January
AT Napoli: Napoli are a strong team and they outplayed us. They grabbed a deserved victory but we pushed them to the edge. Not terribly disappointed especially since it was an away game.
AT Lazio: Lazio are a team in trouble and we took advantage of it. We got an early own goal when Xaropinho just gave it everything he could and it deflected in. Jese and Ragatzu scored two more. Lazio got a stoppage time consolation win.
AT Sampdoria: Rizzo came back during this game but he re-injured himself and will be gone for 3 more weeks. This time it was his knee. Sampdoria took a lead after about a third of the game passed. Sanchez got a header at the 80th minute but Simoni, Rizzo’s back-up, brought an opposition player in the box and they got the late winner. I was furious because the opponent flopped. From the replays as well the contact was light to non-existent. It’s just so frustrating at times . . .
AT Roma: The last of our 4 game away series was an Italian Cup match against Roma. Roma fielded many back-up players and we punished them for it. Simoni, Ragatzu, and an own goal from a 19 year old Roma reserve players gave us a straight-forward victory.
VS Inter: I was keen to avoid being thrashed like the last encounter so I went for the 5-1-3-1. It was working really well at keeping the game even, but at the 80th minute, defender Basilicata gave away a penalty and they won through it. It was another dubious penalty call because I am certain the foul happened outside the box.
AT Cesena: We continue our seesaw results with a dominant win over hapless Cesena. Xaropinho scored a brace and Jese bagged himself one as well. We should have had more but I am pleased with the 3 points.
AT Fiorentina: This game really angered me. We were the dominant team but Fiorentina kept fouling us and their negativity kept them in it. They should have definitely had a player sent off but instead hung on while collecting 7 yellows. We took an early lead at 21 minutes, courtesy of Xaropinho, but Fiorentina pulled back at 48. One minute into extra-time, Jese managed to get past the dirty Fiorentina defenders and got himself a goal, but they got a dramatic late equalizer at 118 from a corner. In the penalty shoot-out, we pissed out 6th one and that ended our great run in the cup. I hope Fiorentina get thrashed in the next round (they did, thanks to Udinese).
February
VS Chievo: Last time we played Chievo, we drew. But this time we took all the spoils in a great comeback. Agyemang gave them a two goal lead but we overpowered them in the second half, courtesy of Simon, Matheus, Ragatzu, and an absolutely beautiful long distance chip by Josue. I will make sure to upload it.
AT Atalanta: This team just has our number. We have never beaten them but this time it was quite even. Sadly, we didn’t have the same edge in front of goal this time.
VS Juventus: I can’t believe it! When we faced Juventus in Turin we drew and now we walk away with a famous win to delight our fans! Again, it was thanks to our strikers. Jese scored one as did Ragatzu and the incredible Xaropinho got a hat-trick. Juventus mounted a late comeback thanks entirely to Nelio, another brilliant regen of Xaropinho’s cohort. Both of them are from Brazil and I chased Nelio as well before losing out to Juventus. He is slightly better than Xaropinho at this point but in the long run it will be very close. All in all, I am very happy with this game and Xaropinho.
AT Lecce: Last time we played, Lecce were having a spell of form but now they are barely getting by as the table shows. We went up 3 — 0 very quickly; a brace from Jese and a single from Ragatzu. Lecce decided to turn it into a boxing match but it was too late. We got some justice when we got a late own goal. It was a corner and their player seemed to have actively head it into the goal. I’m not complaining but it was weird how deliberate it looked.
March
VS Udinese: Last time we faced them they manhandled us and I was out for revenge. Sadly, that wasn’t on the books especially since we were far and away the better team. Another piece of bad news: David Natale was probably my most high potential youngster, but his position had too much competition so he didn’t get to play at all. I decided to give him a run out during this match and he hurt his knee in some way so his season is over :(
10 games left to play, here’s the table:
AT Roma: A bittersweet victory over the defending champions. At 25 minutes Xaropinho tore his abdominal muscles and he will be gone for 3 months. My top striker’s season is over and we are nearly at the finish line. I am devastated and I pray that the team can get along without him but that partnership between Jese and him was perfect. We won in stoppage time thanks to Ragatzu but I would have rather lost and still had Xaropinho.
VS Genoa: As you can see, Genoa has had a bad run of games. They have fallen from chasing the title to possibly not qualifying for any European spots. That was great for us but Genoa are still dangerous (they won so many awards last season; their players are still great). They took an early but at 28 minutes Pimba pulled one back from heading in a free-kick. In stoppage time Jese made a thundering run and some sweet footwork led him past a defender and he beat the goalkeeper from a tough angle to give us all 3 points.
AT Milan: We beat the leaders the last time we faced so they were out for blood. We made it hard on ourselves when Sanchez gave away an own goal when he botched his duties as part of the wall by kicking out at the ball as it passed by him. Jese then collected 2 yellows in the second half so Pato and Boateng made good use of the numerical advantage to tighten the Rossoneri’s grip on the table’s summit.
April
VS Bologna: So we Xaropinho and now we also lost Ragatzu, our best after the Brazilian and Jese. He pulled his hamstring and though we had 65% possession, without strikers, we weren’t going to convert.
AT Catania: I am trying to keep my hopes up because we still have Jese and Floris is pretty solid all said and done. This was a game we should have won. We had 65% possession but another own goal from Sanchez (his second or third of the season) this time from a poor header, led to Catania going one up at 18 minutes. After that they parked the bus and fouled whenever we got near. They picked 8 yellows and at the 80th, one of those players got re-carded and was sent off. Pimba took advantage of the numerical advantage during extra time to give us a share of points we rightfully deserved.
VS Palermo: Not much to say other than very even. We both held each other to a standstill.
AT Novara: We were on the back foot the entire time because Basilicata picked up an early red. They missed the penalty but still scored 2 goals over the course of the game thanks to their numerical advantage. Jese scored both our goals, the second being a penalty after the opposing player handled the ball.
VS Brescia: Another punch for punch high scoring draw. They took the lead at 28, we equalized at 35 thanks to Matheus. They scored again at 85; Jese equalized in stoppage. We could have won but 3 players picked up knocks over the course of the match and had to be subbed: Floris, Ivan and Josue. The really bad part is Floris is out for the season having broken his ribs so I am pretty thin in attack now.
May
AT Fiorentina: So I have only 2 natural strikers, Jese and Marino. In addition, I’ve now gone 6 games without a win and this became 7. Morale was plummeting and my players were just lackluster and ordinary. Also Milan won the double. They secured the league after they won their last game and they thumped former holders of the Italian Cup, Udinese, in the final.
VS Napoli: Now 8 without a win and Napoli beat us both times. But we regained some of our composure in goalmouth thanks to my team meeting. Jese scored both our goals and Napoli won on the fast break when they disrupted our own counter.
VS Lazio: This game didn’t matter because our position in the league was secured. Win, lose, or draw we were firmly in 10th but it’s nice to end on a win, especially against the last place team in the league, which was already set to drop. Ragatzu came back for this game and he and Pimba scored.
Sorry I gave away our final position. So 10th, which is an all-time high in the Serie A (remember, Cagliari Calcio have won the Italian top-flight once before, but that was all pre-Seria A). But it is disappointing because I was aiming for a top-half finish like 8th. It took my team far too long to gel and start churning out results. We could have maybe made it if we didn’t have so many injuries at the striker position at the end of the season. As you saw, so many games were draws. A.C. Milan ran away with the table with a staggering 14 point margin so they will be the team to beat.
Jese was my top scorer with 19 and my top player. Xaropinho and Ragatzu were tied for second with 13 a piece. If Xaropinho hadn’t been so unlucky with injury and if he started out stronger I am sure he would have been top scorer, but Jese’s overall contribution to the team cannot be touched. I hope I can keep him especially since Matheus is poised to leave the club. We had only 5 break 7.00 but it was a tough season and very slow start.
Jese made it to the team of the year and rightfully so. He is our only player to make it. The other striker is Atalanta’s Nangis, who is also top scorer (and last season’s runner-up). Jese is this season’s runner-up top scorer, and Pato is 3rd.
This is always nice but the news I am most excited for is:
That’s right, the Sant’Elia will finally be ours! I am extremely excited and next season, now that my youngsters are settling in, I want to see us hit 7th! Stay tuned for the next post!
P.S. For those who are wondering what my initial budget and bank balance are, I will report it at the beginning of the next post. I have not played enough of the summer to find out that info yet.
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!!