Chester City 2015 — The Team That Won The Champions League
… and the Premier League title, plus the Carling Cup and the European SuperCup, it was an outstanding season. As I promised I’m going present my players, the wonderful players that made all these outstanding results possible. Here is how the best eleven looked like in the 2014-2015 season, with our 4-2-3-1 tactic.
And now the players, one by one:
GK — 1. Serdar Gundogdu (Greece, 23 years old, 25 international caps)
His reflexes saved a lot of games for us, a good solid keeper with a few weaknesses but overall he played very well for us.
I signed him in 2012 from Hamburg, his contract was expiring so I got him for free. He was a first team regular right from the start, playing over 100 Premier League games in three seasons. I had several transfer offers for him and I’m thinking about letting him go in July if I’ll be able to find a better keeper on the transfer market.
DR — 2. Daniel Stancu (Romania, 24 years old, 15 international caps and 1 goal)
A good solid right back, with good pace and acceleration and a very good corner taker, I always set his to take the corners from the left side. That’s why he made 9 assists in the Premier League this season, a player that I’m going to keep for the next season. He can also play as a central defender, so he’s also a backup player for our centre backs.
He started his career in Romania at Dinamo Bucharest, then moved South to Bulgarian side Litex, then to Grasshoppers Zurich from where I bought him in 2013 for a hefty sum, 10 million euro. Unfortunately he had a bad injury in the first season, he was injured for a few months, so he only got to show his value this season.
DL — 3. David Wilson (Australia, 23 years old, 25 international caps and 1 goal)
This is a player that I followed many years before I was able to sign him, an absolutely wonderful talent, his only real weakness is in the aerial battles. Otherwise he’s an outstanding player, a brilliant set piece taker and a very good team player. He takes our corners and free kicks from the right side, he made 22 assists in two Premier League seasons! And he also scored twice last year!
As I said I followed since his debut with Adelaide United, my scouts reported great things about his talent, I made several offers for him but unfortunatley he couldn’t get a work permit. He travelled around the world, he played for Al-Ain, then for Pumas, and then I finally managed to get a work permit for him. He’s one of my favorite players, so I won’t let him go easily.
DC — 6. Esteban Martinez (Uruguay, 22 years old, 17 international caps and 1 goal)
Esteban is another great find from my scouts in South America, a very talented pacey centre back, with great technical skills too. He is vulnerable only when he has to face very tall and powerful stikers, like Adebayor for instance, but he is getting better and better each year.
He moved from Uruguay to Argentina right away, and I bought him from San Lorenzo as quickly as I could. As soon as my scouts presented their reports about him I made a 4.6 million euro offer and bought him. He made his debut in the Premier League at 19 years of age and he is an undisputed first team regular ever since. Although there were several offers for him from the biggest clubs in Europe he wants to stay with us! And he’ll definitely stay ;)
DC — 5. Dennis Appiah (France, 22 years old, 7 international caps)
He’s not as good as Esteban Martinez but he’s a solid centre back with good pace and marking and also with a very stong apetite for goals — he scored 11 goals from corners in two Premier League seasons!
He was brought up at AS Monaco but didn’t get too many chances to play there, so he moved to Toulouse. I bought him for 7 million euro in 2013 and he’s been Esteban’s partner since then. I hope there is more to come from him, although my coaches say that he can’t get any better than he currently is.
MC — Willians Santana (Brazil, 27 years old, 6 youth caps and 2 goals)
He was absolutely crucial for our play this season, his technique and creativity brought us many victories. His versatility was also essential for me, he played just about any role in midfield: CM, AM, AML, AMR, I even moved him to the striker position in one game. He’s an experienced player that will help us next season too.
And he’s a very loyal player too, he played for only 3 clubs in his career: Vitoria in Brazil, Hamburg and Chester. I bought him last summer for 10 million euro and he’s worth every penny, he scored 13 league goals and made 11 assists! He definitely was our best player this season.
MC — 4. Clement Chantome (France, 27 years old, 5 international caps and 1 goal)
He’s both muscle and brains in our midfield, a great box to box midfielder with good technique and work rate. He’ll definitely be here next season too.
He started his career at PSG and moved to Chelsea as his career reached its peak. Since he was no longer a first team regular at Stamford Bridge I jumped in and bought him for quite a tidy sum, 20 million euro. I can say that I expected more from him for that money, but I’m sure that he’ll provide what I want next season.
AMR — 18. Sotiris Ninis (Greece, 25 years old, 40 international caps and 5 goals)
He’s got a great quality — his dribbling. He goes past almost any opponent with ease and that’s very important for a winger. I was quite impressed with his performances this season, so he’ll be with us next year too.
Chester is the second club in his career, before joining us he played only for his beloved Panathinaikos. I signed him on a free transfer and he had a very good first season.
AML — 7. Paul Forbes (England, 21 years old, 21 U21 caps and 7 goals)
Paul is one of my favorite player, a winger with blistering pace and wonderful crossing ability, and he’s only 21 years old! I can see him becoming one of the biggest stars in the Premier League.
I first saw him when we played Everton last season and I was a bit angry with my scouts because they didn’t tell me anything about him earlier. I could have bought him for a few thousands 5 years ago, now I spent 18 million eouro to get Everton to let him go.
AMC — 20. Choco (Brazil, 25 years old, 15 youth caps and 5 goals)
He’s another one of my favorites, although sometimes he doesn’t show his best in certain matches. But when he’s in a good mood he’ll give the opposition defence real nightmares. Overall he’s a solid player that can play as an AM or as a striker.
I bought him in 2013 for 15 million euro from Sao Paulo. At Chester he had his first contact with European football and he did well overall, scoring 30 goals in 2 Premier League seasons. I think he’ll stay with us for a few more seasons from now.
ST — 9. Michael Harper (England, 22 years old, 15 international caps and 4 goals)
Michael is our star player, a youngster that grew up with us to be an international star. Although he’s only 22 years old he already played 15 international games for England, helping the team to win the World Cup. I’m very sad that he chose not to sign a new contract with us, he signed for Spanish side FC Sevilla. Anyway, he’ll be remembered at the Deva Stadium for his goals.
I bought Harper in 2012 from newly promoted League One side Bournemouth for half a million euro. He became a hero with the fans immediately, scoring 15 goals during his first season. His best years are ahead of him and I’m very sad that there will be another team that will profit from that.
Best reserves
Playing so many games in one season wasn’t easy at all and I guess you all know that you need a strong bench in order to succeed. Here are the best reserve players that helped us to reach the amazing triumphs.
MC/AMC — 23. Bernd Hain (Germany, 20 years old, 2 international caps)
I hope that Bernd will become a star of the future. He’s a good creative midfielder with good skills and a nice apetite for goals. I think that he’ll make his way to the first eleven on a more regular basis next season.
I signed him for free right after his first season as a professional player with Leverkusen. He’s growing and I think that he will be one of the best midfielders in 2 or 3 years.
AMR — 8. Fabian Cisneros (Argentina, 21 years old, 5 international caps)
Fabian is one of my pupils, a player that grew up under my command and got his first international cap in a very strong Argentinian team. His pace and dribbling are devastating and he’s already attracting offers from Europe’s biggest clubs.
I bought him for 1 million euro from River Plate in 2012, he was only 18 years old then but his talent was already shining. This season he had a good competitor for the first eleven, Sotiris Ninis, and I hope he learned a few things from him. He will be our next big star after Michael Harper, a wonderful talent with a good professional atitude.
MC — 26. Russell Gill (England, 20 years old, 1 international cap)
Russell made an outstanding progress this season, my coaches are thrilled with the commitment that he is showing during the training sessions. He is growing up and becoming a rock-solid box to box midfielder, stong and intelligent. He already had the joy of his first international cap at the age of 19!
I bought him in 2012 from League Two side Stockport for 350 thousand euro and he played mostly for the reserves team until this year. Since all the coaches were giving me great news and reports about him I gave him more chances in the first squad and it payed off. I’m counting on him for the next season, I think he will reach a totally new level in his game.
DR/DC — 13. Gerardo Clemente (Spain, 22 years old, 22 U21 caps and 1 U21 goal)
Gerardo is my backup solution for the centre back and right back roles, a young player with good solid skills. He did very well this season and even convinced me to put him in the first eleven several times.
I signed him for free from Osasuna last summer and he adapted very well to our squad, he even scored 3 league goals! I think that Dennis Appiah might lose his place in the first team, this youngster is growing fast!
DR/DL/DC/MC — 14. Jiri Kladrubsky (Czech Republic, 29 years old, 25 international caps and 1 goal)
Jiri is one of the most important players in our squad, even though I don’t give him too many games in a season. His versatility is outstanding and almost every time that I need him to play he does his job perfectly. He’s already 29 years old but maybe I’ll keep him for another season.
I bought him in 2012 from Sparta Prague for 1.6 million euro because I needed a left back. Next season I kept him because I needed a right back. He never asked me for a place in the first team, never.
MC — 10. Petar Shalamanov (Bulgaria, 23 years old, 15 international caps and 2 goals)
Petar was one of my favorite kids a few years ago, that’s why I gave him the number 10 t-shirt. His technique was, and still is, outstanding, but I hoped he would improve more in the creativity field. However, he still is an important and loyal player, he already played four seasons for us.
I bought him in 2011 to help us with the promotion from Championship to Premier League and he did just that, making 11 assists and scoring 6 goals. The Premier League was quite a big stage for him and he didn’t repeat the great performances. However, he remains a good solig backup player for our team.
AML/AMC — 21. Sergio Mota (Brazil, 25 years old, 2 youth caps)
Sergio did very well for us last season, but since Paul Forbes arrived he lost his place in the first eleven. He’s a very good left winger with the ability to do the unexpected and to challenge the opposition defence time and again. He played less games this season but he didn’t complain, so I think he’ll be staying here next season too.
I bought him in 2013 from Sao Paulo, the only club in his career back then, and he had a great first season, he was absolutely essential in our Europa League campaign.
AMR/AML — 25. Sandor Vaida (23 years old, Hungary, 14 international caps and 2 goals)
This was probably Sandor’s last season with us but I chose to introduce him to you because he’s our longest serving player, a reliable left or right winger, a good professional player.
He joined us in 2009, we were in League One back then, and he was an important player in our ascent from League One to the Premier League. I hoped that he will grow up to be a better player, he’s 23 years old now, but I think that he has reached his potential and I should let him go to a team which will offer him more first team football.
Well, this was quite a long post, wasn’t it? :) Now I’m preparing for the pre season, I’ll have to go through my scout reports and find a few players that could help us to reach our goals next season: the FA Cup and the Club World Cup. I’m thinking about getting a new goalkeeper, better than Serdar, and a new striker to replace Michael Harper. I’ll see what the market has to offer. Any suggestions?
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