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Introduction I never tried the Russian Revolution Challenge when it was first running in 2003 and I always meant to give it a go, so here it is now. Running FM2005 5.0.5 with data update, all English and Russian Leagues.
The Russian Revolution Challenge by Joe Finnigan The arrival of Roman Abramovich to Chelsea has changed the face of football over the summer. Your overall task, though, is to put Russia and its club sides on the map in the footballing world, in the same way teams in England, Spain and Italy have.
Now that Roman Abramovich has ploughed lots of money into Chelsea, there are high expectations that they will challenge for the league. However, now the club has the money to try and find success, your first task is to make use of the money you have available and win the Premiership, the first time they would win the championship since 1955, and Champions League for the first time in Chelsea's history.
Once you have completed that task, you must wait for a managerial job for a Russian club side to become available for the second stage, and when there is one you can apply for it and hopefully take up the reins of one of the clubs in Roman Abramovich's home country. You may do whatever you wish while waiting for any jobs to become vacant, whether it be remaining at Chelsea and winning more trophies with them, resigning and becoming manager of a different team or resign as Chelsea boss and just stay unemployed until the job comes along.
When you are finally in charge of a Russian club, you have to again win either the UEFA Cup or Champions League - obviously this would probably be a much tougher task than the first stage if you had to win the Champions League with the Russian side you're managing to progress to the next stage, so you are allowed to win either the UEFA Cup or Champions League - so you only have to win one of the two, not both of them. Once you have finally won one of the European competitions with your Russian club, the second stage of this challenge will be completed.
Once you're on to the final stage of the challenge, you have another wait until the Russian national job becomes available which is who you would be managing for this final part of the challenge. Again, what you do while you wait for the national job to become available is up to you. When it is available though, apply for it. Once you eventually become manager of the Russia national team, your final job is to win both the European Championships and the World Cup. There is no particular order in which you have to win the tournaments i.e. you can win the World Cup before the European Championships, and vice versa. Once you have done that, you have completed the challenge.
Shortened guide to stages
Stage 1: Take control of Chelsea, win Premiership and Champions League in no particular order.
Stage 2: Apply for jobs at Russian club sides, and once you are appointed at one of the clubs, win either the UEFA Cup or Champions League.
Stage 3: Wait for Russian national job to become available; once you are appointed, win both the World Cup and European Championships, again in no particular order.
Colonel Aleksandr Ivanovich Palichenko sat in his office in the once notorious Lubyanka in the centre of Moscow. Palichenko was a senior officer in the Federal Security Service (Federal'naya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti, or FSB). The FSB provides broad law enforcement functions, fighting crime and corruption, in addition to discharging security and counter-intelligence responsibilities. It is broadly equivalent to the FBI in the United States.
Palichenko was so deep in thought that he did not respond at first to the knock on his door. The knock was repeated, more insistent than before, and the Colonel's reverie was broken. "Come in” he called out. "Ah, Misha. Please, take a seat." Captain Mikhail Petrovich Sokolov sat down in front of the Colonel's desk. He looked at his superior enquiringly. “You wanted to see me Comrade Colonel?” The Colonel did not reply. Instead he pushed a folder across his desk towards Mikhail who opened it and began to read.
Roman Abramovich Profile
1966: Born October 24 in Saratov on the Volga River in southern Russia.
Lost his mother to illness when he was 18 months old and his father was killed in a construction accident when he was four. Adopted by his father's brother, he lived for a time in Moscow and then with his maternal grandparents in the northern region of Komi. He attended the Industrial Institute in the city of Ukhta in Komi, before he was drafted into the Soviet army. Now a very successful businessman he concentrates his business activities on trading oil products out of Russia's largest refinery in Omsk, western Siberia.
He has a controlling interest in Russian oil giant Sibneft, as well as shares in national airline Aeroflot, and a television company, among other holdings, through Millhouse Capital, registered in Britain. He also founded the charitable foundation Pole of Hope, which has sent children to summer camps on the Black Sea and sent shipments of food aid to Chukotkan villages. He owns a Russian ice hockey team and owns a 42-hectare country estate near Moscow with his wife and four children.
1992: Investigated, but eventually cleared, for alleged misappropriation of 55 railroad wagons full of diesel fuel from the Ukhtinsky petroleum processing plant.
1999: Elected a member of the Duma representing the remote region of Chukotka, which is just across the Bering Strait from Alaska.
2001: Elected governor of Chukotka and begins radically building up the infrastructure of the province. Listed by US business publication Forbes Magazine as the second-richest man in Russia, worth around $3billion (£1.8bn).
2003: Forbes list Abramovich as the 49th richest person in the world, with a new worth of $5.7billion (£3.42bn), while the Sunday Times in the UK claim he is worth £3.8bn.
2003: July 1st he agrees a deal with Chelsea owner Ken Bates to buy his majority shareholding in the Barclaycard Premiership club for £29.6million and also agrees to underwrite their substantial debts of Chelsea Village.
When he had finished reading Mikhail laid the folder back down on the desk. “What has this to do with me Comrade Colonel?”, he asked.
The Colonel replied “We have been investigating Abramovich for several years as we suspect that not all of his vast fortune has been made by legitimate means. We believe that his recent purchase of this English football club is another of his elaborate money laundering schemes. I am assigning you to the investigation with immediate effect.”
“I see. What are my duties to be?”responded Mikhail.
“You will go deep undercover and travel to England to investigate this Chelsea thing in detail. We have arranged for the current manager of the club, an Italian by the name of Signor Ranieri, to resign. The incumbent Chairman, an unpleasant gentleman known as Mr. Bates, has been……… persuaded shall we say, to appoint a new Russian manager and then step down from his position.”
“But Comrade Colonel, I know nothing about football. I could not possibly…” “Not you Misha!”the Colonel interrupted. “We have secured the services of a real manager. Yuri Igorevich Djerkinov has had some success in the lower divisions in the Russian League. Unfortunately, he had to leave his previous employer because of his increasing fondness for his Wodka. He speaks no English and as you are fluent in that language, your cover will be as his interpreter. He knows nothing of our true purpose of course.”
“I see Comrade Colonel. So it will be myself and an old drunk.”
“Not quite Misha, you will not be alone. You will be accompanied by Vladimir Alekseyevich Titov – you know him I believe?”
“ Ex-Spetsnaz special forces, yes I do indeed know Vladimir Alekseyevich.” “His cover will be Fitness Trainer for the team. I am sure that he will enjoy being able to employ his special brand of training. Your objective is to find out as much as possible about the financial dealings of the club. Report all significant transactions directly to me. All of the arrangements are in place and you fly to London tomorrow. Good luck Misha.”
The Guardian
Monday July 5th, 2004 Ranieri Out At Chelsea
In a press conference at Stamford Bridge yesterday, it was announced that Claudio Ranieri had handed in his resignation because of “health reasons”. Chairman Ken Bates said “We are sorry to see Claudio leave the club, but he has made this decision because of his concern for his health. We must respect that decision and we thank Claudio for the contribution that he has made to Chelsea Football Club.” It is expected that his successor will be named within a few days.
Good luck with this one BobBev! I actually completed this challenge when it was originally run (albeit after a very very long career at CSKA in the chilly climes of Moscow). It was and still is my most cherished career so i hope you get as much pleasure out of it.
The Daily Mail
Monday July 12th, 2004 Blues See Red With New Boss
The new manager of Chelsea Football Club was unveiled yesterday and, surprise surprise, he’s a Russian. Yuri Djerkinov is not well known in this country but he apparently has many years of management experience back in Russia. Speaking through an interpreter, the new boss of the Blues made a short statement. “I am delighted to be associated with such a wonderful club as Chelsea and I thank Mr. Bates and Mr. Abramovich for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to meeting the players and staff as soon as possible and I hope that we will have a very successful first season.” Reaction amongst the Chelsea supporters has been mixed, but in general they are willing to give the new man time to settle in and prove himself.
The Guardian
Tuesday July 13th, 2004 Bates Sells Out
Chelsea Chairman Ken Bates has made the surprising decision to dispose of his remaining interest in Chelsea Football Club. Owner Roman Abramovich will be taking over as Chairman and former Manchester United Chief Executive Peter Kenyon will be installed as Managing Director. All parties have been strangely reticent about the circumstances surrounding this event and no one from the club was available for further comment.
Decoded Despatch from Agent Sokolov Friday July 16th, 2004
We have arrived safely in London and have secured our accommodation and transport. Yuri Igorevich has been busy assessing his squad. Vladimir Alekseyevich has already instigated a new training regime and the players are finding it tough going. I have taken steps to investigate the financial situation here at Chelsea. A far as I can ascertain Mr. Abramovich has some £200M in the club’s account and around £40M has been made available for transfers this season. A wage budget of £1.8M a week has been allocated and the current wage bill is just under half of that amount. Mr. Abramovich has had several private meetings with Yuri Igorevich, none of which I was able to attend as a translator was not required. If I am to believe Yuri Igorevich’s account of the discussions it appears that the Chelsea owner is very keen to invest in new players and he has urged his new manager to obtain several signings before the close of the summer transfer window.
Yuri Igorevich has now spent some time assessing his playing staff and he tells me that he has identified several areas of the team that need to be improved and that he will try to follow his instructions to the letter. I intend to stay as close to him as possible so that I can follow the money trail. I will also try to keep the old fool as sober as possible, but from what I have soon so far this will be even more difficult than infiltrating the Abramovich organisation. I have obtained some initial information on the staff at the club that may be of use and this is attached.
Staff
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Job | Name | Nat | Weekly wage | Expires | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Chairman | Roman Abramovich | RUS | - | - | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Man Dir | Peter Kenyon | ENG | - | - | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Manager | Yuri Djerkinov | RUS | £7,250 | 30.6.2005 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Asst Mgr | Steve Clarke | SCO | £7,000 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Asst Mgr | Baltemar Brito | BRA | £3,600 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Brendan Rogers | NIR | £7,000 | 30.6.2006 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Neil Bath | ENG | £2,700 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Eddie Newton | ENG | £4,800 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Damian Matthew | ENG | £3,200 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Jason Cundy | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Rui Faria | POR | £5,000 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Mick McGiven | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Coach | Silvino | POR | £3,000 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Physio | James Wilson | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Physio | Phil Reynolds | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Physio | Mark Bodie | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Physio | Glen Driscoll | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2006 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Physio | Mike Banks | ENG | £3,500 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scout | Terry Hopkins | ENG | £1,700 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scout | Ray Townsend | ENG | £1,700 | 30.6.2008 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scout | André Vilas Boas | POR | £875 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scout | José Ferreirinha | POR | £200 | 30.6.2007 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| | Scout | John Button | ENG | £1,700 | 30.6.2009 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Fools Go Russian In 
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