The Football Ambassador Challenge Journal

[Buchenwald]

Hey guys!

I have started a story a few months ago about a French team...but it was too long to write so I dropped it.

The posts will be different : It will be reports of months of play, transfers, etc. No storytelling, just gameplay.

The challenge is tough :
-Be the ambassador of football in Iceland.

Iceland is a very small country (317 000 hab.), with an underdeveloped football association. They are ranked 124th in FIFA, and they are in the bottom of the UEFA club ranking. They send one team to Champions League, in 2nd Round, and three teams to Europa League, one in 2nd Round and two in 1st Round.
The biggest team is worth 2.1M€, and every team of Iceland is semi-pro.

The challenge :
-Starting in Sunday League, take over an Icelander team
-Win the championship
-Take the team to Champion's League level, eventually winning it
-Raise Iceland's global level (changing teams is allowed) to the point where Iceland is 1st in UEFA, sending 4 teams to C1.

-At the same time, take over the national team
-Win both Euro and World Cup

Why Iceland? Because it's the worst European country playable (well there's Northern Ireland, but they have good players in their national team, and they have good regens via Irish and English teams and double-nationalities)

[Buchenwald]

Iceland for dummies :

-1st division : "Simadeildin"
-2nd division : "1st division"
-3rd division : Not in FM

Simadeildin : 12 teams. (22 games)
1st : C1
2nd and 3rd : Europa League
11 and 12 : Out
Games : May to September, every week

Iceland Cup
Games : May to August
System : Classic (if draw, extra time + penalty shootout)
Winner : Europa League

League Cup
Games : March to April
Teams : 24 (Simadeildin and L1)
System : 3 groups of 8 (7 games only), the 1st goes through, along with the best 2nd. Semi-final, final.
Winner : Nothing!

Iceland Supercup
May
Simadeildin winner v. Cup winner

"Summer" Transfer window : January to May
"Winter" Transfer window : 2 weeks in August

As you can see, the cycle is reversed compared to European standards. I don't know when vacations will be but there will be a LOT of friendlies to keep the players busy. Champions League might be tougher than expected (which is saying something)

Teams in Simadeildin :
FH, KR, Valur, Keflavik, Breioablik, Fram, IBV : 2 stars (popularity)
Grindavik, Fylkir, Stjarnan, Vikingur, Por : 1.5 star

I am going to pick Vikingur, because that's the only cool name out there. I am expected to finish the season second to last. The game starts the 1st of January 2012.

[Buchenwald]

Season 2011 Recap

This is a post that I will do every game year, to give information on Iceland's football level

Winners
Simadeildin : Breioablik
Iceland Cup : FH
League Cup : KR
Super Cup : FH

European Competitions 2011-2012
C1
Breioablik : 2nd round (loss 0-2, 0-3 against Victoria Pizen, Czech Rep.)

Europa League :
KR entered in 1st round, went to 3rd round (loss 1-1, 0-2 against Alania, Russia)
FH entered in 2nd round, went to 3rd round (loss 0-2, 0-4 against Mayence, Germany)
IBV entered in 2nd round, loss 1-1, 1-3 against Larnaca, Cyprus

Biggest team : Breioablik, est. 2.1M€
Sum of Simadeildin teams : 11.64M

Simadeildin competition level :
Cup : 2 stars
Simadeildin, League Cup, Super Cup, 1st Division : 1.5 star

Iceland european rank : 40 (1 team in C1 2nd round, 1 team in Eur 2nd round, 2 teams in Eur 1st round)
Iceland national team : 124 in FIFA

Up next : the team of Vikingur, and the friendlies.

[draamkov]

Wow!! This is a very tough challenge , will follow this .
Good luck mate

[Buchenwald]

Vikingur!



Based in Reyljavik, the Iceland Capital, the team just won 1st Division and promotion to Simadeildin. They are a former "big" team in Iceland, winning Simadeildin 5 times (last time in 1991). They have one Iceland Cup (1971) and no League Cup yet.

The team has crappy installations ...
2000-person stadium
5 grey star training center
"Meh" youth center
Rudimentary youth recruitement

The cold in Reykjavik means there will be cancelled games in January to March, and that the grass will become rough more often.

The president gave me the following tasks
Simadeildin : Top 10 (stay)
Cup : Quarter Final
League Cup : Doesn't care
Transfer/Wage budget : 0€ - 450k€/month

I should note that for a team expected to end 11 in Simadeildin, the President is asking a lot in the Cup. I think he will be a pain in the ass when I get to C1.

Authorised staff :
Medic : 1
Trainer : 2
Supervisor : 1

Ok, now that's just wrong. I talked some sense into the president and expanded it to :
Medic : 1
Trainer : 4
Supervisor : 6

I recruited a goal trainer because my keepers weren't happy with the situation. Speaking of the team....my key player is 37. You heard me.



My transfer center is EMPTY. I don't know anyone to recruit. And my supervisors can only go to Scandinavian countries, or England. I sent them to Faroe, Finland, Norway, England, Iceland (duh) and Iceland again. My team is barely Simadeildin level. The youths all suck.

(I won't post the starting 11 yet)

Oh, and I have two whole months of friendlies to schedule before the League Cup starts. I'm going to win money by losing against the big teams....another bad news : I can't face non-Iceland teams because 1) It's January and 2) Iceland is far away from everyone.

My "good" players are the Central Midfielders and Left/Right Midfielders, so I use them in my main tactic :



The striker is a target man. The transition between midfield and attack worries me, so I put a focus on crosses and passes. No through balls, my players have crappy speed.

At the same time, some agents come knocking at my door with unemployed players. GREAT.

In :
César (Left Midfield)
Guobrandson (Central Midfield)
Kambou (Defensive Midfielder)
Jonasson (Left Midfield)


Pictures next post. Kambou is from Ivory Coast, and I can only use 3 non-EU players (African players don't count :/)


Okay, here goes nothing...

Haukar 1-5 Vikingur
Marshall, César, Sigurosson, Takefusa, Rutgers

BI 2-2 Vikingur
Marshall, César
César injured

LV 0-2 Vikingur
Marshall, Sveinsson

Vikingur 1-1 KR
Sigurosson

Vikingur 1-0 Keflavik
Marshall

Vikingur 1-4 Breioablik
Magnusson

Vikingur 2-2 FH
Marshall, Sigurosson

César is back
Vikingur 0-1 Fram

Vikingur 1-0 Valur
César

A promising set of games. I learned that Marshall, my right midfielder, owns. The players have great troubles keeping their fitness, so I had games every 3 days. The games went nicely, especially against Simadeildin top dogs. A big loss against the reigning Champion though.

César had a great impact on games when he was there. He's 37 so only here for a season though. If some of them remember him, he was in Inter in 07-08.

I have two good strikers according to my ass man, but they don't have an impact on the games yet.

Rutgers is a solid CD but the other three defenders suck, and the goalie is mediocre.

Oh, and no B team. If any of my key players is not here, I'm dead.

Coming soon : League Cup, and my starting 11.

[Buchenwald]

2012- Part 2 : League Cup

Okay, so I forgot to mention two extra Iceland rules :
-You can use players who have signed on a month trial. I'm definitely going to abuse this.
-Yellow cards limit is 4. However, once you pass that, the limit becomes 2. It's a clever system, but my meaner players will miss some games...

Starting 11 :
GK - Pormar
Def (right to left) : Einarsson - Rutgers - Alatson - Bjnarnason
MD : Kambou
Mid (right to left) : Marshall - Briem - Guobrandsson - César
ST : Sigurosson/Takefusa

Attachment 306233


This is not a Simadeildin winning team level yet, but we can hope for midtable while we sign some more players
BTW : I have 25 contracts expiring in the end of the year, most of them useless players, but some of them in this team (Sigurosson, César...)

Reminder : 24 teams (3x8) in the League Cup. The first team and the best second team go to the semi-finals.

My group : Valur (arch rival, expected 3rd), Grindavik, Fylkir, IA (Simadeildin middle class), IR, Prottur, KA (1st division), me.

I'm going to aim for best 2nd with a draw with Valur.

IA 2-4 Vikingur
Sigurosson (3), Marshall

KA 0-1 Vikingur
Sigurosson

Vikingur 1-0 Prottur
Sigurosson

IR 3-3 Vikingur
Kambou, Alatson, Marshall

Vikingur 0-0 Grindavik

Vikingur 1-0 Fylkir
Kambou

Vikingur 2-1 Valur
El Bahri, Marshall

We finished 1st!! I recruited a great player before the last game :



He is really top Simadeildin level. And cheap! I love him already.



My players are really playing good football, and my "wingers" have the best assists and goals. Sigurosson start to score important goals, and when he's not, he's pressuring the opponents who eventually crack.

League Cup Semi-final
FH 1-2 (aet) Vikingur
Sigurosson (88'!)
Kambou (101')

League Cup FINAL
Vikingur 4-1 Haukar
Tokpa, Rutgers, Sigurosson, OG

WE WON!!! I recruited another top player for the midfield :




This is great, we really played well and I can't wait to start Simadeildin!
Bad news however : As a winner, I won....11k€ -__- And my team won 7k in prizes... -_- Meaning I only won 4k oO
I hope the Cup and Simadeildin pay better, because I need the cash...

I was scared of the poor level of my defense, but my tactic is a solid one, with quick passes and good transition between defense and offense. Sigurosson is often alone and marked by the two CD opponents though.

We're in May, so coming soon : Simadeildin part 1, Cup, and the European contracts about to expire...

[Buchenwald]

2011, Simadeildin part 1

The board wants us to stay in Simadeildin, but we will be aiming for victory. Our performances in the League Cup were very good.
I also want to win the Cup for the money.

Vikingur 4-3 FH
César (2), El Bahri, Sigurosson
Ridiculous first half where we went 4-0. Ridiculous second half too...

Stjarnan 0-3 Vikingur
Marshall, Alatson, Tokpa (p)

Vikingur 4-1 KR
Tokpa, Sigurosson, Marshall, OG

Fylkir 0-3 Vikingur
El Bahri, Sigurosson (2)

Iceland Cup 3rd round
Grindavik 1-3 Vikingur
Takefusa, Briemm, Tokpa

Vikingur 2-0 Grindavik
Sigurosson, Rutgers

IBV 1-3 Vikingur
Sigurosson (3)

Vikingur 2-0 Por
OG, El Bahri

Iceland Cup Last 16
Vikingur (aet) 4-1 FH
El Bahri (3), Sigurosson

Keflavik 3-2 Vikingur
Rutgers, El Bahri
Our first defeat! The Keflavik team was very motivated against us (and their coach spent the whole week talking trash about me, he hates me) I'm going to befriend him, because I really got my ass kicked here and I don't want that to happen again.

Vikingur 2-0 Breioablik
Alatson, Sigurosson

Fram 2-0 Vikingur
Ouch! Fram is playing well too.

Iceland Cup Quarter Final
Vikingur 1-0 Selfoss
Alatson
We totally dominated the match against a 1st division team, but their goalie was on steroids. Scored the winning goal in a corner kick.

Valur 2-2 Vikingur
Rutgers, Sigurosson

The first half was good! A long winning streak to begin the season, and the difficulties came with the Cup, where we got two tough opponents (FH and Grindavik) which forced me to play B-class players in the Simadeildin, and I lost points.

We're first!!



Our arch-rival Valur won't stop winning either. Fram is a serious outsider and Keflavik hates me but loses against everyone else.
I should note the last place of the richest team, Breioablik. Seriously?

Two games left in the Cup (Semi vs Valur and eventually Final)

We recruited a good goalie too! Our goalie was making way too much stupid mistakes.
El Bahri is killing it, best assist in the league! Sigurosson is the best scorer, and César is slowly becoming useless... Marshall is still solid, but I need to think ahead for next season, fast.



Coming soon : "summer" transfer window, the end of Simadeildin, and the expiring contracts of 80% of my team.

[draamkov]

great work so far , and congratulations on your first trophy

[Buchenwald]

2012, Simadeildin part 2

We're slowly losing money, victory is possible but next year will be tough...

FH 0-3 Vikingur
Sigurosson, Tokpa (p) , Marshall

Iceland Cup Semi-Final
Vikingur 1-1 Valur
César
Penalty Shootout...5-3!

I talked to César and Sigurosson to make them join the staff next year....because my next star is here!!



Look at that Nigerian beast. Fast as hell, composed in the box...a perfect addition to my team! But now, I have four extra-european players. I can't have more than three in the same starting 18. Looks like Kambou won't stay long after all. I need a new DM.

At the same time, a friendly match occured in Spain and popped in my radar. Some Spanish team ordered a game between 22 unemployed Spanish players. I came to see what was on sale...



Yes, when César was going to retire! I got my new DM by the way :



Okay, I can rush to the end of the season :

Vikingur 2-0 Stjarnan
Sigurosson (2)

KR 1-1 Vikingur
Eboigbe

Vikingur 1-0 Fylkir
Marshall

Okay, not "rush", because we have game every three days :/ remember when I said I don't have a B team?

Iceland Cup FINAL
Vikingur 2-0 Fram
Eboigbe, Takefusa

We won the cup, and I get National reputation!

Grindavik 3-3 Vikingur
Aolasteinsson, César, Marshall

Por 0-0 Vikingur
Ridiculous match where we had 16 shots on target. Por plays a 5-4-1 and is going to Division 1 next year >_>

Vikingur 4-1 IBV
Marshall, Eboigbe (2), Tokpa (p)

Vikingur 0-0 Keflavik
Okay, this teams pisses me off. They pulled another match of the year against us and loses against everyone else!!

Breioablik 0-2 Vikingur
Marshall (2)

Vikingur 1-0 Fram
César

We are officially champions, one game before the end of the season! Let's celebrate in the last game against arch rivals and runners up Valur

Vikingur 0-1 Valur

Meh.



This was a good final rush considering we had two games a week with our squad. César and Sigurosson are leaving the team, along with 18 other players.

We finished the season and the year with a 310K deficit (20% of our capital), yet the board chose to give our stadium 1000 more spots. That's good, because it was getting full (2000) very often.
Next season will be the hardest : Our C1 debut, keeping the title with NO team, and preventing Vikingur from going bankrupt.

The vacations are October+November : I wonder how I will do when I eventually reach group stage...





-----------------------

Meanwhile in Europe...

Slovakia (!!!!) won Euro 2012 against Spain on penalty shootouts. What the hell FM?
Barca won C1 against Man U
Atletico Madrid won Europa League against AS Roma

Up next : Recap of Iceland's year 2012.

[Buchenwald]

Season 2012 Recap

This is a post that I will do every game year, to give information on Iceland's football level

Winners
Simadeildin : Vikingur
2nd, 3rd and 4th : Valur, FH, Stjarnan
Iceland Cup : Vikingur
League Cup : Vikingur
Super Cup : Breioablik

European Competitions 2012-2013
C1
Breioablik : 2nd round ,loss 0-0, 1-2 against Shamrock Rovers, Ireland

Europa League :
KR went to 2nd round , loss 1-1, 0-2 against Teplice, Czech. Rep.
FH went to 2rd round, loss 0-4, 0-3 against Kayserispor, Turkey
IBV went to 1st round, loss 0-2 0-3 against Dynamo Minsk, Belarus

Biggest team : Breioablik, est. 2.1M€
Sum of Simadeildin teams : 11.16M (-0.48M since 2011)

Simadeildin competition level :
Cup : 2 stars
Simadeildin, League Cup, Super Cup, 1st Division : 1.5 star

Iceland european rank : 39 (1 team in C1 2nd round, 1 team in Eur 2nd round, 2 teams in Eur 1st round) (+1 since 2011)
Iceland national team : 74 in FIFA (+50 since 2011)


Very good year for the national team who scored upset wins against the likes of Switzerland in WC2014 Qualifiers. I'm actually not okay with this since I want the coach to be sacked to take his spot.

The four Iceland teams lost in European competition badly, I hope I can do better.

Up next : Vikingur, new and maybe improved.