Why Estudiantes de La Plata (EdlP) in #FM17? #WeAreTheCommunity

October 12, 2016

From Friday 04 November 2016 I will be managing Estudiantes de La Plata (EdlP) in the Argentine Primera División. I am making the 11,300 km journey from Zürich to La Plata and there are so many reasons why I am looking forward to my EdlP adventure. Today's short blog details four of these reasons, whilst additionally highlighting some aspirations I have for FM2017...

(1) Reunion with a CM legend: El Presidente

When choosing a team in Football Manager, I often check to see what past CM/FM legends are up to in the World of Football. After all, deciding to manage Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ) in FM16 was made that much easier by the presence of CM legend Kim Källström.

This time the CM legend isn't going to be my Captain...instead he is going to be my Boss! EdlP Club Chairman Juan Sebastián Verón is often used in England as an example of an expensive transfer flop: a player who never lived up to their reputation. But if you look deeper, his career should in no way be considered a failure. With an International career spanning 14 years that included three World Cup appearances (1998, 2002 & 2010) and a trophy haul in both Europe and South America...Juan Sebastián Verón's career was very special. His legendary status in the South American game was cemented in 2009 when he captained his boyhood club (EdlP) to Copa Libertadores success - ending their 39 year wait for a Continental trophy.

Born 09 March 1975, the same day as EdlP drew 3-3 with their cross city rivals, Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, Verón's affiliation to EdlP was never in question. This Derby draw was noteworthy for the fact that Verón's father decided to play in that game. Juan Ramón Verón, or La Bruja (the Witch) as he is known, played in what's arguably EdlP's greatest ever team: winning three straight Copa Libertadores (1968, 1969 & 1970). To this day, that EdlP team are the only true 'tricampeon' of the Copa Libertadores.

EdlP simply resides in the Verón bloodline. Having a Chairman like Verón, who loves the Club, is always a bonus. As I already experienced, from my 10 year spell at GCZ, the difficulty of working with owners who are Businessman as opposed to fans of the club [1].

[1] I had two owners during my time at GCZ (Stephan Anliker and Franco Soldati), both whom never really gave me their full backing.

(2) Utter Unpredictability

It's hard to escape the term 'Big 5' when reading anything on Argentine football. The Big 5 refers to the five most supported clubs in Argentina, they are: Boca Juniors, Independiente, Racing Club, River Plate and San Lorenzo de Almagro. Between them, they represent around 80% of the footballing fan-base in Argentina. Furthermore, for over 30 years no team outside of the Big 5 won the league, until that golden EdlP team won the league in 1967.

The modern era is a direct contrast, with 12 different teams winning the last 20 Championships. One of the big factors for this unpredictability is the Big 5 (or any club for that matter) not being able to hold onto their star players - as European Clubs can cherry pick who they want from South America. Just as Boca's Fernando Gago made his switch to Real Madrid for €20.4m in 2007, Éver Banega stepped up...only to be moved over to Spain a year later (this time to Valencia CF) for €20m.

The unpredictability of the league attracts me. During FM16 I've been fighting off FC Basel (and only FC Basel) whilst on my way to 10 consecutive league titles. To fight off a whole load of teams is much more satisfying (admittedly more terrifying as well).

(3) The Homegrown XI v2

One of my major aims in FM16 was to develop a successful Homegrown XI (a successful 1st team full of Academy educated players), in the 10 years of management at GCZ I came close...but I was ultimately unsuccessful. It was ridiculously difficult to keep hold of my talents - the European Heavyweights' interference persisted. Despite the challenges, I consider Youth Development to be the most satisfying aspect within FM and I want revisit this again for FM17.

You're therefore probably questioning why I am choosing Argentina, after drawing upon the Banega/Gago example above (and my own difficulties of keeping Academy products away from the like of Barcelona & Bayern). But what if the Homegrown XI is NOT a concurrent First X1 at EdlP? Rather my challenge is to produce a Homegrown XI that IS exported to Europe's top 5 leagues: England, France, Germany, Italy & Spain.

With this in mind, I wish to produce eleven Academy players to make the circa 12,000 km trip from La Plata to Europe within a classic 4-4-2 formation: x1 GK, x2 Full Backs, x2 Central Defenders, x2 Central Midfielders, x2 Wingers and x2 Attackers. By putting them into a formation, I am encouraging myself to produce players of all positions - making it a bit more challenging. As and when this happens in my save, I will update the below graphic with the <Player Name> and <European Club> in their respective position:

As and when an EdlP Academy prospect is sold to either: Bundesliga, English Premier League, La Liga, Ligue Un or Serie A, he enters the 'EdlP Homegrown XI'

(4) A return to '1 y 57'

During the finale of the 2004/05 season, EdlP waved goodbye to the Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi stadium, affectionately known as 1 y 57 (due it being located on 1st Avenue between 55th-57th streets in La Plata). Since then the Club has used La Plata's 53,000 seater Estadio Único, which is owned by the Province of Buenos Aires, and administered jointly by the provincial government, the Municipality of La Plata. However, El Presidente Veron has made it his personal mission to see EdlP return home to 1 y 57 once again. The new 1 y 57 is to hold 23,000 fans and 'should' be delivered in 2017 (although the relocation is already 3-4 years delayed).

It's Veron's personal mission (and underlying Presidential campaign) to see EdlP home — It's Veron's personal mission (and underlying Presidential campaign) to see EdlP home

It will be interesting to see if this stadium move has been included in the Day 1 FM17 Database. In my opinion it certainly should be, seeing as that seats are already in place and EdlP actively selling Season Ticket places. It's something to see once FM17 Beta launches.

Seeing EdlP return home has some romance to it. It's would also address another failure of mine in FM16, as I was never able to end GCZ's awful ground-share arrangement with bitter rivals FC Zürich.

Raring to go...

A new El Presidente inspired Twitter header for FM17, courtesy of Barry Downes (@barryOdownes)

So that's my four main reasons for managing EdlP in FM17: a CM legend, an unpredictable league, a new homegrown project and a potential new stadium. This post could also have been so much longer. For instance, I've not yet mentioned Martín Palermo - who started at EdlP before becoming another cult CM hero of mine whilst playing for Boca Juniors. Or why EdlP are known as 'Los Pincharratas' (The Rat Stabbers). But I plan to blog a bit more in the coming weeks in order to alleviate some of the pain of not playing FM regularly.

I patiently wait for Beta, where I can really get to grips about how EdlP set up tactically and review the current playing squad. I am raring to go, hope you guys are too.

Thanks for reading.

FMG

Auf Wiedersehen GC Zürich: 10 years without Swartzendruber #FM16 #WeAreTheCommunity

October 7, 2016

Football Manager (FM) is a peculiar drug. During Football Manager 2016, I have fallen in love with two players that will never exist. I have also started to follow a Club I have never seen play live, let alone visit the country that they play in! This is what FM can do. It creates fandom in the unlikeliest of places. I've spend 10 glorious in game years in Zürich, becoming Grasshopper Club Zürich's (GCZ) most successful manager with 15 major titles: 10 Swiss Super League titles & 5 Swiss Cups.

Today's blog is the FINAL FM16 content post you will read here. It's an insight into a 10 year projection (to the in game year of 2035) to see what has happened to GCZ without its legendary manager: Loïc Swartzendruber...

Turmoil at the top

During the 10 years simulated, GCZ had SEVEN permanent managers (9 if you count the caretaker positions). There has been incredible unrest, perhaps amplified by Franco Soldati selling the Club 5 years into the 10 year simulation (2030). Perhaps this was to be expected, whilst he pretty much gave up on financing the Club part way through my GCZ save - leaving me to fight off Financial Fair Play in Season 9.

In fact, the most successful manager in the above list was Ole Gunnar Solskjær...who was sacked in only his second season. A shame considering he led GCZ to a league title the season before. Soldati's ruthlessness came as Solskjær won only once in nine games during October/November 2026.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær: GCZ's second most successful manager in 20 years, cut loose at the first sign of trouble :-( — Ole Gunnar Solskjær: GCZ's second most successful manager in 20 years, cut loose at the first sign of trouble :-(

The below graphic clearly shows the decline at GCZ after 'The Swartzendruber Years'. Green overlay is the time before Loïc Swartzendruber, Gold represents the glory years and Red overlay is the dark times:

The conclusion of the 2034/35 season saw GCZ slip to 8th in the league (in a league of 10!)

I could spend ages charting everything that went wrong with GCZ under AI management, but it boils down to two things: (1) GCZ not being able to recover after losing Champions League revenue in 2027/28 after an 8-1 aggregate loss against AS Monaco in a CL Qualifier. (2) A transfer policy of minimal player movements. For some reason the AI Management is not a good seller. In 5 of the 10 years GCZ could not sell players exceeding a combined value £2m. Instead they were experts in letting BIG players like Roman Bürki, Remo Mahrer, Nikola Vlasic, Julian Weigl & Richairo Zivkovic leave the club on Free Transfers. This not only impacted on the money received, but also it meant GCZ could not compete in the Transfer Market. In fact, in 6 of the 10 years simulated...GCZ did not sign a single player! Personally, this kind of decline is self-inflicted.

The result is that the Swiss Super League has returned to its familiar predictability of FC Basel dominating the Champions spot:

FC Basel have won 6 league titles in the 10 simulated years, including the last 3 seasons

Swartzendruber's Legacy

One legacy that has remained intact is the production line of talent that GCZ generate. Before I arrived GCZ already had a good youth system, but this was enhanced during my 10 years there. Alongside the improvement of training and youth facilities, the coaching staff was instilled with professionalism. The result has been a conveyor belt of talent, and it's actually been quite satisfying to see the fruits of my labour.

In the 10 years I simulated GCZ sold Academy talent for a combined value of £32.66m. Some of these players have gone on to play for some of Europe's biggest clubs: Chelsea, Juventus, Liverpool to name a few.

The only criticism I could say is that some of the talent was sold too early. A further 1-2 years of Swiss Super League First Team football would have seen them reach the values of Marco Simon (sold to Olympique Lyonnais for £20M) and Nikola Gjorgjev (sold to Barcelona for £30m). The 3 prime examples are shown below:

GCZ finally produced a decent winger (grrrr)!  French/Swiss Rudi Rollet was sold to OL for £3.2m.  Now worth £19m. — GCZ finally produced a decent winger (grrrr)! French/Swiss Rudi Rollet was sold to OL for £3.2m. Now worth £19m.

Aldin Velagic continues the trend of a 'Grasshopper Visionary Midfielder' with a great first touch.  Sold to rivals Young Boys for £6.25m...before moving to Juventus for £14.5m — Aldin Velagic continues the trend of a 'Grasshopper Visionary Midfielder' with a great first touch. Sold to rivals Young Boys for £6.25m...before moving to Juventus for £14.5m

Nexhat Berisha sold for £5.25m, a well rounded decisive central midfielder

It does make me wonder what I could have done with these youngsters, the Homegrown XI could have become a successful reality...

GCZ's Golden Generation - where are they now?

So I have spoken about the Regens who you have never heard about, what about the Top 5 Regens that came through whilst under my management? Here are the Top 5 Regens I produced at GCZ, with the notable exceptions of Marco Simon & Remo Mahrer (who you really should know about by now). The top 5 isn't based on ability, it's more a gauge of my 'connection' with them...

5. Jan Lange

Jan would definitely be higher on this list of players, if it not for him joining GCZ in the twilight of my spell in Zürich. He arrived as a 16 year old as a flamboyant Centre Forward who was already a competent finisher. During the last two years of my time at GCZ, I gave him 4 league starts. He only repaid me with one goal, scoring against Wangen b. Olten in the Swiss Cup during Season 9. But I saw enough in him, in the way he picked up Franco López's PPMs with ease, and the way he applied himself in training.

Since I left GCZ, Jan spent a loan in Holland with ADO Den Haag. He then spent another year back at GCZ scoring 18 goals in all competitions before leaving on a Free Transfer to Luzern. Since then he was gone on to excel at RSC Anderlecht, scoring 107 league goals in 211 league appearances. He has been recognised Internationally and now has 32 caps with 10 goals. He is Remo Mahrer's deputy, meaning that he is next in line for the Swiss Captaincy...in what would be a hat-trick of Swiss Captains coming from the GCZ Academy (after Marcon Simon & Remo Mahrer).

Here is Jan in 2035:

Hard to see all those goals being scored, whilst away from GCZ

4. Stephan Hotz

Stephan Hotz joined GCZ as part of the February 2019 intake (my 4th intake). He had a great First Touch and his Heading was very good, but there were things in his game that I didn't like: his average Bravery to play the Target Man role, his One Footedness and his poor Finishing.

An incredible 13 first team goals in 19 games in all comps changed my mind about him. What he lacked in Flair and trickery, he made up for with big goals. It was not long before a European Superpower came calling, and in the Summer of 2022 Hotz left us for Fußball-Club Bayern München in a £6.5m fee. I did however arrange a 2 year loan deal, meaning that he continued his development with me. A further 21 goals in 38 games cemented his place in GCZ fans' hearts.

What might have been if only Hotz had stayed longer...

But since leaving me, the AI has never really utilised him. He never played for Bayern's 1st team and was bought back to Switzerland by FC Basel - where he was quite average. More recently he has been in Turkey for the last four season with Sivasspor playing only 5 times!

We can only dream of what may have been, if he and Swartzendruber remained at GCZ together...

3. Goran Vukoja

I remember being really excited by Goran Vukoja in 2019, when he registered 24 assists in 51 appearances in his first full season with GCZ Under 18s. The Youth Team went unbeaten that year, led by their Captain Marco Simon.

Physically advanced for 17 years old, Goran learnt his trade from Swiss International Fabio Daprelà

It didn't take long before Goran was itching to play, so I organised several loan deals within the Swiss Super League: Thun, Sion and St. Gallen. He did enough to earn a contract on his return and he played 16 games in all competitions during my 7th season at GCZ. However, Olympiakos came calling the Summer after with a £2.1m bid. I decided to sell, but looking back it was certainly the wrong decision. He was a great athlete and very defensively minded with good Concentration.

The Elder Statesman of the GCZ team in 2035

A regular in the GCZ Left Back spot now for 10 years

We did reunite though: in my last 6 months at GCZ, arriving for a cut price £1.5m deal. Goran has since gone on to make a further 395 appearances in all competitions for GCZ. He is now Vice Captain at GCZ.

2. Lukas Oswald

Sometimes good can come from what seems to be the most darkest of moments. Lukas Oswald's coming of age was just that, a brave performance during THAT Semi Final exit away to Olympique Lyonnais. Lukas was in the side during those two legs, due to Julian Weigl's broken leg. He stepped up admirably despite only being 20 years of age, bossing the midfield with fellow Academy player Nuno Gouveia in the 1st leg. Before scoring what I thought was the crucial away goal to send us to the EURO Cup final. I left GCZ with great frustration. But Lukas was the player to build around. A beautiful passer who covered a lot of ground...he was the Roaming Playmaker to take GCZ to the next level.

Lukas Oswald at 17 years old, destined for stardom.

Unfortunately GCZ cashed in only 6 months after I left the Club. I would never have the sanctioned the deal, and Chairman Franco Soldati probably knows that. Liverpool paid £13m to take Lukas to Merseyside and despite losing 4 finals with Liverpool...he eventually won a European medal:

A EURO Cup winner (at last) after two Runners up medals before that.
English Community Shield Runner Up
European Super Cup Runner Up

1. Nuno Gouveia

Part IV of The Marco & Remo Diaries was almost renamed to include 'Nuno' in the title, that's how much I rated this kid. I had sold Marco Simon, on the basis that Nuno Gouveia would one day be as influential for GCZ. Nuno was part of my 3rd Youth Intake, and at 17 years old he was already ridiculous:

It only took 4 years until Nuno Gouveia was a mainstay in the GCZ midfield...learning from the likes of Model Citizen Angelo Palombo en route to the top. Nuno developed a Professional attitude and became an influential player alongside Weigl and Kramer during my final season at GCZ.

Years before that, I had rejected bids in excess of £5m from Bayern and Juventus for Nuno. In the Swartzendruber era, if you wanted my talent...you had to pay a premium. So as I left GCZ, I was under no impression that he'd ever stay at GCZ and become a 'One Club Man'. The European Elite awaited...or did it?

The answer is 'No', the European Elite never came in for Nuno and he has amassed a staggering 429 league appearances for GCZ...he has beaten Mats Grens's total of 427 league appearances and sits 2nd in the all time appearance list for GCZ. 2nd behind a certain Remo Mahrer (who has 473 league appearances for GCZ).

Model Professional Nuno Gouveia replaced Remo Mahrer as Captain of GCZ in the Summer of 2032. He is now the icon fans turn to in order to lift the shadow over the Club...

Ein blick in die Zukunft....

Well this is it, the end of my 1,026 hour FM16 save. I have summarised the decline, evaluated the youth and now it's time to thank you for all reading and engaging with me about my GCZ story. It's been a pleasure. I have also collated all of my FM16 content into one place, visit: fmgrasshopper.com/fm16. This includes over twenty GCZ blog posts and ten FM guides, enjoy.

I WILL return to blog during FM17, that's for certain. So expect posts (and plenty of tweeting) during November and beyond. I hope to announce the club sometime week commencing 10 October. This will be via an introductory post - laying out the plans and aspirations, for what is expected to be another rollercoaster ride. I've been trying to put it to the back of my mind, so that I sign off the GCZ save with the time and commitment it deserves.

Thanks again,

FMG

The Marco & Remo Diaries - Epilogue #FM16 #WeAreTheCommunity

October 2, 2016

My FM16 journey has ended after finishing 10 seasons at Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ), I now wait for FM17. However, after simulating 10 years into the future (to 2035), I have two short blogs to publish: (1) today's Marco & Remo Epilogue and (2) next Friday's Auf Wiedersehen GC Zürich: 10 years without Swartzendruber post.

Since Marco Simon and Remo Mahrer entered my Youth Intake in February 2015, I've been pretty obsessed about charting their progress. Events in my save meant that the duo parted ways quite early on in my save, but they have reunited: both in the Swiss National Teams and also facing off in against one another in Continental matches. If you haven't caught up by now, here's your chance:

Part I

Part II - Invincible

Part III - Breakthrough

Part IV - Heartbreak

Part V - Icons

Part VI - Reunion

Part VII - Galácticos

Marco Simon: Legendary Midfielder

Marco Simon at 35 years old.  Real Madrid Captain.  Global Superstar and Legendary midfielder — Marco Simon at 35 years old. Real Madrid Captain. Global Superstar and Legendary midfielder

Marco's career at Real Madrid has been incredible, hardly missing a game, totalling 467 appearances, 126 goals & 95 assists

Marco Simon, at 35 years old, is the Captain of Real Madrid in what has been a legendary career in the Spanish Capital. To date, Marco has won 19 Major Trophies at Real Madrid:

La Liga x5
Spanish Cup x5
Spanish Super Cup x5
Champions League Winner x2
European Super Cup x2
Club World Championship Runner Up x2

During the simulation, he received the most treasured of Media Descriptions in 2032:

Marco's media description in 2032: 'Legendary Midfielder'

He has exceeded the predictions I made, back in the 1st ever Marco & Remo diary blog post:

5 Years: GCZ captain at the age of 21?

10 Years: A Champions League winning captain?

15 Years: Swiss captain with over 60 International caps?

A GCZ Captain at 19, Champions League winner in 2029 (slightly longer than 10 years) and a Swiss Captain with 100 International Caps. Marco has done it all and more! Bizarrely, Marco Simon chose to cut short his International Career as Swiss Captain in November 2029. Perhaps he liked the romance of finishing on 100 caps with 24 goals?

Selling Marco to Olympique Lyonnais at the end of Season 5 of my save was heartbreaking, but seeing what he has gone on to achieve has left me proud. Marco has been recognised for this talents and achievements with several awards:

Named Players' Swiss Super League Midfielder of the Season Runner Up on two occasions
Named Swiss National Team Player of the Year on four occasions
Shortlisted for World Golden Ball on nine occasions
Best Player in Europe 3rd place
European Champions League Golden Boot runner-up

"We shall never see his like again....and now his watch is ended".

Remo Mahrer - Loyal Grasshopper

There's only one man I would want to see replace Marco Simon as Captain of the Swiss National team and on 21 November 2029, Remo made that step up from Vice Captain to Captain. What an incredible achievement for GCZ - providing consecutive Captains to the Swiss National team.

Unlike Marco, Remo has kept himself available for the Swiss National team...despite his advancing years:

Remo Mahrer (now in the English Premier League with Stoke): 132 International caps with 41 goals

It's difficult to cover all of Remo's story, without spoiling next Friday's blog post: 'Auf Wiedersehen GC Zürich: 10 years without Swartzendruber'. But all I can say is that Remo Mahrer has stayed incredibly loyal to GCZ. He now holds both GCZ records for appearances and goals. Surpassing GCZ legend Mats Gren's record of 427 league appearances and smashing Moussa Konaté's previous record of 153 goals for GCZ.

In total, Remo has played 628 times for GCZ: scoring 266 goals and assisting 145 times. In 6 of those seasons he was a 20+ goals-a-season man. His trophy haul does not match Marco Simon's but for individual honours in Switzerland, he is up there with the very best:

Named Swiss Super League Player of the Season on six occasions
Swiss Rookiee of the Year on two occasions
Players' Super League Midfielder of the Season on two occasions
Swiss National Team Player of the Year on three occasions
Swiss Super League Top Goalscorer of the Year on six occasions

Remo sadly did not make any of my predictions, but despite this he has carved out a very distinguished career both with GCZ and Switzerland:

5 Years: Score a Champions League hat-trick before the age of 21 years old? (Like Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Gareth Bale before him)

10 Years: Win the European Golden Shoe?

15 Years: Top scorer at a Major International Championship?

In the Summer of 2034, Remo finally said goodbye to GCZ and ended up in Stoke, England for what is the twilight of his career. For reasons unknown, the GCZ Management had allowed him to run his deal down thus leaving on a Free Transfer.

"We shall never see his like again....and now his watch is ended".

Well, it's been quite an incredible journey with these guys. I hope you don't mind me shedding a teardrop or two. I never could have imagined that I would get these two together in a youth intake, it's incredible luck and something which I have enjoyed blogging about. It's perhaps the crucial aspect of the GCZ save that I have enjoyed the most: youth development.

Once the dust has settled from the conclusions of my FM16 save, I will collate their story into one place on my website. Both Marco & Remo have become legends in a fictional pixelated Universe, transcending space and time forever. Thank you for being part of their journey.

"We shall never see their like again....and now their watch has ended".

FMG

Auf Wiedersehen GC Zürich: Seasons 1-10 Review #FM16 #WeAreTheCommunity

September 30, 2016

3 minutes. I was 3 minutes from reaching the 2024/25 Euro Cup Final in Poland, in what would be Loïc Swartzendruber's 500th and final match in charge at Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ) - ending a trophy-laden 10 year spell in Zürich. 3 minutes away from erasing GCZ fans' memories of a Semi Final exit at the hands on SC Bastia on away goals in 1977/78. Just 3 minutes.

But in those final 3 minutes, Olympique Lyonnais scored to equal a 4-1 1st leg defeat and take the tie into Extra Time at 5-5. The rest is a heartbreaking collapse, as documented by my [at the time live] Twitter updates. There will never be a 500th game in charge, instead I said my farewells at home against FC Thun - my 499th game - on the final day of the 2024/25 Swiss Super League season.

Today's blog post is the 1st entry of a two part farewell to GCZ. In today's Part 1, we review Seasons 1-10...the good, the bad and the ugly. For as regular readers know, this hasn't been a fairy-tale save... if anything it's been the HBO Game Of Thrones of FM16 saves. Brutal, unpredictable and strangely satisfying in every small detail. Part 2 will be released next Friday (07 October 2016) and will simulate the next 10 years of life without Loïc Swartzendruber for GCZ and the Swiss Super League. But before we look forward, let's take a look back on 10 years with GCZ...

Seasons 1-10

Season 1 was probably my most challenging pre-season, I had to build an effective team within a very limited transfer budget. The main success was keeping the players I had, certainly Munas Dabbur...who went on to become top scorer in the league with 19 goals. The team was micro-managed to such an extent that we ended up with a very specific asymmetric 4-3-2-1 formation. The success was mainly put down to the injury free season I had...with Yoric Ravet (Inside Forward) and Dabbur (Poacher) creating a really good partnership upfront scoring 45 goals between them in all competitions (71% of our goals came from these two guys!). There were also specific combinations, tweaked to make great use of the FM Match Engine, such as Deep Lying Playmaker Kim Källström consistently releasing Attacking Wing Back Taye Taiwo down the left flank. Again, both these players remained injury free and we managed to pip FC Basel to the title (securing Champions League football) AND win the Swiss Cup. This would lay the foundations for the Swartzendruber legacy that was about to unfold...

Top Performer: Munas Dabbur with 23 goals in all comps

Marquee Signing: Taye Taiwo (£13k)

Notable achievement: A Swiss Domestic Double

Overall Balance at end of season: £-1.8m

Yoric Ravet & Munas Dabbur...a 45 goal partnership in Season 1. — **Yoric Ravet** & **Munas Dabbur**...a 45 goal partnership in Season 1.

In Season 2 we continued with the 4-3-2-1 asymmetric formation, and made a strong start domestically. However a disastrous November, in which GCZ failed to win a game, saw us knocked out of the Swiss Cup to lower league Servette FC and have no chance of progressing in the Champions League. We did however progress to the EURO Cup due to a 5-1 demolition of RSC Anderlecht. As Season 2 progressed GCZ Homegrown talents Shani Tarashaj (22) and Nikola Gjorgjev (19) really started to shine: accumulating in the fantastic 2-1 away win against Sevilla FC. The standout signing was Goalkeeper and South African Captain Itumeleng Khune, who played the Sweeper Keeper role perfectly. As the season progressed, we used the 4-3-2-1 sparingly and used a higher tempo 4-1-2-3, resulting in better football and more goals. It did however start to freeze out the tricky wide ball players of Caio and Yoric Ravet, in favour of more traditional width.

Top Performer: Shani Tarashaj with 19 goals and 9 assists in all comps

Marquee Signing: Itumeleng Khune (£350k)

Notable achievement: A 5-1 home win against RSC Anderlecht in the Champions League

Overall Balance at end of season: £11.3m

After just 46 GC games and 1 season, Itumeleng Khune made the £5.5m switch to Fiorentina. — After just 46 GC games and 1 season, **Itumeleng Khune** made the £5.5m switch to Fiorentina.

Season 3 was so nearly a terrible campaign for us. We were overpowered in the Champions League, crashing out bottom of the group with two points. We also had long barren periods in the league, an example being from February to April...where we picked up on two wins (in 14 games!). We recovered in the final few games however, with new £3.5m striker Moussa Konaté hitting form when it mattered. We won the league on the final day, overturning a losing position against St. Gallen (where we had dropped to 2nd in the live league table). However this day will be remembered as the birth of a new star at GCZ: as 18 year old Remo Mahrer powered in a vital equaliser to send GCZ top once again. The Club was also taken over by Italian Businessman, Franco Soldati in January of 2018. The Club finances swelled to unimaginable heights, concluding in an £11m signing of Niklas Stark in January 2018.

Top Performer: Moussa Konaté with 24 goals in all comps

Marquee Signing: Moussa Konaté (£3.5m)

Notable achievement: Beating Basel on penalties to win the Swiss Cup. The 2nd Domestic Double

Overall Balance at end of season: £24.1m

Moussa Konaté became GCZ's record scorer in under 4 seasons.  Netting 153 goals in 206 games. — **Moussa Konaté** became GCZ's record scorer in under 4 seasons. Netting 153 goals in 206 games.

Season 4 was the birth of entertainment at GCZ. We took our football to the next level by breaking the points record in the Swiss Super League (95 points). Moussa Konaté ran riot, netting 34 goals in all competitions. We also had a very industrious midfield with Marko Grujic, Niklas Stark and 19 year old Vice Captain Marco Simon overpowering opponents. We also did exceptionally well in the Champions Leauge, winning Group C against AC Milan, Arsenal and Zenit, and then beating Valencia home and away. Before finally going out at the Quarter Final stage against FC Bayern. Despite big signings of Argentinian sensation Franco López (£7m) and Spanish Right Back Patric (£3.5m), the finances were healthy...mainly due to £20m in Champions League prize money. We also won our 3rd Domestic Double.

Top Performer: Moussa Konaté with 34 goals in all comps

Marquee Signing: Patric (£3.5m)

Notable achievement: Beating Valencia home and away in a Champions League knockout match

Overall Balance at end of season: £22.9m

Spanish Right Back, Patric played 49 times for GCZ and had an Average Rating of 8.15 in all comps — Spanish Right Back, **Patric** played 49 times for GCZ and had an Average Rating of 8.15 in all comps

Season 5 saw another Double win, with record signing Iuri Medeiros (£16.75m) contributing 20 goals and 28 assists. The football at times was golden, with 37 goal (all comps) Moussa Konaté operating in front of Homegrown talent Remo Mahrer in 'the hole'. Unfortunately, we had a terrible away result at PSV in the 1st EURO Cup knockout round, losing 3-0 after a 0-0 1st leg draw at home.

Top Performer: Iuri Medeiros with 20 goals and 28 assists in all comps

Marquee Signing: Iuri Medeiros (£16.75m)

Notable achievement: A 5th straight league title

Overall Balance at end of season: £24.9m

Iuri Medeiros holds the record of the fastest GCZ goal: 15 seconds! — **Iuri Medeiros** holds the record of the fastest GCZ goal: 15 seconds!

Season 6 was another 'nearly year' in Europe, as we went as far as the Quarter Final of the EURO Cup. Going out on away goals to Leverkusen. Our fabulous run to the Quarters, which included knocking out Shakhtar Donetsk and Man City, was orchestrated by January record signing Julian Weigl (signed for £24.5m). Julian Weigl would go on to become GCZ's heartbeat for the remaining 5 years of my time. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Marco Simon (record £20m sale to Olympique Lyonnais,) who had become our Homegrown Captain in Season 5, and Patric who had a £16.75m release clause activated by Tottenham. Nevertheless, we walked to a 6th successive title with only one loss in the league all season.

Top Performer: Adama Traoré with 15 goals and 14 assists in all comps

Marquee Signing: Julian Weigl (£24.5m)

Notable achievement: A EURO Cup run to the Quarter Finals

Overall Balance at end of season: £35.7m

The £24.5m paid for Julian Weigl remains a GCZ record. — The £24.5m paid for **Julian Weigl** remains a GCZ record.

Season 7 was the birth of the Homegrown XI Project, a 5 year project set out to achieve European glory with a comparable set of Academy players to rival the great European teams of Ajax (1995) and Barcelona (2011). During Season 7 57% of the team was made up from Academy players (12 out of the 22 players), however we did polish around the squad with some marquee players. This included Swiss National Goalkeeper for Roman Bürki (signed for £15.75m) and Regen Winger Víctor Silva (£8.75m) - who replaced record sale Iuri Medeiros (sold to Man Utd for £30m). We won the league again, despite having some barren spells in September and February. I also had the embarrassment of a Swiss Cup exit to lowly FC Lausanne-Sport on penalties. We exited the Champions League with a 5-0 aggregate loss to Juventus, however further pain against this team would resurface in Season 10.

Top Performer: Remo Mahrer with 16 goals and 14 assists in all comps

Marquee Signing: Roman Bürki (£15.75m)

Notable achievement: A 5-0 home win against FC Porto in the Champions League Group Stage

Overall Balance at end of season: £36.1m

Roman Bürki has been Mr Reliable for GCZ.  Missing only 9 games in 4 seasons and keeping 81 clean sheets. — **Roman Bürki** has been Mr Reliable for GCZ. Missing only 9 games in 4 seasons and keeping 81 clean sheets.

In Season 8, we broke the points record in Switzerland by amassing an incredible 101 points: with 33 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Our flamboyancy reach ridiculous levels, scoring 101 goals in the league. Our play was expansive with Wingers Nikola Gjorgjev & Nikola Vlasic being directly involved in 60 goals (either assist or goal). Remo Mahrer also reach new heights with 18 goals and 18 assists, he had officially developed into a phenomenon for both Club and Country. With 14 International goals in 32 caps, he was recognised as Swiss National Player Of The Year (Nati award). But there was the continuing heartbreak in Europe. After a terrific performance away from home against Monaco (winning 2-1), we succumb to a 3-1 loss at home. After being 3-1 up in the tie, the team folded in the final 30mins...eventually losing the tie 4-3 on aggregate. I hoped the experience would teach the youngsters who now had a 60% share in my 1st team (15 Academy players in squad of 22). I was to be proved wrong...

Top Performer: Richairo Zivkovic with 28 goals in 26 starts (all comps)

Marquee Signing: Silvan Widmer (£9.5m)

Notable achievement: A records points tally to win an 8th consecutive league title and a 4th Domestic Double

Overall Balance at end of season: £15.5m

With 63 league goals in 81 games, Richairo Zivkovic replaced Moussa Konaté as No.1 Striker at GCZ. — With 63 league goals in 81 games, **Richairo Zivkovic** replaced Moussa Konaté as No.1 Striker at GCZ.

Due to [in part] my miss-management and an inactive Boardroom (as discussed here), Season 9 was a struggle to survive Financial Fair Play (FFP). My great legacy was on the brink of collapse in my penultimate season! However, we balanced the books and had to sell on the fringe players...sadly these were mainly Academy products. In essence, the Homegrown Project was over...just 3 years into the plan. Instead we bought established stars to steady the ship: Wingers Bismark Ngissah & Regen Florian Rahn. Despite the potential doom and gloom around the Club, we actually went on to have a great season including the away hammering of Young Boys way 7-1 and Basel 5-0 to clinch the title as Unbeaten Winners. The tweaked high tempo 4-2-3-1 was working wonders, with Julian Weigl & Academy product Nuno Gouveia forming an irresistible partnership in midfield. There was but more heartache though, and we went out Galatasaray S.K in comical fashion as documented in my Season 10 preview here. The team needed experience, which was the driver in my recruitment for my 10th and final season at GCZ...

Top Performer: Richairo Zivkovic with 32 goals in 30 starts (all comps)

Marquee Signing: Bismark Ngissah (£10m)

Notable achievement: An Unbeaten Season and my 5th Domestic Double (and surviving FFP!)

Overall Balance at end of season: £2.9m

After 12 years at GCZ, Moritz Bauer left the club with 8 league titles. — After 12 years at GCZ, **Moritz Bauer** left the club with 8 league titles.

Season 10 had become an obsession with Europe. After 9 Swiss Super League titles and 5 Swiss Cups, we had become a Domestic Powerhouse. We recruited to a specific kind of player: experienced with high levels of concentration, players that had vast Europe experience. German duo Willi Orban and Christoph Kramer arrived from Leverkusen in a £6m double deal. To fund the recruitment some big decisions were made, Club Icon Nikola Gjorgjev was sold to Barcelona for £30m (equalling the record sale again). We also said farewell to Club Record Scorer Moussa Konaté who was sold back to Sion on the cheap after falling out of favour in the Central Striker position. However, Europe didn't go swimmingly at first...we recorded our biggest ever defeat against Juventus: 8-0. It was the darkest day in the 10 seasons and I used the Winter Break to shore up the leaky defence and re-sign Niklas Stark for £15m in order to add more experience [and German steel]. We stumbled our way in to the EURO Cup Knockout rounds thanks to two wins against Lech in the Champions League Group Stage. We knocked out Dortmund, Roma and Porto en route to a famous 4-1 1st leg home win against Olympique Lyonnais. Despite the euphoria, we crumbled in the 2nd leg...3 minutes was how close we came to that European Cup Final...on what would have been my 500th game.

World Cup Winner Christoph Kramer joined GCZ, helping the club to its first European Semi Final since 1978. — World Cup Winner **Christoph Kramer** joined GCZ, helping the club to its first European Semi Final since 1978.

We won the league this season, making it 10/10. But I leave GCZ with regrets of what might have been. What might have been possible if I had curbed my enthusiasm for entertainment and goals. It is the right time to say goodbye to this wonderful club, in what has been a great FM save.

Top Performer: Bismark Ngissah with 18 goals and 19 assists (all comps)

Marquee Signing: Niklas Stark (£15m)

Notable achievement: A Euro Cup Semi Final (and 3 minutes away from a Final grrr)

Overall Balance at end of season: £10.1m

Notable Stats

During the 'The Swartzendruber Years' GCZ have jumped 174 positions in Club Reputation Rank (from being the 223rd Ranked Team Worldwide in 2015 to 49th in 2025).
The Club's average attendance has grown by 12,818 fans. Including 10 capacity crowds of 25,000 in 2025, a Club record. Hopefully the next manager can convince the Board to relocate to a new stadium.
80 players featured in 'The Swartzendruber Years': 25 GCZ Academy Players (31.25%), 6 Homegrown in Switzerland (8.75%) and 40 outside of Switzerland (60%). See below:

A third of players used have been GC Academy players

Thank You

Now that I have wrapped up Seasons 1-10, I am ready to sim 10 years into the future. To see what becomes of GCZ without me. This will be presented in Friday 07 October's blog post. But before that, I need to thank a few people who have really helped me in this save (and apologies in advance if I have missed anybody out). I moved into the Swiss League for the first time in FM16 and their help and support has been appreciated:

@aulit_z - The Swiss Researcher for Football Manager, please follow him. He reports on some of the best [& most outrageous - yet accurate] Swiss transfer news. The Swiss FM database can have no better person overseeing it. Danke, mein Freund.
@FootballSwiss - This Twitter account has some passionate support. It pretty much covers every Swiss Super League game, in some way of the other. I shall certainly be following, even though I leave Switzerland for pastures new. Keep up the good work Gents, I will be reading!
The next few accounts are GC fans that are good guys to talk to. It made my job feel more important as they took an interest in my save, thanks for your support and I wish GC every success in the future: @cedinho19, @Oli_Marriott, @TheUmlautAfobe, @frederikhvillum and the magical @talentfactoryFM

Hopp GC Forever,

FMG

The Marco & Remo Diaries - "Galácticos" Part VII #FM16 #WeAreTheCommunity

September 25, 2016

March 2025: It's been over an in-game year since I last updated you all on the developments of Marco Simon & Remo Mahrer, two exceptional Academy players of the 2015/16 Youth Intake. This update takes place two thirds through my final season at Grasshopper Club Zürich (GCZ): Season 10 (2024/25). It's therefore the final Diary post, before I simulate 10 Seasons after 2024/25 wraps up, where I will finish the Marco & Remo Diaries with an Epilogue post. So let's see what they've done in a year and whether they've lived up to their potential...

Marco Simon: a Swiss Galáctico

I always knew Marco Simon was destined for great things, potentially good enough to reach the summit of European football. It's one of the reasons why I insisted on 30% of any profit made when selling to Olympique Lyonnais (OL), I knew OL was just a stepping stone towards the European Elite. In the summer of 2024, Real Madrid came calling and Marco was part of a £200m investment programme from new (fictional) Real Madrid Club President: Israel Abdessalem.

Here are the three predictions from my very first Marco & Remo Diary post:

5 Years: GCZ captain at the age of 21?

10 Years: A Champions League winning captain?

15 Years: Swiss captain with over 60 International caps?

He achieved the 5 year prediction pretty quickly, captaining the Club at 19 years of age to a Swiss League and Cup Double. There's no better place for Marco to be in order to achieve the 10 year prediction and in 2024/25 Real Madrid are on course for a Champions League triumph:

Marco Simon will easily achieve the 15 year prediction almost 7 years early, he currently sits on 52 International appearances for Switzerland. He is also Swiss Captain and a Global Superstar with a Leader mentality:

Swiss National Manager Zinedine Zidane replaced Swiss Captain Granit Xhaka with Marco Simon

I have simply run out of superlatives to describe Marco Simon, he's the greatest alumni that GGZ could have and nothing makes me feel more proud in FM16 than seeing him dominate on the Continental & International scene. One of my long term challenges for this save was:

Produce and develop a Newgen, through the club's youth intake, and see them go on to become a Ballon d'Or winner (either at the club or elsewhere)

Marco Simon is the best bet for achieving this and something I will address during the Epilogue blog post.

Remo Mahrer: a Grasshopper Galáctico

Remo has had to be patient in the last 18 months

It would have been pretty incredible if Remo Mahrer hit the same dizzy heights of Marco Simon's career. Although he isn't yet a Galáctico, he is still with GCZ and his career has been a success story:

A winner of 4 Swiss Cups and 7 Swiss Super League titles (including a goal on the final day of the 2018 season as a teenager, to clinch the title from Basel on the final day!)

A two time Swiss National Player of the year (Nati award). 49 International Caps and 20 goals.

The one thing missing from his trophy haul with GCZ is also what I crave the most: a European cup (as discussed in my last blog post). As we entered Season 10, Remo was out of form and struggling to make the team. The lowest moment for probably both Remo and myself was the 8-0 loss at home to Juventus. Remo was on the bench and I had run out of ideas with the team. Tactically outclassed, I used the Winter Break of Season 10 to re-address the tactics in the team. One major decision was to put faith in Remo Mahrer once again. This was facilitated by a long term injury to first choice Central Striker Richairo Živković. It was Remo's time to shine.

With some exquisite passers in midfield like Julian Weigl (Passing 18/Vision 17) and Academy players: Nuno Gouveia (Passing 16/Vision 16) & Lukas Oswald (Passing 16, Vision 16), we've managed to use Remo as the most advanced forward in a 4-3-3. With the exception of the stalwart defence we've deployed, Remo IS the reason why we face Porto in the Euro Cup Quarter Final. He destroyed Dortmund away from home in the Signal Iduna Park and produced the most magical goal at home to Roma:

Every club has iconic moments that resonate through its history. On Thursday 06 March 2025 Remo Mahrer made that iconic moment, defining my era at GCZ forever. Finishing a fine team move in a 2-1 win against AS Roma at the Letzigrund during a Euro Cup Knockout match. This is probably my favourite goal at GCZ so far. Here is the finish in two different angles:

We're now approaching a Euro Cup Quarter Final against Porto, where we will be relying on our Grasshopper Galáctico once more. Stay updated via my Twitter or await a blog post about how Season 10 concludes here on fmgrasshopper.com. Thanks to all those who have shared my Marco & Remo Diary posts, it's been an absolute pleasure charting their amazing careers with you. For a recap on past blogs see below:

Part I

Part II - Invincible

Part III - Breakthrough

Part IV - Heartbreak

Part V - Icons

Part VI - Reunion

As ever, thank you for reading. I think I have at least 3 more FM16 GCZ updates in me:

(1) A Season 1-10 recap on all the shit that's happened in this save

(2) A simulation 10 years into the future and what it meant for GCZ without Loïc Swartzendruber

and (3) an Epilogue for Marco & Remo...as we see what they get up during the 2020s and 2030s.

FMG