Romanian FM 2012 Story: a Dream or a Nightmare?

Hello boys and girls and welcome to what probably is the most exciting episode of my Football Manager 2012 story! It’s exciting for a very simple reason: my tiny club, Viitorul Constanta, was about to embark on a glorious quest for glory in the Champions League group stage against three top European teams: Chelsea, Schalke 04 and Ajax Amsterdam. We also had the domestic league to worry about as our title defence campaign seemed on course at the end of August, but I admit that all my thoughts were going to those big Champions League clashes…

The odds were firmly against us, no surprises there, but that didn’t kill our hopes. Dreaming is free ;)

Our first league match in September and first match before the Champions League group stage didn’t go too well though as we were held to a goalless draw by 17th placed Petrolul. One word can describe our performance in that match: sloppy. We were careless in attack and threw away good opportunities while we also allowed the opponents to create some danger at the other end.

But everything faded seconds after the final whistle, we were just a few days away from welcoming mighty Schalke to our tiny stadium. (Normally a club is forced to play on a stadium that complies with UEFA Champions League rules but sadly that didn’t happen in the game so we played these big games in front of a capacity crowd of just below 2,500 people).

Viitorul vs Schalke (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Constantin Grecu — Dejan Danicic, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Denis Alibec, Liviu Ganea

Since we were playing at home I decided to start with the attacking version of my tactic just to see if it would work against such a big team. It seemed to work for about half an hour as the lads were playing with courage and we dominated the game but it was Schalke who created the first clear cut chance on 34 minutes. Luckily they squandered that chance and the numbers were looking good at half time: the score was 0-0, the possession statistic indicated 58-42 in our favour while the shots on target score was 2-0, also in our favour!

Unfortunately I had to make two forced substitutions at half time and I was quite pessimistic since my best two players had to be replaced: Juan Belencoso and Denis Alibec. Substitute Manoel nearly proved me wrong three minutes after the restart as he created a chance for himself by dribbling past a defender but his shot was weak and the goalkeeper saved it easily. Schalke immediately launched a counter attack and they caught us, these big teams always do… That goal took the wind off our sails and Schalke could have scored again on 59 minutes. But we caught a lucky break two minutes after the hour mark when midfielder Nenad Grumic was brought down inside the penalty area! Mihai Onicas stepped up… and converted from the spot! We started pushing forward after that equaliser but my lads were unable to create any big chances until the 90th minute. The referee indicated two minutes of stoppage time, the clock was ticking… but it wasn’t ticking fast enough… Schalke banged one in seconds before the final whistle and took the three points… I guess we deserved a draw here but I was quite happy despite the result because my players didn’t look like a small team on the pitch.

Match highlights: click here to watch

Unfortunately that result seemed to have a bad effect on our domestic performances. First we recorded an unexpected 1-1 draw against last placed Gloria Buzau at the end of a game in which we squandered quite a few chances and conceded on our opponents’ only shot on target. Then we played even worse in the Romanian Cup against a Second Division team, the game went to the penalty shoot-out but luckily we managed to win that. Then we finally got back to winning ways against 15th placed FC Brasov thanks to a corner kick header from Juan Belencoso but after we had been denied by the woodwork on two occasions.

But we forgot all about those troubles again as we were travelling to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea. The Blues were definitely looking for a win especially since they got beaten 1-0 at Ajax in the opening group match.

Chelsea vs Viitorul (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Ionut Peteleu, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Constantin Grecu — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Denis Alibec, Liviu Ganea

Unfortunately the game started in the worst possible way for us as Salomon Kalou made it 1-0 for the home side after just 45 seconds… I was fearing we’d be at the wrong end of an onslaught at that point but my boys held their ground well until half time and Chelsea were unable to create any more chances. However, we were almost invisible in attack.

The second half started in a similar fashion but this time Kalou needed six minutes to score instead of a few seconds. The game ended at that point since we were unable to create dangerous attacks and Chelsea were probably taking a breather before their weekend Premier League match. I guess it was an honourable defeat against a side that proved way too good for us.

Match highlights: click here to watch

Our poor domestic form continued though and that was more than a reason to worry. We recorded two consecutive defeats after the Chelsea game but the two games were quite different. I can say that we were quite unlucky against Dinamo as we threw away chances again and conceded on their only shot on target while against Pandurii we were unrecognisable and our opponents thoroughly deserved to win. I was thinking about holding a team meeting at that point but it didn’t seem necessary as the squad morale was still pretty good. I did have a couple of individual talks with Denis Alibec and Liviu Ganea, their goal draught was really threatening our season.

We had another away match in the Champions League and it seemed the most difficult one yet since Ajax were leading the group after beating Chelsea 1-0 at home and Schalke 3-0 away.

Ajax vs Viitorul (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Ionut Peteleu, Juan Belencoso, Ionut Putanu, Constantin Grecu — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea

This time we had a pretty good start and Raul Rusescu nearly broke the deadlock on 9 minutes but his header was saved. Ajax was dominating the game though and they deservedly scored the opening goal on 16 minutes. They were really looking as the best team in the group and they made it 2-0 on 36 minutes after wasting two chances a few minutes earlier. We could have gotten back into the match on the stroke of half time through a wild shot from distance by Alexandru Lazar but unfortunately the ball hit the upright.

We played a bit better after the break but not nearly good enough to change the result and Ajax struck again 12 minutes from time. It was all over at that point but my lads continued to chase the consolation goal. Joabe was denied by the post on 86 minutes but we finally found the back of the net through young substitute Ciprian Nastase who fired one into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Chelsea defeated Schalke 1-0 in the other group match so things were pretty clear at the halfway point: Ajax and Chelsea were going to qualify while we had a slim chance of beating Schalke to the third spot.

Match highlights: click here to watch

We had to bounce back on the domestic front though since we had dropped into 8th place after the terrible run. Fortunately Denis Alibec ended his 10-hour goal drought against Steaua and he also produced a penalty kick for Juan Belencoso to convert. Then it was Liviu Ganea‘s turn to end his goal drought and he did that in style with a hat-trick in the Romanian Cup match against Pandurii. On November 1st my third suffering striker found the back of the net again: Raul Rusescu broke the deadlock against 10th placed Gaz Metan after 16 hours and 43 minutes of football without scoring.

Our domestic situation needed a lot of attention at that point but I couldn’t stop my mind from flying to the Champions League, we still had a chance of finishing third and I was determined to fight until the very end. Three games to go, check out the next page to find out what happened.

Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.

So, there were three games left in the Champions League group stage and we needed some points as soon as possible if we wanted to challenge for the 3rd spot which could have entered the team into the next stage of the Europa League. The next game was against group leaders Ajax though and after they had beaten us 3-1 in Amsterdam I admit that I wasn’t too optimistic.

Viitorul vs Ajax (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Ionut Peteleu, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Constantin Grecu — Dejan Danicic, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea

But I was proven wrong, the lads started the game very well and we took the lead on 14 minutes when Juan Belencoso smashed in a corner kick header! Our fans were roaring while Ajax started pressing forward. We were defending pretty well though and our opponents were unable to create any clear chances before we had one of our own on 36 minutes, Raul Rusescu was the man in charge but he fired into the side netting. The first half came to an end and we were leading 1-0!

Ajax started the second half with more enthusiasm though and they nearly levelled the score on 48 minutes but we were saved by the woodwork. My lads were not playing badly either and we managed to create a couple of half chances before the hour mark. But everything came crashing down in just one moment, a moment of lapse of concentration in my defence… My goalie and all the defenders are to blame but that doesn’t matter too much, we conceded a stupid goal 13 minutes from time. We still had a point to defend but things got tougher on 79 minutes when Dejan Danicic had to leave the pitch due to an injury and left us with a numerical disadvantage. We were hanging in there, the clock was ticking again… but not ticking fast enough… We let in another stoppage time goal on a free kick and what seemed a hard-earned point slipped through our fingers.

Match highlights: click here to watch

Luckily that heart-breaking defeat didn’t affect our domestic performances as we went on to record another two wins, mostly thanks to Denis Alibec who seemed to have found his scoring boots again.

The decisive Champions League match was coming up, we had to beat Schalke to stay in the race for the third place as the German team got beaten by Chelsea in the previous match.

Schalke vs Viitorul (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Dejan Danicic, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Liviu Ganea, Joabe, Denis Alibec

It’s easier said than done though, we had to attack but it seemed that we were not up to the task. Schalke were not impressive either and a boring first half ended with no shots on target at all.

Schalke upped the tempo after the break and they had a pair of chances before the hour mark, we were quite lucky to escape those two moments. We were forced to defend as Schalke were coming forward and we managed to hang in there for a while but once again, not long enough. Schalke finally scored 10 minutes from time and ended our European dream, at least for this season.

Match highlights: click here to watch

Fortunately our domestic form was definitely back on track. First we defeated 13th placed UTA by fighting back from 1-0 down at half time with Joabe finally ending a 13-hour goal drought. Then Liviu Ganea scored his 10th goal of the season against Astra, Denis Alibec added a goal and an assist to his tally while young midfielder Adrian Butoi scored his first ever goal for the club.

We had one more chance to rescue our Champions League campaign, the home game against Chelsea. I didn’t want to end the group with no points at all but Chelsea had something to play for as well as they were tied on 12 points with Ajax and fighting for the top spot in the group.

Viitorul vs Chelsea (Champions League Group D)

Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Dejan Danicic, Mihai Onicas, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Denis Alibec, Liviu Ganea

The opening quarter hour was strangely quiet as none of the two teams was looking too keen on attacking. But these big teams can score any time and that’s what Juan Mata did for Chelsea on 19 minutes with a shot that most keepers in the world would have saved… Anyway, there’s no need to go into further details: we dominated the game but our performance lacked efficiency, something that Chelsea really had as they scored their second goal on their second and last shot on target.

Match highlights: click here to watch

I guess the final group table looks quite shameful for us with six straight defeats but I’m proud of the lads, I don’t think that they could have done any better at this moment.

The last two games before the winter break saw us beating Astra to advance to the Romanian Cup Semi Finals before punishing 13th placed Ceahlaul courtesy of two pinpoint direct free kicks by Dejan Danicic.

I’m happy to have regained form in the league, I was really afraid of going downhill after that hiatus in September and October. We’re just one point away from the top before the winter break and I think that we are perfectly capable of defending our Liga 1 title.

Denis Alibec was without doubt our best player so far, we would have been far worse off without his 13 goals and 9 assists. New lad Juan Belencoso has become a key player already, he is now listed as Spanish after grabbing a couple of appearances for their Under 21 national side, while Alvaro Casanova is becoming one of my favourites after starting the season as a backup for Ionut Peteleu. Manoel is the biggest disappointment so far but the Brazilian youngster had a cruel injury to deal with so I hope he will fully recover in time for the second half of the season.

That’s how it was my friends, a nightmare or a dream? I guess it was a dream even though those two injury time goals turned it into a nightmare along the way. Luckily recording 6 consecutive defeats in the Champions League doesn’t get the money out of our bank account, we still have around 4.4 million pounds and I hope to see some of that into my winter transfer budget. But that’s stuff for the next update, thanks a lot for reading this one and please submit your feelings and ideas in the comments section below.