Hi everyone!
So I ended up in a job that is the worst yet! I am at F.C.A.K and I will give a prize to anyone who has heard of them! To let you know they play in the first division of South Africa a place I really didnt want to end up! I just couldnt get a job anywhere and despite my trophy haul in Hong Kong I am worse off than I was.
Infact I am further away from winning any champions league than ever, but no one said that this was going to be easy!
Career History :
— Cheonan (July 2010 – January 2013)
— South China (June 2013 – June 2016)
— F.C.A.K (December 2016 — Present)
Honours :
Hong Kong League Title : 2014, 2015, 2016 (South China)
Senior Shield : 2013, 2016 (South China)
League Cup : 2014, 2015, 2016 (South China)
Asian Confederation Cup : 2014, 2016 (South China)
—————————
So having spent an age trying to find the badge for my team to use as the feature image! I guess we should first look at the background of this first division South African club.
Quite easily the worst side I have managed during my career but i waited almost six months for a job so just took this one! That said the club is predicted 2nd so at least they have a half decent team also I took over 18 games into the season which is just about the halfway point!
Results And League Table Before I Took Over
So you can see why the previous manager was sacked! We currently lie 8th out of nine! And we seem to play every side FOUR times a season! Twice at home and twice away I believe that the top team may get promotion and the second place is a playoff against the second placed team in the coastal league which is equal to ours!
Again very confusing and am hopeless at explaining things! But this is my first time in South Africa!
Call It A Day!
I decided to focus 100% on my new job so I resigned from Morocco and I wasnt really that happy there. My new team is going to be hard enough without the extra pressure of a national job!
My New Signings
So the standard of league is really poor think of the the really low leagues in England or Spain, and thats the kind of players I am dealing with! So I did manage to buy a few players I dont really know the rules on foreign players so all are South African!
Sean Sethlodi
My first signing who is twice the player of my previous defensive midfield player! Thats the type of players I am working with!
Bogani Sibeko
The best centre forward I could find! Hopefully he can score some goals!
Sihle Mashaba
My best signing and my best player! Really tall central defender with good tackling and heading.
Final Results + League Whilst I Was In Charge
So I was very happy with how the season went my team wasnt that bad I just needed to get morale up as some of the players were fairly good. I played a new formation which worked very well and we only lost twice whilst I was in charge winning a large amount of games.
So all these names will mean nothing to you! To be fair they mean nothing to me and its my team! Phiri was a really good poacher but had to resort to playing upfront on his own due to lack of players. Mashaba the tall defender I bought had a good start but we will need alot of improvement if I want to get out of this division.
I’m afraid thats it! Only a few games played but I ended up in the bottom rung of South African football. All my achievements at South China have counted for nothing! My reputation is still continental but I was rejected for every single Korean job.
Even for teams predicted at the bottom! So I am even further away from winning the champions league! My goals have changed and I dont really know where it went wrong! But I am here now at F.C.A.K and seeing as I dont know what F.C.A.K stands for I am going to say Farewell China And Korea! :)
Again thanks for reading and welcome to South Africa!!!
pickard77
6 января, 2011 at 17:17
Great post Ana…cant believe you haven’t ended up with a decent Korean side…You’ve got me a little worried now though…all your trophies and no big club…will that happen to me on my challenge…but with the trophies lol. Nice to see Maritzburg United beat you though :P
Hang in there…and hopefully a promotion will come your way…to be honest from what i’ve seen it the South African Leagues..their isnt much difference between team at the bottom of the premier and teams in the lower leagues.
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 16:53
Thanks! :)
Yeah I am surprised also, but I just got rejected for any Korean job I applied for!
Thats good to hear about the premier teams being almost as good as the ones in the first divsion I guess I will stay here for a bit am scared if I leave I wont get offered another job!!
pickard77
6 января, 2011 at 17:20
Oh Ana…your team is called F.C. Aziz Kara :D
The club is named after Aziz Kara, a sports administrator who was banned from South African football for life following allegations of corruption. The club were fined R500,000 in 2008 and docked 15 points as punishment resulting in relegation to the Vodacom League.
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 16:55
Thanks for letting me know!
So I am at a club named after a man who was found guilty of corruption!!
I thought it couldnt get any worse! Best to look on the bright side and forget about it!
Johnny Karp
6 января, 2011 at 17:50
Well Ana, I guess you should start looking for another job! With a corrupt president and such poor players your life in Africa might turn out to be quite frustrating. Why didn’t you hold on to that Morocco job, that could have boosted your reputation! Anyway, I hope that the Black Leopards will appoint you as manager :) Good luck!
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 16:58
Thanks Johnny,
I dont know! I wish I had stayed on at Morocco now! But I dont think it would have pushed my reputation up to much as I wasnt expecting to do well at the african cup of nations!
Thanks for the luck I will need it!!
Laxeyman
6 января, 2011 at 18:42
Hi Ana, that must be really frustrating for you, you aren’t getting the recognition you deserve and you should be with a bigger tean after your successes. Anyway, hopefully you can win the league with F.C.A.K next season, and then you might be able to get a better job. Good luck!
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:01
Hi!
Agreed, I dont really know why I couldnt get a better job elsewhere but nothing I can do!
My aim is to win the league and with the right players its possible the club is definatly alot stronger than the majority of teams in our league so am hoping for a good season!
Patrick
6 января, 2011 at 20:04
Hi Ana, don’t know if you remember me, I posted a story similar to yours on Johnny’s forum in December. You wouldn’t believe it, but I know F.C.A.K well! In fact I played with them on FM 2009, and took them to promotion, although I didn’t win the South African Premier League. I actually really enjoyed managing them, the pinnacle of my career being an incredible comeback against Royal Thand Zulu in the First Division Final that sent us into the Premier League.
They probably aren’t quite right for your challenge though, so I’d agree that you need to look for a new job.
Good Luck
Patrick
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:05
I remember you! :)
Nice to hear that someone has heard of them! And thats its possible to get promotion and compete in the top league.
I would look for a new job but at the moment no one will hire me! My aim is to stay here until I start getting linked to some jobs, then hopefully move on.
Darren Smith
6 января, 2011 at 20:36
lol, love the ending…your interpretation of the clubs initials made me laugh :) Its a shame that you ended up worse off than your last club but you can always search again so I guess we’ll be seeing you with another club soon. Goodluck Ana
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:07
Thanks Darren!
Hmmm, I have decided to stay on for a bit. I think the problem is that I am to eager to move clubs and am not increasing the clubs reputation and so am not proving myself to other teams.
I am not leaving here until I get promotion!!
Birdy
6 января, 2011 at 22:01
Hey Ana Unlucky that on the Team you got
but good luck on your work with them lets hope you can gain promotion next season
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:09
Thanks Birdy,
I will try my best! :)
Sears
6 января, 2011 at 22:17
Hey Ana,
what a shitty team to end up with after your recent success, but you did well. Along with new players you can challenge for the title next season. Good luck!
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:10
Agreed,
But thats life I guess! I will definatly try to push for promotion as I feel we can achieve it but not exactly the club I wanted!
Wazz
7 января, 2011 at 00:15
Hi Ana, you did well in the second half of the season. It’s a shame that you got a decent team bu at least did a good job there. With a few signings and a good morale, you can challenge for the title next season. Good Luck!
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:13
Thanks Wazz!
Yeah we had a very good end of season, but I need to make a lot of changes and also a lot of new signings if I want to push for promotion.
Thanks for the luck, I really need it at this club!
Will S
7 января, 2011 at 01:24
Haha, this all sounds very familiar. I think the main reason why we don’t get better jobs is because we’re not staying at our clubs long enough to improve their reputation. If you can get them promoted you might get some people looking out for you.
Have you been headhunted yet? I had a team from Northern Ireland approach me when I was back in Hong-Kong, but their wage budget was a joke! China has a nice straightforward league system, if you can get a job there, go for it!
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:17
Thanks Will!
I agree! I was thinking the same thing as I was posting this update we may be moving on too soon so am definatly planning to stay here. Promotion is a good objective for my team and I feel we can do it and then hopefully I can maybe get a better job.
Not yet! :(
I am hoping if I can do well here I wil start getting offered or even linked to some bigger jobs I cant get a job in China as I havnt got that league loaded!
CsAtlantis
7 января, 2011 at 01:57
Hi Ana. some suggestions on players to look out for, try Jackie Ledwaba or Dingaan Metsi, haven’t really heard of people getting a job at F.C.A.K., still at least they are a professional club so the players are on full-time contracts unlike some other clubs like Winners Park (i think they’re not professional)
Ana Garcia
7 января, 2011 at 17:19
Thanks for the players I will try to see if they are available.
By the look of it they are one of the better teams in the league I am in, so I guess it could have been worse!
Kevin
8 января, 2011 at 09:25
Hi Ana
It looks like the second set of results were a little more promising. I think some African teams in real life have links with Dutch clubs so maybe you could find one that could loan you players?Also there’s gotta be one Spanish player there to help you :)
Ana Garcia
13 января, 2011 at 17:33
Thanks Kevin!
I will have a look but am not sure of if they will come and play for me!!
We need to improve our reputation a bit!
cotty5
13 января, 2011 at 09:21
Hi Ana..
Just wondering ….. what formation do you use ??
Ana Garcia
13 января, 2011 at 17:36
Hello! :)
I am using a 4-4-2 that I made when I started this challenge at Cheonan in my last season, so far it has working very well so have just continued to use it!!
workoutdude
31 марта, 2011 at 11:10
FCAK abbreviation is awesome….LOL!!!! ROFL!!!!