Hello dear friends, I’m very happy to be back… Let’s get it going again, we’ll start with a small break from the Notts County story, I owed you an update about the Uruguay national team. They didn’t sack me yet so I guess that the FA are satisfied with my work. Let’s make a quick recap first. We were fighting to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and at the end of 2011 we were lying in 4th place, the last spot that ensures a place in the World Cup.
I made a few changes in the selection, some players were left out and I also brought in new staff including former player Gustavo Poyet as my new assistant manager. I also decided to implement the exact same tactics that I use with Notts County, attacking and aggressive. The year started with an easy friendly game, at home with Kuwait. It was a good chance to experiment but the opponents were too weak to draw any conclusions. My players had a lot of fun out there and veteran striker Diego Forlan netted a hat-trick.
Three months later it was time for the real deal, we had a very important World Cup qualifying game at home with Colombia. They were among the favorites of the group and we definitely needed a good result to maintain our chances of going to the World Cup in Brazil. The game started perfectly for us, we put Colombia under pressure and Diego Forlan showed his lethal finishing again by scoring twice in the first 10 minutes! Colombia tried to react but we controlled the game well overall and finally won it thanks to a goal from our star player, Edinson Cavani.
After gaining the three points against Colombia we were the favorites for the next game, a tricky away match in Ecuador. It was a crazy game that could have gone either way. I was pleased with our attacking power but our defensive efforts were terrible, we failed to contain Ecuador‘s strikers. The match was immensely entertaining with numerous chances on both sides and I guess that the 3-3 scoreline reflects what happened out there. I was a bit disappointed though, I felt that we dropped two important points.
We had the chance to redeem ourselves one month later, we had an easier away game in Bolivia. We didn’t produce as much in attack but we controlled the game with great authority. Cavani made the difference again with his magnificent skills, the three points were ours and we were back on track.
Go to the next page to read the rest of the story.
Laxeyman
24 января, 2010 at 19:30
Well done Johnny, fantastic result against Argentina. You have to play alot of games, how many is it in total? About 16? With England I think we only have to play 12.
You seem to have great firepower up front. Cavani is a very good player. He is also at Barca on my game. Forlan and Suarez aren’t bad either!
Good Luck for the remaining qualifiers.
Johnny Karp
24 января, 2010 at 19:33
Thanks Laxeyman. There are 16 games in total, and we’re lucky that Brazil are already qualified as the host nation, otherwise there would have been 18 games! The South American qualifying group is always tough, I hope to survive until the end and get one of the top four spots.
TheZiggy
24 января, 2010 at 20:33
Some good results there, especially the win over Argentina. You’ve given yourself an excellent chance to qualify. Brazil not being in the group is a definite bounus.
Kevin Mayo
24 января, 2010 at 21:34
Hi Johnny
I’ll echo my English friends with your win over Argentina. Love it!
The South American section is a really gruelling competition and you seem as always to be doing well so far. Good result in Bolivia as well because of playing at altitude but I don’t know if the game factors that in or not :)
Good to see your posts again and looking forward to the next Notts Co update.
Johnny Karp
24 января, 2010 at 21:42
@The Ziggy
Brazil being out is a big advantage indeed. At this point I think that we have to get our points against the weaker teams like Venezuela, Peru or Bolivia, it should be enough to qualify. Or maybe not…
@Kevin
That win over Argentina was a big result against the odds. They had two weaknesses that we took advantage of. The first is that they relied too much on Messi, my left midfielder and left back took care of him throughout the game and it’s not just an accident that their two goals were scored from the opposite flank. The second was that their keeper is very weak at dealing with crosses, three of the four goals were scored that way. About Bolivia, I don’t think that the altitude is a factor in FM 10. Last but not least, I’m happy to be back, I hope to get a chance to publish the next Notts County update tomorrow.
Martin
24 января, 2010 at 21:48
Well Done Johnny.
If You Keep That Sort Of Form Up Then You Should Have No Problems With Qualifying.
Did You Know That You Can Manage Under-21 And Under-19 Teams On Football Manager?
Because I Didnt Until I Applied For One:P
Johnny Karp
24 января, 2010 at 22:36
Thanks Martin. I noticed that you can apply for that kind of jobs, it could be interesting. Did you get that job you applied for?
Levo
25 января, 2010 at 00:47
Well done Johnny you seem to have a nack for the international games, I find that Argentina on Football Manager can be someone what hit and miss, they can win some big games. But against smaller nations they can struggle, maybe this is true to real life?
I hope to see Uruguay lifting the World Cup once again under your guidance. I have taking another shot at my England WC2010 games :D
Lye
25 января, 2010 at 02:57
A win against Argentina is definitely going to raise the morale of the whole team. You should have no problem in qualifying to the world cup. It is always a challenge to manage club and country at the same time and mate, i think you have done a fantastic job.
Johnny Karp
25 января, 2010 at 08:30
@Lye
Thanks mate, I’m getting a lot of help from my staff at Notts County and from my assistant manager in Uruguay :)
@Levo
Thanks, Argentina seem to be struggling in real life too despite having extraordinary players. I don’t think that we have what it takes to lift the trophy at this point, I would be happy just to qualify and then see what happens.
Martin
25 января, 2010 at 18:01
You’ll Have To Wait And See On My Next Post Which Will Be Very Soon