Hello friends, welcome back to my Football Manager 2012 journey as Viitorul Constanta try to clinch the Champions League for the second time in a row. The first half of the season was almost perfect as we grabbed the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Championship, the only two pieces of silverware that were missing from our trophy cabinet. We also had a regular unbeaten streak on the domestic front while we did well in Europe too since we finished atop the Champions League group.
As you remember we were drawn against Arsenal for the first knockout round, a pretty tough opponent but we progressed thanks to a decent first leg away and a brilliant second leg in which we demolished the Gunners 3-0 courtesy of a Rastislav Benko brace.
Benko and Dramane Sow did the damage in the quarter finals too, against FC Porto. The tie was quite difficult though as we got beaten 1-0 away but we managed to make things right at home.
The semi finals saw us taking on Inter and I must say that I was quite worried before the first leg because I had five players missing through injuries or suspensions. We managed to get a heroic goalless draw in Italy but we made a mistake in the second leg which allowed Inter to score an early goal. Sow made it all square at half time and then… Well, then the African striker taught them a lesson of football as he completed a hat-trick and we won 5-1!
And our opponent in the final was… Oh no, Real Madrid again! They were coming from a tough semi final against Juventus, after breezing past Chelsea and Europa League holders Sporting Lisbon.
And that means I had to prepare for another clash with my friend Jose, who surely hates me, as the T-Shirt says :) This time he had his mind-games going before the game, I refused to comment on his statement.
Our history against Real Madrid was showing a slight advantage for us after last season’s final but history doesn’t win games…
Viitorul vs Real Madrid (Champions League Final)
Starting Line Up: Nicolas Salva — Tomislav Djurdjek, Xavier Dumont, Fabian Caporale, Sebastien Verdier — Hennie Paauwe, Mike Broadhead, Yasen Zlatinski — Rastislav Benko, Manoel, Dramane Sow
I had two players missing due to injuries, Alin Dicher and Michiel Aarts, and I had also decided to make two changes in the starting line up compared to my regular best eleven: Caporale instead of Georgica Dicu and Manoel instead of Juan Cruz Argenti. Both choices were based on form, the two replacements were in much better shape and had better morale compared to their competitors.
Real Madrid had the better start at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and they came close after 10 minutes on a corner kick when their towering centre back smashed a corner kick header against the crossbar. The remainder of the first half was even and hard-fought but we had a slight advantage in terms of statistics at the end of the opening 45 minutes: 3-2 for shots on target and 7-2 for corners.
Football is played for goals though and our opponents came close again on 57 minutes following another corner kick, the drill was almost identical: header, crossbar, cleared… We carved out the first (and last) clear cut chance of the game seven minutes later, also on a corner kick, as Benko gathered the ball outside the penalty area after the corner kick cross had been cleared, then weaved inside the box and took his chance at the near post but the goalkeeper denied him. Our hopes received a severe blow just four minutes after that chance though: we gave the ball away on the right flank and we were swiftly punished by the Real winger who advanced and crossed perfectly for the opening goal.
I made some changes in an attempt to force a comeback but it didn’t happen, we were unable to create more than a few additional corner kicks…
Match Highlights:click here to watch
Mourinho won this time but I did move a bit forward in the world-wide hall of fame, ranked 10th now :) Catch you later, Jose, we’ll surely meet again ;)
And now the boring domestic affairs… Well, the Romanian Cup final wasn’t that boring, mainly because almost all my first team players were away on international duty on the day! We still managed to win it though, even if it took a nervy penalty shoot-out…
As for the league, needless to say that we won it again… But I wasn’t too pleased with the results, we won no less than two games in the second half of the season and that’s a bit below our standards.
Despite those results there still was considerable daylight between us and the second placed team, I guess they should give some sort of a title to the runner-up from now on.
The player statistics show a fantastic season for veteran Manoel, he bagged 27 goals in 21 starts a brilliant ratio. Fabian Caporale established himself as my second choice defender behind Xavier Dumont but Michiel Aarts was taken out of the competition by a long-term injury. Last but not least, young Scottish striker Richard Hendry is finding a place alongside our legendary strikers but there might still be a lot more to come from the lad.
I saved the best news for last… I wasn’t hoping for a reputation increase after losing the final but… Here it is! Continental!
Suddenly I feel that the 26 million pounds in the bank might not be enough since we might be able to attract interest from a bunch of world class players now!
That’s about it folks, thanks a lot for taking the time to read this. I do feel pretty bad about losing the Champions League final but given the set of players that I have and comparing them to the Real Madrid squad, I’d say it’s a miracle that we won it last season :) Anyway, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
P.S.: Do check out our forum, we have a new software installed and a new design in place. It’s still work in progress, so any suggestions are welcome.
saltwater
14 августа, 2012 at 01:45
Finally, reputation increase!! And it’s about time too.
Unlucky in the final. On the day, I guess they were just better. I love how SI have captured Jose Mourinho so perfectly, his actions in the media are a splitting image of real life :D
I think the cup final is a show of how far you above the rest of the league. No first 11, yet you still won! Mind, I bet you couldn’t take a nap for that match ;)
Looking forward to your activity in the market with the reputation change.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:33
You are right, I was unable to take a nap during that Romanian Cup final, even though I was a bit tired :) I hope we’ll be able to attract at least a couple of great players now.
Lye
14 августа, 2012 at 01:57
The reputation should change far early but it’s better to be late than never. Tough luck in the CL finals. Looking at the stats, it seems you are the better team than Real Madrid. Hopefully you can bring in more world class player and come back stronger next season.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:34
Thanks Lye. We were better in terms of stats but not much better than Real, so I guess the match could have gone either way.
Chai Chien Liang
14 августа, 2012 at 02:43
Hi Johnny,
Funny to see Jose Mourinho has turned into a wily old manager! Anyway despite the final defeat you can still be proud of your team reaching the Champions League final again! With the reputation increase finally happening it should be easier to sign the players to make the club even stronger
The new forums look nice, but some of my images are not appearing
Good luck and I look forward to seeing the players coming in next season
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:35
Thanks mate. About the forum, there was a setting limiting the number of images in a post, I have changed it now and the images will probably start showing again sooner or later.
Calin
14 августа, 2012 at 07:08
Congrats on yet another amazing season, Johnny! Finally getting that Continental rating is a big win, even though it took an awful lot of time to get. But I am really curious to see now what players will you bring in for the next season!
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:36
Thanks mate, I’m quite eager to start the activity on the transfer market now :)
Kevin
14 августа, 2012 at 11:25
Hi Johnny
Another terrific season in the bag but too bad about the CL Final though considering how you started with Viitorul it’s still a marvellous achievement anyway. Good luck with hunting down Jose which seems to come across as your main objective now?Congrats on raising Romania’s reputation — any thoughts on managing your country?
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:37
Hunting down Jose is not my main objective but it is something I would like to achieve. Romania will be playing at the European Championship final tournament in June and if they sack the current boss I might give it a go.
Laxeyman
14 августа, 2012 at 11:30
Great news on the reputation increase Johnny! Unlucky in the CL final, but I’d say the increase is more important, because now you can attract players who will help you dominate Europe :) Well done on winning the league and cup too, it really has become too easy for Viitorul in domestic competitions now :)
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:38
Thanks buddy, I hope we will be able to dominate Europe sooner or later but it certainly won’t be as easy as dominating the domestic league.
Jack
14 августа, 2012 at 11:44
Unlucky in the final Jonny :( still though continental woooo!! Everyone has finally heard of viitorul now :) I’m so glad I pestered everyone on here to vote for a Romanian story it’s been fantastic! Long may it continue!
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 12:39
Thanks Jack, it will continue at least for a while, I mean probably until FM 2013 ;)
vaibhavc
14 августа, 2012 at 15:55
Unlucky in the final Johnny, but Jose-watch out! Continental reputation, finally! You deserve it. Did you wear the ‘Jose’ shirt for the final?
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 16:39
Well, I didn’t wear that T-Shirt and that’s probably why I lost, because I did wear it for last season’s final :) I did have the coffee mug on my desk though :)
Bhargav
14 августа, 2012 at 17:04
I see you’re a club legend! I’ve never been able to accomplish that! great job for an overall successful season. The rate you’re going it can’t be too long before you get to second place on the greatest manager list.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 22:24
Thanks mate, I guess I deserved that status considering what the club has achieved so far :)
Niels Theis Bendtsen
14 августа, 2012 at 18:04
So what about the league coefficient? Are more teams joining you in the Romanian conquest of the Champions League?
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 22:25
The league coefficient is published at the end of June, you’ll find out more about that in the next post.
Darren Smith
14 августа, 2012 at 18:45
Great season there Johnny, the usual domestic domination and sooo unlucky in the Champions League…the very fact you made the final again shows how good your squad has become, so with the new found reputation I think things will really push on next year.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 22:25
Thanks Darren, I hope we’ll go at least this far next season.
TheZiggy
14 августа, 2012 at 18:51
Another superb season, although losing out to Jose right at the end their tough, but I’m sure you’ll give many more sad days in the future to reflect upon. Finally gaining the boost in reputation is long overdue, so you should be able to become the dominant European club in the next few seasons.
Johnny Karp
14 августа, 2012 at 22:26
Thanks Ziggy, the reputation increase should help us become a better team, even though we already are pretty good ;)
Malhar Bhadbhade
15 августа, 2012 at 10:55
Losing the final might have been a bit of a disappointment, but I think that is sort of made up for due to the fact that your reputation increased! That is brilliant news! Confirms the fact that it wasn’t a glitch or anything. You now really have an amazing squad of players. Benko is an unbelievably good striker and has developed magnificently. The Scottish young striker also looks like he could be world class. His attributes are very good indeed for a 19-year old. congrats on the league and cup double but i guess that’s just a formality now. Best of luck for the next season and hope you can go one better. cheers! :D
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2012 at 12:07
Thanks mate. You are right about Benko, he is an amazing player and I remember I got him for a very good price quite a few seasons ago. As you said, I already have a pretty good squad so I won’t be signing too many new players, my plan is to get just a couple or three at most.
pedro roriz
15 августа, 2012 at 15:50
hey johnny, nice going there! i was compairing your team stats to my San marino, even though i haven’t won any international competition yet (i’ve already conquered serie a twice), and i realized my side is far more valuable than yours (almost 60M vs 46 of yours). i just then understood what a fantastic thing you did there and how big is the abyss that separetes the biggest leagues in europe from the medium sized ones. that only shows how awesome you had to perform in the transfer market in order to achieve what you did so far, so again, congratulations, you rocked!
i’m sure you will surpass mourinho in no time!
Johnny Karp
15 августа, 2012 at 17:37
Thanks mate, I agree that it’s a lot tougher to succeed with a club in a minor nation such as Romania, it takes a lot more time in the first place.
Gaurav Chaddah
16 августа, 2012 at 16:58
The usual domestic run their showing how good your team is and how far you’ve come since picking them up seasons back in division 2, are you giving the more younger players more chances than you would usually do giving how you just ease to title wins or do you use full strength sides when possible? Unlucky in the Champions League, thought that you would have done it again but guess this time Jose had the upper hand, your sparking quite a rivalry with him. ;)
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2012 at 18:43
Thanks mate. I tend to use mostly the youngsters in the domestic home games and only field the first eleven in away games and European games.
Ana Garcia
16 августа, 2012 at 19:20
Bad luck in the final, damn you Mourinho!! :)
I guess he won this round but am sure you will prosper next time! Great to see a reputation boost at last was fearing that it may never happen but now you will attract a much better level of players so the future is looking good.
Still cant believe your ticket prices! A finalist in the champions league and still only £1.90 to see your team play!
Good luck as always. :)
Johnny Karp
16 августа, 2012 at 19:53
Thanks Ana. About the ticket prices, the average wage is lower in Romania so I guess the prices should be lower but not that low. For instance, Dinamo Bucharest played a friendly with Barcelona last week and the cheapest ticket was 25 pounds. For domestic matches, you can find tickets as low as 1 pound, depending on who’s playing.
Taurul
19 августа, 2012 at 16:13
Buna treaba Johnny ! Ai ridicat nivelul fotbalului romanesc prin performantale tale cu Viitorul.
Johnny Karp
19 августа, 2012 at 16:33
Haha, thanks! I hope that will happen in real life some day, with Viitorul or any other Romanian club.
Mariano
21 августа, 2012 at 07:33
Hi Johnny,
Well done once more!
Are you still using Maerstro Ugo´s traning schedule?
Cheers
Johnny Karp
21 августа, 2012 at 08:48
Thanks. I am using that training schedule for youth team players only, the first team lads are on the default schedules now.