There was a lot of tension around, I can tell you that. The rival managers were making all sorts of comments in the media but I refused to get into their mind-games. Well, maybe that was a mistake… The first game of the month brought us an unexpected home draw against 15th placed Gaz Metan in a game that we really should have won. I was pleased to see Manoel celebrating his return from injury with a goal but I was not so happy to see our opponents scoring a late equaliser… To make things even worse Rapid and Dinamo had won their games that day so Dinamo were 1st on 65 points while us and Rapid were tied on 64 points.
Under those circumstances getting a win in the next game was crucial but not easy at all since we were travelling to meet strong 4th placed CFR Cluj…
CFR Cluj vs Viitorul (Liga 1)
Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Mihai Onicas, Alexandru Lazar, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea
I was quite afraid of that game to be honest but my players restored my confidence after just 12 minutes when Alexandru Lazar found Raul Rusescu with a good through pass, the striker held off the challenge of two defenders before firing into the back of the net. Rusescu was in great shape and he proved that again after just two minutes when he bent in a perfect far post cross for Liviu Ganea who headed home! We kept control of the game from that point on and could have scored again after the break but Ganea squandered a good chance. Anyway, we grabbed the three points and moved back in 1st position in the league table because Dinamo lost 1-0 at Steaua. We were tied on 67 points with Rapid though…
Match highlights: click here to watch
The next two games were won by Joabe, the Brazilian striker led the team to victory by scoring twice against Sportul and by providing a goal and an assist against Astra. Meanwhile Dinamo lost again so they were out of the title race with one game left in the season. But Rapid were not giving up, they recorded two wins so we were still tied on points with them before the final match of the season. We had an advantage this time as we had beaten them both home and away this season so we just had to make sure of the three points in our last game to secure the title.
The mission seemed easy as we were facing already relegated UTA Arad at home… And the game was easy, we dominated from the first minute to the last, scored one goal and barely allowed our opponents to get out of their own half. But when they did, during stoppage time, they scored on a free kick! (click here to watch the highlights) I was shocked to say the least… I knew that Rapid were playing at home against underachieving FC Vaslui and I didn’t even check the result during the game because I was 100% sure that they were going to win… The title was lost…
…or that’s what I was thinking while staring at the screen but without really understanding what was written there. I checked the league table and… we were champions! What? Then I checked the results and Rapid were beaten 3-1 by FC Vaslui! Phew, that was close!
I guess you can say that we were quite lucky to win this title but I think we deserved it since we recorded 74 points compared to last season’s 68. But if we were lucky I think I have an explanation: the new items that are sitting on my desk!
I just got my own FMS coffee mug and notebook from our fan shop, plus a Jose FMS T-shirt ;) If you like these items remember that you can either buy them or earn them in our Goal of the Month contest in the forum.
So, there was just one more game to play before the end of the season and we had the historic chance of doing a double by winning the Romanian Cup too. The game was going to be played on the new National Arena stadium in Bucharest, a stadium that is located within walking distance from my apartment :)
Viitorul vs CFR Cluj (Romanian Cup Final)
Starting Line Up: Octavian Ormenisan — Alvaro Casanova, Edward Motha, Juan Belencoso, Tshepo Tshabalala — Alexandru Lazar, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Raul Rusescu, Joabe, Liviu Ganea
We had only two absences for the game: Mihai Onicas (suspended) and Milton Mella (away on international duty). My boys started the game well, confidence was high and determination too, but we failed to convert a huge chance after nine minutes through Liviu Ganea. CFR were not sitting back either and they squandered a chance too after six more minutes. We were the better team though and we finally made that count on 25 minutes when a good cross from Alvaro Casanova was headed in by Ganea. CFR came close to making it all square just before the break but fortunately we were saved by the woodwork.
The second half started well for us as Nenad Grumic found Alexandru Lazar clean through with a good pass but the midfielder fired straight at the keeper in the 47th minute. Our domination was getting more intense and we found the back of the net again on 54 minutes when Raul Rusescu blasted one home from the edge of the area. The game was all over at that point, we started to move the ball around and our opponents were unable to create any more dangerous situations in our penalty area.
Match highlights:click here to watch
We did the double and I was quite proud, I guess you can imagine that. My youngsters did very well and some of them were rewarded at the end of the season.
I received an award too but that’s not too important.
Denis Alibec has the highest average rating this season but he was mostly on the bench after the winter break due to a couple of pesky injuries. Joabe and Liviu Ganea stepped up though as did Raul Rusescu while Juan Belencoso did a tremendous job on both ends of the pitch. There are some disappointments like Manoel for instance but the Brazilian striker never really got going due to several injuries that made his season one to forget.
Before wrapping up there is an announcement, I don’t know if it’s important or not: the national Under 19 team needed a manager, I applied for the job and immediately received an offer which I accepted. I don’t know if I’ll keep the job for long but I guess it’s a good opportunity to know the best youngsters in the nation.
That was it my friends, another season with a thrilling finale… I hope we’ll be able to avoid such emotions next season though, we should win the title with more ease and maybe make an impact in Europe. But that will all depend on the summer transfer activity, hopefully I will have some money to spend this time. Thanks a lot for reading and for your support ;)
Laxeyman
4 января, 2012 at 16:33
Phew, that was a tight one Johnny! I guess you were a bit lucky Rapid lost their last game, but then again, if you had only finished 2nd with such a high points total, then you would have been very unlucky, so congrats mate :) The U19 role looks interesting, hopefully you can find a few wonderkids!
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 16:52
It was tight indeed mate, I still can’t believe we won it despite that unlucky draw in the last game.
John Martin
4 января, 2012 at 17:20
Well that was a close one mate. I was bitting my nails for half that post thinking with your injury problems the leauge was lost and your cup run was over. Howevet your team not for the first time showed emence charchter to pull through and do the double. Well done and good luck for the forthcoming season.
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 17:42
Thanks John, it was an emotional journey but, as you pointed out, the lads proved that they have the mental strength to succeed.
siavosh
4 января, 2012 at 18:12
hi johnny,
Im siavosh and i realy love your website and specially your story.
Before the story idont know much about romanian football clubs and player (just chivu in players and dinamo in teams). And the reason of this lack of info is that in my country sport newspapers and tv are focus in top 3 leagues of eroupe and asian clubs and im so glad that can learn something from your story.if you want to know about iran league and players i will be happy.
Wish luck for you in real life and also in FM .
Happy new year
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 18:28
Hello Siavosh, it’s great to hear from you! I don’t know anything about the Iranian league, all I know is that you had a couple of good players a few years back (Mehdi Mahdavikia and a striker, can’t remember his name now). Have a great new year and I hope you’ll keep in touch.
TheZiggy
4 января, 2012 at 18:17
Your team doesn’t seem to know how to make things easy for themselves. After last season I knew it was a good idea to firmly strap myself in for the ride. It seems that right at the end of the season, almost anything can happen.
When you had those injuries and lost the first leg of the cup semi-final and lost to Dinamo in the league again, I really did wonder what was happening. Congratulations on somehow pulling everything out of the fire and doing the double. I hope for all of us, you make those improvements which will see you make things easier, and also hopefully do a bit better in the Champions League. At least grabs some points in the group stage. Good luck.
My next update will contain something that will definitely amuse you. ;)
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 18:30
Thanks buddy, I guess I should add some FMS seatbelts in the fan shop :) Another season like this and I might need to go to the doctor and check my heart rate :) Looking forward to that next update.
Bhargav
4 января, 2012 at 18:44
Wow, congrats on doing the double! It really increase the profile of the team and I am sure that will help you fight through the group stage of the CL.
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 18:57
Thanks mate, I hope we’ll have an easier double next season ;)
siavosh
4 января, 2012 at 18:54
hi again great coach!
oh my god I dont think you reply my comment with this pace!
Yes you are right, we had mahdavikia ,and hashemian(the striker in your mind) and also a brillianty named ALI KARIMI ,he was playing for bayern couple of years ago but now we also have few good players in Laliga and bundesliga such az Javad Nekounam(the iran national team captain and one of the Osusona key players)also Masoud shojaei (he is osusona too!) , the next one is a half iranian and half german player that will have his first cap for national team very soon his name is ashkan dejagah (he is playing for Wolfsborg,and he had youth caps for germany U-19 and U-21 team.)
I hope this information can be usefull for you.
And absoultly i want to keep in touch with you.
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 18:59
It was just a coincidence that I replied so fast, sometimes it takes longer but not too long :) Karimi was great indeed and Hashemian too, I remember them. I hope that Iran will meet Romania at the next World Cup in 2014!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 18:14
I forgot to say that I have hired Karim Bagheri as a coach at Viitorul :)
Kevin
4 января, 2012 at 19:02
Hi Johnny
Well that sure was a close finish but you did an amazing double in the end, though I was thinking that Dinamo would snatch the title from you as they were in a good form. Very interesting challenge with the national post and I look forward to seeing how you get on with that.
Those “souvenirs” look terrific and I my just may order a notebook as a special birthday treat for myself which is coming up soon. Anyway well done on another terrific season and another brilliant FMS!
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 19:28
Thanks Kevin, the end of the season was much more exciting than I would have wanted it to be but I guess all is well that ends well.
Alex
4 января, 2012 at 19:09
A fantastic season Johnny. You should get a bit of money to spend and I can’t wait to see who you sign. Good luck on your Champions League adventure, I assume you’ll have at least one qualifying round to navigate.
I was just wondering if you ever play any saves ‘in the background’ as I remember last year you played as Vauxhall for the whole year. Were you not ever tempted to play as other teams?
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 19:30
Thanks Alex, I believe we’ll have three qualifying rounds in the Champions League, same as last season. As for the background saves, I did fool around with Barcelona for a couple of seasons last year but now I barely have time for the Viitorul save so there probably won’t be another save.
Darren Smith
4 января, 2012 at 19:22
Congrats Johnny that was a fantastic season. It may have been tight and down to the wire but as my mate says ‘people don’t read details in years to come, just that league table.’ The U19 post will be interesting especially if you’re around long enough to qualify for a competition.
P.S. Love the pic of your new toys ;)
Johnny Karp
4 января, 2012 at 19:30
Thanks Darren, I guess the results matter but all those emotions can kill a manager :)
ri916
4 января, 2012 at 20:30
great season and hopefully next year you can get some wins in the champions league!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:20
Thanks mate, I hope so too.
Alexandru
4 января, 2012 at 21:32
Hey Johnny
Congrats for the League and Romanian Cup win. You must be very lucky to win even if the odds were against you after that draw with UTA Arad. I must say I was a bit happy after those 2 loses you suffered against Dinamo because I really thought they did something good to the team, but what I saw the 3rd match stats I just couldn’t stop laughting. I already began scouting some of your squad players for my career. Maybe I find some good young players that are also cheap.
Anyway, Good luck in the next season and I can’t wait to read another episode of your story.
P.S: I just finished my 20th match in the league with Dinamo and I’m still unbeaten :D
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:21
Thanks Alex, I’m glad that we got revenge against Dinamo in that third match. They do have a better squad than last season but I guess it’s not nearly as good as yours :)
Rod
4 января, 2012 at 22:41
Hi man! I hope you are enjoying the new year! First of all, i want to congratulate you for those items, they are incredible. And if we talk about the story per se, like you said in the title, this was a thrilling finale, you were lucky with the irregularity of some teams, but Viitorul deserved it aswell. The team of the year resumes everything, its a real mix up, and shows the level of competition of this year league. In a very few years i’m sure Viitorul will be unbeatable in Romania.
I would love to see how your best youngsters are growing, and you are right, that national job will be a very good opportunity, not only for knowing the players, but to having good relationships with them, that’s a very nice advantage.
Good luck, and looking forward to the next post!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:22
Thanks Rodrigo, I think that we’ll dominate the league when we’ll have at least four or five players in that team of the season. You are right about the national job as well, having good relationships with those players might help me lure them to Viitorul ;)
Lye
5 января, 2012 at 00:48
Hi Johnny,
That was a sweet recovery win after you thought you may have lost it. Overall, it is a good reward for the whole season. You actually did better than last season but it seems the other teams are not giving up without a fight.
Good decision by you to apply for U19 job as you have the first hand information on Romania future stars and i believe they will be willing to join you at Viitorul.
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:23
Thanks Lye, I hope we’ll get even more points next season and have a worry-free finale.
Calin
5 января, 2012 at 07:10
Congrats, Johnny on winning the title and securing a Champions League spot again, this is really important. I was sad to see that you’ve lost two games against Dinamo, but at least you managed to record a very important win and turn things around in the cup.
Congratulations on getting the Romania U19 manager position, I’m sure you’ll do well raising the youngsters in Romania.
Good luck for the next season!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:24
Thanks Calin. About that U19 job, I guess my reasoning was quite selfish when I accepted the job but I will try to get some good results.
Malhar Bhadbhade
5 января, 2012 at 07:32
well done Johnny, i can imagine how ecstatic you must have been after seeing the results! well, you deserve it and hopefully you can get some results in the champions league next season..keep up the good work! Cheers!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:24
Thanks mate. I wasn’t ecstatic to be honest, just extremely surprised :)
Malhar Bhadbhade
6 января, 2012 at 03:47
haha! yeah, i guess no manager wants it to be that close :) but all’s well that ends well. looking forward to your next post..
vaibhavc
5 января, 2012 at 08:38
Well done Johnny, but that was really close! And congrats on the double. Hopefully you do well in the Champions League next season. Good luck!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:25
Thanks Vaibhav, it was mighty close indeed.
Martin - F.M.J.S
5 января, 2012 at 08:53
Hi johnny
A lot closer this season but a great double. I hope that next season you will be able to do better in the CL. Also congrats on your new position with the under 19s. Good luck with Pre season mate. :)
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 09:25
Thanks Martin, I hope I’ll be able to bring two or three top quality players to boost our Champions League chances.
Sears
5 января, 2012 at 16:14
That sure was a tense ending, thankfully your lads didn’t forget the finished ingredients and successfully executed what they set out to achieve! Brilliant season buddy, another one straight from the top drawer. I guess some money would be nice wouldn’t it eh? ;) Best of luck mate!
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 17:32
Thanks Sears, the board has to give me some money this time, there’s no excuse left for them!
Woody
5 января, 2012 at 18:32
wow that was unbelievaby tight at the end
great for you to do the double after such a tight season
if you make a few big signings you might be able to get out of your champions league groupstage
and also being u19s manager you will be able to find decent young players that are romanian
anyway well done and good luck
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 19:27
Thanks Woody, I doubt that I’ll be able to sign Messi but I will try to find a few decent players ;)
Woody
6 января, 2012 at 18:30
II doubt you’ll be able to get messi as well
Lol. But you’ll find some gems I’m sure
Ana Garcia
5 января, 2012 at 18:55
Wow!!
What a close finish, but you just managed to get over the line so well done you!
Congrats on the cup win also and with winning the league you should be able to get some more money from Europe to help boost your finances again and allow you to hopefully spend a little on some new players.
So good luck!! :)
Johnny Karp
5 января, 2012 at 19:27
Thanks Ana, the finances are solid now and I hope we’ll be able to get a few good players during the summer.
CsAtlantis
5 января, 2012 at 22:46
Congratulations on winning the league by 1 point, and winning the Romanian Cup over Cluj
Poor Manoel, he just keeps getting injured, is he injury prone?
Another Champions League campaign beckons, hope you get the money to sign some players to try and make an impact in the competition, your league could use a boost
Good luck for next season
Johnny Karp
6 января, 2012 at 11:56
Thanks mate. About Manoel, the staff don’t see him as injury prone but I guess I’ll give him one more season to prove himself, hopefully he’ll stay fit for a few months in a row this time.
Martin Pickard
6 января, 2012 at 15:12
YES!!! Get on! congrats on another awesome season Johnny…I honestly thought that with the draw you’d be pipped. They’ll be a nice amount of money coming into the club now and hopefully you’ll be able to reach the group stages again. Keep up the post…looking forward to your next update :)
Johnny Karp
6 января, 2012 at 17:02
Yes, I thought that I lost the title too :) I hope I won’t have to live another season finale like this one.
Chris @ Chester
6 января, 2012 at 17:22
Wow what a close finish that was. Bet you were stressed. Had a feeling you would pull it off though even with the injuries. Congratulations on another Title and good luck with the under 19s.
I’m gonna buy one of those notebooks I think, they look quite cool :-)
Johnny Karp
6 января, 2012 at 17:56
Thanks mate, I was quite tense indeed especially during the last few matches. The notebook is nice, I’ve just started writing into it :)