Hey guys and welcome back to my Football Manager 2012 Malaga story. I have breezed through 3 seasons so far, winning the La Liga title twice, Copa del Ray once and Champions League once. After such great success I decided to try and share in some of my glory by creating a Football Manager 2012 guide to win with Malaga. For anyone who missed that post just click the link, but for those who are fully up-to-date, lets get cracking with season number four. I have a lot to share today so we’ll make this more about the images so you don’t have to spend an age reading through text that is already explained by my screenshots. So settle in and prepare yourself for the most bizarre season I have ever played in FM.
We’ll begin with my transfers out, 5 players were sold this season and for excellent cash I am happy to report. While Paloschi, Lodeiro, Scheletto and Monreal were all great players they were not first choice and I wanted to make room to develop my youth. A total of £53 million was raised, not bad considering all the departures struggled to get in the first team.
With some cash raised I went into the transfer market confident and looking for youth. I found 5 top quality regens and two of which will get their chance this season. After signing all those under 19’s I brought in Nangis purely on reputation and then the big, big transfer…Eden Hazard, this kid will be immense from the left wing and I was happy to pay £42 million. My overall spend was £56 million but balanced nicely by the £53 million we recouped by selling players.
FIFA Club World Cup
After winning the Champions League in style I earned the novelty of playing in the Club World Cup, a tournament every European team would expect to win. All went to plan in the semi as Seongnam were trashed 3-0 thanks to Daniel Sturridge, but the final was against tougher opposition in Sao Paulo. The Brazilian champions made a real game of it with Moura, Baptista and Teixeira but Malaga proved too strong as my second string XI won 2-1.
La Liga results — first half of the season
What do all managers want after a treble winning season? A whirlwind start to the new campaign and that is what I got. During the first 20 games Malaga won 17 and drew just three to Valencia, Real Madrid and Getafe all of which are respectable opponents.
The wonderful run had left me top of the table without much company. Barcelona lay 4 points adrift in second and I still had two games in hand that could stretch our lead to 10 points.
La Liga results — second half of the season
With the league looking all but over, I decided to keep things as they were to build up some unstoppable form for Europe and the Copa del Ray…at this stage I’d usually start developing my youth into the first team but wanted to try things differently for a change. The change of heart paid dividence as Malaga won 16 and drew just two of their last 18 matches. We finished the season unbeaten and scored 33 goals from our last 8 games, that’s an average of more than 4 goals per game.
Mathematics don’t lye so I won’t offer any suspense on where the title went. I finished the season without any defeats and was held just 5 times. We managed 118 goals and a record 104 points leaving Barcelona 20 points adrift. This was by far my easiest title victory to date and it feels like the team are replicating Barcelona’s dominance.
I thought it would be nice to share the players that made Malaga tick domestically. Hazard won award after award and Niang was the Golden boot winning not to mention the top five average ratings were dominated by four Malaga stars.
Copa del Ray results
So with that emphatic title victory out of the way, we move onto the Copa del Ray. Malaga won this competition last season after avoiding Real Madrid and Barcelona in the draw. Unfortunately the draw wasn’t so kind this season, after beating Barcelona in the quarter-final we drew Real Madrid in the semi-final. To be honest Malaga dominated both matches and deserved victory as we booked our place in the final against Valencia.
Copa del Ray final vs Valencia
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Attendance: 80,354
Team formations:
With Niang and Danny Wilson out on International duty (which really pissed me off) I was left to field a slightly weakened XI. I also needed to rest my starlets Javi Martinez, Vrsaljko and Hazard but this didn’t worry me as the Valencia side seemed to have depleted over my 4 year FM reign. As always I won’t bore you by rambling on but I’d seriously recommend watching the match highlights below.
Match highlights: Click here to watch highlights of the Copa del Ray final
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Match stats:
Well what can be said about that, my side were just running riot and every attack felt like it could lead to a goal, my La Liga form in the build up to this match had hinted at a thrashing but you never know with this game. I am just delighted to have been able to sit back, enjoy the game and make substitutes for fatigue purposes as opposed to solving issues.
Champions League results
Two down and just one to go, so lets see what happened in Europe after last seasons major success. The group stage draw was quite kind to me as AC Milan, Schalke and Dinamo Bucharest came out of the hat. All three sides were beaten both at home and away, my most pleasing result was the 6-2 demolition of German side Schalke.
We obviously qualified from our group but to do it with six victories, scoring 20 goals and conceding less than a goal per game was excellent. AC Milan joined us in the next round as the other two sides disgraced themselves somewhat.
The draw for the first knockout round was just as kind as the group draw, FC Porto were my opponents and beaten with utter ease 5-0 on aggregate. I then drew Real Madrid in the quarter-final for two matches that would shake the Footballing World, Malaga won 4-1 at home and then 4-0 away equalling a staggering 8-1 aggregate victory and before you ask Real Madrid had a full strength XI for both matches. Through to the semi-final where London based Arsenal await, both matches were dominated by the La Liga champions as we won 5-1 on aggregate. Through to the final against FC Bayern who had scored 20 goals in the knockout stages alone compared to Malaga’s 18.
Champions League final vs FC Bayern
Venue: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Attendance: 65,647
Team formations:
So another Champions League final, but this year was against worthy opposition. In fact Bayern were the pre-match favourites having won all their knockout round matches in emphatic style. But we all know what my Malaga side are capable of and bar the absence of Niang my star striker I felt confident. FC Bayern had a full squad to select from and their forward thinking 4 look very, very dangerous. However, take a sharp glance at their back line, two central midfielders and I see a piss poor defensive unit. All out attack was my plan and please watch the highlights below to see how that panned out….this was the most bizarre Champions League final you’ll ever watch!!!
Match highlights: Click here to see the Champions League final match highlights.
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Match stats:
Absolutely ludicrous, I honestly can’t think of another way to explain the final and my season in general. While I love winning and doing so in style this is a little too far and kind of put a dampener on the match. When the scoreline reached 3-0 after 27 minutes I remember thinking, ‘wow, I can’t wait to share this’. But then the scoring continued and it made the whole achievement so unrealistic that it didn’t give me the same feeling as it usually would. I mean Bayern were excellent this season so to thrash them 9-0 on the World’s biggest club stage is too far. Had my team hit such a high level of form and confidence that any chance was bound to be a goal, were Bayern rubbish on the night, does the game have a glitch or should I take this as an achievement? I honestly don’t know the answer but I don’t exactly feel proud of the victory and that just isn’t right. Anyway, lets look at which players lit up Europe.
Squad stats and finances
After such a successful season we were bound to have massive ratings all round so let me just talk about the best of them. Hazard had a storming first season with 21 goals and 24 assists while his backup, Kagawa, scored 11 and assisted 17. Niang topped the scoring with 32 while my other main striker, Fierro, did his part with 22 goals. Defensively Boyata, Kara and Reich all got ratings of 7.6 and above chipping in with 21 goals between them from centre back. While Weiss continues his rise with 16 goals and 21 assists.
Off the pitch we were not so prolific but still managed to make a profit and finished the season with £6.4 million in the bank. This will certainly increase come pre-season as I don’t know how to improve the squad bar bringing in further youth.
Well that is it for today’s update, sorry it was a lengthy one but I hope you enjoyed it. Next season will feature a lot of youngsters as I try and raise the new generation of players, meaning I don’t expect a repeat of this years dominance where I focussed on playing my most in form players every match. Thanks for reading guys, please feel free to comment below and I look forward to reading your comments as always.
Rich Wiltshire
25 ноября, 2011 at 12:51
Wow that is some total domination there Darren. I’ve been a bit slow on the uptake, but now work has settled down a bit I think its time to invest in FM2012
Nice to see you carrying on writing bud and I like these whole season storys.
PS Ollie Willams made me laugh! Any Family Guy fans out there?
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:30
Thanks buddy I appreciate that…you made me laugh with the Williams comment. I have been trying to think of why the name is so familiar to me and you made me say ahhhh that’s why!!! lol :)
Niels Theis Bendtsen
25 ноября, 2011 at 13:42
I can see what you are thinking about the glitch Darren 9-0 in any final sounds very unlikely. However you did manage to win la liga so you are doing something right.
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:28
Thanks mate I appreciate that, all I can say is next season may be a surprise for different reasons :) I love FM lol
Lye
25 ноября, 2011 at 13:53
Hi Darren,
Do not feel sorry for the result. The result is ridiculous but that doesn’t take your credit away from building a solid team. I guess some SI can produce some one-sided games. Another season of pure dominance by your team again. So when are you going to stop and manage another club?
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:26
Thanks for that Lye, I was a little worried what everyone may think as that result was just ridiculous but on reflection you can’t just win 9-0 without doing something right so I’ll take some of the credit :) This game may not last much more than a month but I want to keep it maintained so I can see the develop of my youngsters I’ve invested time in.
Alex
25 ноября, 2011 at 14:07
You took over an already good team with money to spare, you are bound to have great success. 9-0 is ridiculous, are you continuing with this save?
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:22
Thanks Alex, I will continue for a little bit longer to see how things go…I just want to see how some of my regens develop.
Rob Yeats
25 ноября, 2011 at 14:50
Congrats Darren,
Take the plaudits and enjoy your success.
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:12
Cheers Rob, I must admit after a few days off FM it feels much more of an achievement….I think I was expecting a close final so the shock took me by surprise.
Johnny Karp
25 ноября, 2011 at 14:50
Congratulations! I don’t see anything ridiculous or strange, you have just managed to transform Malaga into Barcelona. Nothing wrong about that :)
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:11
Thanks Johnny, I must admit I really wanted to feel great about the CL performance, but my aim was to replicate Barcelona’s dominance so I can be happy with that.
themightymcphed
25 ноября, 2011 at 15:02
Another cracking season mate!
I think it is time you ditched Malaga (what else can you do with them?) and started a new story with Airdrie Utd (SD2, my local club). :-)
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 18:56
Thanks mate, I will ditch Spain eventually but not just yet….I want to see what my 16-18 year old regens can do first. We’ll see what the next challenge is but I enjoy playing with clubs that mean to me rather than doing mammoth challenges….then again it depends what sort of mood I’m in nearer the time lol :)
vaibhavc
25 ноября, 2011 at 15:03
Q-What kind of team wins a final 9-0?
A-An amazing team led by an amazing manager! What a season mate, I think now all there is to achieve is to win every single game, you have won everything. What is the motivation to keep going?
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 18:52
lol, thanks for the confidence Vaibhav. I see FM very different to most in that winning isn’t what its all about. I get more of a kick from seeing a kid raised from 16 years old to the best player in the world aged 25…that is what makes FM amazing for me and I haven’t done it yet with Malaga so when I have a world beating XI of regens then I’ll resign :)
Marc Patching
25 ноября, 2011 at 15:27
Brilliant, simple as that!!! Maybe it’s time for a new challenge!!
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 18:50
Thanks Marc, I’ll be looking towards a new challenge eventually but I want to see if I can raise the new crop of kids first.
Kevin
25 ноября, 2011 at 15:56
Hi Darren
I’m at work so can’t access the video though that CL Final result is just truely amazing just like the whole season. So you have conquered FM 2012 in one month so now what are you going to do…LOL!
I don’t use the word awesome that much as it’s over used but in your case it’s warrented.
FLIPPING AWESOME!!
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 18:49
Thanks Kevin, it was a really crazy season and I couldn’t believe the final results! Next season should be tougher though as I plan on using a lot of youth to raise the next generation.
Sears
25 ноября, 2011 at 16:54
Lol, 9-0! Excellent season mate, you hammered everyone in your path. Congrats!
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 18:44
I know mate, crazy.
Jofo
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:02
Bro I started with Malaga. I already was aware of Ugo’s training programs and the great prospects of FM 2012. So in the first season (I’m still at beginning) I bought Badelj, Niang, Vrsajko, Kameni, Robinson. Bought all the good staff available and notice that I have the same tactic as yours. In first 7 games I have 2w 1d 4l. Maybe its worth mentioning that my CD are Mathijansen and Dimichelis as I don’t had the money to buy anyone. However I would like some tips on the tactic. Do you use target man or playmaker? DO you prefer to stay on your player assignments, I find Casorla more suitable for support and Badejl for attack.
Sorry to bother in here but I would love to hear your tips and improve my game.
Darren Smith
25 ноября, 2011 at 19:54
No problem mate. Well to start with those are good signings but your problem is the CB’s….my tactic requires fast defenders as the high defensive line can be exploited without them. I use a poacher upfront but that is down to the players I have like Niang. I always keep my CM’s as they are seen in the tactic as I think the mix must remain the same to keep the balance right….I like one midfielder to break up play (defensive midfielder) one to attack and get forward (advanced playmaker, attack) and a central midfielder with support to keep his position in the middle. Sort out your CB’s and you’ll be fine, plus you need to wait for those new youngsters to settle and grow.
Jofo
26 ноября, 2011 at 08:01
Either you are crazy or genius. I just switch all positions to the ones in your tactic (minor changes, two players went from support/attack, gk — sweeper, one CD to BPD) and get instant response. I just beat Real at home and won another 4-5 matches with high goal margin. All that with the same D as the transfer window is closed. I know that you need to have the right players but with Ugo’s training schedule and your tactic and team talk advice I think we found the winning formula. There is no other way to explain it.
Like those strategy games from the past. We were all looking for a password in order to be superior over the others. Darren you just found the password for FM. I would like to know if this thing work for the smaller clubs with the same results.
However, thanks for everything. Cheers from Macedonia.
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 08:24
Glad to hear it is working for you mate. I am not so sure how this would pan out with smaller clubs though. I’d recommend not using it to be honest as when the creativity, pace and technique isn’t there you’ll be left with a XI men giving the ball away and in a poor position defensively.
Malhar Bhadbhade
25 ноября, 2011 at 22:42
hey darren,
that is just ridiculous, as you say..haha! but you don’t have to feel guilty or anything about these kind of results at all! when i was playing with chelsea in the demo, i lost at home to blackburn 4-0 for no apparent reason! and i also beat arsenal away 7-2! i guess these things just tend to happen, and you do deserve the credit for it. as usual, you have built a fantastic side. and i disagree with the others slightly, because even if u did take up a new challenge, you would reach this stage in roughly the same amount of time. for example, in your brighton story for fm2011, you were playing against barca in the champions league final in season 4!!! so i think you should continue with this story and develop your youngsters. i wanted to ask you if you do anything specific for defending set-pieces, especially corners. i score a lot of goals from corners, but i also concede quite a lot. i’m at PSG and my defence is sakho, otamendi, vrsaljko and wilson. i’m training them on «defending set-pieces» from the match preparation menu, and it doesnt seem to work. still conceding a lot. any suggestions? anyway, good luck with your malaga story. really enjoy these season-long posts. keep up the good work. cheers! (sorry for the length of this)
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 08:15
Thanks Malhar I appreciate that. While I agree that most poeple should start a new game in this scenario what really makes a great save for me is raising your youth from 16 years olds to world class 25 year olds and then selling them for mega bucks, that gives me more pleasure than winning the CL final in style. So I will continue to see how they do.
As for set pieces I do absolutely nothing to the default settings, I’d suggest maybe changing to man marking if you are currently on zonal….that is something that you should only do if desperate though. If you are already on man marking then I don’t know what you can do mate. Sorry. However I have heard of a minor glitch that means players score more headed goals then they should which could be sorted for the next patch so maybe you’re on the wrong side of that.
Stromson
26 ноября, 2011 at 01:55
Wow Darren, that was really something special. I’d say there’s absolutely no shame in turning Malaga into the new Barcelona, but I agree with you regarding the CL final. While on one hand it’s awesome to win, it’s a shame it was so unrealistically dominant. Either way though, this was a phenomenal season by any measure, kudos!
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 08:06
Thanks Stromson, I am starting to come around to the 9-0 win now as I’ve never experienced such a result in such a massive game before….but I must admit I’d much rather it stay below 6 goals lol :)
CsAtlantis
26 ноября, 2011 at 09:42
I thought the Bayern DC pairing looked a bit flimsy with Boateng and Heitinga, though I expected Neuer to keep the score respectable, but your team absolutely crushed them
Eden Hazard was an inspired buy despite his price, and selling of Lodeiro for a big sum of 26.5 million to Napoli were good bits of business in the transfer market
Anyway Darren, I think you have done just about everything with Malaga (much faster than Newcastle last year, though they didn’t have nearly the same amount of cash)
I would say that I am looking forward to the next season but I am not sure whether the other clubs in your save would agree ;)
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 10:07
Couldn’t agree more mate, that pairing at CB had me rubbing my hands together but the lofty site of Neuer worried me somewhat.
I think the signing of Hazard was the key to my entire season, we could have still dominated but not unbeaten in this fashion. And as for next season, well its started very different to last….let me just say that I’ve played 15 games and I’m 4 points off top spot. :(
Martin K
26 ноября, 2011 at 09:53
INSANE!!! what an amazing season. just to go through without any defeats is fantastic, and that CL final is just epic. Well done Darren its such a great achievement. You should be very proud of what you have done, and looking forward for future glory with your youngsters.
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 10:09
Thanks Martin, I think ‘insane’ about sums the season up really! Next season will certainly be different as I’ve said and the start has been difficult but that’s down to so many new talents been introduced…I am hoping they’ll all settle for the second half.
Ana Garcia
26 ноября, 2011 at 11:24
9-0!
That’s crazy even for a game, I dont think I have ever won 9-0 in any FM I have ever played in competitive games.
I am amazed at the sheer volume of goals you score yet you always seem to have a great defence!
Only complaint I have is the lack of Spanish players! But you are free to play the game the way you like and few can complain with the success you have achieved.
I guess you have passed the challenge you set with flying colours, maybe you should email Manuel Pellegrini with your guide. :)
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 12:05
I know, I was left completely dumbfounded by the entire season to be honest….and as I said the results took away from the achievement a little as they were unrealistic. I understand your issue with the lack of Spanish players but I am signing them when they pop up….I’ve got a good 18 year old, Canales and Martinez, unfortunately there aren’t too many talented Spaniards as yet (in terms of regens anyway.)
Gavin
26 ноября, 2011 at 22:27
Hi Darren,
Another great season again, well done!
I too have come across some strange results in my Malaga career. The strangest so far came on my 8th game of my first season, where my under strength team defeated Real Madrid 10-0. Granted, they did concede 3 penalties and have two players sent off, but this was still a remarkable result but a very unrealistic one. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89D2QOemY6Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player)
This has left me wondering, is there something wrong with the game engine, or is just a one-off, quirky result?
Anyway, another great post and I look forward to reading the next one!
Darren Smith
26 ноября, 2011 at 22:57
Thanks Gavin, I personally haven’t seen such results on previous versions of FM so think there could possibly be a minor issue with match engine but it probably goes deeper than that. One things for sure, SI will sort it in the next patch :)
fredddie
27 ноября, 2011 at 11:01
Hi Darren,
With your brill arsenal tactic I beat man city 7-2. villa 8-1.newcastle 7-0.And in my first season I went 3 games in a row scoring 6! :)
Darren Smith
27 ноября, 2011 at 11:35
Great to hear mate, glad the tactic works.
freddie
27 ноября, 2011 at 11:39
I think there is a glitch…
Darren Smith
27 ноября, 2011 at 11:41
It certainly feels that way, but if you hadn’t played the right players and got everything correct then you could have been on the losing end of that scoreline is the other way to look at it I guess.
freddie
27 ноября, 2011 at 11:45
Anyway well done on another great season!
Alex
27 ноября, 2011 at 23:29
Spectacular season, you consumed all that was in your path. If you are thinking of starting a new challenge how about playing the game using one of these limitations; a poor/average tactic, only signing free players, accepting all bids for your players (no negotiating), nationality/age restrictions or anything else you can think of and then seeing if you can still have success.
Darren Smith
28 ноября, 2011 at 11:51
Thanks Alex, for now I’m trying to raise a young crop of wondrkids so quite entertained by their development….I’ll start a new game at some point but don’t enjoy the more restrictive challenges as it doesn’t feel like real life and I prefer to enjoy the game as it is really.
David
29 ноября, 2011 at 04:24
Hay darren How can i also post my story here in this page i mean football manager.com i also want to share my stories but dont know how to put it. this page doesn’t have signup button too. so i really need help and would apreciate if you help me thanks and yuh are the beast in fm brah.
Darren Smith
29 ноября, 2011 at 11:48
You need to start in the forums David as writers come on the main site through invite only https://www.footballmanagerstory.com/forum
Ángel
29 ноября, 2011 at 09:37
Darren, I am Ángel from Spain!
I like your story with Málaga. It´s incredible what do you do with this team, it´s awesome. Can you send me your táctic to my email?
Thanks!
angel.asd93@gmail.com
Darren Smith
29 ноября, 2011 at 11:43
No problem I’ve sent it mate.
David
29 ноября, 2011 at 18:12
Thnks for the site man I really enjoy your story.ans hope u will win everything again. And bro u should start making a video and put on YouTube that way u will get more views and can become YouTube partner so u will earn
Little money from it. But only If u r interested.
joey
30 ноября, 2011 at 01:34
how do you get the ‘goal scorers’ thing on your fixture screen?, good work with malaga by the way!:)
Darren Smith
30 ноября, 2011 at 11:42
I copy and paste it from the normal place using pickpic
Deepak Nepal
30 ноября, 2011 at 19:14
Darren when r u going to post the next one?
Darren Smith
30 ноября, 2011 at 21:14
Soon mate, should be this weekend.
sachithyoda
1 декабря, 2011 at 10:14
Darren can you give some tips on how to beat barcelona.
i can beat real madrid by setting strategy to control but i just cant seem to beat barca.
Darren Smith
1 декабря, 2011 at 12:09
Sorry mate I have no specific help other than the general guides I do…you need a solid unit to beat Barcelona and single tweaks alone won’t help.