"Edge of Seventeen" - La Plata: Colombia #FM21

Previously on La Plata: Colombia, Hugo Ojeda offered to end the War on Drugs.

 
 

Intro

Today’s post concludes the second half of 2024, my 4th season in Colombia with Atlético Junior. In the Board’s eyes it was a disappointment: they wanted a domestic title (of which there are two per calendar year) and we won neither. Yet, we did win two domestic trophies which the Board did not rate (Superliga de Colombia & Copa Colombia) and had a respectable run to the Copa Libertadores Semi Final…once again the last non-Brazilian side in the competition. We also achieved a respectable ‘Silver Place’ in the inaugural La Copa LQ, absolutely smashing Diego Mendoza’s UDM en route to a tight defeat against Adventure’s Atalanta. In my eyes, at least, 2024 was a massive success…because we continued to compete for trophies despite fielding a much younger side.

In a previous post, I introduced my 4-1-3-2 ‘Godzilla’ tactic which I hoped would make use of the plethora of young up-and-coming academy players moving into the 1st team. As I head into the 5th season, and possibly my last with Junior, I am now looking to add more younger players. I’m therefore excited to introduce to you those on the edge of seventeen in today’s post, who I hope will represent us well in May 2025’s revamped FIFA Club World Cup.

Vamos Junior…

Season 2024

2024 Clausura

Our Closing campaign was nowhere near as solid as the Opening Stage, yet we did manage to qualify for the Semi Final stage with two games to spare…finishing the Closing campaign in 6th. But, as usual, it’s all about how you find form in the Semi Final groups and we did not disappoint:

I’ll admit to being a bit nervy with the opening away draws, but four straight wins were enough to see us confidently qualify for the Closing Stage Final…a repeat of the 2023 Closing Stage: Millonarios Vs Junior Club. The 1st leg was massively disappointing, we could not capitalise on being at home…and two long rangers from Millonarios shocked us. Sadly, the 1st leg did not get the point across…we shipped five goals without a reply in the second leg and found ourselves 7-1 down on aggregate. We did improve in that second half and it ended 5-4 (7-5 on aggregate), but we only really turned up for one 45 mins out of 180. Was the team too young? Did I set it up wrong? I really don’t know. It was the first time domestically that we had conceded four goals in over a year (pre-Godzilla tactic) and I’m left wondering what could have been if we had not been so god awful in that Second Leg’s 1st half.

The 4th Millonarios-Junior League final of this save, and the first time Millonarios came out on top :-(

2024 Copa Libertadores

The updates progressively get more upbeat as we move onto the cup competitions, we came so close to making the showpiece Copa Libertadores final and defending our title! Before that topsy-turvy Semi Final, we made relatively easy work against San Lorenzo and Vasco da Gama. The scorelines show only a one nil Junior advantage, but I was pleased as to how my young team controlled both games.

Santos won the showpiece single legged final in Estadio Centenario, Uruguay. Ties before this are two-legged.

Against Santos, the 3-1 away leg defeat flattered the Brazilian side. After Caraballogol put us ahead, I felt we controlled it quite well…until moments of magic appeared from their individual talents, which include ex-Gimnasia striker Matías Córdoba (vomits). The second leg was a 2-1 Junior win, I still feel pained re-watching the highlights of Lautaro Giannetti’s header smashing against the post from a corner and both Jhon Durán & Caraballogol missing easy 1v1 sitters. Still, we lost to eventual winners and came close to defending our crown.

2024 Copa Colombia

The Copa Colombia trophy win was a nice surprise. The Bucaramanga tie was a repeat final from last year, and allowed me to give minutes to players who would leave Junior club in December 2024: Club Captain Leandro Pico, ex-FM wonderkid Sherman Cárdenas and hitman Santiago Tréllez all waving goodbye to Barranquilla after years of service. The Copa Colombia is our 9th trophy of this save and something to build on as we go into 2025 seeking to get into double figures for trophies won.

Trophy #9

Another little side challenge of the save drags on: see a single player score 50 calendar year goals (all comps). Perhaps 2025 is the year we finally do it, seeing as both Jhon Durán & Caraballogol scored 44 goals each in 2024. I just need one to be a little more selfish over the other I guess…

Edge of Seventeen

I have previously written about my approaches to youth development + training back in Season 2 (read Junior Club here). The U20 training regimes and my general approach have not changed, but we did see the special affiliate arrangement with Barranquilla FC end in 2023 with their promotion to the Colombian top league. It’s annoying that it was ended, but I can take some solace in that I used the option, when I could, to poach a few young players including Ricardo Caraballo - now our top scorer in all competitions for two years running.

The previous Youth Development blog post introduced three young players: Jhon Durán, Juan Aragón & Pabue Casiani. I do not feel the need to re-introduce them here today, but just know that they will feature in the First Team in 2025. Likewise, I feel no need to re-post the mercurial talents of the ‘three ‘illas’ as outlined in my Godzilla post. The likes of Charles Asprilla, Mauricio Bonilla and Antony Padilla are already virtual household names by now. Instead, I will introduce three more younger players; who I hope will breakthrough and make a name for themselves in 2025. I’ll then conclude by showing you my final squad number graphic for the year, only this time…also showing you the depth in positions as the young players interchange with the establish stars. I am hoping that a near Homegrown* XI can become a regular thing in my 5th and final season.

*Note - ‘Homegrown’ to me is two things: (1) ‘Homegrown’ as in Colombian nationality and also (2) ‘Homegrown At Club’ which, in my mind, includes those guys signed from the Barranquilla FC arrangement and anybody signed at the age of 15-years-old (e.g. Charles Asprilla and Mauricio Bonilla). Don’t like this? Stop reading.

(1) Juan Pablo Bohórquez

 
 

Brave, hardworking and speedy. Juan Pablo Bohórquez was introduced to the 1st team briefly in the Opening Stage of 2024 before impressing. In the Closing Stage he has built on his form and become our replacement Pressing Forward when Caraballogol needed a rest. The statistics are shown in the tweaked Rensie Skin above, absolutely lethal domestically in the league and our 3rd best scorer in 2024 with 17 goals (all comps). There is not a lot I will do with him now, other than train him in the Pressing Forward role on double intensity. There is absolutely no need to sign a replacement for Santiago Tréllez either, JPB is oven ready!

(2) Estebán Alcázar

 
 

Based on coach reports, Estebán Alcázar is one of our most highly rated players for potential ability at Junior Club. I therefore feel compelled to use him in 2025, as he enters adulthood which sees his demands for 1st Team football grow. But, where do I use him? My midfield this season has been stacked for talent, so I’ve shoehorned him in briefly at Right Back as our Complete Wing Back on Attack. But longer term I probably would like to use him as a left sided attacking Mezzala in the 4-1-3-2, seeing as I don’t play with wide attackers. His either footedness attracts me too, and if I can get him up near the penalty area with his silky dribbling then I think he could be the surprise Junior player of 2025.

(3) Edgar Mora

 
 

Lastly, Edgar Mora is one I want to introduce to you in today’s post. In a reverse of the standard Barranquilla FC arrangement, I loaned Mora in order to increase his game time over 2024. Played as a Deep Lying Playmaker at MC, he’s been a solid performer for Barranquilla FC back in Colombia’s second league. He now returns to Junior Club with a chance of entering our side as a utility player in midfield. I really need a holding player at DM to relieve Antony Padilla from time-to-time now that Leandro Pico has left. Edgar could be that help, but can he play Half Back and drop into our backline? Personally, I’d like better Positioning, but I’ll surely be able to give him adequate minutes at either HB or CM-S.

Squad Evolution 2021-2025

 
 

I thought I would update my First XI squad number graphic and compare it with the previous two from earlier on in the save (2021 and 2023). After four years of management, the team is almost completely different from Day 1 of the save. Only Winger Edwuin Cetré and Left Back Gabriel Fuentes now remain from that original squad, with the latter occupying #6 in each squad number graphic of the save.

In addition to the usual squad number graphic, I thought I would create one to also show squad depth and the various homegrown options I have at my disposal for Season 2025. Perhaps this endeavour is more of an aide-mémoire in future [real-life] years to see how far Junior Club came with regards to Youth Development. The ‘Homegrown At Club XI’ has always been a holy grail for me in Football Manager series, and I am incredibly close in FM21 to achieving it. Certainly some games over the course of the calendar year will feature 6 or 7 in the starting XI. But certainly a ‘Homegrown XI’ is more easily achievable on the regular, given that the domestic league rules dictate only three foreign players in the starting XI anyway. Therefore: Vamos Colombia!

One More Year…

So, that’s my 2024 update and I now look ahead to 2025. It is a season I am looking forward to, with the revamped FIFA Club World Cup (held in Greece) taking place in May making the season feel somewhat different and fresh. Still, I am relatively sure that this will be my last season in this save, but there are little ‘titbits’ that are still keeping the save interesting: the quest for a ‘50 goal-a-season striker’, the Homegrown XI and that coveted 10th FM21 career trophy. I hope you can continue to support Junior Club for one more year…

Thanks for reading/sharing and caring,

FM Grasshopper

"The Offer" - La Plata: Colombia #FM21

Previously on La Plata: Colombia, Hugo Ojeda unleashed Godzilla.

 
 

Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico

US lawyer Natasha Sibiski had worked her way up to becoming a partner within Theydon-Mortimor, one of America's top millennial upstarts in the legal arena. At High School, she had attracted the company’s interest with her grades and Theydon-Mortimor had moved quickly, to fast track her into the business, by paying for her education. Natasha had once said to her mother, a Russian immigrant who moved to the States in the 80s, that if you cut her open, she would bleed for only two things: Theydon-Mortimor and Mother Russia. Now 35 years of age, her customer accounts included some of the company’s biggest clients, including Ángel Bastardo - an imprisoned soccer man with links to bribery and narcotics in South America. But, the most controversial of accounts was titled: "Ojeda-Barranquilla'' and it belonged to the man heading up the list of America's Most Wanted: Hugo Ojeda. Another soccer man.

In the 5 years she had worked with the Venezuelan Businessman, she had seen his confident charisma slowly transform in to a still coldness. Something had been changing him the 5 years he had been in Colombia and he had become a sick and troubled man. Yet there was still power in his stare, a stare so powerful that it told Natasha, this was somebody who would never turn back from his course. Hugo Ojeda used that stare to gaze across his former office in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and stared into the eyes of the American DEA Agent Nick Carterfield.

Both men, and their respective delegations, had arrived in Mexico’s Sinaloa State Capital to discuss the release of Ángel Bastardo, which meant that Natasha had the dual responsibility of representing her two clients in one sitting. Two clients whose pasts were intertwined, with Bastardo seemingly passing on the reins of his business to Ojeda, shortly before his capture by the FBI and the Russian forces. Bastardo had called it Operation Isabella...she heard all about it from Bastardo himself, even the bits he had never wanted Hugo Ojeda to know about.

Natasha therefore had some degree of confidence that neither the American nor the Venezuelan were going to come to an agreement on Bastardo's release today...despite Hugo Ojeda’s insistence on his offer being enough to tempt Agent Carterfield. She continued to listen in on the theatrics of the two men, trying to outmanoeuvre one another with cheap cultural and racial digs. From 'El Charro' to 'Yankee', the men had drawn their boundaries, as they played their macho heroics to seemingly little avail or purpose.

The aggravated Ojeda dropped his pen on to the table and clenched his fists...his English was heavily drenched in a Hispanic accent, but was clear enough to require no translation from Natasha... 

"I need an answer from you Agent Carterfield. You have the opportunity to save millions of lives. The chance to do what no DEA Agent has ever done: to end America’s longest ever war. Release Ángel Bastardo and it is done. I will close all drug operations, from Colombia to Mexico".

Agent Carterfield paused, and smirked, before replying, appearing to savour in what he was about to say, in his thick, Texan accent: "Heck, you’re right for a change. You Mexicans rarely are, I’ve found...I could indeed be that hero, yes. Saving millions of lives and ending this sick and twisted war, my Mexican charro".

Charro was taken as an insult, Natasha could tell. Not because Hugo Ojeda wasn’t a Mexican, but because it was often an insult to frame a businessman as a horseman. Ángel Bastardo had taught her that. Agent Carterfield carried on before Hugo could intervene: "But. And there is always a but. Who dies in this so-called War On Drugs, eh? Is it the good American people who vote in our Presidents and become businessmen and women pursuing the Great American Dream? Nope, Nada. The ones that die are from this opioid underbelly of our society…and the Mexican Charros just like you, little man".

Natasha could see Ojeda’s stare switch for just a second to his El Silencio golden pistol taped under his desk. It had been a while since he had made her watch him use it on a foe - something she utterly despised, but begrudgingly kept quiet upon, on account of her fear of him using it on her. Agent Carterfield was none the wiser to this split second interruption in his enemy’s stare, as after all he felt untouchable here, behind enemy lines. His brutal rejection of Hugo’s offer continued...

"You see, by taking away your drug trade…Big Pharma will be at my door. The guys that prescribe millions of drugs each year as part of this cycle of desperation. We certainly don't want this to end Señor Ojeda. It's laughable you would even think that. No, what I want is you to join your buddy Ángel Bastardo in jail. We won't stop until you're in, facing charges for the crimes you've done. Because you are worse than the man that we have right now".

The awkward stare and the ensuing silence that lasted five seconds felt like five hundred, before Agent Carterfield said his goodbyes and departed the room. As expected, and as predicted by Bastardo himself, these negotiations were always going to fail. But that cold and familiar stare remained on Hugo Ojeda's face, long after the several henchmen left the room…leaving Natasha alone with Hugo.

His right hand began to shake, with the other hand moving in to clench it firmly. He switched to Spanish, where the words became stronger and direct.

"Try setting this up again next month. But with whichever DEA/CIA/FBI superior you can find that pulls rank on that piece of shit we saw today. I offer a unified Mexico in standing down. It should be enough to get Ángel out of there", Hugo said hurriedly, as he pulled a selection of pills out of his blazer, and into the palm of his shaking hands, before quickly throwing them into his mouth.

"Si Don Ojeda, as you wish", replied Natasha, knowing full well that it was a waste of time. There was no leverage in this deal; Hugo Ojeda had played his trump card too early. If the Americans did not want this now...then they never will.

As she exited the office and out through the narrow Sinaloan corridors of Estadio Dorados, Natasha Sibiski’s mind turned to Ángel Bastardo and specifically what he had instructed Theydon-Mortimor to carry out, in secret, over the course of the past decade. Operation Isabella would never be over, even with Hugo Ojeda’s offer to end the War on Drugs; Natasha had instead been instructed to undermine America from within: finance, politics and real estate. She was certain that she would only have to play this fool's errand a little longer, before an offer would arrive on Hugo Ojeda’s desk. Only this time, a far more appealing offer from the desperate Americans themselves.  

An offer which would guarantee the release of Argentina’s most notorious football manager: Ángel Bastardo.

Notes from the Editor: Natasha Sibiski will have a growing importance to the series as it moves forward into FM22, and I wanted to introduce her now via two creative parts. Firstly in today’s POV chapter, where we see her witness the sum of Hugo Ojeda’s grand plan: which is the offer to end the War On Drugs. It can perhaps be seen as a predictable play by our main protagonist, with Hugo amassing considerable wealth (and notoriety) between FM20-FM21. Yet, what should be surprising to readers is Hugo Ojeda’s helplessness in getting what he wants here. The United States of America has been, and continues to be, the villain in the series…the immovable object facing both Bastardo and Ojeda that refuses to bow to the Football Manager Underworld. It may take somebody with real ‘cojones’ to bring it down, and ironically that might just be a woman…

Thanks for reading,

FM Grasshopper

Update: fmgrasshopper.com 2015-2021

I never meant to blog this long. Just one year in fact: Grasshopper Club Zürich in Football Manager 2016 (hence the website name). Yet my desire to write continued to grow with each subsequent edition of the game to the point where I consider my La Plata series as the current apex of my creative happiness. We have all kinds of writing styles and creativity, intertwined with a journey charting the careers of two men (Ángel Bastardo and Hugo Ojeda). La Plata: Colombia is Part II of III, so why call time on fmgrasshopper.com when the climatic edition is almost upon us?

Well, as Bruce Lee once said: “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done”. I’m lucky enough to have made really good friends through writing about FM; relationships built from the six years of fmgrasshopper.com, Twitter and on FM Slack. For at least two years now the idea of a multi-owned site has been on mine, and a few others’ radar. A shared space on the Internet where a few quality writers (and good friends) crowdfund and share the hosting & domain costs that come with blogging FM. We’ve spent a long time thinking about it, and now is the time to act on those desires. So, along with a few others we will repurpose my site from fmgrasshopper.com to coffeehousefm.com, over Summer 2021.

Writing about Football Manager is a hobby, and in my opinion can't easily be monetised like other forms of content creation. Equally, to try and do this would (again, in my opinion) adversely impact the quality of the written word. My site is therefore becoming sacrosanct to myself and a few others, a bit like the Vienna coffeehouses that paid host to the tactical discussions of old. Coffeehousefm.com will not have a content schedule, or demands placed on its writers, it will instead allow those that have joined to be themselves. That is to: write what they want, when they want and in whichever style they want.

All of my words will remain on the blog, but with a new URL: coffeehousefm.com/fmgrasshopperblog [enabled soon] and a new summary page of latest content and notable works will be published too.

I hope you will join me in my next evolution over at CoffeehouseFM HQ. Coming soon.

FM Grasshopper

"The Godzilla 4-1-3-2 Tactic" - La Plata: Colombia #FM21

Previously on La Plata: Colombia, Hugo Ojeda’s Junior won the 2023 Copa Libertadores.

 
 

Intro

All FM tactics have names, right? At least, this is what I’ve done with my tactics in FM21 anyway. For the first 18 months of the save we had El Toque, a narrow 4-2-3-1 that produced everything from the sublime to desperate stagnation. That system eventually led to the birth of the Misery 4-4-2, an effective tactic that saved my blushes and eventually led to the highest moment of this save so far: the 2023 Copa Libertadores trophy (documented last time out).

For reasons explained below, my 2024 Junior side now moves into a third tactical era with a 4-1-3-2 primary tactic. I’ve dubbed it Godzilla, because why the fuck not? Like Godzilla, we’re absolutely monstrous, and more defensively sound than 4-4-2 that came before it. However, before we take a closer look at it; I’ll first be updating you on the happenings of the first 6 months of 2024…

Season 2024: Apertura

Domestically, the traditional league season has been the strongest in the 3.5 years I’ve been at Junior Club. Godzilla was brought to life after a 2-2 draw Vs Depo Cali (which also coincided with some leaky performances in the Recopa Finals - more on that later). You can see that the switch led us to ten consecutive clean sheets, and we ended up with our highest ever points total for either Apertura or Clausura campaign with 56 points from a possible 60. Unbeaten too!

Apertura results incl. trophy number 8.

Colombian domestic football is unforgiving though, especially if you don’t bring your A Game to the Semi Final Group Stages. Frustratingly, I was without four first team players due to the 2024 Copa América - notably Argentine Goalkeeper Joaquín Blázquez, who has become No.2 to Gerónimo Rulli in the Argentina setup. I was unprepared for it to be honest, it’s another FM Life Lesson.

Anyway, my default approach in these situations now is to turn to youth. In Blázquez’s place came 17-year-old Rodrigo Vera for his debut, and I suppose the absence of clean sheets shows all too clearly. Vera was very poor, conceding the vast majority of shots he faced in a frustrating Semi Final Group Stage exit.

Frustrating draws against Caldas came back to haunt us.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Several other youngsters came into the First Team for this group stage and I was particularly impressed with recently turned 17-year-old Juan Pablo Bohórquez upfront.

Juan Pablo Bohórquez - played v.well as an attacking Pressing Forward.

2024 Copa Libertadores (and Recopa)

On the continental scene, a chance for an 9th FM21 trophy was taken from us by Sampaoli's Atlético Mineiro (my FM21 bogey side) in the two legged Recopa. The results meant I had not beaten them in six attempts across the save, and I was really sick at the amount of chances we gave them.

It is the one major failing of the Misery 4-4-2: it’s wild and sometimes it feels like we have to score six or seven in games (because we’d likely conceded five). So, as previously mentioned we turned to a 4-1-3-2 Godzilla tactic, and it really steadied the ship and helped us finally beat Minerio 4-1 at home - in yet another face-off against them in the Copa Libertadores Group Stage.

Topping the group and defending our Copa Libertadores crown has to be one of our major objectives this season. I am therefore delighted we could navigate this potentially difficult group which also contained fellow Colombian outfit América de Cali and Bolivian cloud toppers The Strongest.

Next up is a tie against Argentine Big 5 side San Lorenzo. Personally, it’s refreshing to have a continental knockout match that’s not a side from Brazil! San Lorenzo will be a test having finished in the top 3 of Argentina for the previous two years, and to go and take my Junior side to another iconic stadium is pretty exciting.

 

A visit to ‘El Nuevo Gasómetro’ awaits.

 

Godzilla 4-1-3-2 🦖

I said last time out that I was pretty fixed on the 4-4-2, and I had planned to use it for at least one more calendar year. It would probably win me further domestic honours, and always promised some insane high scoring games (remember those 7-5s?). However, defeats home and away in the Recopa Final showed me that Brazilian teams could embarrass me on the Continental scene, and maybe I wouldn’t be so dominant against them like last season. A further chaotic 2-2 draw at home to Depo Cali prompted me to try the new Godzilla tactic in the subsequent match, a tactic that had always been in my back or my mind [as an eventual tactic to use] having seen three top Colombian youngsters come into First XI reckoning: Asprilla, Bonilla and Padilla.

Godzilla is my way of playing them all together…

Godzilla 4-1-3-2.

I’m willing to write off the early Semi Final Group Stage exit, on the basis that I was missing four key players and did not prepare for that eventuality well enough. The youngsters in the side will hopefully learn from this experience, and I am sure they can have a strong second half of 2024 mainly because I saw such a solid three months between March, April and May.

How, and why, does this system work so well?

  1. Top class Strikers, who have a great partnership - since the Misery 4-4-2 the Durán-Caraballogol dynamic has worked well as Advanced ’n’ Pressing Forwards, I was therefore always going to keep two central strikers in my next tactical system. Both players run the channels superbly and take it in turns to run in behind. They have scored a combined 46 goals during Apertura (27 for Durán and 19 for Carabllogol), but also create for one another too. If the challenge last year was to see Caraballogol score 50 goals (he eventually got 49)…there’s potential that both could do it this year!

  2. Exceptional Wing Backs, I think one of the reasons my narrow 4-2-3-1 (El Toque) never stuck was the fact that I never had elite wing backs at the time. But now, especially with CWB-As on the right, I am blessed with Ignacio Laquintana 🇺🇾 or Cristian Arrieta 🇨🇴 to call upon - both so good that they are currently at the Copa América representing their respective nations. The CWBs on either flank ask questions of the opposition, by bombing forward and doing what Dani Alves was so adept at: that is to occupy the opposition half as much as their own. The success of any narrow tactic is down to them, and in the Godzilla 4-1-3-2 they are majestic.

  3. Naturally overloads central areas. So, the Half-Back is dropping lovely into the defence which in turn pushes the CBs wider. It’s really a back-three and we’re not easily ‘got at’ centrally, despite Anthony Padilla not being perfectly suited for the defensive demands of the role. He is however developing at an insane rate, and his high Decisions, Composure, Technique and two footedness see him assured in possession. In turn, this allows the three midfielders in front of Padilla the luxury to get forward and support the Strikers. Our primary Playmaker (Jorge Carrascal) is a roaming one, so it’s no surprise that he gets around the pitch, carries the ball with his great Dribbling and is willing to play the riskier passes (see below example of two sexy assists in the same match Vs Deportivo Pasto).

Out of Possession Vs Atlético Mineiro

It’s always good to analyse a big match against top opposition, because you’re often tested at both ends of the pitch. Are your strikers getting chances, and are you stopping the opposition from creating them against you? During the home tie Vs Atlético Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores you can see that out of possession the team is very narrow and will retreat into a back four. The central four players will press more urgently as a pack. The advantage here is that is very hard to go through the team vertically, sides will often have to go wide (even without a Team Instruction set to force opposition wide)…which is where space is scarified to the opposition inherent in the narrow formation. Generally I am happy with that, my defenders are quite beasty in the air and I have horrible memories from Season 2 where my CBs couldn’t cope with anybody in front of them playing through balls.

If we do regain possession, both AF and PF are matching up against the opposition centre backs - who can easily put one another through on goal during a quick counter attack. As mentioned previously, both are instructed to run the channels and it’s often one doing it whilst the other runs into the space created. Glorious.

Out Of Possession example.

In Possession Vs Atlético Mineiro

Like any good formation though, it’s how the tactic morphs when in possession in order to create an attacking opportunity. Below is an attack Vs Mineiro, which sees the midfield move the ball quickly & vertically…whilst the Complete Wing Backs bomb forward at either side of the pitch. As long as the players are technically capable at moving it forward to feet at this speed, you can bypass the opposition and then have two wing backs crossing towards a front three (as the CM-A pushes up).

Typical attacking move, with the HB currently in possession.

Getting numbers into the box is what it’s all about, as Jhon Durán goal to make it 3-1 on the night showed. You can see my CM-A (in this game: Ángel) lurking about and being a problem. CM-A is where I think Bonilla is best out of the three illas, due to his higher Off The Ball Rating and trait to Get Into The Opposition Area. Although I may change CM-A to Mez-A to see if I can get even better outputs for goals and assists, as he’d have a greater free role in this side. But I originally opted for CM-A as I’d already have a player roaming next to him (Roaming Playmaker).

Durán-Durán.

Download the tactic, if you can’t be bothered to copy or need it quickly translated into another language…

Next Steps

I’ll be taking the 4-1-3-2 Godzilla with me to La Copa LQ, a prestigious knockout competition that will feature as part of Issue 7 Latte Quarterly. Watch out to see how that fares against some of FM21’s greatest club sides: Universidad de Mendoza of Chile and Atalanta of Italy.

In addition to that, I’ll be looking for a backup Goalkeeper (in the event of more problematic International call-ups for Joaquín Blázquez) during the off-season (10 days)…before we begin 2024 Clausura.

As always, thanks for reading/sharing and caring.

FM Grasshopper

"Campeones" - La Plata: Colombia #FM21

Previously on La Plata: Colombia, Hugo Ojeda made the sacrifice and unified Mexico.

 

“We're flying high

We're watching the world pass us by

Never want to come down

Never want to put my feet back down on the ground”

(Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again - 1987)

 

Intro

Winning a Copa Libertadores with a club outside of Argentina or Brazil is no easy task. There’s a huge gulf in money, facilities and the quality of player between the two bigger footballing nations and their post-colonial cousins. For example, I had tried to do this in the four seasons with Peñarol in FM20 and only got as far as a single Quarter Final appearance.

Yet by 2023, in FM21, my Barranquilla Boys had done it! Junior Club 2-0 São Paulo, and in our own stadium too: El Metro (an increasingly rare situation given CONMEBOL’s decision to have neutral venue single finals). It’s probably the best way to win the greatest South American club prize, and I couldn’t have scripted it any better even if I had tried.

Today’s post reflects on the successful trophy laden second half of 2023, and I’ll be discussing exactly what this means for the save going forward. Are there heights still to reach? Can I still find a challenge on the shores of the Caribbean Coast? I guess you have to read on to find out…

Season 2023

It’s been the most successful 6-month period in Junior Club’s 99-year history, and I’m going to introduce the 2023 competitions in the chronological order we won them. So, first up is the 2023 Copa Colombia which was won in early November. The win had ended a 5 year wait for Junior fans to toast domestic cup success, and it was all relatively straight forward with only Millonarios testing us…

Hugo Ojeda’s 5th trophy was secured with a 4-1 aggerate win Vs Atlético Bucaramanga.

The second trophy in the month of November was the BIG one: the 2023 Copa Libertadores. Prior to the showpiece final in front of our own fans, we had been on a really exciting run against the strongest clubs from Brazil (being the only side outside of Brazil from the Quarter Final onwards). The watershed moment, where I really started to believe we might just be able to do something special, came in that QF 1st leg Vs tournament favourites Flamengo. A man down after 13 minutes due to Fabián Ángel’s straight red, we rallied to a 2-1 victory with Caraballo & Laquintana scoring. My belief was reinforced with a solid 1-0 away win in the Maracanã 2nd leg.

 

Hugo Ojeda’s 6th Junior trophy was seen by a maximum capacity crowd of 49,612 spectators (24,806 away).

 

There was a lot to be fearful of São Paulo going into the party final. Not only had they steamrolled through the knockout stages with ease, they had the Brazilian Goldenboy Brenner at their disposal. The 23-year-old had, at that point, scored 33 goals in the 2023 year and looked destined to get his hands on South America’s greatest continental trophy. Cue some insanity from the AI, who omitted him from the Match Day squad (presumably on the basis that he was slightly fatigued from playing 3 days earlier).

The decision once again opened the floodgates in my mind: we could do this! I’d honestly get no better chance, and with Ed Wilson and FM Samo at my virtual side on Twitch…we smashed it. A deserved 2-0 performance, and with no real drama…just a solid and professional piece of game management from the help of two of the best England-based FM Bloggers. Personally, the result is up there with the Estudiantes Copa Libertadores wins of FM18, and I’m still feeling the effects of this particular FM high! Here are the GIFGoals…

Lautaro Giannetti making great use of the trait: “Tries Long Range Passes”.

Lautaro Giannetti’s 1st goal for Junior, securing his place in Junior legend.

2023 Clausura

The Copa Colombia win had already guaranteed 2024 Copa Libertadores Group Stage participation, so there was less pressure on us to go ahead and win the 2023 Closing Stage. It also meant I could rotate and rest players ahead of the Copa Libertadores Final, seeing as this important game was sandwiched in the middle of the [already congested] Semi Final Group Stage period. The really promising thing is that some games had as many as seven academy players in them and they never really once looked out-of-place:

Despite there being less fmpressure on me, it’s still a title up for grabs, and having lost the previous two finals (2022 Closing and 2023 Opening)…I really wanted to win. I guess Millonarios really wanted it too, we had beaten them in two league finals in this save already (2021 Closing and 2022 Opening). There is definitely a bitter rivalry developing here, and we kept up tradition with a third consecutive final win Vs the capital club:

Hugo Ojeda’s 7th trophy and third league title.

My favourite goal of the finals came from 49 goal Ricardo Caraballo. Why? Well, it just highlights the confidence he has when put through and with a man, or two, to beat. I’ve already raved about him in a previous blog post, and I asked you whether he’d surpass 50 goals. 54% of votes (55) were proved right, having chosen 32-50 goals. Well done if you were one of these visionaries, I’m really proud of you.

Caraballogol: 49 goals in 2023, so close to the bastard half century!

My FM21 Checklist + Next Steps

Remember this checklist from my FM21 save introduction? Don’t worry if not, it’s been a while. I like setting objectives or parameters for my FM saves, it grounds the realism a bit more and helps me keep at a save long-term. Back in November 2020 I set myself seven aims, and I am delighted to complete three of them already. I’ll update on each one below…

 
 

Trophies and Legacies (Aims 1-3)

Essentially these three aims were carryovers from FM20. As alluded in my introduction, FM20 Peñarol left me thirsty for continental glory…the Copa Libertadores is the trophy in South America and I am delighted to win Junior’s 1st ever continental honours. The Club World Cup is the next logical super trophy to acquire, and this is going to be tough. Not only because I have to wait two years (until Summer 2025) to enter into FIFA’s new format, but also because we could look like a completely different side by then.

Why? Because (3) is all about using Academy players and I accept that I am going to have to break up this team in one or two areas to allow a really talented crop of youngsters to flourish. I already mentioned it previously, but over the tail end of 2023 I was playing many 16-17 year olds…and I will surely look to carry this tradition into 2024 and beyond. As-it-stands, Willer Ditta (now with Club América) is the only FM21 Academy payer to get an international cap. But please, watch this space.

Tactics and Training (Aims 4 and 5)

These two aims are subjective, but this is my blog after all. I say how I feel, and do as I say. For me, I feel as if I delivered on key elements of ‘El Toque’: the Colombian system made famous by Francisco Maturana. During the first 18 months of this save, I played in a 4-2-3-1 system. It had two defensive midfielders and Sherman Cárdenas as the No.10. We had sexy football, notably the fine team goal scored Vs Deportes Tolima on 17 July 2021.

But whether it was the odd match engine patch taking away some of the fun from the outputs of that system, or the fact that maybe we were not as swashbuckling as I thought at the time. We became stale. It birthed FM Misery and I am now like a 1990s Carlo Ancelotti…completely wedded to a 4-4-2 and it’s going to take a Zizou to move me away from it to be honest. I like how we now play, it’s not El Toque…it’s not ‘between the lines’ as the previous 4-2-3-1 had us playing. Instead, we’re more lateral in passing/movement. The Advanced Forward and Pressing Forward are relentless (I mean, my front two have scored 86 goals between them this season) and I have wide players bombing forward really well. It’s simple and effective.

But that does not mean it’s at the expense of technique. In fact, we’re really starting to see some of the fruits of our labour with regards to the technical training programme I have implemented across both the U20 and First Team squads. I wrote about my Team Training here. Trust me, the routines are good and I’m really surprised at how some of my youngsters are flying into the First Team squad and displaying some lovely Colombian magic. I’ve always had dreams of a Homegrown XI, and this might just be the save that does it.

Long Term Ambitions (Aims 6 and 7)

So, it’s pretty clear from reading the above that I am still invested in this save for the long-haul. Aims (6) and (7) are probably a little way off. Yes, I’ve won a Copa Libertadores…but my Colombian brothers haven’t made waves just yet on the continental scene. In 2023, as mentioned previously, the Libertadores was dominated by Brazil and the lesser Sudamericana also had a Brazilian Final. El Dorado may take a bit longer to deliver.

(7) is all about the domestic league titles. Sadly, Atlético Nacional (the team I am trying to chase) has won two league titles so far in the save. Their total is now 18. Our three league titles means we gain on them slightly but we are still six behind them:

  • Atlético Nacional - 18 domestic titles

  • Atlético Junior - 12 domestic titles

It’s a really good stretch goal to have, even though I remain dubious I can play long enough to catch them (I see my wife and children).

Even if all of the above had somehow been achieved by 2023, I think I would have carried on for at least for one more season to see if either Caraballogol or Durán-Durán could break that 50 calendar goal target. 2024, we are ready for you.

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

FM Grasshopper