Darren — Ultimate European Challenge, Bordeaux pre-season 2021/22

Hey guys and welcome back to my Ultimate European Challenge. During the last post you saw me paddy like a little girl. Despite notching up 98 points, we still lost the title to Lyon. My only consolation was a marvelous French Cup victory, with that wrapped up I just need the Ligue 1 title to finish my challenge. Today we will be looking at my transfers and a nice little surprise during the seasons build up. This post will be fairly short as not to bore you with too many details, so lets see how Bordeaux’s pre-season unfolded.

Expectations and title odds

The board expected Europa League qualification, but I adjusted this to title challenge. This offered an extra £8 million to total £35.5m in transfers which would come in handy for my revamp. I fully expect to stretch my budget and forget about finances this season…after last years disappointing end, I MUST win Ligue 1. The media still prefer Lyon and Marseille, but I know we can prove them wrong. Here’s to gaining 100 points lol :)

Transfers out

A lot of overpaid veterans left Bordeaux during pre-season. This racked up an impressive £200K extra for wages. I adjusted my transfer budget using this new found freedom and the result was great. You’ll see just how much I managed to spend below.

Transfers in

An extra £15 million was transferred from wages to spending money. I also signed two players with monthly payments to stretch this to £59 million. Very bad accounting, but I plan on this been my last year at Bordeaux fingers crossed. :) We’ll go over the best signings in more detail, but first lets look at the more fringe signings. Hajek is a Goalkeeper and could replace Sampaio straight away. Marques is a lightening quick right back, this position troubled me last year so the £8.75 million was warranted. Reinaldo is in his early 20’s and provides cover in the defensive midfield role. Kalenga is a pacey, strong striker who is well worth the £6.75m and still fairly young at 23. Now we get to the real stars.

Martin Aguirre (left back) signed for £7.0m

He may not look like much to you, but this Argentine is my dream LB. Good crossing and dribbling means he’ll suit the support duty perfectly. Add some good pace and good defensive attributes then I’m happy. :) I often find getting full back with good physical attributes is half the battle.

Luis Asin (centre back) signed for £11.5m

Asin has attributes in all the right places. The only thing that may concern me is his low acceleration. But everything else is perfect. Only 23 years old and now my best CB at Bordeaux. The defence is really shaping up well, my weakest point could soon become my strongest.

Hector Cavallo (central midfield) signed for £11.25m

Or maybe not, Cavallo is simply amazing. I actually raved about him three years ago while managing Argentina. Now I finally have him and at a reasonable price too. I’m hoping he can add that extra bit of quality needed to secure the title.

Nicholas Simeoni (striker/AMC) signed for £11.75m

The hottest talent to come out of France since I began this save. This was confirmed by my scouts 5 star potential rating, and that is comparing Simeoni to Vidal and Testa in two separate reports. A wonderful talent, but one that will start the season from the bench. I’ll wait till he’s settled in a bit before resting this well oil machine.

The squad of 2021/22

Five Argentines within my squad, I still have a soft spot for them after winning the World Cup. :) Every position is well covered except left back. I ran out of funds before filling this position and will have to play someone out of position should Aguirre pick up an injury. Not much quantity but certainly full of quality, this is my year and coincidentally…

Your not singing any more, your not singing any more! Haha, revenge is so sweet!!! After outplaying Lyon for the Champions Trophy, we even managed to beat Marseille away from home on the first day of the season. Smiles all around!

I’m going to stop writing on a high, so thanks for reading. I hope to see you soon and please feel free to comment below. The next post should take us up to January. Until next time, bye for now. :)