Romanian FM 2012 Story: On The Rise

Hello my friends and welcome to a new episode of my Football Manager 2012 story! This update will be quite long as it will cover both the pre-season and the first half of the season with Viitorul Constanta. This is a bit unusual for those of you who have followed the story since the beginning but the explanation is rather simple: I played FM as psychological therapy this week as I had some health issues in my family to worry about, playing the game helped with keeping my mind off that but I didn’t feel much like writing until today. As you remember we dominated the domestic scene last season, won the Liga 1 title and the Romanian Cup quite comfortably, and now we had to prepare for another go in Europe.

The club wasn’t very generous in terms of transfer money though, even though I promised them another title.

That promise was a bit against the odds if you listen to the bookmakers but I guess I know a lot more than they do, I was quite sure that we were going to lift another title.

The money that I had available were not enough to bring in any big names but I still managed to do some business, mostly for the future though. The names in the picture below might not tell you much for now but we’ll get into more details a bit later.

We did pretty good business in terms of sales too, we recouped 2.3 million from player sales as a few faithful servants left the club: Liviu Ganea (350K), Mihai Onicas (100K), Octavian Ormenisan (500K), Raul Rusescu (130K loan fee). We also sold central midfielder Martin Lukac for 575K but that was not my decision as you can see from the screen shot below.

Now let’s get into those details, here are the 22 men I started the season with:

Goalkeepers

Hernan Prestia (bought for 1.2 million), Xaropinho (confirmed) — Prestia joined us from Argentinian club Velez Sarsfield but he also has an Italian passport so he is considered an EU player. He could become the goalkeeper that this club has been expecting for quite some time now.

Right Backs

Lubomir Cerny and Ionut Peteleu (confirmed) — no changes here, I have two solid players that are still young as well.

Left Backs

Danut Gongolea (confirmed) and Mory Kante (free transfer) — I wasn’t really looking for a new left back but when I saw Kante available on a free transfer I just had to sign him, a solid player with exciting potential.

Centre Backs

Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Ionut Putanu, Michael Vesely — all confirmed, no changes in a department that worked very well last season.

Central Midfielders

Nenad Grumic, Milton Mella and Silviu Pana (confirmed), Ivo Prochazka (promoted from youth team), Joaozinho (bought for ), Christian Kaufmann (free transfer) — this is the most active area, three new players moved to the first team and quality has increased overall in my view while the average age has decreased. On a side note Nenad Grumic has become Romanian and was eventually called up in our national team!

Strikers

Rastislav Benko, Rodolfo Oliver, Daniel Mazzoni and Manoel (confirmed), Stefan Huza and Florian Folea (promoted from youth team) — no major changes here except replacing high-earning Rusescu and Ganea with a couple of youngsters from the reserves.

We have played just two friendlies during the summer as I felt that we didn’t need more since the season started very early with the Champions League preliminary rounds. Things went smoothly as we demolished a team from Kazakhstan before clinching the Romanian Super Cup for the third time in a row but only after a penalty shoot-out.

Then the league started and we did very well up to a certain point. But my main focus was the Champions League and we did very well in there as we reached the group stage again after a solid performance against Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade. As for the domestic leagues, we won all but one game, a shocking and rather unlucky defeat against UTA.

We didn’t have much luck in the Champions League group draw either: defending champions Inter Milan are 1st seeded in our group, then we have Shakhtar Donetsk (our parent club) as second seed and Liverpool as third seed while we could have gotten much easier teams in that position (like Celtic for instance).

The odds were firmly against us once again, that wasn’t surprising.

However, our reputation in Europe has increased quite dramatically as we moved up no less than 227 places in the coefficient rankings compared to last season!

Since we’re talking about good ans surprising news I was shocked to find out that our new stadium was ready even though I thought it would be finished next summer!

What’s even more surprising is that the new stadium is still listed as «in progress» in the boardroom screen! Maybe we’ll have two stadiums next summer?!

Anyway, our facilities look a lot better with this new stadium plus the youth facilities which reached the «state of the art» status soon after I had taken the screen shot below.

Now let’s return to the important stuff: the Champions League group stage! I wasn’t very happy to start against cup holders Inter but then we had two back to back home games and I was hoping to finally nail that first ever group stage win.

I invite you to the next page if you want to find out what happened in that fierce Champions League group, all I can say is that I don’t think you’ll be disappointed ;)

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

Inter vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Lubomir Cerny, Juan Belencoso, Ionut Putanu, Mory Kante — Joaozinho, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Rodolfo Oliver, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

We had one important absence for this game, centre back Georgica Dicu, and considering that Inter were starting with Tevez and Castaignos upfront and Sneijder behind them I wasn’t really hoping for a good result. However, our defence did a very good job for around half an hour and Inter were unable to send any shots on target. But when they did, they scored… The first half ended with Inter leading 1-0 and my team was rather disappointing overall mostly because we were a total failure in attack.

We started showing a bit more courage after the interval and even came close to bagging the equaliser on 57 minutes but centre back Ionut Putanu failed to find the target with a free kick header. Inter were easily handling our attacks and nearly doubled their advantage on 73 minutes when Sneijder hit the crossbar. The Dutch ace did much better from a longer distance four minutes later though and it was all over. Liverpool defeated Shakhtar quite clearly in the other game, 3-0.

Match Highlights:click here to watch

Viitorul vs Liverpool (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Lubomir Cerny, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Christian Kaufmann, Joaozinho, Silviu Pana — Rodolfo Oliver, Rastislav Benko, Daniel Mazzoni

Dicu was back in the starting eleven for this game but another player suffered an injury before the match, left back Mory Kante. Liverpool were looking mighty strong in attack with Luis Suarez as a lone striker and with an awesome trio behind him: Adam Johnson, Douglas Costa and Jordan Henderson. Unfortunately the game started in the worst possible way for us as left back Danut Gongolea passed the ball straight to an opponent inside our own penalty area and we found ourselves one goal down before the first minute of the game was over. My lads reacted well though and Benko nearly made me proud on 11 minutes but he was denied by the goalie. The following corner kick brought joy to our fans though: Benko‘s header came back off the crossbar but Belencoso was there to push the ball in on the rebound. Liverpool were not happy and they started pressing forward after the equaliser. Our resistance lasted just eight minutes as Liverpool got back in front courtesy of what seemed a rather harsh penalty kick. There was no reaction from my lads until half time and that’s why I decided to make a change: I switched to the attacking version of my tactic at the break.

We dominated the match for a while after the break but we suffered a setback shortly after the hour mark when Rodolfo Oliver had to leave the field on a stretcher. Our worries turned into joy on 73 minutes when Daniel Mazzoni produced a fantastic solo effort and scored to make it 2-2! Liverpool threw in Andy Carroll alongside Suarez in an attempt to win the game but it was us who came very close in the last minute of stoppage time as Belencoso‘s corner kick header smashed against the crossbar! So close… The result was good though, unlike the news about Oliver: out for three months! In the other group match Shakhtar pulled of an upset as they held Inter to a 1-1 draw.

Match Highlights: click here to watch

With Rodolfo Oliver missing for such a long time I decided to sign a striker that was presented to my by his agent: young Englishman Scott Ward, a former West Ham player. He has some potential but he can’t be a first team regular yet, just a backup.

Viitorul vs Shakhtar (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ionut Peteleu, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Christian Kaufmann, Joaozinho, Nenad Grumic — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

Considering the previous results this match was the big chance for us to get that first win as Shakhtar seemed a bit weaker than Liverpool despite their position as 2nd seed in the draw. They did have some star players though, especially midfielder Jadson and former Arsenal striker Eduardo. The first few minutes of the match were rather boring but unfortunately Shakhtar struck on the very first chance and made it 1-0 on a corner kick in the 8th minute. My youngsters produced an instant reply though and we restored parity just one minute later: Benko‘s finish was parried by the goalkeeper and midfielder Christian Kaufmann slotted home for his first ever goal for the club! The goal gave us more enthusiasm and we converted that into another goal on 15 minutes when Mazzoni headed home on a corner kick for his 10th goal of the season. We continued to dominate the game quite clearly and came close again on 34 minutes when Benko wrapped up a fine move with a poor finish.

Our good display continued after the break and young substitute Ivo Prochazka impressed the crowd with a fine run on 47 minutes but his finish was parried by the goalkeeper. We kept on pressing forward and created another chance on 55 minutes when a good move freed up Manoel inside the penalty area but his shot came back off the post! We were playing brilliantly though and the third goal was just a matter of time. In fact, Manoel bagged two of them on 67 and 85 minutes to wrap up a fantastic performance. Our keeper also managed to have a moment of glory during stoppage time when he pulled off an amazing save to deny Eduardo. We clinched our first ever Champions League group stage win, and what a win that was!

Match Highlights: click here to watch

Inter vs Liverpool ended 1-1 so the group table was quite tight after three games. We were third and we seemed to have a good chance of advancing in the Europa League at least. The away game at Shakhtar was going to be decisive to that respect, we needed a draw there to boost our hopes of finishing 3rd.

Shakhtar vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Lubomir Cerny, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Mory Kante — Joaozinho, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

The start of the game seemed to shatter our hopes though as Shakhtar started pushing forward right away and even broke the deadlock after just six minutes courtesy of a wonderful finish from Eduardo. My lads woke up after that goal but we only managed to create our first chance on the half hour mark when Dicu sent a free kick cross just wide with a diving header. We did the damage three minutes later though when Benko sent in a low cross which Manoel somehow pushed into the back of the net. Shakhtar reacted but my defence was flawless until half time.

The Ukrainian crowd was silenced eight minutes after the break when substitute Ivo Prochazka played a beautiful through pass for Manoel who powered home to put us ahead! I admit that I was in disbelief! Moreover, I was expecting Shakhtar to push us against the ropes but that wasn’t the case as my boys were keeping possession very well and the game into our opponents’ half! We did feel some pressure after the 80th minute but my defence coped with that very well and even managed to launch a fine counter attack two minutes from time when Joaozinho wrapped up the game in style with a fantastic lob from 20 yards out! Liverpool vs Inter ended 2-3 so we moved up in second position! (Inter 8 points, Viitorul 7 points, Liverpool 5 points, Shakhtar 1 point). The third position was secured, Shakthar were no longer able to catch us, but we had a real chance of finishing second. Or even first for that matter!

Match Highlights: click here to watch

Viitorul vs Inter (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Hernan Prestia — Ionut Peteleu, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Mory Kante — Joaozinho, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

A win against Inter would have boosted our chance of finishing in the top two but that’s a lot easier said than done, especially since another bad injury was added just before the match: Lubomir Cerny out for 3 months. However, Inter didn’t seem very concentrated, their defence seemed quite sleepy and Manoel managed to take advantage of that on 13 minutes! Unfortunately the Italians woke up after that slow start and pegged us back in the 27th minute thanks to a great goal from Pazzini. And that was just about everything that this game had to offer, both teams seemed happy with the result. I certainly was happy to add another point to our tally! :) But Liverpool defeated Shakhtar 3-1 so we moved back in third spot, tied on 7 points with Liverpool. We needed a win at Anfield to advance to the first knockout round of the Champions League, quite unlikely but I was determined to fight for that chance.

Match Highlights: click here to watch

Liverpool vs Viitorul (Champions League Group F)

Starting Line Up: Xaropinho — Ionut Peteleu, Juan Belencoso, Georgica Dicu, Danut Gongolea — Joaozinho, Silviu Pana, Nenad Grumic — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Daniel Mazzoni

Unfortunately we had to play without our first choice goalkeeper due to injury but that didn’t seem such a big problem in the opening half hour as we defended very well. Liverpool did manage to break the deadlock eventually on a corner kick and that was enough to get the three points as we were unable to pose any threat at the other end of the pitch.

Match Highlights: click here to watch

So, the dream of advancing past the group stage in the Champions League proved too much for now but I am still very happy with what we managed to achieve this season: eight points compared to last season’s one point!

This achievement allowed us to enter the Europa League first knockout round draw and we got Glasgow Rangers, not too bad I guess. Moreover, if we beat the Rangers we will meet either Fenerbahce or Sparta Prague in the next round. I guess we have a chance of grabbing a few more points for our European coefficient ;)

Now let’s see what happened on the domestic front… The Romanian Cup run was quiet so far, we advanced to the semi finals with ease although we did have a few headaches in the quarter  final against Ceahlaul.

The league brought us good results overall as we won all but three games from mid-September to the winter break. We were quite unlucky in those two draws and even more unlucky to lose against Rapid but considering that we also had the tough Champions League matches to play I am satisfied overall.

The satisfaction is even bigger when you look at the league table: we have built a reasonable gap at the top and I guess we’re on course to grab the fourth consecutive title.

The player stats show quite a few lads above the 7.00 average rating mark with Manoel leading the pack thanks to his 18 goals and 5 assists. The Brazilian was second choice to Rodolfo Oliver at the start of the season but when Oliver got injured he stepped into the spotlight and delivered much more than I had expected from him. Rastislav Benko and Daniel Mazzoni did very well too as they bagged 32 goals between them while centre backs Juan Belencoso and Georgica Dicu were in command at the back.

The good Champions League run also added some more money into our account (you get around 300K for each point), so our balance stands at an all-time high at the moment.

That’s all I had to report for now folks, I’m happy that my team finally managed to get some results in Europe while consolidating our domination in Romania. I feel that there are exciting times ahead for this club :) Thanks a lot for reading and for your support, see you in the comments box ;)