Deutschland
05-04-2004, 04:03:AM
(I hope you enjoy this. I've just got CM03/04, and I've started managing Portugal. Look out for the Euro Championships :D! Would post screenshots, but can't.)
Hello, my name is Bor Thaud, and I am from Oslo, Norway. I have managed various clubs in my life, such as Fulham, Benfica and eventually Bayer Leverkusen. Sadly, I have only managed each club for around 1 month, being fired almost immediately for poor results. Rubbish, I say, but you know how
it goes in this business. Now, after recently being rejected from Leverkusen, I sought something a little more upper-class, more competitive.. then it struck me. International team management. I immediately begun scouring the teams for a team that I truly liked. No further had I looked when I came to Portugal. A very exciting team, with star players such as Figo, Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes.
Although they performed reasonably, I could certainly see room for improvement. So there I was, calling up the Portugese Football Assocation, asking for a job. Surprisingly, they immediately accepted me. I could hear stifled laughs in the background, and it seemed as though they already knew me and my managing skills very well. Oh well, I got the job. I had to wait an entire month before our first match even came up, which was a friendly against Australia. I bided my time, relaxing in the Portugese sun, forgetting all my troubles, all courteously paid for by the FA.
It had been 4 weeks, and I'd still put no thought into our first match. The game was tomorrow.I took a look at the players in the squad... some were injured, unfortunately for me, but most were still fit and ready to play. I chose an attacking 4-4-2 formation, with my wingers, Figo and Simão, running to F L and F R respectively. I decided that they would play with a gung ho mentality, whilst focusing passing down the flanks. I'd drawn up the squad as follows:
GK: Vítor Baía
DR: Paulo Ferreira DC: Fernando Couto DC: Ricardo Carvalho DL: Rui Jorge
MR: Simão MC: Deco MC: Costinha ML: Figo
| |
\|/ FC: Pauleta FC: Derlei \|/
Match Day (6/9/2003. Friendly Vs. Australia, Home)
Indeed, it was a fairly safe tactic, however it allowed for Figo and Simão to playing down the flanks, crossing balls for my strikers. We went into the match feeling prepared and very certain that we would win. We begun the match uneventfully with Fernando Couto earning himself a yellow card just 5 minutes into the game for elbowing Mark Viduka. Or did Viduka run into Couto's elbow?... 7 minutes later, in the 12th minute, as Mark Bresciano cleared the ball from Australia's penalty area, Fernando Couto headed the ball down to Figo. Figo, running like the wind down the left wing, punted a floater into the box. Australia's defender, Lindsay Wilson, attempted but failed to head the ball clear. The ball sailed past Wilson straight to the feet of Simão, who found himself with plenty of time. Taking a few moments to line the shot up, Simão raised his leg back, and unleashed a powerful kick which beat the Australian goalkeeper, Zelijko Kalac. We were up 1 - 0, in the 12th minute, and looked very dangerous at this point. Despite our start, the game ended with the same scoreline, 1-0. With 8 shots, 4 of which were on target, we could have scored more goals but failed to capitalise. Nonetheless, most of my players performed well above average, in particular Rui Jorge, Fernando Couto, Figo and Costinha who each managed to score a rating of 8, while man of the match Simão managed to earn a rating of 9. Whilst the scoreboard shows a fairly mediocre performance, I felt we played very well, and I feel if we maintain this form, the future could hold a lot in store for us.
Score:
PORTUGAL 1 : 0 AUSTRALIA
Simão '12
MoM: Simão.
My next game was in around one month, on 11/10/2003, where we played host to the San Marinese national team in a friendly. I felt confident we would win this with absolute ease, but who knew what was going to happen when Portugal faced San Marino at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon?:D :D :D
Hello, my name is Bor Thaud, and I am from Oslo, Norway. I have managed various clubs in my life, such as Fulham, Benfica and eventually Bayer Leverkusen. Sadly, I have only managed each club for around 1 month, being fired almost immediately for poor results. Rubbish, I say, but you know how
it goes in this business. Now, after recently being rejected from Leverkusen, I sought something a little more upper-class, more competitive.. then it struck me. International team management. I immediately begun scouring the teams for a team that I truly liked. No further had I looked when I came to Portugal. A very exciting team, with star players such as Figo, Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes.
Although they performed reasonably, I could certainly see room for improvement. So there I was, calling up the Portugese Football Assocation, asking for a job. Surprisingly, they immediately accepted me. I could hear stifled laughs in the background, and it seemed as though they already knew me and my managing skills very well. Oh well, I got the job. I had to wait an entire month before our first match even came up, which was a friendly against Australia. I bided my time, relaxing in the Portugese sun, forgetting all my troubles, all courteously paid for by the FA.
It had been 4 weeks, and I'd still put no thought into our first match. The game was tomorrow.I took a look at the players in the squad... some were injured, unfortunately for me, but most were still fit and ready to play. I chose an attacking 4-4-2 formation, with my wingers, Figo and Simão, running to F L and F R respectively. I decided that they would play with a gung ho mentality, whilst focusing passing down the flanks. I'd drawn up the squad as follows:
GK: Vítor Baía
DR: Paulo Ferreira DC: Fernando Couto DC: Ricardo Carvalho DL: Rui Jorge
MR: Simão MC: Deco MC: Costinha ML: Figo
| |
\|/ FC: Pauleta FC: Derlei \|/
Match Day (6/9/2003. Friendly Vs. Australia, Home)
Indeed, it was a fairly safe tactic, however it allowed for Figo and Simão to playing down the flanks, crossing balls for my strikers. We went into the match feeling prepared and very certain that we would win. We begun the match uneventfully with Fernando Couto earning himself a yellow card just 5 minutes into the game for elbowing Mark Viduka. Or did Viduka run into Couto's elbow?... 7 minutes later, in the 12th minute, as Mark Bresciano cleared the ball from Australia's penalty area, Fernando Couto headed the ball down to Figo. Figo, running like the wind down the left wing, punted a floater into the box. Australia's defender, Lindsay Wilson, attempted but failed to head the ball clear. The ball sailed past Wilson straight to the feet of Simão, who found himself with plenty of time. Taking a few moments to line the shot up, Simão raised his leg back, and unleashed a powerful kick which beat the Australian goalkeeper, Zelijko Kalac. We were up 1 - 0, in the 12th minute, and looked very dangerous at this point. Despite our start, the game ended with the same scoreline, 1-0. With 8 shots, 4 of which were on target, we could have scored more goals but failed to capitalise. Nonetheless, most of my players performed well above average, in particular Rui Jorge, Fernando Couto, Figo and Costinha who each managed to score a rating of 8, while man of the match Simão managed to earn a rating of 9. Whilst the scoreboard shows a fairly mediocre performance, I felt we played very well, and I feel if we maintain this form, the future could hold a lot in store for us.
Score:
PORTUGAL 1 : 0 AUSTRALIA
Simão '12
MoM: Simão.
My next game was in around one month, on 11/10/2003, where we played host to the San Marinese national team in a friendly. I felt confident we would win this with absolute ease, but who knew what was going to happen when Portugal faced San Marino at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon?:D :D :D