Intro

My previous League Guide weaved its way around the intricacies of the various South American league systems in Football Manager 2021, but now it’s time for the fun stuff! Fernando @rocksendfm brings you the Club Guide: three sides from each out-of-the-box top league in Football Manager 2021 (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru & Uruguay). An easy, medium or hard challenge in each nation, meticulously researched outside of Football Manager…setting the scene for your upcoming FM adventure.

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Argentina

Hard – Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata

(1) Background & Expectation

What’s worse than being the underdog side in a two-club town? Being the underdog side to an absolute giant of the sport. I don’t need to remind usual readers of this blog of Estudiantes de La Plata’s place within the history of the Argentinian game and even world football, but things haven’t gone all that well for their city rivals. El Lobo fans can be very proud of their undying loyalty, their magnificent stadium nicknamed El Bosque and their over-130-year-long history, but it all looks a bit pale when compared with Estudiantes’ four Copa Libertadores and six Primera División titles. With just a single league title achieved in 1929 during the amateur era and no official international titles in their shelves, it’s not exactly a glorious past. Even outside of the historic view, things are tricky for El Lobo. Being practically doomed with relegation late last year, the board brought in a man for whom there is no such thing as an impossible job: Diego Maradona. Despite El Diego’s motivational factor and some positive results, things looked bleak until the collapse of the Superliga and the COVID-19 crisis put a pause on football and possibly a stop on relegations for the season. However, the average points table ensures risks are still high; can you take Maradona’s seat and lead Gimnasia to safety and a much longed-for professional league title?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 16th.

(3) Key Players: José Paradela, Harrinson Mancilla, Matías Melluso.

(4) Young Talents: Ivo Mammini, Tomás Muro.

Medium – Talleres Cba.

(1) Background & Expectation

More than a third of Argentina’s population resides in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, but unlike what some porteños would have you believe, the rest of the country is not a deserted wasteland dotted with sparsely populated settlements. El Interior (the inlands) is a vibrant and highly diverse territory with big cities and strong identities. The City of Córdoba, capital of the province of the same name, houses two of the biggest clubs outside of Buenos Aires, Belgrano de Córdoba (of River Plate’s relegation fame and currently in the Second Division) and their hated rivals, Talleres de Córdoba. Founded by the workers of the Ferrocarril Central de Córdoba (Córdoba Central Railway) in 1913, Talleres’ history is one of fervent fans and few successes. They came closest to winning the title in 1977 when after beating Racing, River and Vélez amongst others to win their group, they lost the Play-Off finals vs. Independiente in a tense and incident-filled match. Now, after some years of instability, they have asserted themselves as a Primera División side and look to build upon it. Regularly bringing over 35 thousand fans to the Mario Alberto Kempes Stadium (which they had to rent as their ground couldn’t fit them), they have a competitive squad and enough economic backing. It’s gonna take some work, but can you build the first true big side from el Interior?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Play attacking football.

• Play possession football.

• Predicted to finish 10th.

(3) Key Players: Juan Cruz Komar, Tomás Pochettino, Enzo Díaz.

(4) Young Talents: Joaquín Blázquez, Augusto Schott, Ignacio Lago.

Easy – Racing Club

(1) Background & Expectation

Argentinian football might have been historically ruled by the Big Five, but for the last 25 years it’s all mostly been about the Boca-River duopoly. Add the fact that during said period two of South American football’s most successful sides rose in Bianchi’s Boca Juniors and Gallardo’s River Plate (including the first ever Superclásico Copa Libertadores final) and you can see why it’s looking like the others are being left behind. With Independiente in the midst of an institutional and economic crisis and San Lorenzo in a downwards spiral into mediocrity since their 2014 Libertadores success, Racing seems to be in the best position to break the stand-off between Argentina’s two biggest clubs. The sale of Matías Zaracho is sure to make things harder for any prospective managers but the injection of over 5 million euros will provide solid backing, and with a great academy that has produced the likes of Lautaro Martínez, Rodrigo de Paul, Luciano Vietto, Diego Milito and many others, Racing is up to the challenge. Winners of 18 Primera División titles (third behind Boca and River), they were also the first Argentine team to win the Copa Libertadores in 1967, going on to beat the Lisbon Lions in the 1967 Intercontinental Cup. It’s time to take La Academia back to glory.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Play attacking football.

• Predicted to finish 3rd.

(3) Key Players: Lisandro López, Benjamín Garré, Leonardo Sigali.

(4) Young Talents: Carlos Alcaraz, Elías Machuca, Juan Castaño.

Brazil

Hard – Fortaleza

(1) Background & Expectation

When Brazilian football started to develop around the turn of the 20th century, the country’s limited infrastructure and huge distances meant that clubs developed around the towns. They competed amongst themselves and built a power base on the local stage instead of nationwide, meaning the likes of Corinthians and Flamengo benefitted from richer economies and larger talent pools in big cities. However, football doesn’t understand demographics, so all around the country clubs were drawing passionate fans in their regions, away from the draw of the big lights. Fortaleza is one such club. They have a huge following in what is now Brazil’s 5th largest town (though still a long way from the likes of São Paulo and Rio), coming second in the average attendance charts for 2019, and beating much more renowned sides like Corinthians, São Paulo, or Santos. Competitively they’re also on the rise, returning to Serie A after a twelve-year span away from Brazil’s top league, and winning in 2019 the Copa do Nordeste, a regional competition for teams in the Brazilian northeast. The Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol season is a long a gruelling one, with double-match weeks more often than not and a constant power shift as clubs build and profit on talented sides like a conveyor belt of footballers; can you lead Fortaleza through this maze and finally put them on the map of Brazilian football on a national scale?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign players under the age of 23 for the first team.

• Predicted to finish 19th.

(3) Key Players: Paulão, Juninho, Romarinho.

(4) Young Talents: Gustavo Coutinho, Luiz Enrique .

Medium – Botafogo

(1) Background & Expectation

What is the truest measure of greatness for a club? Is it their trophy cabinet? Is it the passion of their fans? Is it a combination of it all? Perhaps, but something has to be said about the place a club occupies within the footballing history of a nation. Botafogo might not be the most laureate, most followed or most impressive club in Brazil, but their history runs through the legacy of the Seleção, and that of Brazilian football. Founded in 1894 as a rowing club, a football division was set up in 1904 by the members of the team. They quickly became a dominant force in Rio de Janeiro’s league, gaining the nickname of O Glorioso, the glorious one. In those years they forged a rivalry with Fluminense that has become the oldest in Brazilian football, the 115-years-old Clássico Vovô (Grandad Derby). However, it was when the 1960s rolled around that they became synonymous with the national team, with the likes of Nilton Santos, Didi, Garrincha, Zagallo, Gérson and Jairzinho becoming the backbone of the Canarinha, and many others getting call-ups to make Botafogo the side with the most players called-up to a World Cup for Brazil. The start in 1968 of a 21-year barren spell that coincided with the beginning of Brazil’s first truly national league and the lack of international success has put them a couple of steps behind the likes Palmeiras and Flamengo and others. But with a legacy like theirs, it’s only a matter of time for Botafogo to rise again.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign high-reputation players.

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 14th.

(3) Key Players: João Paulo, Kanu, Keisuke Honda.

(4) Young Talents: Ênio, Rhuan, Lucas Barros.

Easy – Palmeiras

(1) Background & Expectation

Palmeiras is Brazil’s most successful domestic side, with fourteen national competitions. Founded in 1914 by Italian immigrants as Palestra Itália, they changed their name in 1942 when then-President Getulio Vargas banned mention of the Axis countries, as Brazil had joined WW2 with the Allies. During the 1990s they built some of the best teams of that decade with the support of Italian food corporation Parmalat, but they got relegated when their sponsor left at the turn of the millennium. They recovered the following season, but after a long period of mediocrity the following decade, they were once again relegated in 2012. Since then, new benefactors have appeared in millionaire Club President Paulo Nobre and the record sponsorship of credit company Crefisa, making them one of the richest clubs in Brazil and adding two more leagues to their cabinets. However, on the international front things haven’t been as good. Mocked by other Brazilian football fans with the phrase Palmeiras nao tem Mundial (Palmeiras aren’t world champions) due to their lack of a Club World Cup title, their sole Libertadores win came in 1999, and after a semifinal loss in 2001, it took them seventeen years to return to that stage. Palmeiras has one of the highest budgets in the Brazilian Serie A, a talented squad with a mix of youth and experience and a brand new, forty-three-thousand-seater stadium in the Allianz Parque. Can you provide Verdão with some long-wanted international success?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign high-reputation players.

• Predicted to finish 2nd.

(3) Key Players: Weverton, Ramires, Felipe Melo.

(4) Young Talents: Gabriel Verón, Gabriel Menino, Patrick de Paula.

Chile

Hard - Deportes Iquique

(1) Background & Expectation

The Club de Deportes Iquique was founded in the city of the same name in 1978, the result of the merger of two amateur clubs in the region. They gained promotion to the first division in their first season, where they remained until 1991. During that time they also beat Chilean giants Colo-Colo to win the 1980 Copa Chile, their first professional title. Despite that, the 1990s wouldn't be as successful, with them mainly yo-yo-ing between the first and second division. In 2002, with the club riddled with debts that threatened to become their doom, they were relegated to the third tier of Chilean football, an amateur league. The following year the club reform to compete in the league, and in 2006 they managed to get promoted back into the professional leagues; completing their return to the first division two years later and regaining their original name in 2010. Since then (despite some irregular seasons), they've managed to assert themselves in the top tier, even playing in the Copa Sudamericana on four occasions and debuting in the Copa Libertadores in 2013. Nonetheless, with an ageing squad and no plan in sight for a renovation, dark days could loom large once again for the Dragones Celestes, and it'll take a careful manager to steer them clear of their troubled past.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• No club vision.

• Predicted to finish 17th.

(3) Key Players: Diego Orellana, Sebastián Zúñiga, Gustavo Lorenzetti.

(4) Young Talents: César Huanca, Johan Castillo.

Medium – Antofagasta

(1) Background & Expectation

Can you imagine the uproar if, after Arsenal’s promotion to the First Division in 1919, the FA had forced them to merge with Tottenham? Well, that’s exactly what happened in 1965 when the Chilean football association asked soon to be promoted side Unión Bellavista to merge with their local rivals Portuario Atacama. The clubs couldn't reach an agreement so the Mayor of the city had to intervene, with the result being the foundation the following year of the Club Deportes Antofagasta Portuario, which would later become Club de Deportes Antofagasta. Two years later, the club would get their promotion to the first division, beating San Luis de Quillota away from home in the second division playoffs in what would become known as "El Quillotazo", with thousands of Antofagasta fans watching from the stands and even hanging from nearby TV antennas. Since then, the club has largely yo-yo-ed between divisions, but recent years have been some of the most successful in their history. With a good sporting direction and developing a set of promising youngsters, in 2018 they managed to finish in the continental competition places, debuting in the Copa Sudamericana in 2019. Add to that the recent renovation of the Estadio Regional Calvo y Bascuñán and all the pieces are set for a side to challenge the big clubs in years to come.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• No club vision.

• Predicted to finish 9th.

(3) Key Players: Tobias Figueroa, Eduard Bello, Gustavo Mencia.

(4) Young Talents: Marco Collao, Chriss Gutiérrez, Simón González.

Easy –  Universidad Católica

(1) Background & Expectation

Universidad Católica might be one of Chilean football’s big three, but they have some catching up to do; with 14 Primera División titles, they lag 18 behind Chile’s most successful side, Colo-Colo, and even 4 behind their Clásico Universitario derby rivals, Universidad de Chile (a derby which history can be traced back to 1909). Their golden era would come in the 1950s and 1960s when they won three titles and got to the Copa Libertadores semi finals in 62, 66 and 69. However, by the 1970s the club was in deep economic trouble, getting their Estadio Independencia ground demolished and being relegated in 1973. Alfonso Swett's election as Club President in 1982 put the crisis behind, managing a further 2 titles and reestablishing the Cruzados as a power in the country to this day; with titles in 2018 and 2019, Universidad Católica is once again at the forefront of Chilean football. However, on the international front, things are different. Their sole appearance in the Copa Libertadores final was in 1993 (losing to São Paulo), with just one official international title, the 1994 Copa Interamericana. With one of the biggest budgets in Chilean football and one of the most respected youth academies in the country (producing the likes of Milovan Mirosevic, Mauricio Isla and Gary Medel), it’s time for U. Católica to consolidate their position in the league and give Chile their second-ever Libertadores winner.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Play attacking football.

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 3rd.

(3) Key Players: Diego Buonanotte, Edson Puch, Christopher Toselli.

(4) Young Talents: Ignacio Saavedra, Gonzalo Tapia, Alexander Aravena.

Colombia

Hard – Boyacá Chicó

(1) Background & Expectation

For most of us, our colours are something that is passed on to us, by our family, by our friends, by someone important in our life; for former footballer Eduardo Pimentel it was something he dreamed up. When he retired in 1996 he wanted to shake up Colombian football, which he felt was stuck. He started founding football schools across the country, contacting former teammates and gathering sponsors. In 2001 he formed Bogotá Chicó FC, named after the neighbourhood in the Colombian capital he had grown in. However, it was not a social non-profit club like the model that reigned in Colombian football, but a public limited sports company people could invest in. They consolidated themselves as a competitive Primera B side before achieving promotion to the First Division in 2003. However, only two years later, facing economic trouble due to lack of fans support and sponsors, they took the offer of the Boyacá Governor to move the club there. It kickstarted a golden era for the Ajedrezados who consolidated their position as a First Division side and peaked with the 2008 Torneo Apertura win and a subsequential Copa Libertadores qualification. Since then, however, they have become a bit of a yo-yo club, losing and regaining their top division status twice over the last 5 years. With one of the smallest budgets in the division and a history of instability, can you once again establish Pimentel’s dream club as a Primera A club and go beyond?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign players under the age of 23 for the first team.

• Predicted to finish 17th.

(3) Key Players: Jean Carlos Blanco, Juan Camilo Vela, Diego Echeverri.

(4) Young Talents: Jhon Caicedo, Jacobo Pimentel.

Medium - Envigado FC

(1) Background & Expectation

Ajax Amsterdam is the go-to club for a youth-oriented save, but what if I told you that some 8800 km from the Dutch capital there is another club with equal love for the development of footballers? Coming from the Colombian province of Antioquía, Envigado FC was founded as recently as 1989, which makes the pool of talent they have developed even more amazing; James Rodríguez, Juan Fernando Quintero, Freddy Guarín, Dorlan Pabón, Giovanni Moreno and Frank Fabra, key members of Colombia’s latest golden era, all started their careers with La Cantera de Héroes. However, for all the success in developing the heroes of tomorrow, they have struggled to match that on the pitch. They’ve only managed two titles in their history, both in the Second Division, and just a single participation in an international competition, when they qualified for the 2012 Copa Sudamericana. The root of the problem is that for all the talent they’re growing, it’s often other clubs that rip the benefits: James Rodríguez moved to Argentina as a 17-year-old, Quintero was sold to Atlético Nacional, Freddy Guarín left for free to Boca Juniors. With one of the smallest budgets in the league, keeping players around can be tricky for Envigado, but it will be necessary if they want to become a top side in Colombia. Fancy a youth challenge with a twist?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 18th.

(3) Key Players: Jorge Aguirre, Yeison Guzmán, George Saunders.

(4) Young Talents: Jhon Durán, Santiago Muñoz, Carlos Paternina.

Easy – Atlético Nacional

(1) Background & Expectation

Atlético Nacional has won fourteen league titles and four Copa Colombia medals; they’re also the only Colombian side with two Copa Libertadores titles. With a total of twenty-nice official titles in total, they’re arguably Colombian football’s most successful club, which earned them the nickname Rey de Copas, the king of trophies. The stadium they share with Independiente de Medellín, the Estadio Atanasio Girardot, is the third largest venue in all of Colombia, only behind Deportivo Cali’s Coloso de Palmaseca and the Metropolitan Stadium of Barranquilla, and the Verde is one of three clubs (with Independiente de Santa Fe and Millonarios) to have disputed every single season of Colombia’s top tier league. So… where’s the challenge? Well, in the future. Colombian football is going through a golden era, returning to the World Cup in 2014 after a 16-year leave (the 5th place they managed in Brazil their best ever WC performance), repeating in 2018 and achieving a 3rd place finish in the 2016 Copa América. However, this is yet to show in the club game, with Atlético Nacional’s 2016 Copa Libertadores triumph a lonely success; no side from Colombia has gone past the Round of 16 since. If the Colombian game is to cement its place as a powerhouse in South American football before some it’s most illustrious names fade, Atlético Nacional is in the top position to do it.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign high-reputation players.

• Predicted to finish 1st.

(3) Key Players: Jefferson Duque, Baldomero Perlaza, Jarlan Barrera.

(4) Young Talents: Arley Zapata, Tomás Ángel.

Peru

Hard – Club Deportivo Llacuabamba

(1) Background & Expectation

Where does a team that has just been promoted from the third division get to? If your answer was “the second division”, then you lack the flair and creativeness for a job at the Peruvian Football Federation. Created in 1967, the Copa Perú (the country’s third tier) is a multi-stage amateur competition designed to put a focus on grass-roots football, with a promotion straight to the first division as the top prize. You’d think the clubs promoted would sink like a stone the next season, but in a highly competitive Peruvian top division, we’ve had sides like Cusco FC, Juan Aurich and Binacional who have won national titles and played in the Libertadores. The latest to come through this route are Carlos Stein and our team for this spot, Deportivo Llacuabamba. Coming from a small mining town of the same name, the Resistencia Celeste managed to get promoted in only their first participation in the Copa Perú. Their 500 capacity stadium sits in the middle of the Andes, at over 3000 m. (9800 ft.) above sea level, requiring almost 20 hours to reach by car from Lima.  With less than a decade since their foundation, their history book has enough blank pages to write an epic save. Considering they’re removing the automatic promotion to the first division in 2021, can you make this the last Cinderella story of Peruvian football?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 20th.

(3) Key Players: Humberto Mendoza, Alex Valera, Níger Vega.

(4) Young Talents: Diego Pérez, Francisco Bustamente.

Medium – Melgar

(1) Background & Expectation

Lima is the 5th largest city in South American, so it’s only logical it's the biggest town in Perú, and home to the biggest sides. However, just over 1,000 kilometres to the south lies the city of Arequipa. Founded in the early 16th century, it has become an important cultural hub of that part of the country; central to that identity is it’s oldest and most beloved football club, FBC Melgar. The club has had its ups and downs, nearly going bankrupt in 1981, when up to their neck in debts they had three club presidents in twelve days and avoided relegation in the last day of the season. The very next tournament, they won the league. In recent times, particularly since the relegation of their South Perú Derby rivals Cienciano, they have established themselves as the top team in the area, taking the 2015 title and a runners-up spot the following year. Since then, they haven’t dropped out of the continental qualification places, but with Cienciano back in the Primera División, can you assert Melgar as the dominant force in southern Perú and then challenge the big sides in Lima?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign players under the age of 23 for the first team.

• Do not sign players over the age of 30.

• Predicted to finish 5th.

(3) Key Players: Carlos Cáceda, Irven Avila, Alexis Arias.

(4) Young Talents: Emilio Saba, Walter Tandazo.

Easy – Sporting Cristal

(1) Background & Expectation

No club from Perú has won the Copa Libertadores, with only Cienciano donning any major continental title. Naturally, you should expect the burden to fall into the shoulders of the big three, Universitario, Alianza Lima and Sporting Cristal. They may have won a combined sixty-eight Peruvian titles between them, but with Universitario and Alianza struggling to assert themselves in the league over the last decade (just 1 title each), it is the least historied club of the three, Sporting Cristal, that looks more likely to bring that long-awaited Libertadores. They’ve won four of the last eight titles and are looking in fine form to make it five out of the last ten. Should you take on the challenge, you’ll have at your disposal one of the best academies in Peruvian football and a sound economic position to improve your squad with. The only limiting factor is probably the stadium; they rent the Estadio Alberto Gallardo from the Peruvian government, and even then, it only holds 11600 people. For Sporting Cristal to get a hold on the league and attempt to challenge for continental glory, investment in a truly worthy ground will be necessary. Will you be the manager to do it?

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign players under the age of 23 for the first team.

• Do not sign players over the age of 30.

• Predicted to finish 1st.

(3) Key Players: Christopher Gonzáles, Nilson Loyola, Emanuel Herrera.

(4) Young Talents: Gerald Távara, Jesús Castillo, Rafael Lutiger.

Uruguay

Hard – Boston River

(1) Background & Expectation

We previously discussed that one in three Argentinians live in Buenos Aires; however, that is dwarfed when compared with Uruguay where over half of the population inhabit the Montevideo Metropolitan Area. This, of course, translates to football with just seven out of the twenty-eight current First and Second Division clubs playing their trade outside of the Uruguayan capital. For clubs, this means every fight is an arduous one; drawing fans to your ground, luring players to your squad, attracting sponsors to your club, it can all prove tricky with such a cramped market and wide-ranging offers, particularly for small clubs as it’s never the big fish who go home empty-handed. Boston River is one of those small clubs. Founded in 1939, they returned to official AUF (Uruguay FA) competitions in 1999, achieving promotion to the Second Division in 2006, and then to the top tier ten years later. Consecutive top-8 finishes in 2016 and 2017 got them to the Copa Sudamericana, but since then mediocre campaigns in 2019 and 2020 has left them on the edge of relegation. The real-life resignation of Player/Manager Sebastián Abreu could prove a blessing in disguise for any potential manager as previously taking the club would void his contract, depriving the Manager of one of the clubs most reputable players, but it’s gonna take some serious work to halt Boston River’s collapse.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign players under the age of 23 for the first team.

• Predicted to finish 15th.

(3) Key Players: Nicolás Freitas and Yanowsky Reyes.

(4) Young Talents: Bruno Barja, Santiago Franco, Ismael Tejería.

Medium – River Plate de Montevideo

(1) Background & Expectation

In 1897, the workers of the Montevideo docks formed a football club, and named it "Cagancha FC". Uruguayan football authorities, however, refused to admit them into the league as they only accepted British-founded clubs. The club was reformed as FC London, and then River Plate FC, but to no avail. It took until 1901, when the Club Nacional de Football was accepted, for the league to admit the Darseneros, the "dock workers". They got promoted to the First Division in 1906 and won titles in 1908, 1910, 1913 and 1914. However, by 1920 they had been relegated and in 1925 the club disappeared. When professionalism arrived in Uruguayan football in 1932, amateur clubs Olimpia FC and CA Capurro decided to merge to compete at the highest level; they adopted the name and colours of what had been the biggest club in their area, River Plate. Unlike its predecessor, the CA River Plate struggled to settle in the first division, yo-yo-ing between the two top tiers until the 1990s. Since then, they’ve regularly qualified for continental competitions and even got a Copa Libertadores debut in 2016. They've also distinguished themselves as a great sporting project that has consistently developed their youth, with young striker Matías Arezo undoubtedly the jewel of the crown. The 17-year-old has been killing it in the Copa Sudamericana and has attracted interest from several European clubs. Keeping him for just enough time could prove the key for a long and successful River Plate save.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 4th.

(3) Key Players: Matías Arezo, Pablo Neris, Ribaír Rodríguez.

(4) Young Talents: Facundo Vigo, Logan Ponce.

Easy – Club Nacional de Football

(1) Background & Expectation

Nacional was founded in 1899 as a response to the club that would become (and the nature of that transformation has been highly debated) the Club Atlético Peñarol. Nacional was the club of the criollos (locals descendant of the Spanish colonial elites) while Peñarol represented the British immigrants who brought the game to the Rio de la Plata. While that difference has vanished over the years, the Uruguayan-pride sentiment cannot be washed off from the Tricolor. Nacional’s colours of white, blue and red are those of the Flag of José Gervasio Artigas, the national hero of Uruguay who led the independence movement of the nation; the fourth kit Nacional wears every year, known as La Celeste, commemorates the 13th of September of 1903 when Uruguay got their first-ever international win, beating Argentina 3-2; all eleven players were Nacional players. However, they have been trading blows with Peñarol ever since the beginning of times, so building a solid gap between the two bitter rivals should be any Nacional manager's first job. After that, the world is your oyster: The first international title for an Uruguayan side in 32 years? The first Club World Cup title for a South American side in almost a decade? Perhaps even getting eleven Nacional players into the Uruguay National Team starting spots? With Nacional’s academy and the seemingly inexhaustible Uruguayan talent pool, nothing is impossible.

(2) Club Vision & Media Prediction:

• Sign high-reputation players.

• Play attacking football.

• Develop players using the club’s youth system.

• Predicted to finish 1st.

(3) Key Players: Gabriel Neves, Mathias Laborda, Gonzalo Bergessio.

(4) Young Talents: Santiago Cartagena, Manuel Monzeglio, Brian Ocampo.

Once again, a huge thank you to Fernando @rocksendfm for joining me on today’s blog. Both this post and the league guide will remain on my site, handily saved on this page: fmgrasshopper.com/tactics for future reading.

If you do plan to go with any of these teams in FM21, we’d love to hear how you get on,

¡Vamos!

FM Grasshopper