aivanv

Seems like having a good parent club is the only solution with a wage budget of just £350p/w - you might also get a real gem on loan from your parent club if you're lucky. Looking forward to getting a look at Johnny. :thup:

The young players I've signed in Mexico do look fairly poor, except one Mexican U-21 defender who doesn't look too bad - Jose Luis Juarez. He's not exactly a superstar in the making, but he could be half decent. On the other hand, older players available on free transfers don't seem that bad. And part of the reason I wanted to play in Mexico was because of an FM07 regen from a long running game by the name of Jorge Carreno, who was probably the most talented player I've ever had in FM - so there were some gems that came through occasionally in FM07. Hopefully I'll get another one at some point in my Mexico game! :cool:

aivanv

Zacatepec - Mexican First Division A Opening Stage - 2008 (Season 1)

The board expectations were for a respectable league position overall in the 2008/09 season. Well, the "Opening" half of the season finished rather better than that, as Zacatepec overcame a very poor start to reach second in their group and take part in the Champions Playoff.

To those who don't know a lot about Mexican football (like me, when I started this challenge), that may not have made a great deal of sense. The Mexican league, like many South American leagues, is split into an Opening and Closing Stage. The league is split into two groups, and all the teams play 17 games in each stage. The top four teams in each group at the end of each stage then qualify for the Champions Playoff, where they face off against each other to decide which team is the champion of that stage.

So, Zacatepec got off to a rocky start having put together an entire squad during the close season, and particularly due to the league's difficult U-23 rules (5 of your starting 11 have to be under-23), but after a bit of a tactical switch around, we started to find form which eventually took us to 2nd in our group (4th in the overall table) , and into the Champions Playoff.

Our Playoff dream was short-lived though, as we crashed out in the Quarter-Finals (i.e. the first round!) against Academicos. We'd made a good start with a 2-1 win at their place, but were then dismantled 3-0 in front of a record crowd at home.

Ultimately, a little bit of a disappointing end to a very promising first half of the season, and we'll be hoping to get another chance at the Champions Playoff in the Closing Stage. Star player thus far has been attacking midfielder Oliver Calvo, who wouldn't even be in my first XI if it weren't for the U-23 rule. I think that my tactics, a kind of 4-2-3-1 means that opposition sides pick up my striker (normally a slightly unfit Jaime Moreno, for D.C. United or Middlesbrough fans) and my two wide players, but not the central AM, which is where Calvo plays.

retired_hraymond

I've followed the threads (and tried, kinda) both of the big challenges that are sort of "parents" to this on and enjoy them both, but as someone who likes staying in the Western Hemisphere I'm happy to see this one and will be checking in on this thread as long as it stays active.

For a long time I've wanted a long-term Mexican game (mainly because it's on the TV every single weekend, yet I still know nothing about it) but have just never gotten into it, so this is a perfect opportunity...Except I'll be starting in Brazil.

It's been one of my favorite places to play since I've started (with CM01/02). Truthfully, I think the state championships keep me interested in a way. Although they're irrelevant to this challenge really I enjoy them. Not only do I have two major competitions each year instead of just one, but I also like the David vs. Goliath matchups that happen in these competitions.

After holidaying for a year I checked out the two biggest states, Rio and Sao Paulo, wanting to take over a team in one of those state leagues. I fully expect to get pasted, but I'm hoping the matches against the top sides will give my players a bit of experience for the real league campaign.

With that said, I've ended up with Guaratingeta EC, "affectionately known as Guara" according to my chairman.

Here's my profile and my squad, which I'm pleasantly surprised to see is not at all empty.

I'll warn any readers that I was never great on the '07 version and I haven't jumped into '08 yet, so I might well drop straight to the bottom and stay there. I also play the game at a glacial pace, so even with the short Third Division season it does take me awhile to get through them, so I won't be giving daily updates, but will keep the thread aware of my progress.

Looking forward to my tenure at Guara and hope there's at least a few more players here in this thread that I can follow along with.

aivanv

Excellent, glad to have you on board! Best of luck with Guara. :thup:

As far as the state championships go, you're right that they're kind of irrelevant to this challenge in that you don't need to win them in order to complete the challenge - but if you do win them, I'll definitely include them in the "Achievements" section of the table I'll create keeping track of all the participants in this thread (once there are a few more players!) - so everyone can see that you won them!

retired_sajnesh

Excellent looking challenge here. :thup:

I've played a little in Brazil, but nowhere else, so once I'm done with San Marino, and my unfinished business in Slovenia from 2007 in Gundo's challenge, I'll be popping in here.

Peru appeals for some reason....

aivanv

Thanks! Looking forward to having you on board! :thup:

aivanv

Zacatepec - Mexican First Division A Closing Stage - 2008/09 (Season 1)

Having set ourselves a hard act to follow with the Opening stage of the season, finishing 2nd in our group, the fight was on to prove that it wasn't a fluke, and to maybe take it to the next level in the Champions Playoff.

We got off to a better, if slightly inconsistent start, winning three and losing two of our first five matches, including a very sweet 4-3 victory away at Lobos BUAP - particularly pleasing given that the board and fans had spent three months moaning about a 6-0 pre-season friendly defeat against them - a game that I didn't even take charge of.

We continued to battle our way through the season, and despite some injury problems ended up 3rd in our group ( 5th overall). Perhaps most pleasing of all was the fact that we topped the average points table. Since it's the average points table that determines relegation (the bottom team is relegated, the second bottom team enters a relegation playoff), that's got to stand us in good stead for survival again next year, even if we have a poor season.

Alongside Oliver Calvo's continued good form (which has seen him nominated for the First Division A Player of the Season award), Enrique Badillo really started to come into his own. With just two goals in the first half of the season, he notched 13 in the second half, and looks like a quality striker.

Nevertheless, our playoff dream was short lived once again, despite the fact that once again we managed to win the tough away leg - this time a 1-0 defeat of Leon. However, we choked in the home leg, despite taking an early lead, crashing to a 2-1 defeat. The aggregate draw meant that the team with the higher league position went through - and that team was Leon, by just one point.

All in all though, this was a very promising first season. We've got quite a few players coming in on free transfers during the summer, and with the scouts out for good U-23 players, next season seems to hold plenty of potential.

retired_hraymond

Guaratingueta EC - 2008 - Brazilian Third Division

Couple my overall managerial talent with the fact that this was my first foray into the '08 version (no practice or experimenting at all beforehand) and it's not so surprising that I was relegated from both the Sao Paulo State Championship and the Third Division.

squad

Michael, my highest scorer as well as highest rated player.

I managed a few decent results, most notably a draw at Sao Paulo in the state championship, but I just couldn't get consistent and had several pointless streaks in both leagues.

One of the biggest difficulties I found was with my staff. I had no trouble in finding a scout (though mediocre), but despite having advertisements out all year for a coach and an assistant I couldn't find one...Actually, every month or so I'd get a list of interested coaches anywhere from 10-25 deep, it's just that there wasn't a single unemployed one in the bunch and I couldn't afford even the smallest fee to payoff their former clubs. C'est la vie.

As I do enjoy Brazil greatly I will be trying again and rather than starting all over I'm currently holidaying to the 2010 season and will see what the new crop of promoted clubs brings. Not that it matters as I could probably manage a relegation 20 years in a row.

Good luck to everyone else and hope there's at least a couple of you still plugging away at this challenge.

aivanv

Unlucky - it was always going to be a tough challenge with such small teams in the Brazilian league - at least you didn't come last in either competition though! And drawing at Sao Paulo is quite the achievement.

Very glad to hear you're carrying on with the challenge though - better luck next time! :thup:

retired_hraymond

Yes, better luck next time (hopefully).

I will be back for the 2010 season in Brazil, this time with Luziania

I'll be back in another week (or however long it takes me to play out this season) with an update.