Romanian FM 2012 Story: Closer Than Ever

Hello boys and girls, I’m happy to bring you a new episode of my Football Manager 2012 story! As you know my Viitorul Constanta managed to reach the group stage of the Champions League once again and, after our Europa League heroics last season, I was hoping to finally push through to the knock-out rounds of the best club competition in Europe. Our group wasn’t easy at all though since we had to face A.C. Milan, the current trophy holders, plus Stuttgart and PSV Eindhoven.

I have to agree with the bookmakers for once, winning the Champions League is way beyond our current abilities. But who knows…

AC Milan vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ali Amara, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Yasen Zlatinski, Hector Fernandez, Markus Winkler — Zezinho, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

Here we go, straight to the action. You might remember that Milan defeated us in the UEFA Super Cup earlier in the season but this time they decided to field a slightly different eleven, with Borja upfront instead of Pato and with a fantastic regen as an attacking midfielder: Luigi Castellazzi (click the name to view his profile). The first quarter hour was fairly quiet, I was happy with that, but Milan struck on 16 minutes courtesy of an unexpected blunder at the back by Belencoso. The Italian giants took control of the game after that goal, their domination was quite clear and they bagged another goal through their wonderkid on 27 minutes. The same youngster could have wrapped up a great first half with another goal but he was denied by the crossbar during stoppage time.

The second half was almost identical to the first, Milan kept the game under control and we never looked like doing any damage. We could have scored a consolation goal on the stroke of full time but Manoel hit the crossbar and that was that, a clear defeat. The other group match was a thriller, Stuttgart defeated PSV 4-3.

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

Viitorul vs Stuttgart (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Hichem Belakhdar, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Christian Kaufmann, Joaozinho, Markus Winkler — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

Our first game at home was against Stuttgart, a solid team overall but with no big stars in their ranks. However, the Germans carved out a good chance after just four minutes but our goalie pulled off a good save to keep the score level. Stuttgart hit the post two minutes later and it seemed that we were having a much more difficult game than expected as they created yet another chance on 7 minutes. We were playing quite badly but fortunately our only German player, Markus Winkler, did the damage on 27 minutes with a perfectly placed shot from the edge of the penalty area. We started to gain control over the game at that point and doubled the advantage on 39 minutes when Benko headed home on a pinpoint cross from Gongolea. The first half could have ended with another goal but Benko was stopped by the keeper on 44 minutes.

The second half was conveniently quiet. Even better, we managed to get another goal in on a free kick, Dicu got to the cross first and volleyed home. The other match in our group saw Milan winning 3-1 at PSV.

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

PSV vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ali Amara, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Hector Fernandez, Hernan Arangio, Yasen Zlatinski — Rastislav Benko, Steven Khumalo, Daniel Mazzoni

PSV seemed the weakest team in our group so this was a crucial match, we had to win it in order to preserve our chances of making it to the next round. And we could have gotten off to a flying start as Benko had a huge chance just 35 seconds into the match but he blew it. We were playing well though and the deserved goal did come eventually, midfielder Zlatinski bagged one from 20 yards with a superb shot six minutes before the half hour mark. The game remained under our control after the goal and we managed to secure the three points on 77 minutes when Benko struck on a counter attack.

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

I expected Milan to get a good result at Stuttgart and simplify the situation at the top of the group but I was surprised to find out that Stuttgart defeated the Italian champions 2-0! That meant that we were first in the group halfway through but the situation was quite complicated with three teams tied on 6 points.

Viitorul vs PSV (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ali Amara, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Hernan Arangio, Yasen Zlatinski, Markus Winkler — Rastislav Benko, Steven Khumalo, Daniel Mazzoni

You can notice that I chose to field young Khumalo upfront again, that is because he had a few good performances in the domestic matches and I wanted to test him on the bigger stage. The choice proved risky on 36 minutes when he squandered a pretty good chance but he made up for that just before the break when he headed home on a corner kick with the ball going in off the underside of the bar. PSV could have restored parity during stoppage time but fortunately they squandered their first good chance of the game.

The second half saw Khumalo still leading the team and he nearly scored a fabulous goal from way out but his effort on 51 minutes bounced off the crossbar. Our domination was quite clear and we finally scored again 20 minutes from time when Mazzoni wrapped up a good team move. Substitute Manoel came close on 73 minutes but two goals were more than enough to secure the three points. Stuttgart managed to hold Milan to a goalless draw in the other group match, so we needed just one more win to qualify!

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

Viitorul vs AC Milan (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ali Amara, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Sebastien Verdier — Yasen Zlatinski, Hector Fernandez, Markus Winkler — Zezinho, Rastislav Benko, Daniel Mazzoni

Could that win be against Milan? I was certainly hoping so… The first half didn’t show that we were capable of winning it though, we dominated play, restricted the visiting side to long shots, but we failed to create chances for ourselves.

The second half continued in a similar fashion but Milan nearly punished us on a counter attack on 67 minutes. We finally created a big chance two minutes later, a fine move freed Mazzoni inside the penalty area but his effort was denied by the goalkeeper. And then, just four minutes later, Milan scored a sensational goal… Fortunately we bounced back after just six minutes as substitute Hernan Arangio played a great pass for Zezinho who fired in at the near post. The last 10 minutes were a bit of an onslaught as Milan were firing from all over the place. They hit the woodwork twice, in the 81st and 88th minute, and we survived to clinch a point. Stuttgart won 1-0 at PSV though so that point didn’t do us much good. We were tied with Stuttgart on 10 points, Milan were third with 8 points but their total was almost certainly going to be 11 points as they were meeting PSV in the last group match.

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

Stuttgart vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Hichem Belakhdar, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Sebastien Verdier — Yasen Zlatinski, Hector Fernandez, Markus Winkler — Zezinho, Rastislav Benko, Daniel Mazzoni

So, we needed to leave Stuttgart unbeaten in order to qualify. It looked possible for a few minutes but not for long… Stuttgart scored a quickfire double around the quarter hour mark, then hit the crossbar on 26 minutes and then bagged one from 30 yards two minutes before the break. Milan were leading PSV 2-1 at half time so it all seemed over.

I switched to the attacking version of my tactic at half time, we had nothing left to lose, but that didn’t change anything. Stuttgart even had another chance to score on 56 minutes… Milan thrashed PSV 5-1 so it was officially over. We came close, we grabbed 10 points this time, more than ever and closer than ever but not enough… We’re going into the Europa League again and we have to get some wins there to keep our coefficient up. We’re going to meet Shakhtar in the first round and then either Dinamo Moscow or… Marseille! Remember Marseille?

Match Highlights (goals and chances): click here to watch

The first half of the domestic season was better than ever, we went through it unbeaten and recorded only two draws.

However, CFR Cluj were just two points behind us after 18 games! So I guess the title race is not over yet but if you think that we defeated CFR Cluj 5-0 in the direct encounter you might think otherwise…

Rastislav Benko was my main man again, he bagged 14 goals and added 7 assists, but the competition is fierce upfront this season as young Steven Khumalo is establishing himself as a solid candidate for a place in the first eleven. I’m satisfied with all the players so far, maybe just Juan Belencoso is playing a bit below his standards.

In other (good) news, our stadium expansion was completed! We have just over 10,000 seats now plus top notch training and youth facilities.

The finances are still looking good so I guess I will be able to do something on the transfer market during the winter break. I think I’ll look for a classy centre back to have more competition for a first team place in that department.

That was it folks, a bit disappointing to be honest especially since we only needed 3 points out of the last two games to qualify. However, this is another small step forward as we recorded 10 points compared to our previous best of 8 points. At this rate I guess next season we’ll finally do it… Or not? Let me know what you think.