Hello friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and there weren’t too many neglected SO’s ;) So here we are at the beginning of my first full season with Cagliari Calcio. Last season I came in during the winter break and managed to guide the team up from 17th place to a 12th place finish, one lower than they had achieved the previous season and one lower what the media predicted us to finish at. This season I am hoping for greater things especially because I want to redeem myself after my poor World Cup.
Pre-Season
Quite a nice transfer kitty. Maybe I am being a little optimistic, but last season we barely missed out on a top half finish so I think the boys have it in them this year.
Media believes we will finish in 11th — the same prediction as last year. But I think we can change that since I have a habit of proving the media wrong, whether it’s good or bad as you saw with my Brazil campaign ;).
We are in a healthy place financially. I really like watching that line go up.
And the transfers:
I sent a decent number of veteran players packing. They were getting to that age where they would start declining and I want to usher in a new era at Cagliari. We have no one over 30 in the squad anymore:
GK: Martino Castelli and Asger Thogersen
Castelli was the back-up last season but with Agazzi hitting 34 and frankly not doing that well, I decided it was time to give the youngster a shot since he has grown quite a bit, which is why I included his picture (but it’s him at the end of the season, sorry).
DC: Eduardo Sanchez, Vittorio Basilicata, Lucio Rizzo, and Andrea Simoni
Sanchez was my back-up left-back last season, but he quickly came to challenge for the first team spot. Easily one of my best purchases, I decided he would be able to help the team better by being a center-back, which he is actually adept at playing. Basilicata and Rizzo were my back-ups and both will have a chance to shine. Simoni was a co-owned player who I managed to buy and he has a ton of potential. I am very happy with this position because after Sanchez, the other 3 are essentially equals.
DL: Marius Jensen and Nuno Silva
Part of the reason I moved Sanchez to the center is because of Silva. He is another high potential player and I am quite surprised I got him because I had to face of Olympique Marseille for his signature. Jensen will alternate with him because I am not quite sure he is ready to jump into the first team.
DR: Ivan and Martino D’Aqui
I promoted D’Aqui from my reserves.
MC: Marco Foti, Josue, Matheus, Davide Natale, Oliveira, and Gabriel Pimba
Not much change. Foti and Natale were co-owned and I bought the rest of both of them, officially making all Cagliari players exclusively owned by Cagliari. I am especially excited by Natale.
ST: Jese, Daniele Ragatzu, Nicolas Floris, Xaropinho, Daniele Benedettini, and Luigi Marino
Benedettini and Marino are decently skilled youngsters. I kind of brought them on board because I wanted to see how well I could develop an average player, not to say I don’t think they won’t contribute. Xaropinho. I broke the club transfer record for him. He is incredible. Several teams were looking at him but I swooped in and captured him. He is such a bright talent. I cannot adequately describe how excited I am to watch him play. I think Xaropinho has the skill needed to become my best player.
Also, I have a new assistant manager, West Brom’s defender Liam Ridgewell, who retired at the end of last season. His stats are phenomenal.
Check out the next page!
Vinners
15 февраля, 2012 at 15:13
Unlucky not getting your desired 8th, 10th is still good and Xaropinho is a sick purchase. I’m not so sure about Jensen, Benedettini and Marino though especially if Jensen and Marino are effectively your 2nd choice in their repective positions. If you can get another quality striker to cover for an injury to Jese, otherwise you will be wholely relying on Marino which will damage your chances of top half finish. Even though, good read and I’m excited to see how next season goes with all your youngesters progressing
Bhargav
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:12
Thanks Vinners! I see what you are saying about having better back-ups, but the problem I have been encountering is that if my back-ups are too good then they insist on wanting to leave so that they can get more first-team football :/ I guess it’s just a balance I need to figure out more.
Sears
15 февраля, 2012 at 15:33
All in all that was a successful season. Your youngsters struggled at the beginning, but once they found their feet you secured some impressive results. Next season should see you break into the top 8, though I wouldn’t rule out finishing in a European place … Best of luck mate!!
Bhargav
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:17
Thanks Sears! I see the main places to improve is that they need to start the game with more energy, which they were doing towards the season’s end, and they need to not get so complacent at the end of games. Apart from that I just need to stay injury free.
vaibhavc
15 февраля, 2012 at 16:56
Unlucky about your aim. The beginning of the season cost you. I am sure next season you can get a top half finish, because your players are more experienced now. Xaropinho is fantastic, and I need to make sure I get Ridgewell once he retires!
Bhargav
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:18
Thanks Vaibhav! Xaropinho has to be my all-time best signing so far and he is just getting started! And I saw Ridgewell’s application and my eyes popped out because he is so good!
nielsneutron
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:08
Love the fact that you have a Danish keeper in the squad. Like you I also think that the young squad needed to get the feel of the game and I am sure you can do better next season.
Bhargav
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:24
Thank you, Nielsneutron. Maybe I have the next Peter Schmeichel although his description says that he is the next Anders Lindegaard ;) We should do better next season if we get a little luckier on the injury front as well.
Ivo
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:14
another great but unlucky story … great youngster the xguy (x-men XD). very interesting the amount of money you have … maybe you should arrange some very hard friendlies for the youngsters to gain experience ;) how is it goig with brazil ?
good luck in next season, Ivo
Bhargav
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:25
Thanks Ivo! Life in Sardinia is going quite nicely and I hope I can translate that into better results.
I actually resigned from Brazil after our poor World Cup :( It will be some time before I go into international management again since I have had back-to-back failures with Jamaica and Brazil.
Darren Smith
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:46
Some very promising youth there mate and especially the new Brazilian striker…nice to see Jese performing so well but you need a few more players to step forward if Europe is to be attained. I think that could happen next year, as with every young squad, each season that passes is just another years experience.
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 08:37
Thanks Darren. I would like to keep as much of the squad intact as possible because I think barring any more horrific injuries I think these guys have it in them to challenge for a place in Europe.
saltwater
15 февраля, 2012 at 18:58
Very, very entertaining season — it had everything. More importantly, I’m surprised you still name Jese as your top striker, Xarophinho has stats any manager would die for. I expect big things of Cagliari next season, especially since you guys and your talented strikers outscored 2nd place Inter and 3rd place Roma.
Finally, «The Arsenal performance was shocking as we just rolled over and died» made me laugh.
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:11
Thanks saltwater :D I try.
I think Xaropinho will blow Jese out of the water because he is used to level and style of play. That and he will hopefully be injury free.
Johnny Karp
15 февраля, 2012 at 19:10
It was a good season overall I think, not necessarily in terms of results but the club did make a few solid steps forward. Your young squad together with a few more quality players will make next season one to remember. Good luck!
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:13
Thanks Johnny! I think I am on my way to building my best squad ever! We have some real vintage players like Xaropinho and Sanchez, so I think this will be a squad to reckon with.
Ana Garcia
15 февраля, 2012 at 19:44
Good season in my opinion!
You wanted 8th but 10th isnt that bad and you have a very young squad so it will take time for them to improve and reach their potential.
You made some good signings and with the upgrades to you facilities and then buying your stadium things will be even better for next season.
Good luck!! :)
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:19
Thank you, Ana! I am very happy to finally have our own stadium. I hope we can turn it into a fortress that other team will be afraid to play in :D
Woody
15 февраля, 2012 at 20:15
A good season overall I think
Well done. For proving the media wrong
I agree that your team needed more time to gel and Jese was brilliant this season
Anyway well done and good luck
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:22
Thanks Woody! In addition tog gelling we also had to deal with some awful injuries. I’m not sure how one recovers after tearing abdominal muscles, but fingers crossed that Xaropinho hits the same heights as before.
TheZiggy
15 февраля, 2012 at 23:16
Your final position has improved, which means it’s been a successful season, even if it wasn’t quite the improvement you hoped for. When you make a lot of changes, it is quite tough to get off to a good start, as it takes a while for the team to truly work well together. I would expect there to be less changes for next season, so that should help matters.
The injuries are a real pain. I had one recently with just a seconds left, with an opposing player making a horrible tackle putting an important player out for several weeks. Made me want to scream, as there was no point in the idiot doing it, when we two goals up, with no time left.
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:25
Thaks Ziggy, I see what you mean. It’s always tough — maybe I need to have my players play less aggressively. Another problem is I will admit I didn’t get the best back-ups partly because of finances and partly because when I have players who can all be in the first team, it leads to too many players being unhappy. I guess I just need to learn to rotate better but for now I can’t afford to give my back-up players *too* much playing time. Obviously, this means my starters are under more physical duress . . . It’s a vicious cycle but learning to break out of it is one of my goals in this challenge.
Kevin
16 февраля, 2012 at 00:19
Hi Bhargav
Fisrt off Xaropinho is truely amazing and should do really well for you over the coming seasons. You took us on quite the roller coaster ride in this update but I must say that was a superb effort beating Juventus 5-2.your final position is very respectable indeed and the good news is you are improving each time.
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 09:25
Thanks so much Kevin! I hope I can start achieving the same success you are in the MLS soon :D
Dino Ozbolt
16 февраля, 2012 at 12:49
Not bad, not bad. :D
It’s a strong league and I still wonder how Atalanta side became so strong? Because of Nangis or? :D
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 20:51
Hey Dino. Nangis is by far their best player but they also have an awesome Romanian regen in the central midfield that wreaks havoc.
Frank
16 февраля, 2012 at 15:31
Hi Bhargav,
A decent season overall, the Seria A is very strong and your team needs time to gel. Great result against Jueventus. Good luck for next season.
Also if you have time could you check out my blog
thefootballmanagerprodigy.blogspot.com
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 20:52
Sure, no problem Frank. Always fun reading on others’ takes on FM!
Martin - F.M.J.S
16 февраля, 2012 at 18:01
That was a good season Bhargav as people have said you have improved your league position from last season and you have been able to do it with a young side so well done and Good Luck with next season. :)
Bhargav
16 февраля, 2012 at 20:52
Thank you, Martin! Kids have to eventually win me something :P
CsAtlantis
17 февраля, 2012 at 01:17
Wow, some inconsistent form there, though your team improved after the first two months, how did you even manage to do that in April, you drew all your matches! :P
Good luck for next season, hopefully Jese and Xaropinho can stay injury-free (Lenny Nangis is such a beast in Serie A!)
Bhargav
17 февраля, 2012 at 09:53
Haha I know! It’s so frustrating at times but overall a solid finish, I guess.
Neil Birkitt
17 февраля, 2012 at 15:20
well done mate I feel a top 3 finish next season. looking to keep an eye on players as I have just taken over at la violia in my own save
Bhargav
19 февраля, 2012 at 11:36
Thanks a lot Neil! I think a top 3 finish might be a little too ambitious though ;)
David Faithfull
25 февраля, 2012 at 12:15
Bhargav Xorphino is a wonder kid! Completely amazing and a great buy for your team. He will definatly be great for your team over the coming seasons. Was good to see you be in a better position in the league this season and next season im confident you will do even better!
Bhargav
25 февраля, 2012 at 14:55
Thanks a lot David! A new update is right around the corner so you can see how he fared ;)
David Faithfull
28 февраля, 2012 at 20:34
wicked im pretty sure he is going to be emence in the next post!!