"Total Recall: Surviving A Continental Final Against The Odds" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity


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Intro

You would think that after managing 5 full seasons in FM18 Argentina nothing would surprise me.  Think again.  Estudiantes de La Plata were defending their Recopa* crown, a first leg 2-0 victory away in the Estadio Libertadores de América Vs Independiente put my team in a really strong position.  Surely all I would need to do now is turn up and keep it simple in front of the La Plata crowd?

FM threw a curve ball: due to International fixtures 6 of the first XI would be unavailable for the second leg in 2 weeks time.  Furthermore, a total of 13 of the 25 registered to play in the Recopa were missing in the various u20, u23 & National Team squads.  I was left with a depleted squad, barely able to field an XI and incapable of calling up youth players in my squad.

*For those unaware, the Recopa is a match between the winners of the Copa Libertadores Vs Copa Sudamericana, played out over two legs: home and away.
Today’s blog post is therefore a story of survival, tenacity and willpower: 5 things I did to fight against the odds.  Did we end up with the Recopa?  If so, how did we do it?  To find out, read on below…

(1) Total Recall

Well apart from being an awesome blog title, the total recall option was used for players out on International Duty.  In all my time with FM, I have never used this en masse.  I recalled EVERYBODY who was away from the club via the Squad Screen/International Friendly Availability.

"Call the Banners. They've all sworn to defend La Plata, have they not?"

So why the need for a blog post?  Well, only 6 players returned to me in time for the 2nd leg...notably those outside of Main National Team squads.  But still, 6 players boosted the eligible pool of players available to me by 50%.  We were now able to field an XI and have a substitutes bench for the Recopa final, but I was still left without a left winger or right back.


(2) The Makeshift XI

On the face of it, it doesn't look too bad...you could argue 4-5 of the first XI above are regular starters at Estudiantes.  However, in order to fill some positions a few tweaks/adjustments were made to the regular 4141:

(1) Diego Polenta (Full Back on Support) - was instructed to Hold Position.  

Diego Polenta is usually my 1st choice left-sided Centre Back.  However, for the Recopa 2nd leg I had to push him to Left Back in order to move reserve Left Back (Mateo Allione) forward.  Polenta is technically raw, and does not have the Physical attributes to venture back-and-forth on a regular basis.  So I wanted him to hold his position, doubly critical as I expected Independiente to play with an AMR.

The Hold Position is defaulted when on a Defensive Mentality, but passing directness is also increased and it absolutely killed Diego’s attacking instincts.  On this mentality he would be very insular and no threat going forward.  So I manually set Hold Position on a Support Duty instead, via Edit/Player Instructions.

(2) Mateo Allione (Wide Midfielder on Support).  

I switched Newgen Left Back Mateo Allione to Left Midfield because I was short of a left sided wide player.  However, the usual Winger-Attack role would have to change...Mateo is no winger. In fact, Mateo’s strengths are fairly strong Mentals in Positioning, Teamwork & Work Rate.  So I set him to be a Wide Midfielder on Support duty, which is a nice role for hard working players of a team ethic.  Due to Polenta's relative uneasiness at Left Back, I also thought it was worthwhile having someone disciplined and focused on keeping the team's shape.

Mateo Allione our makeshift Wide Midfielder.

(3) Fernando Zuqui (Winger on Attack).  

Usually Fernando Zuqui plays as my Wide Midfielder on Attack, but in order to add variety and reduce the risk of being too predictable/symmetrical in attack (as Allione is now plaing as a WM-S on the left) I switched Zuqui to the more advanced Winger role.  Zuqui has good crossing (14) and reasonable Acceleration (14), Pace (13) & Stamina (15) which shows he is suitable for the role.

Below are the Team Instructions, unchanged from the usual 4141 I use.  I figured I would have to go with my eyes and watch it play out in the FM18 match engine and adjust where needed.  In my opinion, there is no point changing something unless you see that it needs to be changed (more on this later).

My 4141 TIs.


(3) The Plan B (if required)

So despite having a makeshift XI and a general tactical plan, it's always best to have a backup plan...just in case things go sour.  In FM18, my panic reaction is to switch to a 442 formation.  I have a backup tactic loaded just for this event, and personnel to make it work (notably the combination of Target Man on Attack and the trusted Advanced Forward role).  Luckily, the players for my 442 remained in La Plata...so this was always an option, should we go behind.

I have managed over 250 games with this Estudiantes team, so I know from experience when it's likely the 442 needs to be called upon.  I know what my team struggles to play against, and it was plainly in sight as I entered the pre-match screens.  Independiente's formation: the 4231 DM Wide - there is something about x2 DMs that troubles my 4141.

Independiente's 4231 Wide formation.

Anyway, we would go with the 4141 on the basis that we were 2-0 up and Independiente needed to come out of their shell.  We'd assess on Comprehensive Highlights and go from there.  But first, there was a couple of extra tasks at hand...


(4) Target 'The Danger Man' + 'The Weakness'

Ezequiel Barco is a Football Manager 2018 wonderkid.  In my save he has remained loyal to his local club and has amassed over 180 league appearances at the age of just 23.  He is Independiente's Advanced Playmaker, as shown in the Player Screen (go to Reports/Form):

Lots of people worry about Strikers/Goalscorers and focus solely on stopping them, but I am more inclined to worry about the guy that's supplying them with chances.  Barco is that guy (aka 'The Danger Man'), and by taking him out there will be a lovely central void in the centre of the park.

So I decided to apply every Opposition Instruction on him: Tight Marking (Always), Closing Down (Always), Tackling (Hard) and Show Onto Foot (Left).  Additionally we played with a Defensive Midfielder at DM, so I expected to have a player close to him at all times, in order to prevent him from dictating Independiente's attacking play.

Opposition Instructions are not all about stopping the opposition from attacking you, moreover...I always like to target a weakness in order to help our own play.  Luckily, for me at least, Independiente's Left Back has a Composure attribute of 4...so I decided to (always) Close Down.  Composure is the ability to make good decisions with the ball and keeping a steady head, so if a player is weak in this area I would want my Winger or Advanced Forward to be near enough to capitalise on 'The Weakness'.


(5) Watch The Match (& The Widgets)

It sounds like I am being condescending to you, the Reader, when I ask you to stay calm and just watch the match.  But it's true.  Sometimes it's best to see how things play out if you are uncertain about an aspect of your game.

But if you're still worried (like I was going into this Recopa Final 2nd leg), Football Managers in FM18 have a wealth of real-time information in front of us when watching the games.  The FM realism cult may look at it unfavorably, but here are the in-game widgets I use (and why):

Widgets everywhere!

  1. The Opponent's Formation - This is probably my most used in-game widget.  I am able to see how the AI is setting up, but can also see their tactical tweaks and adjustments whilst the game plays out.  That's right, if the AI changes the mentality of a player, you will see slight changes to their position highlighting a switch up has occurred.
  2. I am not sure how long Player Watch has been in FM, but it's really useful if you want to target a player.  You can dial right in to their Condition, Sharpness, Statistics & Body Language.  You can use it for one of your own players too, but I much prefer to target 'The Dangerman' and see if I am handling his threat.
  3. Player Ratings (for my team) - I want to see at a first glance the Condition & Match Rating of my squad members.  If I notice a drop in either, I can look into greater detail via the Player Stats screen.
  4. Match Stats - Not all of these are useful for during the match, but I pay particular attention to Clear Cut Chances & Possession.  I find both a good indication of how we are playing, the more CCCs the better...but possession is a mixed bag.  I am better at around 40-50%, anymore and I am likely getting too much of the ball...suggesting that the AI is sitting deep and attempting to anti-fútbol my anti-fútbol.

There are a number of additional widgets you can use.  For example, the Actions Zones and Focus of Attacks widgets are great indicators too - both offer an at-a-glance look at how your team is fairing compared to the AI.


The Result

We won!  2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate, the Recopa Trophy stays in La Plata.  But did the 5 steps help us on the way?  Let's take a look:

(1) Total Recall - The return of Newgen Renzo Taborda, who ditched Argentina u23s to play this game, was a pivotal factor in our win.  He made a sublime assist to make it 1-0...and then scored the goal to make it 2-0.  I would say that Operation: 'Total Recall' was a total success :-)

1-0 Reynoso on 27 minutes.

2-0 Taborda on 79 minutes.

(2) Plan B - Not needed at all, we played 4141 for the whole 90 minutes.  But as the saying goes "Plan for the worst, and hope for the best"...we were ready to go 442 if need be.

(3) Targeting 'The Danger Man' & 'The Weakness'.  Barco was pretty quiet, it's always questionable as to whether this is my influence OR him simply having a bad day.  But his Heat Map & one solitary Key Pass are enough to make me happy:

Barco Vs Estudiantes.  Average Position, Heat Map & [solitary] Key Pass.

I don't really want to name and shame 'The Weakness', but he put in a 6.4 and was subbed on 79 minutes.  Completing 34 passes, but was all round pretty dull in possession.

(5) The Widgets always help.  I played on Comprehensive highlights, and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way for a final.  A trophy was on the line and we prepared well.  As a manager, I was able to see my Newgen Ignacio Fernández's condition deteriorate with 10 minutes to go.  So he was hauled off.  Thank you widgets!


A Return to La Plata

This post has been a venture from outside the usual seasonal updates that I have been running alongside my FM18 save (available to re-read at: fmgrasshopper.com/fm18).  I didn't include any of the other fixtures so far from Season 6 (mainly because we are only a few games in).  But I will be back, when a summary merits a blog post in due course.

Thank you for reading/sharing & caring.

FM Grasshopper

 

"For a Few Dollars More" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity


Intro

The 5th season (2021/22) in FM18 Argentina heralds the dawn of stability: a European-style 38 game season with 20 teams, running from August until May.  As a European myself, it feels familiar.  In real life, I expect the Argentina Football Association (AFA) to have drawn up further changes/tweaks to their league system by 2022.  But in FM18, the year-on-year changes are over.

It's been a season to remember too.  Last time out, we won the ultimate South American club prize...again.  But the league title had eluded me in those previous 4 seasons...until now.  Ángel Bastardo became a Argentine Superliga Winner on the 5th attempt.  Move away Boca & River, Bastardo has finally arrived!

Today's post will recap this domestic success, summarise 5 seasons of drama & review our club finances (which is something I said we'd do again back in Season 3).  This is for a few dollars more...


Season 2021/22

Argentine Superliga

An incredibly strong run towards the end of the season sealed our title, 17 games unbeaten with 14 of these being wins. There can be no complaints from the 'Big 5' of Argentina either, we only lost once all season (to San Lorenzo at home): 8 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.  Estudiantes de La Plata certainly supporting calls for a revised 'Big 6' to be adopted in the media.

Estudiantes de La Plata: the most potent attack meets the most water-tight backline (shared with Independiente).

This title win was hugely satisfying, especially in the way we responded to last year's disappointing 2nd place (when a title win was in our grasp on the final day).  5 trophies in 5 years now!

Copa Libertadores 2022

'The trophy' will always be the Copa Libertadores though, and we've had a near perfect start to defending our crown over in Group A.  Due to the teams in the group, I was able to rotate our starting XI.  They haven't disappointed either, with no goals conceded in 6 games.  The only blemish was that home draw Vs Quito in La Plata.  Maxi Pereira receiving a straight red on 51 mins after a horror challenge...he never played for Bastardo again.  Not because of the tackle, but his insistence on claiming his €1k clean sheet bonus.  Traitor.

The reward for progressing as group winners is a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to face Vasco da Gama in the Second Round which kicks off in early 2022/23 pre-season.

Copa Argentina

We're still in the domestic cup too.  Knocking out San Martín de Tucumán & Argentinos Juniors in the 5th/6th Rounds.  Up next is Primera B side Club Almirante Brown, Quarter Finals is to be expected here.


For a Few Dollars More

As previously mentioned, this is a sequel to my Season 3 post (read "A Fistful of Dollars" here).  In that post I summarised the achievements/misdemeanors of 3 years graphically, so in order to remain consistent...here is a recap on 5 years in La Plata:

Seasons 1-5 in summary.

I ended the "Fistful of Dollars" post at the financial crossroads, I had built a team on a relatively tight budget and maintained a socialist wage structure.  A structure that pays sensibly, with wage parity in mind i.e. there are no players earning ridiculous amounts over their peers.  At Season 3 this was set at €50k per month (around €12.5k a week), and I was in two minds if I could (1) attract further players to take me to to the next level (a league title) and (2) retain my current best players.

I decided to keep at it, only increasing my wage cap to €55k per month in Season 4 (2020/21).  I found satisfaction that we were still able to challenge for the title that year, and held the belief that Season 5 would be 'the year'.  The rest is history, we're now a title winning team, and our top 5 earners are:

  1. Emanuel Reynoso - €55k per month.  Our mercurial No.10 talent.  My fav #FM18 player.
  2. Carlos Auzqui - €55k per month.  A La Plata boy returning home (again).
  3. Jesús Medina - €50k per month.  Argentine Superliga Player of the Year 2021/22.
  4. Raúl Rolón - €50k per month.  Our 192cm 20 year old Deep Lying Playmaker.
  5. Diego Polenta - €50k per month.  Bastardo's Uruguayan rock at the back.

Seeing as I have won domestic and continental honours within the first 5 years of this save, I see no reason why I should upset the apple cart and ditch this wage model.  I am aware that painful decisions may have to be made on some of my key performers, but sometimes we have to find new heroes, right?

Financial Highlights 2020-2022

So, our 5 year financial summary is found below.  It is worth noting from the onset that Prize Money is not one of the top 3 earners in the first 3 years of this save (and thus was not detailed in Season 3's financial statement).  But Prize Money from the two Copa Libertadores wins (2021 & 2022) and subsequent FIFA Club World Cup participations in both years has earned Estudiantes some serious income in Seasons 4 & 5.

But it is also worth mentioning that Prize Money is a risky income stream, it can never be guaranteed/taken for granted, which is further justification for continuing with the socialist wage structure that has brought success.  We must keep the ship sailing straight & steady!

Note - Wage costs have risen between 2020-22, but this also takes into account bonuses paid out as part of the trophy laden 2 years in La Plata AND contract renewals to some key 1st team players (Reynoso, Rolón & Werner).

In the next 2 transfer windows a few big sales may have to be made, providing I cannot tie down players like Alexander Barboza, Maxi LoveraFernando Zuqui to long term deals.  They all have 12 months to go now, so it will be interesting to see if they want to stick with Bastardo's Bastards or seek the money elsewhere.  So this is a potential income that could be realised sooner rather than later, and become a top 3 revenue stream...something which is yet to happen in my save.

I have no specific cash reserve target in mind when ending this save, but it would be great to exceed €30m when I finally call it a day.  It's ambitious, as I have found it incredibly hard to sell players in FM18, but there's hope that the Board behind the scenes can help me out too.  After all, they've negotiated much better sponsorship deals since we've been representing Argentina in the FIFA Club World Cup.  Here is €6m of sponsorship that has landed at the start of Season 6 (and therefore not included in the 2020-2022 financial summary previously reported above).

#spon !

I originally planned to do a financial analysis at Season 10, but in truth I am playing slower this year.  So I am now hoping to reach 8 seasons, anything else will be a bonus.  But I will conclude this mini-trilogy of posts, whenever 'the end' approaches.  Of course, do stay up-to-date in the meantime with the various tidbits of content I put out on Slack & Twitter:


GrassNGear is here

One of the reasons why my gametime has slowed a tiny bit is due to the GrassNGear podcast I record with fellow scoundrel Daniel Gear [of Bolivia fame].  I dubbed it "the best FM podcast you've probably never heard".  However, once you have heard it...it probably won't be your best FM podcast.  Nevertheless it's fun all the same!

www.soundcloud.com/grass-gear

www.twitter.com/GrassNGear

I rarely talk about my FM18 Estudiantes save on it, but I have covered some approaches in how I am tactically playing FM this year.  I recommend Episode IV: "4141" for instance, where I talk about how Estudiantes play my interpretation of the 4141 formation.

There's no schedule/common release day, the pods simply drop when they are hot.  The latest tracks can be heard below:

As always, thanks for reading/sharing & caring (and maybe even listening).

Until next time.

FM Grasshopper

"Anti-Destiny" - Return to La Plata #FM18 #WeAreTheCommunity


Intro

Estudiantes Logo.png
"L'art est un anti-destin / Art is an anti-destiny"

The above quote from 20th Century French theorist André Malraux provides some philosophical jargon to start today's blog post.  Malraux’s meaning was that art is a man's escape from their insignificance in this world.  Through art we create an alternate life, one of our own making...separated from man's original 'destiny'.  A parallel exists here with my Football Manager content, and all creators' content for that matter, it is our art.  The art you are now reading & experiencing is set in a rival world, out on its own...acting as an 'anti-destiny'.

The anti-destiny does not behave like its polar opposite, as demonstrated in my FM18 saved game with Estudiantes de La Plata.  In 2020 we had the chance to face off against Manchester United in the Club World Cup.  A replica meting of the infamous 1968 World Club Championship, which saw Estudiantes triumph with the most brutal form of anti-fútbol ever seen (see below - with thanks for @Brazier25 for these images).  Yet the save did not behave, there was to be no 'destiny'...Manchester United crashing out in the Semi Final to Mexico's Club América (who went on to beat Bastardo 1-0 in the final).

Fast forward 12 months and incredibly both Estudiantes & Man Utd make the tournament once again (a big spoiler on how my 2021 Copa Libertadores campaign went down by the way).  But anti-destiny was there again to spoil the party, it was now La Plata's turn to bow out at the Semi Final stage...leaving Manchester United to take the World Club Cup crown with a 3-0 Vs Tigres of Mexico.

It is absolutely heart-breaking that I couldn't relive a repeat of that 1968 final.  Not just once but TWICE, the narrative would have reached unreal heights.  But maybe anti-fútbol goes hand-in-hand with anti-destiny?  This save does not behave, there is no script, as 2021/22 has so far shown...


Goodbye Carlo

We came so close to winning the title last season, so I felt we didn't need to overhaul the playing staff.  The incomings were minimal: Gabriel Rojas joins on a Free Transfer from San Lorenzo, who grabbed the No.3 shirt.  Then two midfielders arrived: Éver Banega on a Free from Sevilla and no nonsense tackler Eric Remedi from Banfield (€3m).

We made some money too: Walter Bou moved to China for €1.1m, Federico Lértora signed for Nice in France at €1.8m...but the big deal was the sale of Academy hotshot Carlo Lattanzio to West Ham in a deal rising to €4.5m:

We now look to young Renzo Taborda, who I identified last time out as an Academy jewel, who I believe can step up and push current No.9 (Maxi Romero) for the starting slot in our 4141:

It's taken 5 years, but we now have a Newgen in the La Plata XI: Raúl Rolón in at No.5!


Season 2021/22

2021 Copa Libertadores

I can't remember retaining a continental trophy in the Football Manager series.  I certainly don't remember winning a continental trophy before a league title in either Championship Manager or Football Manager.  But there we go, consecutive Copa Libertadores wins for Estudiantes de La Plata: 2020 + 2021.

It was a pretty wild run to the trophy too, a bore-fest of epic proportions against Atlético Nacional...edging the Colombian champions on penalties at home. Then away loses in both the Semi Final and Final away legs, only to score 5 in each of the home legs.  Incredible!

Copa Libertadores 2021.

Read the below Twitter thread to relive the drama of that home tie Vs Grêmio.  A game in which La Plata No.10, Emanuel Reynoso, cemented his place in Estudiantes history with a 9.1 MOTM performance.

2021/22 Argentine Superliga

A faultless start to the league season saw us go on a 10 game winning streak, until we were brought down to earth with three straight loses in November as I rotated the squad between Copa Libertadores finals.  It highlighted the fact that as an eleven we are ridiculously strong, but we lack a certain amount of depth during the busy periods.

The 16 league games of 2021/22 in 2021.

We have some catching up to do, both in games and in points!

Annoyingly the glitchy nature of FM tells me that the Board are 37% satisfied with our domestic performance.  It's highly frustrating considering our points-per-game ratio is best in the league.  We have 11 points to catch Boca, but we have 5 league games to do it in!

Copa Argentina & Recopa Sudamericana

We could not retain the Copa Argentina, losing on penalties to Temperley in the Quarter Final.  Nevermind, we're not the best in Argentina (yet), but we are officially now the best team in South America.  If the Copa Libertadores doesn't confirm that, we beat 2020 Copa Sudamericana winners Santiago Wanderers 5-1 on aggregate to win the Recopa.  Another trophy in Bastardo's collection.  That's 4 and counting :-)

The Recopa trophy is now Bastardo's!


22 games to go!

The race for the title is still long, 22 games for Bastardo to be precise.  But if we can recapture that early form and bring in 1-2 players to flesh out the squad, I genuinely think we can do it...in what will be my 5th attempt.

Of course anti-destiny will be rife, there is no script...it's what we make it.  Vamos Estudiantes!

As always, thank you for reading/sharing/caring,

FM Grasshopper