. At 3-3 the Ligue 1 player of he year Westgren failed to hit the target to put us in the brink of defeat. This put a lot of pressure on young striker Lambert who hit a weak penalty which was saved. I was gutted as it had been a monumental effort by my vastly inexperienced squad. We were only denied a massive clean sweep of trophies by horrific scheduling and a cruel penalty defeat.
Despite this heartbreak in the final match of the season it was a hugely impressive one overall as we managed to win fiver trophies and a major individual trophy! These were:
- Champions League (2nd Time winners)
- French Ligue 1 ( 2nd time winners)
- Coupe de la Ligue (2nd time winners)
- European Super Cup (1st time winners)
- Club World Cup (1st time winners)
- European U21 Footballer (First time)
Normally this would be the end of this post however, as I only need to complete four countries and my UEFA challenge is done I’ll plough into next season!
2027/28 Season
I had a fairly large transfer kitty at my disposal once again so I threw everything I had at trying to find the best Russian, Montenegrin, Greek and Georgian players I could find. Here’s what I came up with.
Gurov was a great find. Already playing in France at Montpellier he had become unhappy with how they were performing. Available for just £12 million he was my top target and happily signed to a good contract providing great competition on the right to keep Mur on his toes. With him already playing in France he should be a certainty to do well.
Another solid find was Mihajlovic who cost only £525k from Varazdin. He had time on his side to develop (if I continued to play this save) and would provide great back up to my starting eleven and could hopefully provide enough goal threat to complete the challenge quickly.
Psionis was the final piece of the jigsaw who looked pretty good either as a striker or midfielder with plenty of pace to trouble defenders.
Worryingly the best Georgian player I could realistically sign was the one I picked up last year who totally failed to make an impact. In 14 starts as a striker he managed one assist and nothing else!
In order to get over the line I would play Gurov on right of midfield whilst rotating the other three as strikers who would take all penalties and free kicks! I was determined to finish the challenge this season without it dragging on too long.
We started the season well and actually won our first Trophee des Champions beating Lyon 2-1. Small revenge for our loss in the French Cup at the back end of last year!
The first of the four players to get over the line was Gurov who scored a penalty and set up four goals in a 6-1 win over his old club Montpellier! It was a hell of a performance that took almost two full months into the season to occur but it was certainly worth the wait! Fortunately the next player to complete the challenge didn’t take another two months as Kurtanidze scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Bordeaux just a few games later. Two to go and I was glad the Georgian was out of the way as he never managed to contribute much to the team. Despite repeatedly playing both Psonis and Mihajlovic upfront they were unable to put in the performance required to pick up man. They both managed a couple of goals each so far but seemed to lack the quality to shine against some of the better Ligue 1 sides.
Then came the Club World Championship. Hopefully two games against poorer opponents would give them a chance. In the semi final Gurov annoyingly got man of the match despite Psonis scoring twice in a 4-0 win against Monerrey. This just left the final against Boca, where this happened!
It was another trophy to the collection that was picked up at a canter. There were more pressing concerns to deal with however as Mihajlovic had so far proved to be a frustrating player to deal with, only scoring from penalties and missing a hat load of chances. I just had to hope that eventually something clicked with him as he would be starting every game up front until he got man of the match from now on. I wanted to get this challenge done!
The very next game after winning the Club World Championship was Monaco at home. Roques opened the scoring for us on 21 minutes in a dominant first half performance before Mihajlovic doubled our lead on half an hour! My hopes were high now he was currently on course to be our best rated player. As a precaution I removed Roques at half time as he was currently the only player with a similar rating to my Montenegrin striker. I was 45 minutes away from achieving my goal and hoping for a very boring second half. I got my wish. There were was very little in the way of clear cut chances for either team and I was just hoping that a late goal from one of my defenders didn’t win them man of the match.
Moving into the last ten minutes a neat attack on our left saw Morina in space inside the box. He unselfishly decided to square it to Mihajlovic who bagged his second goal! That was surely game over! Sure enough, the only other incident of note was a 90th minute consolation goal from Monaco but it had little consequence! We had done it!!!!!
It took 453 matches but in the end the main challenge of the F.C Europa was over with! It started back in 2018 when Kenny Miller was the first player to score and get man of the match and finished 8 and a half years later with a mediocre Montenegrin regen! Quite an unusual journey but I had certainly enjoyed it.
So for one last time here is the UEFA completion map!
Lovely, look at all that red!
Achievement Hunter Challenge
As well as my own challenge I’ve also being aiming to complete the Achievement hunter challenge where, in this highly successful 18 months i managed to obtain the following:
- Get offered the Sheff United job (happened after I applied in pre season)
- Win a continents player of the Year (Koffi won it for the 2026/7 season)
- 20 wins in a row (Obtained at the start of the 2027/8 season)
- Invincible season (for the 2026/7 season)
- Won the Club World Cup (completed in 2027)
So not a bad effort on this front either!
I’ll do a full recap of the series in the next post as this has been a bit of a long one…….but that still leaves me with a bit of a conundrum as to what I should do next with this save. I could choose to carry it on as a ‘normal’ save or extend my challenge to include other FIFA regions or even just end the save altogether! Regardless is been a great journey whatever I decide to do next!
Thanks again for reading this journey all the way through! Alex
StratMan Gaming 