FM24 | C.D. Mirandés: Cantera Only

March 19, 2025

I've been wanting to do a save with Mirandés for quite a while now. Initially, I had planned for this to be a FM25 save, but after watching Clayts' youth-only Catanzaro save on YouTube, I felt inspired to start it now.

Brief History

Club Deportivo Mirandés was founded in 1927 in Miranda de Ebro, Burgos, Spain. The club spent most of its history in the lower divisions of Spanish football, primarily in the Tercera División and Segunda División B. Their breakthrough came in 2011-12, when they reached the Copa del Rey semifinals, becoming only the third third-tier team in history to achieve this feat. This cup run brought them national recognition, as they defeated top-flight teams like Villarreal, Racing Santander, and Espanyol before falling to Athletic Club in the semis. Mirandés secured their first-ever Segunda División promotion in 2012, and after a brief relegation, they have established themselves as a solid second-division side.

Over the years, Mirandés has been led by several notable managers. Among them is Juan Manuel Lillo, who managed the club between 1988 and 1991 and is now best known as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City. However, their most prominent coach in recent history was Andoni Iraola. The former Athletic Bilbao player guided Mirandés to the Copa del Rey semifinals in 2019-20, mirroring their legendary 2012 cup run. His attacking philosophy and tactical intelligence earned him widespread recognition, leading to a move to Rayo Vallecano, where he later secured promotion to LaLiga.

After leaving Rayo Vallecano, Andoni Iraola took charge of Bournemouth ahead of the 2023/24 season. In his debut campaign, he led the club to their best-ever Premier League points tally, securing a 12th-place finish. Iraola has continued to impress in the 2024/25 season, guiding Bournemouth to 10th place after 29 matches. Along the way, his side set a club-record 11-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, cementing his reputation as one of the world’s rising managerial talents.

IRL (As of March 19th, 2025)

CD Mirandés are exceeding expectations in LaLiga 2, sitting in 3rd place. Under former Levante manager Alessio Lisci, they’ve become a breath of fresh air, they have the best home record and joint best defense in the league. What makes this even more impressive is that 13 of their 22 players in the squad are loanees, mainly from the Basque region. On top of that they operate on one of the lowest budgets in the division. It would be a phenomenal feat if they were to achieve promotion to Spain’s top flight.

In FM24

While in FM24, Mirandés' youth setup is nearly non-existent, with no academy coaching or youth recruitment, and their youth facilities are considered "basic." Financially, the club has £400k in the bank, but with a £4 million per year wage budget, that balance won’t last long. The squad is heavily reliant on loans—15 out of 27 first-team players. On a positive note, the B-Team is already in the Tercera División, just one step away from the playable leagues, which could be crucial for youth development in the long run.

Setup

On the backend, I’ve made a couple of adjustments. First, I decided to retain Alessio Lisci by converting his contract to a coaching role, as I felt bad leaving him unemployed. Second, I removed the option for outside takeovers, meaning we’re stuck with our current chairman.

For the database, I’m using SI’s latest official update rather than any of the community-created versions. As a result, my save does not include most of the 2024/25 squad, including the 13 loanees.

Additionally, I’ve loaded all European leagues to keep the game world as realistic and competitive as possible. To add an extra layer of challenge, I’ve also included the Qatari and Saudi leagues, as their financial power will likely see them poach some of my most promising youngsters.

Rules & Objectives

The rules for this save are simple: no signings—only homegrown talent. However, the goals will be far more challenging. I’m not setting any strict time limits for achieving them, as this will be a long-term project.

My first priority is financial sustainability, which will be crucial for investing in our non-existent youth academy. To achieve this, I have two main approaches:

Generating revenue through player sales—while ensuring it doesn’t hurt our chances of promotion.
Earning promotion to LaLiga as soon as possible—and hoping we can avoid relegation long enough to start saving our top-flight earnings.

Once the club is financially stable, the focus will shift to building a strong foundation by developing the academy and youth infrastructure. From there, our success will depend entirely on our youth intakes and my development skills, with the goal of winning a domestic or continental trophy while having the best academy in Spain.

We will no longer be a club that nurtures talent for others—instead, we will focus on developing our own!

Before I jet off, I want to address the elephant in the room—my U.D. San Fernando save. To be honest, I loved that save so much that I just kept playing, moving further and further ahead. Every time I thought about writing an update, it felt like it was I far too ahead and it was too late to catch you all up. Who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll fill you in on my time in Maspalomas. But for now, join me on this journey with C.D. Mirandés.

If this save catches your eye and you want to follow along, feel free to swing by and say "hi" in my Slack channel. You can also catch me on Twitter.

Thanks for dropping by! Until next time, José.

FM24 | U.D. San Fernando: Intro

November 8, 2023

Hello friends! Let’s get straight to it.

Spain has always held a special place in my heart when it comes to Football Manager, whether it's been at the helm of Eibar, Marbella, or the Galacticos of Real Madrid. There's an undeniable allure to managing in Spain, the plethora of historic clubs in the lower divisions, the underdogs defying the odds, and my personal favorite, the spirit of Athletic Bilbao. And, of course, the ever-present challenge of dethroning giants like Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.

This time around I will be venturing to the Western-most region of Spain, The Canary Islands. More specifically, Maspalomas, the southern most town in Gran Canaria, the home of Unión Deportiva San Fernando.

playa-maspalomas-gran-canaria-islas-canarias-s1225713184.jpg

So, Why U.D. San Fernando?

Heading into FM24, I knew that I wanted to begin my journey in the Spanish fourth tier. I spent a significant part of my real-life summer ‘23 researching the clubs that had fought their way back into the fourth division. There were several contenders like U.E. Sant Andreu and a handful of promising Basque clubs vying for my attention. However, a conversation with my friend OakyFM added a new dimension to my decision-making process. OakyFM was all set to embark on his own Spanish adventure with C.D. Mensajero in the Canary Islands. It was then that I realized my perfect match lay in the small, but full of potential, club on the southern coast of Gran Canaria.

History

U.D. San Fernando was founded in April 15th, 1992 after a group of locals wanted to create space for the youth of Maspalomas. Their goal was to help develop youth players in the southern coast of Gran Canary Island with the goals of making it to the professional game. By 1994, San Fernando had five youth teams and will go on to found their first team that same year, which would compete in the regional leagues. Fast forward to present day and they’ve find themselves back in the 4th tier of Spanish Football. San Fernando have continued construction on their Ciudad Derportiva de Maspalomas, which boasts training pitches for all the youth setups, and the headquarters for the club. They play their matches at the Estadio Eleuterio Valeron.

Developing the Next El Mago / Merlin

As I delved into the history of San Fernando, I came across a page on their website that features notable academy players. Right at the top of that list stands the illustrious figure of David Silva, known by many as "Merlin" or "El Mago," a true legend associated with Valencia, Manchester City, and the Spanish national team. Silva's football journey began at San Fernando but was offered a youth contract at Valencia when he was just 14 years old. He honed his skills in their academy until his 17th birthday, and then embarked on two pivotal loan spells, first at Eibar and then at Celta, setting the stage for the remarkable career that we all come to enjoy.

One of the key objectives for this save is to rewrite the narrative of David Silva's career, imagining a scenario where he never left the shores of Gran Canaria and played a pivotal role in San Fernando’s rise through the Spanish league system to gain promotion to LaLiga. This vision will serve as a cornerstone for the save - focusing on nurturing young talents from our academy, not merely developing them, but fast-tracking their progress to ensure they're primed for the first team.

To achieve this, my strategy involves investing into our youth coaching, youth scouting, and youth facilities. We'll make use of our U19s and B-Team, providing our young prospects with the essential game time they need, all within our club's framework. No need to ship them off on loan for exposure. And, of course, for those who may fall behind or not quite fit the first team, we'll set them on a new course to find a home that better suits their potential.

This will be a long term goal for the save so I understand that there will be moments when bigger clubs will come knocking for our youngsters but let’s hope we’re able to boost our reputation enough that our players won’t feel the need to leave our Canarian oasis.

Canario Only Recruitment

With seven distinct provinces and numerous cities scattered across the archipelago, we've got a wealth of untapped footballing talent at our fingertips. Our strategy? Simple yet unique - we're going all-in on recruiting players born in the Canaries. The Canaries are home to a rich blend of cultures, with approximately 10% of the population hailing from countries like Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and various other Caribbean, Central, and South American nations. Not to mention, you also have West Africa a stone-throw away.

To create this multicultural universe, I will be loading all South American leagues and players, as well as loading all West African players, as well Morocco. I will also aim to create affiliate clubs in both regions. As mentioned before, the focus of the save revolves around nurturing young talent, with the ultimate goal of influencing not only our own youth intakes but also those of fellow Canarian clubs.

Who Qualifies as a Canario?

Players born in the Canary Islands.
Players that have come through the academy of any Canarian club, regardless of place of birth.
Players recruited directly from any of our affiliate clubs.

Save Objectives:

Develop the next David Silva
Follow the Canario only recruitment policy
Be competitive in LaLiga
Win at least one of the following trophies: La Copa del Rey, a European competition, and/or LaLiga

In the upcoming post, I'll delve into our squad, tactical approach, and, perhaps most crucially, our recruitment setup.

If you're eager for a deeper dive into this journey, feel free to swing by and say "hi" in my Slack channel. You can also catch me on Twitter for additional content and insights.

Thanks for dropping by! Until next time, José.

FM23 | Kiruna FF: Recruitment & 2028 Season

September 19, 2023

Hello, hello, and welcome to Youth Intake’s new home!

If you’re new here feel free to catch up here. I will be updating you on the recruitment over the last two seasons, tactical changes and how the 2028 season unfolded. There has been so much movement in the playing staff that it’s been hard for me to keep up!

Recruitment

When it comes to the club’s recruitment strategy, I believe it’s essential to shed light on the significant player turnover we’ve experienced. There are three key reasons behind this constant flux of players.

Due to the club’s objective to “sign players to sell for profit,” We’ve accumulated a shit ton of players, with over 110 spread throughout the club. With that in mind, I am not afraid of selling players, as long it’s for the right price. This allows us to maintain a robust system that can readily replace any first-team member. I’ve come to rely on a combination of talents from our academy, Central American recruits, and experienced players to fill any gaps that may arise.
Our #LoanArmy has expanded far and wide, reaching clubs across Scandinavia, Slovakia, and the second tiers of the Netherlands and Belgium. This network allows us to provide valuable experience and development opportunities for our youth players. (cc: @OakyFM)
Our participation in European competitions, spanning three seasons now, has been a significant catalyst for our player turnover. Clubs are seemingly ready to snatch up my players every summer transfer window..

2027 Transfers:

Transfers In:

In the 2027 winter transfer window, we strengthened our squad with nine first team signings, including experienced international veterans to provide valuable experience to our young team. Moreover, as the European summer transfer window approached, we faced a significant exodus of nineteen players, including sixteen from our first team. To maintain competitiveness, we swiftly recruited six new players, comprising a starting goalkeeper, Swedish youth internationals, and senior internationals.

Notable Arrivals: Mamadou Fall (Free, IFK Mariehamn), Tim Olsson (Free, IK Sirius), Bryan Acosta (Free, Real Salt Lake), Aléx Roldán (Free, Nashville), Akinkunmi Amoo (Free, FC København), Adnan Ćatić (£33.5K, Helsingborgs IF), Michael Sáček (£65K, Sparta Praha), Alex Medina (£1.4M, Municipal), Svit Sešlar (£2.6M, Deportivo Pasta). Jewinson Bennette (Free, Sunderland), Patrik Waliś (Free, Lech), Otto Rosengren (£1.4M, Marseille for) Samuel Brolin (£600K, AIK), André Álvarez Pérez (£1.1M, Malmo), Ibuki Inaguma (£1.2M, Fukuoka Blaze).

Transfers Out:

Our outgoing transfers generated a remarkable club-record revenue of £138,208,200. Of the thirty-seven players we sold, twelve were from our youth teams, contributing £15.9M to our overall revenue. The remaining £122.2M came from the transfer fees of twenty-five first-team players.

Notable Departures: Tonihno (Borussia M’Gladbach, £3.8M), Niko Tsakiris (Sunderland, £4M), Ariagner Smith (SanderjyskE, £48K), Mario Fonseca (IF Elfsborg, £5.5M), Damjan Dakić (Ipswich, £7M), Ludwig Augustinsson (Marseille, £4M), Oscar Aga (Nice, £6M), Brandon Aguilera (RB Salzburg, £14M), and Petar Ratkov (Southampton, £15M).

It’s worth noting that we also experienced a few instances where players arrived and left the club within the same season. Akinkunmi Amoo joined us from FC København on a free transfer but departed for Wolfsburg (£26,000,000). Similarly, Mamadou Fall arrived from IFK Mariehamn on a free transfer and left for Brentford (£7,000,000).

Transfer Fees Paid: £16,250,000
Transfer Fees Received: £138,208,0200
Net Transfer Spend: -$121,979,700
Highest Incoming Transfer: Svit Sešlar from Deportivo Pasta for £2,600,000
Highest Outgoing Transfer: Akinkunmi Amoo to Wolfsburg for £26,000,000.00. We made a profit of £26M!!

2028 Transfers:

Much like the previous season, there was considerable movement within our squad. During the winter transfer window, we bid farewell to fourteen players, amassing £21.4M in total transfer fees. Among them were five first-team members, including Youth Intake legend Joe Hodge (PSV, £6M), Kiruna legend Tobias Stridsman (Vasalunds IF, £1.5K), and Michael Sáček (Porto, £2.8M). However, I didn’t let these departures weaken us, as we made fourteen incoming transfers for a total expenditure of £13.8M. I switched my recruitment approach, to target homegrown Swedish talents and I felt the team was bit unbalanced.

Notable Arrivals: Simeon Jovanovski (£6.5M, Malmo FF), Ismet Lashaku (£62K, BK Hacken) Ludvig Nåvik (£1.6M, Napoli), Elison Makolli (£775K, Malmo FF), Diar Selmani (£250K, IF Brommapojkarna), Matteo Perez Vinlöf (£2M, Bayern), Gent Elezaj (£900K, Hammarby IF).

With another European summer transfer window looming over, I wanted to make sure that I was prepared when European clubs came knocking for my players. To bolster our squad, I signed Montader Madjed, a long-standing target (RB Leipzig, £3.2M). Additionally, we secured the services of five players for the reserves, including highly rated Guatemalan youth international Jorge España (Municipal, £1.6M) and Czech youth international Andres Blanco (Jablonec, £50K).

On the flip side, we sold a total ten players, generating a remarkable £81.9M in transfer revenue. Among the significant departures were Alex Medina (Bournemouth, £25,000,000), Svit Sešlar (PSG, £18,000,000), and Jewison Bennette (Wolfsburg, £14,750,000). To further highlight the insane turnover we’ve experienced at the club, nine of the players sold had only just arrived last season.

Net Transfer Spend: -£83,953,700
Highest Incoming Transfer: Simeon Jovanovski from Malmo FF for £6,500,000.
Highest Outgoing Transfer: Alex Medina to Bournemouth for £25,000,000. We made a profit of £24,500,000!

Tactical Change

After using the 4-3-1-2 shape for several seasons, I must admit that while it has been enjoyable and quite successful in our domestic competitions, it hasn’t yielded favorable results during our European efforts, especially in the knockout stages. As a result, I decided to return to my tried-and-tested favorite formation, the 4-4-2. However, this time, I’m taking a different approach compared to previous versions (as seen in my SC Verl save) and opting for a highly fluid possession-based tactic.

The defense is anchored by a Sweeper Keeper on Defense, providing an additional option in distributing from the back and acting as an extra sweeper to clean up any potential defensive lapses. In front of the Sweeper Keeper, two Central Defenders on defense duty. Two Wingbacks on support duty on either side of the defense. Their role is crucial as they provide width in the attack, supporting the midfield while also contributing defensively on the flanks.

The midfield is well-balanced with two Central Midfielders on support duty. The left-sided Central Midfielder is given the freedom to roam from their position and make forward runs, adding unpredictability to the attacking play. On the other hand, the right-sided Central Midfielder is instructed to dribble less, shoot less often, and take more risks. This player’s role will involve dictating the tempo and providing creative passes to unlock the opposition’s defense.

The defensive winger role has become my favorite due to its impact on our playing style. They play a crucial role on the flanks of our central midfield, not only bolstering our mid-block shape and pressing intensity but also executing overlapping runs that effectively stretch the opposition’s defense. To maximize their effectiveness, I’ve added player instructions, urging them to roam from their positions, shoot less often, and get further forward. This encourages them to maintain width and push up the field, providing us with additional attacking options.

However, due to the demanding nature of this position, I’ve prioritized heavy rotation among the players on the wings. As a result, Montader Madjed and Rodrigo Palacios have both established themselves as my go-to wingers, delivering strong performances on a regular basis. Their contributions have been instrumental in our tactical approach this season.

Our striking partnership is incredibly dynamic and versatile. Richard Bengtsson, whose best role is as a Target Forward, has surprisingly thrived when deployed as an Advanced Forward or a Complete Forward on attack. Meanwhile, Mirsad Ziba, probably the perfect Pressing Forward, has been impressive this season since being shifted to the False Nine role. The two strikers complement each other perfectly, with Bengtsson utilizing his strength and aggression to make threatening runs behind the defense, while Ziba drops deep to drag defenders out of position, thus creating space for the midfielders, right winger and Bengtsson.

In Possession:

During the build-up and attacking phases, I’ve opted for much shorter passing to maintain possession and work the ball into the box to create high-quality scoring opportunities. The narrow width will allow the players to stay compact, creating passing triangles, and exploiting central areas, while passing the ball at at slightly higher tempo.

In Transition:

I wanted to adopt a more proactive approach. The goalkeeper and defense are instructed to distribute to the center backs and fullbacks, encouraging a fast buildup from the back. I’ve also instructed the team to counter-press, aiming to win the ball back quickly after losing possession.

Out of Possession:

When not in possession, I wanted the team to implement a mid-block to maintain a structured defensive shape. The players have been instructed to press much more often, putting pressure on the ball carrier and trying to win back possession early in the opposition’s half. The team also has the option to drop off more when facing a counter-attacking threat, aiming to deny space in behind the defense and remain compact.

2028 Season

Allsvenkan

Despite initial concerns about the player turnover, it had little impact on our performance, and we comfortably secured our third title in four years. Our defensive prowess was outstanding, conceding a mere 18 goals throughout the season, breaking our previous record set two years ago, and impressively keeping 17 clean sheets. Samuel Brolin emerged as Sweden’s top goalkeeper, boasting the best save and prevented save ratio, and earning the title of Sweden’s first-choice keeper.

At the heart of our defense, André Álvarez Pérez and Simeon Jovanovski formed an exceptional partnership at center-back. Both players ranked in the top four for pass completion, with Álvarez Pérez standing out with the highest tackle ratio in the league. Moreover, the depth provided by Elison Makolli and Adnan Ćatić from the bench ensured consistent defensive performances whenever called upon.

Our midfield duo of Joakim Björnquist and Ludvig Nåvik was truly fantastic. Both players excelled in various creative metrics, such as key passes, open play key passes, and progressive passes. Nåvik’s impressive tally of fourteen assists led the league, proving his instrumental role in creating scoring opportunities. Additionally, Kiruna Icon Ramón Lundqvist continued to shine despite being a squad player, displaying exceptional creativity with the highest number of key passes per 90 (4.78) in the league, even with limited minutes compared to other top players.

In the attacking department, Mirsad Ziba and Richard Bengtsson continued to be prolific goal-scorers for us. These two players consistently outperformed others, even those with better attributes for their respective roles. Ziba, despite playing as a False 9, topped the goal-scoring charts with an impressive 22 goals and 10 assists. Meanwhile, legend Richard Bengtsson did not disappoint, finishing the season with 17 goals and 4 assists.

The season’s performance was exceptional, as we finished a remarkable sixteen points ahead of IFK Göteborg. Last year’s champions, Malmö, struggled and finished in 4th place with fifty-seven points, a considerable drop from the previous season. Although we scored fourteen fewer goals compared to the previous season, we still outperformed other teams by a significant margin, tallying twenty more goals than the nearest competitor. With this success, we look forward to competing in the Champions League next season.

Europa League

After locking in a disappointing second place last season, we punched our ticket to the Europa League Second Qualifying League Path Round. The real fun began when we squared off against Hibernian. A smashing (8-1) victory at home and a cool (5-1) win in Scotland. Three of our die-hard fans were there to witness the show and cheer us into the next round.

Then came AFC Chindia Târgovişte. We didn’t mess around, sealing a tidy (2-0) win at home and hanging on for dear life in a nail-biting 5-4 win in Romania. Things got really serious when we had a date with those Norwegian heavyweights, Molde, in the playoff round. Okay, we stumbled a bit with a (1-2) loss in Norway, but back in the Arctic Circle, we made it look easy with a comfy (3-1) victory, bagging our ticket to the Europa League proper.

Our schedule didn’t pull any punches, throwing us into the ring with heavyweights like Club Brugge, Napoli, Villarreal, Manchester United, and Montpellier. But it wasn’t all giants on the horizon; we had some winnable matches lined up against CFR Cluj, Metalac, and Cracovia.

We kicked things off on a high note, with a solid (3-0) victory against Club Brugge. The following match had us on the road to Napoli, and I am still not sure how we held on that (1-0) win. Coming back to Kiruna, we confidently handled back-to-back fixtures, securing comfortable wins against CFR Cluj (1-0) and Metalac (3-0).

Now, our trip to Villarreal – that one was a tough pill to swallow. The Yellow Submarines proved to be a proper challenge, and ran us out of Spain with a (3-0) loss. We finished the match with zero shots on target. Things took a turn when Manchester United paid us a visit. I am still surprised that we were able to handle Utd this easy, winning the match (3-0).

Our meeting with Montpellier didn’t go as planned, though. A bit of a rough day in front of the goal led to a deserved (1-2) loss. But hey, we wrapped up the league phase with a bang, finishing strong with a (3-0) victory against Cracovia. That win sealed our spot in the Round of 16.

The draw led us to face Napoli away, with a compelling win with a scoreline of (4-3) in our favor. The return leg looked promising but we fell behind 0-1 with just 30 minutes on the clock. However, we pulled through, and wrapped it up with a (2-1) win.

The quarterfinals had us up against a superb Athletic Bilbao side, and luck was on our side as both their star strikers were sidelined due to injuries. Taking full advantage, we asserted ourselves over the two legs, winning (6-2) on aggregate .

Next up was Sporting Club in the semi-finals. The first leg was a rollercoaster, ending in a frustrating (2-2) tie. Our own Jovanoski saw red in the second half, giving Sporting an opening to level the match. But the second leg was a different story – we fielded a rotated squad, and managed to secure a (2-1) victory in front of our fans. Mirsad Ziba fired in the winning goal early in the second half. FM would throw us a curveball, as Mirsad Ziba found himself sent off for a horrible tackle in the 80th minute.

Our journey took us all the way to the Cardiff Community Stadium for our inaugural European final, against powerhouse, Manchester United. With our star striker Mirsad Ziba out, Dušan Dimitrijević stepped into the limelight in his absence. United’s lineup included elite stars like Bruno Fernandes, Nicolas Jackson, and Victor Osimhen. The match was a real seesaw, with both sides going back and forth. We found ourselves trailing 2-0 by the 35th minute, courtesy of two brilliant counter-attacking goals from Nicolas Jackson.

At halftime, Richard Bengtsson, Simon Jovanoski, Perez Vinlöf, and Ortega were subbed off after a torrid first half. The changes injected a bit of energy, and we fought our way back when Dimitrijević headed in a corner. Our joy, however, was short-lived as a mix-up between Victor Osimhen and Victor Lindelof in our own half gifted United another goal, leaving us trailing by two goals once more. Just five minutes later, Dušan headed in another corner kick, giving us a glimmer of hope.

In the end, our efforts fell short, and the match finished (2-3), with Manchester United having the last laugh. Though the outcome wasn’t in our favor, our journey to the final marked a significant milestone for Kiruna FF.

Player of the Season

Mirsad Ziba adjusted well in his new role as False 9, finishing the season with 40 goals and 20 assists from 42 (4) appearances. The stats above don’t include the three goals he scored in last season’s Champions League knockout rounds and two goals scored in the Svenskan Cup. For the last two seasons, Ziba has drawn interest from more than thirty clubs through out Europe, fortunately for us, none of those clubs are in the top 5 leagues in Europe.

Youth

Finances & Infrastructure

Finances

Our recent transfer dealings have put us in an incredibly strong position with a hefty balance of £168 million. A substantial chunk of our transfer budget has been shifted to our wage budget. As a result, we now have the league's largest wage budget, not only in our league but across all Scandinavian leagues, standing at £73.7 million per year. Yet, we're only spending a fraction of that, with our actual annual wage expenditure of £9.5 million.

We've been very selective in the transfer market, opting for players who not only fit our system and recruitment strategy but also have potential resale value. This approach has paid off, as we've managed to turn a profit on (what I am guesstimating) 99% of the players who have joined the club in the last six seasons.

Infrastructure

We finished a season with lovely message from the chairman stating “Our plans for a stadium move have unfortunately had to be scrapped. Although the board would have liked to move forward with the plans, the local council have intervened and refused to grant full planning permission. The club had set an objective of building a new stadium but are no longer proceeding with their plans and they are expected to continue in a different direction for the foreseeable future.”

LOL

Thanks for making it all the way down here! This will be my second to last Kiruna FF update. The next post will be a lovely summary of the last few seasons in the Arctic Circle.

Best,

José

FM23 | Kiruna FF: 2027 Season

June 14, 2023

Welcome to sixth chapter of our journey with Kiruna FF.

The Swedish football season traditionally runs from spring to autumn, starting in late March or early April and concluding in November. If a Swedish team has won the league title or qualified for a European competition in the previous season, they would begin their new Allsvenskan season while their previous year’s European competition is still ongoing. This situation arises because the European competitions typically start in the summer and continue into the following year.

Let’s take a look at how the 2026/2027 Champions League season finished, our attempt to win three titles in-a-row, the Svenska Cupen, and our 2027/2028 Champions league campaign.

2026/2027 Champions League

At the end of last season, we found ourselves in 7th place with 12 points. We had two matches left in the League Phase. We continued our Champions League campaign with a tough match against Liverpool, which we lost (1-3). It was a disappointing result, but we managed to bounce back in our next match against Juventus. We won that game (3-2), thanks to goals from Damjan Dakić and two from Petar Ratkov. Helping us qualify for the Knockout Play Off Round.

In the Knockout Play Off Round, we faced AC Milan in a two-legged tie. In the first leg, we lost (2-5), despite goals from Richard Bengtsson and Brandon Aguilera. We had hoped to turn things around in the second leg, but unfortunately, we lost again (2-3), despite Richard Bengtsson scoring twice for us.

Overall, our Champions League campaign season was a success. We punched way above our weight securing some fantastic results against big European teams like Celtic (5-1), Rennes (5-1), and Italian giants Juventus (3-2).

Domestic Competitions

Svenska Cupen

We started our campaign in Group 1 with a convincing (3-0) win against Skövde AIK. Marko Petrović led the way with two goals, and Akinkunmi Amoo added the third. In our second group game, we faced Örebro SK and secured another a (2-0) victory. Oscar Aga opened the score in the 10th minute, and Jorge Gárate sealed the win with a goal in the 37th minute. Our final group game against Vasalunds IF was a dominant display, resulting in an (8-0) win. Brandon Aguilera started the scoring early with a goal in the 6th minute, followed by three goals from Petar Ratkov, one goal from Marko Petrović, and a hat trick by Richard Bengtsson.

In the quarter-finals, we faced IK Sirius and continued our winning ways with a (3-1) victory. Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist got us off to a great start with a goal in the 3rd minute, followed by a goal from Enrico Dueñas and Petar Ratkov sealed the win with a goal in stoppage time. We faced Halmstads BK in the semi-finals, Honduran international Pedro Green opened the scoring early with a goal in the 6th minute, followed by a Michal Sáček goal, and Richard Bengtsson added a goal from the penalty spot to secure our place in the final to finish the match (3-0)

In the final, we met Djurgårdens IF. Richard Bengtsson opened the scoring with a goal in the 23rd minute, and Svit Sešlar sealed the win with a goal in the 38th to secure our first Svenska Cupen with a (2-0) victory.

Allsvenskan

We started off the season with a decent start of the season winning nine of the first 12 matches, drawing one, and losing two matches vs IFK Götenborg (0-1) and IF Brommapojkarna (2-3) between April and May. In June and July, we won five and drew two matches, keeping us in first place six points ahead of Malmö.

Our winning streak continued in August with three comfortable wins, we faced IF Elfsborg in my favorite match of the season, coming back from 0-3 at halftime to win the match (5-3). By September we had gone 17 matches unbeaten. However, back-to-back losses against Malmö (3-4) and Helsingborgs (0-2) in October meant that we were unable to catch up with Malmo, who went three points ahead of us. We ended the season on a high note with a (6-1) win against Djurgårdens IF, and a (4-0) win against Landskrona BoIS. Unfortunately, we finished the season in second place, with a total of 70 points. Some may say that we’ve pulled an Arsenal but hey, that’s neither here or there.

Despite finishing in second place, we had an impressive season, scoring 92 goals. Petar Ratkov was the top scorer with 19 goals, while Mirsad Ziba and Richard Bengtsson scored 18 and 15 goals respectively. Defensively, we suffered from losing our best defenders during the summer window. We conceded 33 goals this season, 14 more than the last.

Next season we will enter the Europa League League Path Qualifiers. This might be our first proper chance to win an European trophy.

2027/2028 Champions League

Our second go in the Champions League went almost the same as last campaign by winning three rounds of qualifying matches versus Sarajevo, Dinamo Zagreb, and Ludogorets.

We began the league phase by picking up three consecutive (3-3) draws against Borussia M’gladbach, Real Sociedad, and Man City. We came back to tie from being down in the last 20 minutes in all three matches, I am still now sure how that even happen! The first lost came against Borussia Dortmund (0-1) from Karim Adeyemi penalty in the 38th minute, not a bad result after being down a man in the 23rd minute after Michael Sáćek was sent off.

We bounced back against Galatasaray (5-2). This was another fun one, with the scoreline being (4-2) at half time. The second half didn’t have the goals but it was quite fun to watch as there were a lot of silly open goal off target shots from both teams. We continued with back-to-back wins versus RB Salzburg (4-2) and Monaco (3-0). Both of these wins were on home turf, which meant we were still unbeaten at home (including the qualifying phase).

Our hopes to skip the knock out round were damped as we travelled to Bergamo in the final league phase match, losing (1-4) vs Atalanta. This meant that we would face KRC Genk in the Knock Out Play Off Round.

As you can see above, we gave it our best shot! We dominate Genk in both matches. We continued the momentum in the home match against Man City; dominating in possession, shots, and xG. Our hopes sky high in the second leg as went ahead after a goal from Ludvig Nåvik in 16th minute, unfortunately that was it for us. Man City decided to stop toying with us and scored five goals in the second half.

In terms of individual performances, Richard Bengtsson and Mirsad Ziba continued their fantastic form in Europe, scoring 14 and 16 goals respectively.

Youth

Last season, I recruited Sweden’s top Head of Youth Development from Hammarby. A year later, the impact of Joakim Rydberg became evident as we achieved our best youth intake to date. These “elite” youngsters are quite versatile across in various positions, and possess the potential to compete at a high level, not far from Superettan. It looks like the future is bright in Kiruna, as we are covered for the future in most positions from goalkeeper to striker.

Finances & Infrastucture

Despite our notable successes both on and off the pitch, it is important to acknowledge that Kiruna FF remains a relatively small club in Sweden. Our average attendance currently stands at a modest 2,242, making it the third lowest in the league. Even when playing in Europe, we struggle to sell out our stadium. Furthermore, commercially, the club has been facing challenges, only securing £250K in sponsorship deals, which once again places us as the third worst in the league. As a result, we have heavily relied on the transfer market to generate income.

Our financial situation is quite healthy, with £101M in the bank. Through the sale of an impressive 37 players, we managed to accumulate a total of £135M. We have brought in 43 new players for a total of £16.25M, including 24 youngsters from Central America. This influx of players, overall count of 125 players throughout the club, has led to Kiruna FF surpassing Malmo FF in terms of having the highest salary expenditure, amounting to £8.42M per year.

A portion of the funds generated has been dedicated to improving our training and youth facilities with the training facilities being regarded as “great” and the youth facilities as “good.” Moreover, our junior coaching and youth recruitment programs are now “exceptional.” Lastly, the chairman has outlined a plan to construct a new stadium with a proposed capacity of 16K, although this figure may seem ambitious to say the least, it is better than not having a plan.

Reputation

After back-to-back titles in 2025 and 2026, and a second place finish in 2027. We’ve solidified our reputation as the 11th most reputable team in Sweden. Still, we’ve yet to reach the level of clubs like Malmo FF, Djurgårdens IF, and Hammarby IF. My focus for the rest of the save is to win more titles and hopefully join their ranks.

While we’ve had relative success in Europe, making it to the Champions League knockout rounds two season’s in-a-row, we haven’t cracked the top 75 clubs. Also, there are no Swedish teams are mentioned in the rankings, and the Allsvenskan hasn’t secured a spot in the top 20 leagues either. My aim is to improve Sweden’s position in the nation club coefficients and the Allsvenskan in the club rankings.

Even though we lost bottled the title, it was definitely my favorite season thus far. Managing in Sweden continues to keep me on my toes as we’ve continue to lose our best players. Some of them didn’t even make it through the entire season.

As there’s been a ton of playing staff turnover in the last couple of seasons, I will be breaking down some of the more notable transfers that we’ve had. I will also take a look at the 2028 Allsvenskan season as well as our time in the Europa League.

Feel free to reach out on Twitter, and if you want to stay up to date with the save, come say hi on Slack.
Thanks for making it to the end!

Thanks again for making it all the way through.
Best,
José

FM23 | Kiruna FF: 2026 Season

April 15, 2023

Welcome to the fifth post of our journey with Kiruna FF.

Last time a round, I deviated a bit to touch on my recruitment efforts in Central America and whether they did or did not have any influence in their performances. Let’s recap our second season in the Allsvenskan and Kiruna’s first time competing in the Champions League.

Svenska Cupen

Unfortunately, we could not make it past the group stages this season. We were drawn against Utsiktens BK, Ljungskile SK, and Malmo FF. We were able to win against Utsiktens (4-0) and Ljungskile (7-0), but our luck ran out after narrowly losing the match against Malmo (0-1).

Allsvenskan

What makes managing in Sweden fun it’s the challenge of knowing that you will lose key players every season. This year was no exception, as we lost several important players in defense and midfield. Despite this, we brought in some quality new players and had a great start to the season, winning seven out of our first 11 games and scoring an impressive 31 goals. Our defense also performed well, conceding only nine goals in those 11 games.

After the World Cup break, our team went on an incredible unbeaten streak of 19 games, scoring 64 goals and conceding only nine in the process. Our strikers were in top form, with Richard Bengtsson leading the league with 22 goals and Peter Ratkov finishing with 14. Our midfield was also strong, with Matias Belli Moldskred finishing second in the league with eight assists and Ludwig Augustinsson proving to be a valuable asset with seven assists from just six starts.

Defensively, we were equally impressive. We had the fewest goals conceded in the league at 19 and kept a league-high 17 clean sheets. Sebastian Selin had a fantastic season in goal, keeping 16 clean sheets and conceding only 19 goals, with the highest expected goal prevented in the league with 11.93. That’s seven more goals prevented than the next goalkeeper.

However, we need to improve defending from set pieces. Of the 19 goals we conceded, 11 came from set pieces. We allowed the 13th-most goals from corners (9) in the league. On the other hand, we scored 18 goals from corners, eight more than any other team, and nine from indirect free kicks, five more than any other team.

Overall, we had some fantastic results in attacking and defensive play this season, with ten of our players making it to the top 10 highest average league ratings. We had the second-highest possession rate in the league at 62% and created a league-high 155 chances while taking a whopping 529 shots. Our shots-on-target ratio was also impressive at 44%, which led to a league-high 95 goals scored.

The goal for next season is more of the same, qualify for the Champions League, improve our set-piece defending, and win the league for the third time in a row.

Champions League

I knew we needed to strengthen the squad with some established older players to help us in the qualifying rounds. In came Costa Rican international Brandon Aguilera (£0, Nottingham Forest) to replace outgoing Bénie Traoré (£2.5M, Empoli). Swedish international Ludwig Augustinsson (£2M, Sevilla) wanted to return to Sweden after years abroad, and we were more than happy to provide him with a new home up north. We added another Costa Rican international, right-back Ian Smith (£0, Alajuelense), to replace fellow Costa Rican Diego Campos (£220K, SPAL). Lastly, Petar Ratkov (£950K, TSC) joined to partner up top with Richard Bengtsson.

Our performances in the qualifying rounds were solid, with Richard Bengtsson and Petar Ratkov leading the way with a combined total of 15 goals. We were able to score a total of 22 goals throughout the six matches, averaging more than three goals per game.

As we moved into the Champions League “League Phase,” we continued to perform at a high level. We put in a fantastic team performance in our first match against Celtic, winning (5-1) with goals from Carl Andersson, Brandon Aguilera, Niko Tsakiris, Richard Bengtsson, and Víctor Ochoa. Our second match was a thrilling (4-3) victory over Club Brugge, with goals from Niko Tsakiris, Oscar Aga, Brandon Aguilera, and an 89th-minute goal from Petar Ratkov.

We were unable to get going against Ajax, losing (0-2). However, we did our best to bounce back against Roma (2-4), with two goals from Mirsad Ziba. Despite the loss, we were able to turn things around in the last two matches of the year, winning against Strømsgodset (3-0) with a hat-trick from Petar Ratkov and against Rennes (5-1) with another fantastic team performance, including goals from Richard Bengtsson, Oscar Aga, Jacob Montes, and Mirsad Ziba.

When looking at individual performances, Richard Bengtsson and Petar Ratkov stood out as our top goal scorers with 11 and 10 goals, respectively, putting them in first and second place in the League Phase. Mirsad Ziba had a solid season with five goals, tying him for 11th place. Our team’s success was mainly due to the exceptional playmaking of Ludwig Augustinsson, who led the Champions League in assists with an impressive 13. Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist also contributed with five assists, tying him for second place. Regarding average ratings, Petar Ratkov and Richard Bengtsson finished in the top 11 with ratings of 7.93 and 7.76, respectively.

We find ourselves in 7th place with 12 points from 6 matches. We topped the table in goals scored with 19, but we were in 32nd place with 11 goals conceded. With two more matches to go against league leaders Liverpool and 18th place-Juventus, we’re hoping to finish as high in the table as possible, as I’d like to avoid the Knockout Rounds.

Players of the Season

Richard Bengtsson had another incredible season scoring 33 goals in 26 (10) appearances. He also provided six assists to his teammates. He has now scored 107 goals and 26 assists in 142 appearances.
Petar Ratkov came in halfway through the season and has done exactly what I signed him up to do. His 10 goals from 3 (9) appearances in the Champions League is just ridiculous. He finished the season with 25 goals. Let’s see how many goals he can score next season.
Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist had his best season at the club. Playing in the CM(A), he provided 12 assists and scored 6 goals from 26 (1) appearances. He finished the season with a 7.50 average rating.
Ludwig Augustinsson was a creative force, the wingback came in halfway through the season and was able to provided an incredible 20 assists in 18 (3) appearances. His 17 crossing was the perfect recipe for Bengtsson and Ratkov.

Youth

This season’s intake has been another success, producing a diverse group of players from various nationalities and positions, as well as Kiruna-born talents. The intake features two “Elite Talents” in Bosnian U19 International Ismet Begović and Kiruna’s own midfielder Adam Grimstad. Additionally, there are four “Top Talents” in goalkeeper Simon Olsson, striker Fredrik Friberg, Brazil born center-back Sérgio, and midfielder Adilson Oliveira, who is of Cape Verdean descent but also from Kiruna. Lastly, Swedish/Lebanese winger Fadi Ayoub.

Of all the players in the intake, Adam Grimstad and Fredrik Friberg stand out as particularly promising. They both have the potential to develop into first team players within the next few seasons.

Club Culture

Over the course of the last five seasons, significant changes have occurred in our club culture. After three consecutive promotions, we have now won back-to-back Allsvenskan titles. These achievements have not gone unnoticed by our fans, as our season ticket holders have increased from 95 to 1,166 and our social media following has grown from 2.4K to 159K. Our supporters now demand a particular style of play a possession and high-tempo pressing football.

However, our success has also brought about a shift in our fanbase. Previously, our club was supported by a smaller, more dedicated group of fans, but now we have more than doubled the number of fair weather fans. Despite this change, we have managed to maintain a high attendance capacity of 98% over the last three seasons, averaging 2197 fans per match.

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This is it for now. We go at it again, we will try to advance as far as we can in the Champions League and hopefully win another title!

Feel free to reach out on Twitter, and if you want to stay up to date with the save, come say hi on Slack.
Thanks for making it to the end!

Best,
José