Previously on "Inter is coming": we witnessed the ecstasy of Ángel Bastardo.

"For La Plata"

The traditional end of season soirée had concluded, a 5th season done and dusted at Inter Milan.  Champions League winner Ángel Bastardo, a club & city icon, crawled home as he usually did after such an immeasurable amount of wine.  Yet despite the veil of alcohol surrounding him, something felt wrong.  He was in the Quadrilatero della moda District, famed for its fashion, celebrity lifestyle & nightlife.  Yet nobody was around, except the faint image of a hooded man who flickered in the distance…Bastardo changed direction, turning into a narrow side street to see the same hooded figure flickering in front of him.  North, East, South and West…four of them stood, like the four horsemen of the apocalypse, each with daggers in the dark.

They closed in on Bastardo to within striking distance. One of the shadows pulled back his hood.  “Señor Bastardo” it hissed.  Bastardo remembered this voice instantly, Juan Sebastían Verón…Chairman of Estudiantes de La Plata and former boss to Bastardo.  Before Bastardo could utter any words back, a dagger pierced into his side…the second hood revealed itself whilst pulling the blade out from within Bastardo…it was Juan Sebastían's father: Juan Ramón.  “For La Plata” they hissed in tandem, as Juan Sebastían grabbed Bastardo’s shoulder, thrusting a knife into his chest: “For La Plata”.

Bastardo stumbled back into a third dagger…this time from ex-Captain of Bastardo’s Estudiantes team: Leandro Desábato…who pushed Ángel Bastardo down onto the floor pulling his blade out from Bastardo’s shoulder.  “For La Plata” he proudly declared.  Ángel Bastardo sunk to his knees, the blood seeped out of him like the wine he had spilt on the dining table only moments ago.  Where was fibra now to save him, he thought?  As the twilight air soothed his porous wounds.  The three daggers in the dark stepped aside to reveal the fourth, held by a much younger man...perhaps even a boy…the blade’s hilt glistening in the moonlight.  As he approached, Bastardo looked in disbelief.  Not him, anybody but him.  It was Santiago Ascacíbar.

Bastardo could only muster out a solitary “Santi”, before the fourth blade cut into his torso with great accuracy and force.  He didn’t feel the blade leave his body, he only heard it.  “For La Plata” cried Santiago Ascacíbar as he watched his manager fall face-first into the gutter.

Note from the Editor - Bastardo has had quite the journey in Football Manager 2017.  From La Plata, to Chile, then around the world on holiday...before finishing up with 5 glorious seasons in Milan.

So it's time for me to take a break from the game I love so much.  Not too long, around a month before FM18's beta kicks off.  But this gives me a chance to just unwind and relax from the pressures of having such a huge alter-ego in my life.  My future plans will be revealed in October, but until then I'd like to thank you all for coming along with me on my journey.  Thanks for all the shares, likes, comments and laughs that we've all had together during FM17.  It's been brilliant.

But there's also a few special people I need to thank, who helped play their part (large and small) in my FM17 journey.  No particular order (perhaps chronologically, kind of...I don't know):

• Lee and James who I thank for some tactical discussions early on in La Plata.  DLFs, defensive lines - both high & low etc...it all helped me.
• João & Nestor.  Two guys behind the scenes pulling me through technological advances one step at a time.  Who also contributed to the 'Argentina Survival Guide' post along with Diego Mendoza.  I love you nerds.
• Ed, for getting me on the Deep Lying Podcast to talk about Argentina, fame & fibra.  It was a great chat and still my only ever Skype convo to date!
• Diego, Chris & Ondřej.  For those 'Bastardo On Holiday' posts, those were special.  But more importantly, so were your saves.  Thank you for sharing your stories with me...and thanks for putting up with my constant direct messages at ungodly hours.
• Samo.  For pioneering the FM Slack Community.  I've grown closer to a lot of FMers who share a passion for sharing advice, stories and tips on FM.  You brought us together, thank you.
• To all the Night's Watch brothers in the #thefm_daddies channel on Slack.  You took a lot of shit from me in February-April as I battled through a new born baby with no sleep. Thanks.
• Thomas who helped with some Italian translation as I joined Inter Milan.  Grazie!
• Guido, for helping me share 'fibra' with the masses.  I hope you continue to find passion in your writing, those detailed/methodical guides you write are needed for players (new and old).  Danke je!

There's probably loads more people I should thank, you'll have to excuse me...I've just been stabbed up by the Estudiantes gang.

Best Wishes,

A weary Ángel Bastardo