Hello everyone!!
So it seems everything has conspired against me with this post! Took a lot longer due to technical problems and a delete everything happy Boyfriend! But thankfully I can now post my new update in my third season at Velez.
Last time we had an Ok season, which was the general feeling shared by everyone however I wanted to do a bit better this season and try and win the battle with my crazy finances!
With doing my best to lift that Copa Libertadores and complete my Pentagon challenge!
So lets see how the season went.
Managerial C.V
— Black Aces (June 2011 – June 2018)
African Premier League : 2016
Super 8′s Winner : 2015, 2016
First Division : 2012
South African Knockout Cup : 2016
The African Champions League : 2017
— New York Red Bulls (January 2019 –December 2021)
U.S. Cup : 2019
MLS : 2020, 2021
North American Champions League : 2020
— FC Seoul ( January 2022 – December 2025)
K-League : 2023, 2024
Korean FA Cup : 2022
Korean League Cup : 2024
The Asian Champions League : 2025
— Arsenal (July 2026 -June 2028)
The Premier League : 2027, 2028
The Europa League : 2027
The FA Cup : 2027
The League Cup : 2028
The European Champions League : 2028
— Velez Sarsfield (December 2028 – Present)
Premier Division Open Stage : 2029
International Career
— U.S.A (May 2017 – July 2021)
Nothing.
— Spain (July 2024 – 2027)
Nothing :(.
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A Disaster To Begin With
Yes he has gone…….
My star center back has been lured to the premier league for a transfer fee of £24 million pounds.
Stat wise its hard to argue that he is easily worth that investment and it was clear he was far too good for our division so I wasnt too surprised to see him go, I cant even blame my board with the finances we have it was an easy decision they took to sell him.
However even though my board sold him above my head its clear they didnt tell the media the right things, see below……….
Brilliant!
So my board sell a player above my head then pin all the blame on me!
So now my fans hate me for something I had no control over. :(
Club Info and Start of Season Finances
So despite losing our star defender I promoted Bogado his partner at the back to the new vice captain role, club value went up due to the money in from Saccani.
Nothing else has really changed too much since last year.
So finances are looking very healthy now with the departed Saccani, last year was a near disaster money wise so am going to do everything in my power to keep as much of this money as I can.
I did cut a few costs and re-structured my whole backroom staff to save even more money so hopefully come the end of the season we might just turn a profit!
Transfers In and Out — First Window
My task was simple, save as much as possible so I only bought two new players and one of them was free.
Juarez was sold due to his terrible attitude so I bought two new front men, even with Saccani gone I still feel very confident in our defense however you can never have enough goal scorers so I bought two more!
Rodriguez was bought from a team we played in last year’s Copa Lib and he impressed me so I got him, whilst Ponjevic was offered to me for free so I though why not. :)
Sebastian Rodriguez
Dario Ponjevic
Opening Stage Results and Table
So another milestone game and another game we failed to win…..
Am getting tired of them now! :)
That said my team were faultless over the opening stage as we failed to lose a single game scored the most goals and had was of the best defenses.
With us once gain winning the opening stage we had qualified again for the Copa Libertadores so maybe second time lucky, fingers crossed!
Closing Stage Results and Table
Horrendous!
I wont even waste your time by describing just how poor we were in the second half they say a picture is worth a thousand words so this will sum it up. :(
Cup Competitions
Copa Sudamericana
So I posted on Jake’s story in the forums about a result where I won four zero in the first leg then lost the second by the same scoreline before, you guessed it losing on penalties!
Astounded was the word I used I mean we didnt even play that badly away from home just couldnt take chances or defend corners! ;)
Copa Argentina
Final
Yay!
We managed to win the Copa Argentina after beating River to be fair I felt we deserved to win by a few more, the scoreline looks like a close game but we were in charge from start to finish.
Copa Libertadores
Hmmmm,
So unlucky as we lost in the semi finals against River who avenged their Copa Argentina defeat by beating us in both legs.
This time I can have few complaints as we lost the tie in the first leg, the second was very comfortable for River we were very lucky not to get beat by four or five, disappointing but there is always next season. :)
Final Player Ratings of the Season
So Barreto led the ratings scoring goals and making assists he was fantastic this season, Romero had a great season in the center of midfield and new signing Rodriguez had a very exciting debut season scoring twenty seven times.
However I want you to focus on one player called Gabriel Carmona who came through the Velez ranks and was playing in our youth side until our second half season collapse and he has developed really well plus he looks really promising so here his profile alongside our star man of the season.
Star Man of the Season Miguel Angel Barreto and Promising Gabriel Carmona
End of Season Finances and Save Game Status
!!!!
Where has all my money gone!
Lets take a closer look at those finances…………
This is just impossible….
Last year we payed only £6.5 millions in tax and this season we payed close to £20 million how can I ever succeed?
I pretty much cut costs right through the whole club without selling off more of our star names and keeping the team competitive. Am sorry it just make no sense how can we have lost a million more than last season I will never win this money battle if things keep concluding this way.
Next season I will have to sell off another key player just to get us through to the next season with a positive bank balance, that will be annoying. :)
End of Season Round-Up
So where to start!
I guess with the league, unbeaten in the opening stage then completely fell apart in the closing stage, hard to explain why really!
I didnt change anything tactic wise my team showed they were good enough even without Saccani so no excuses we were just hopeless!
I would love to address the problems with a few new faces but that may also be impossible with the crazy story of our finances even when we make a lot of money it dwindles away, its just an impossible task.
The squad is good enough but I may have to sell off yet more key players to balance the books, at least we have great youth set-up and we have a few talented players in our youth ranks. So fingers crossed a few can make it to the first team and I will give them every chance to do that.
Cup win was nice but its hard to draw any positives from our second half, probably because there weren’t any! But I guess you learn more about your team when your losing than you do when winning, or is that just a cliche people use as an excuse!? :)
Any ways that’s it!
We fell apart yet again and our finances are getting even worse despite the huge amount of money we got from Manchester City, where did it all go? Why did my chairman not take responsibility for the transfer of Saccani and let the fans blame me? Why do my team fall apart in the second half of the season? Why wont my chairman allow me to upgrade any of our facilities? I fear there is a conspiracy a foot! :)
LoL! So once again thank you all very much for reading and following my story, it seems the Copa Lib is still out of our grasp but you all know me by now it was never going to be easy! :P
Johnny Karp
3 мая, 2012 at 20:58
Well Ana, I suspect that your chairman might be involved in some money laundering scheme. Or maybe he pockets the money and then messes with the books :) Anyway, back to football… I can’t understand why the team did so badly in the Clausura after such a brilliant Apertura, but football is unexplainable sometimes. You will get that Copa Libertadores eventually, don’t you worry! Fingers crossed :)
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:26
Thanks Johnny! :)
Finances are annoying me so much at the moment, I have got past trying to understand them!
I’m not sure why either but their is a definite pattern occurring between the two stages its tough to work out what I’m doing wrong.
I hope so! I have got this horrible feeling that I may not win it! :)
Tanni
3 мая, 2012 at 21:00
Gurrr hurdy gurr raa
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:26
?
saltwater
3 мая, 2012 at 21:03
I have never quite seen anything like your finances, God knows what those owners are doing with the money! And I’m sorry but I couldn’t help laughing after the board sold the player and you got the blame!
Footy-wise, it’s a shame to see your side crumble away in the closing stage again, after quite clearly dominating the opening stage. I personally cannot see the problem as to why that happened, perhaps tiredness or complacentcy?
You and River were in battle in all the competitions and its a shame they got the better of you in the Copa Libertadores.
Can’t wait for next season. Good Luck! :D
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:32
Thanks! :)
I have no idea either, I mean those finances make zero sense how are we losing so much money when I’m reducing costs a much as I can!
I think its a bit of both maybe, we have a small-ish squad so I cant really rotate players as much as I would like and I have struggled with complacency before that’s a really good suggestion next season I will vary my team talks a lot more and see if than can make a difference.
Yeah, River are making good rivals for me which I always enjoy but I would have traded our cup win for a shot in the Copa Lib final! :)
Darren Smith
3 мая, 2012 at 21:47
Well what a bizarre season, you did brilliantly in the opening stages then very badly in the closing stage, not to mention those finances…I have seen some weird finances in my time but nothing like that. A few clubs that I am close too have been fingered for fiddling the books of late (Not Newcastle before a rumor starts to spread) and that can be the only explanation. But then again SI don’t support the negative parts of football such as that so it its probably not even part of the game…just weird!!
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:35
Thanks Darren!
Its very hard to wonder what I do next, I mean even if I sell say two or three of our star names that money wont last.
Maybe a glitch or something but I too have no idea!
I mean my finances vary so differently from season to season I feel I will never succeed to balance our books, I mean what else can I do! :)
TheZiggy
3 мая, 2012 at 22:15
That’s an insane amount of tax you’ve paid, but I’m guessing the taxman took a big chunk of that transfer fee. With your turnover it’s the only explanation that can possibly make any sense, but even then it still looks very high. In my current season with Torquay, I’ve had a turnover of £70M, sold nobody, and only paid £12M in tax, so I’m confused.
I don’t know why the team would fall apart in the second half of the season. Almost like they only care about achieving the right result in the first half, and then the mind goes walkabout. Lately my players have started getting overly nervous, which was never happening before, and the morale seems to drop very quickly, even after a win. I’m getting somewhat confused by this, and could be something like you’ve been seeing.
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:42
Thanks Ziggy! :)
I agree but if I do pay that tax on my outgoing transfers then I will fall into a massive debt very soon.
My only way to beat those finances is to sell, I mean I have to sell to buy players at the moment its a pretty un-winnable position!
We could be in similar position! I try to never be to hard on players after poor performances saying we are more unlucky than anything maybe that leads to a more complacent edge to creep in.
But I used the same style of team talks over the first stage and we went unbeaten so am very confused with this team! :)
David Wiggins
3 мая, 2012 at 22:23
Time to jump ship methinks!
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:44
You may be right! :)
Kevin
4 мая, 2012 at 00:29
Hi Ana
This was really a tale of two cities or in this case two stages. Really magical start but just the wierdest second stage though at least you won the Copa Argentina so well done! Two great youngsters in Barreto and Carmona and as for the tax issue maybe the government required it to bid for a World Cup :)
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:49
Thanks Kevin!
Maybe!
But I cant do anything if the expenditure is that high we will struggle to ever turn that kind of money in a normal season.
Am very pleased with hoe Barreto is improving hopefully I can keep hold of him for next season….
:)
Tegar Triemanudigdo
4 мая, 2012 at 01:02
Well, I thought your team has done well here, aside from been thrashed 9-0 by Arsenal, and I have to agree that the tax finance sometimes makes me wonder about the league system in South America. In any case, congrats for winning the Copa Argentina and I’ll look forward on your next journey.
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:51
Thanks Tegar,
It seems that most of the bigger sides like Argentinos and River are turning over huge amounts of profits I mean Argentinos payed £28 million for a forward from Europe!!
Season had its ups and down but that loss was just so unexpected, losing 9-0 is just so embarrassing!! :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
4 мая, 2012 at 08:55
you lost your best defender, so i guess it would have to be called a transitional season, especially defensively. best of luck for the next season. and dont worry about the 9-0, once it gets bad, it gets really bad and there’s nothing you can do to control it much.
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:55
Thanks Malhar!
True, but we were unbeaten in the opening stage without him so its tough to figure out the problem in my team.
Your right when it goes wrong it can really go wrong but 9-0, am at a loss for words!
P.S. Congratulations on Chelsea winning the FA Cup! We watched it in the pub and lets say my boyfriend was pretty happy. :)
CsAtlantis
4 мая, 2012 at 10:07
Looks like you are losing some of your money under the table Ana *ahem* *ahem*
At least you had an unbeaten opening stage of the season, that 9-0 scoreline looks a bit of a one time fluke (oh yeah, can you post a screen of Martin Rios? Saw that he scored 5 out of the 9 so I am very curious :P)
Tough luck against River in the Copa Lib semis, you beat them in the domestic final too! Good luck next season
Those tax and other expenses sure add a lot to your expenditure………maybe the government upped taxes by 300% or they’re taxing you for selling a player to Man City!
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 18:59
Thanks!
My money is going somewhere, so you may be right! :)
Ha! Sure thing! When I post my next update if memory servers he isnt brilliant stat wise he just took the chances when they came.
We were pretty poor against River in the Copa Lib which is so annoying to get so far only to put in two really bad displays!
Maybe! Am not a fan of how the English league is ran so maybe the game is punishing me for trying to get more profit, I knew I should have sold him to Inter Milan!
Dan
4 мая, 2012 at 12:51
Hey Ana,
I think you may have a dodgy chairman there! First he sells players and blames you for letting them go and then it turns out you’ve paid £20million in «taxes». I would start fishing for another job if I were you!
As for the 9-0 loss I think that happens to everyone at some point in their FM careers. Here’s a couple for you, I lost 7-4 against Roma when playing as AC Milan despite leading 4-0 at half time and I’ve seen my cousin lose 3-2 to Boreham Wood when playing as Arsenal despite being 2-0 up at half time! It’ll only happen once so don’t worry too much about it. :)
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 19:04
Thanks Dan!
I have been thinking about it!
But I really like my squad and I have some really promising players to try and develop so I want to stay but with these finances it may be impossible.
True, my worst defeat was on my Real Union game which was only an 11-0 away defeat at Sevilla! We also lost 7-0 to Barcelona and 8-0 to Real Madrid but those teams were far better than mine the Arsenal result was hopeless as we are a far better team than they are!
Acss
4 мая, 2012 at 13:19
…where to start? haha :)) First, congrats on your 900th game of management, even if you didn’t win it that’s just incredible! It seems to me that’s a pattern, you are doing so well in the Opening Stage and such a different performance in the Closing one, just like the last year…am really curious about the next season, will it prove the same? Hope not! :) Anyway I think it might have something to do with your players getting tired (or losing focus), for during the Closing Stage you are also playing in Copa Lib. and Copa Argentina, maybe you should try and have a different training approach, or even give them a rest for a day, from time to time? Just saying…:)
That 0-9 against Sarandi is incredible…what happened? :)) As for the finances, I reckon, it has to be frustrating losing so much money on taxes…
Congrats on winning the Opening Stage and Copa Argentina, you are getting close to Copa Lib. trophy, I hope next season you’ll win it! That Barreto is incredible, I would kill for that striker, I’m sure it will grow a lot better than that!! :)) Good luck Ana!
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 19:10
Thanks Acss! :)
My last pentagon I got past 1,200 games and my personal best was something like 2,000+ at real Union I think.
Its good advice! In all honesty I have never even thought about tweaking my training regimes as I usually download them and most of the time they are created my people who play at the really top teams in Europe.
Maybe they are too intensive for this division and also really good advice about rest day or two as at times we can play two or three games a week so maybe a few days off from training will keep my squad in top condition!
No idea! We were just hopeless! Worst part was that it probably should have been even more than 9!
Barreto was a real star and am delighted to have him, but how long I can keep him is unfortunately a different matter! :)
MRDNRA
4 мая, 2012 at 14:04
I’d’ve probably resigned if the board blamed me for a transfer decision they made. Those finances are just crazy. Great start to the season shame you couldn’t finish it off just as well. Good luck for next season.
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 19:13
Thanks!
Its true they are crazy I have no idea how to approach this season in terms on money.
Thanks for luck I know I will need it. :)
pedro roriz
4 мая, 2012 at 18:36
hey ana!
that was a mixed-feeling season, right? apertura was awesome, you managed to grab so many points! but it all fell apart. i don’t know how ofter you rotate your squad, but i counted only 21 players on the stats screen. maybe, that is the problem. they got too tired. what’you think? aside from the 4 consecutive looses, which i believe were lack of fitness after apertura, you only managed to have 2 consecutive wins. usually, when i manage small squads, i face problems with keeping up the form, the good performances. maybe, you should add up some youngsters to boolster the team’s fitness.
about saccani, well, that’s how argentinian football has being living for the last decades; they produce great players and sell them for enormous fees. so, i think you will have to accept that. the good part is that the country produces many talented youngsters every year!
an finally, have you tried to scout chile? it always comes out with talented players. however, they are much less expensive than argentinians and brazilians. you should take a look there.
best of luck!
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 19:20
Hi Pedro and thanks! :)
Mixed is right! I agree with you about my squad it is very small but with the finances as they are I cant really afford to support that many more players.
Youngsters is a good idea and I have been promoting many more into the ranks for the new season to help bulk the squad a little so hopefully tiredness will be less of a problem.
Agreed! I really dont mind losing a player like that for £24 million but its just the fact that we seemed to lose all that money despite me not spending anything on players (or very little).
I haven’t but I will be now. :) I tend to have four or five scouts in Argentina to find the best youngsters they can, one in Brazil and one in Africa ( I love my African players!) so I will add another to Chile as I have a really fantastic Chilean forward in Preito so I wouldn’t mind a few more!!
Laxeyman
4 мая, 2012 at 20:00
What a strange season Ana! I’ve never seen such a difference in form over a season, and to lose 9-0 when you previously swept all before you is ridiculous. Still, it’s obvious your side has the ability, hopefully next season they’ll be more consistent and your chairman can help you out with a bit of cash :)
Ana Garcia
6 мая, 2012 at 19:22
Thanks Laxeyman! :)
You should now my stories by now always expect the unexpected!! :)
Good point about our squad, I too see great potential and we have shown we can be very good just suffer from a lack of consistency.
I think he banked all the money he took, so I fear I wont see any of it!! :)