Previously on SuperClub Diaries, Juventus with a 3 nil advantage were 90 minutes away from the 2030 Champions League Final.

Intro

I was six in-game minutes from calling it a day with Juventus, seeing my side drop out of the Champions League qualifying places in 5th. The thought of managing in the Europa League within the SuperClub Diaries save would have been an abject failure…especially with this being my third season with The Old Lady. Sports Interactive declared that “Progress Never Stops'“ in FM24, yet I seem to be doing my utmost to counter that claim.

Thankfully though, my first real big signing from two years ago, €41m Ibrahima Bamba, chipped in with an 84th minute winner to see my Juventus side leapfrog Roma into 4th on ‘head-to-head’ superiority. Wow, it felt good…but it showed the non-SuperClub levels I am currently finding myself within this save.

Three seasons, three top four finishes.

What does this mean for the save? Well, the Juve Board in their wisdom have given me a four year contract a few weeks after a Champions League Last 16 exit against Paris Saint-Germain. Desperate for any kind of attention, I hastily I accepted but I would have left my position at the end of the season if not for Bamba’s 84th thunderbastard.

So, It’s time to go again. Perhaps one last season to see if I can get this Juventus side back to the top of Serie A and challenging for Champions League glory once again…

2031 Champions League

I have already spoilt my performance in the Champions League, but I will share below the up and down campaign for my own posterity…

Away from home something was clearly not gelling, a likely indicator that my 4231 tactic isn’t as all conquering as the ones I could probably download from FM Scout 😩. However, I was confident going into the PSG game with a new narrow 442. Later season form was good and deep into Extra Time my side had chances to get a goal and win it. But it was Federico Valverde, a €78m Parisian signing from yours truly, who scored with a couple of minutes before potential penalties. Unlike the Serie A campaign, a Last 16 UCL exit is much more disappointing for last year’s Semi Finalists.

2031/32 would have to be better.

Going Narrow, but keeping back line the same(ish)

Another season, another bloody tactic. With the FM24 embers slowly dying away, this may well be my last tactic of the cycle. It’s a narrow 442 and very similar to what I did with France U23s with Matt (FM Adventure) in a network save. Go read up on that Olympic success story here (if you want to).

Defence - in defence though I am very similar to the 4231 before it. There’s an Inverted Full Back at right back to form a back three giving a carte blanche to the left sided Full Back to do what he wants. He is essentially our wide attacker, with nobody in front of him. For that reason the Complete Wing Back is perfect for him in this formation, he can roam and simply find the spaces to be effective. Ahead of the back three, we have a Deep Lying Playmaker. I am perhaps a little conservative here, and dependant on the opposition I face I will likely give the DLP a support duty. International Football Association Board rules also mean I have to field a Goalkeeper.

Midfield - higher up the pitch we have the engine room. The left sided has a Box to Box midfielder. As we know, this role shuttles vertically up and down the pitch and will provide good support in both the build up and also some attacks too. On his right we have an attacking Mezzala, particularly essential to this tactic given the Mezzala's ability to drift into wide areas in order to stretch opposing defenses. ‘In the hole’ we have a bog standard Attacking Midfielder. Given the runners behind him (and also ahead, which I will get to in a sec), my feeling is that he doesn’t necessarily need to be running channels, or bombing ahead as an auxiliary striker.

Attack - I’m at my best in FM with two central strikers. Putting them both on attack duty is that extra sprinkling of salt to get the justices flowing. 31-year-old Dusan Vlahovic’s remaining years will be spent as an attacking Target Forward. Now that his more advanced years are upon him, Vlahovic will keep his Jumping Reach and Strength (as well as his good mentals) to play the Target Forward much longer than his Acceleration and Pace he’d need to play as the Advanced Forward. That pacier role is left for much faster Newgens now breaking into the First Team squad.

So, let’s think about what we have got in defence/midfield:

1. Back three. Let’s field big lads here so we’re menacing.

2. Holding DM, who can ping a ball or just keep things ticking over.

3. Strong midfield presence. An AM and a Mez who will press quite high up.

In attack we have:

1. A complete Wing Back being a nuisance crossing to a Target Forward.

2. A Mezzala taking the ball out wide, finding pockets of space to be effective.

3. An Advanced Forward pushing back opposition CB’s with forward runs.

Team instructions - I think we suit a fluid counter attack in the big games. But Vs lower reputation sides in Serie A/Copa Italia we will probably need to be more aggressive/controlling. I’m liking it, ‘on paper’. Let’s see how we do and what I end up with during pre-season and a few new signings.

England

Man City’s five year wait for a Premier League title ended, but last year’s Champions League runners up could only get to the Semi Final stage this time out. The 0-2 FA Cup final defeat to cross-city rivals Manchester United will also hurt Antonio Conte’s men and take the Charlie Sheen off a successful season. Manchester United incidentally are the only other English Superclub to qualify for next year’s Champions League. But they also experienced cup heartache to fellow Superclub Chelsea, who despite finishing outside of European places managed to enter the Europa Conference League with their League Cup win. Simone Inzaghi did not last too long in the Liverpool hot seat this season, sacked in January 2031…his replacement, Enrico Maaßen, improved the form and scrapped into the Europa League with a 7th placed finish.

France

For the first time in this save, PSG did not win the league ‘at a canter’/’petit galop’. Pep Guardiola’s men had to thank their lucky stars after dropping points on their final day of the season…only to see their bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille do exactly the same at home to OGC Nice. PSG win the league on goal difference, and by just the one goal too! The Qatari owners also seem to continue their frugality by operating a sell-to-buy policy. €300m was made in transfer sales, whilst €200m was invested back into the squad. Raheem Sterling’s Parisian stay was limited to 12 months in the end, as he became a Summer Deadline Day signing for Tottenham Hotspur.

Germany

In Germany, Thomas Tuchel wins back-to-back Bundesliga titles for his Bayern Munich side and added a DFB-Pokal win to his name. A disappointing Champions League Play-Off exit against AC Milan will add some pressure though. One other noteworthy item is the Bavarian side raising almost €60m in loan fees for the season, an incredible period of business management from new Director of Football Pablo Longoria.

Italy

Inter’s 96 point haul sees them win the Scudetto, the highest points tally of the save so far. There was no success in the Champions League, going out on penalties against Manchester United in the Last 16. So, there was no record 5th title for AC Milan in the end; and like Inter they also crashed out of the Champions League to Spanish Superclub Real Madrid. Juventus make do with a Coppa Italia win and a 4th placed finish.

Spain

Real Madrid’s Jürgen Klopp celebrated his seventh year in charge with a 4th career La Liga title, amassing a cool 100 point season in the process. However, it was 2nd place Barcelona who were their cup nemesis this season. The Catalans knocked out Madrid in the Semi Final stage of both the Lana Del Rey (and went on to win it) and the Champions League. 34-year-old Dutch legendary midfielder Frenkie de Jong had his best ever season too: 18 goals and 12 assists (all comps). But it wasn’t enough in the Champions League, as de Jong’s Barca was beaten on penalties by Arsenal after drawing 1-1. After a little dip in this save, Atlético de Madrid go three seasons on the bounce and qualify for the Champions League with a 3rd placed finish.

That’s the 8th season of this FM save universe summarised for your reading pleasure. Tl;dr…Three drab 4th place finishes in a row and a Champions League Semi so far for Juventus, I’ll await my invitation to next year’s FIFA e-sport comp 😀

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

Tony / FM Grasshopper