aivanv

So, you've taken a tiny non-league side to the heights of the Premier League in Dafuge's challenge . You've managed the minnows of Europe to Champions League glory in Gundo's challenge . Where do you go next to prove your unrivaled managerial skill? What challenge could possibly test your talents after that?

It's time to visit the world's other footballing superpower. It's time to take a trip down to South America.

The Aim

To take a previously unplayable team from the lower leagues of a South American nation to their domestic title, the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Championship. You do not need to win all three in the same season - but you do have to win all three with the same club in the same savegame.

The Setup

Load all the available leagues in your chosen nation. Only one nation can be loaded.

Available nations: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay

No additional players should be retained.

Attribute masking should be enabled, as should the other two check boxes, "Use real players" and "Allow transfer budgets in first window".

A large database will probably be the standard size, however, feel free to use medium or small if your computer isn't up to it (I'll be using a medium database).

Add an unemployed manager (such as the famous Holiday Man), then go on holiday until the new teams are generated for the lowest division in your chosen nation (this date will be different in each nation - I am working on a guide which will include the date for each country which I will post when I've finished it). As usual, saving the day before will allow you to reload and get a greater variety of teams (particularly useful if there is a relegation playoff).

Then retire your holiday profile and add yourself as manager of your chosen newly promoted team (if you need to make sure a team is newly promoted, go to its History and click on League Positions - if there is nothing at all for the previous season, they are a new team and are eligible for the challenge).

The details of your manager are up to you, except reputation which must be set to the lowest possible (some South American leagues don't allow you to choose "Sunday League Footballer", in which case you should choose "Semi-Professional Footballer"). You should be sensible about player nationalities - normally, I would expect you to use your own nationality information.

It is now up to you to manage your chosen club to their domestic title, to victory in the Copa Libertadores, and to showing the rest of the world which is the greatest footballing continent by winning the Club World Championship.

You should not move clubs unless you are sacked. If you do get sacked, you can either take over a newly promoted club that meets the original challenge criteria, or just quit your current game and start again.

Any form of international management is not allowed until you have completed the challenge.

There are no restrictions on feeder/parent clubs.

To sign a player, you must be able to scout them, this doesn't mean you have to, just that you can. If you have a player on a free transfer who is willing to come on trial, you do not need to be able to scout them. Also, if a player is recommended to you by one of your players, then you also do not need to be able to scout them to sign them.

No external utilities such as FMScout should be used and the database should be unedited. Should SI release a data update, this would be allowed. It is advised that people should update using the latest patches as they are released.

A note on choosing your nation

Obviously, the nation you select will have a major effect on your game experience. For instance, Peru has only one playable league. Therefore, if you decide to play in Peru, your team will be in the top division straight away, and will generally be fairly decent domestically. On the other hand, the promoted clubs in the Brazilian league tend to be truly tiny. However, it may be easier to put together a Brazilian Copa Libertadores winning side than a Peruvian one, once you are established in the top division. Ultimately, some leagues will be more difficult than others, but it's up to you what you want to get out of the challenge and what you want your game experience to be like, so it's up to you what nation you select.

On another note, yes, I know that Mexico is not in South America, however, their clubs play in the Copa Libertadores and I thought they made an interesting addition to the challenge, so they're staying in. However, they do pose some problems - I'm not 100% sure how Mexican teams qualify for the Copa Libertadores, and according to Wikipedia, if they won it, they wouldn't be eligible to enter the Club World Championship because the Libertadores is the CONMEBOL qualifying competition and Mexican teams are part of CONCACAF. But if it proves that this causes too much confusion, then Mexican teams can be deemed to have completed the challenge by winning the CONCACAF Champions' Cup and then the Club World Championship.

Rules for this thread

Player naming and discussion of tactics is allowed. (A warning for those of you who do not wish to see this)

Screenshots for anything are encouraged.

When you join the challenge, could you post a screenshot of your manager's profile on the day that you take over your new club.

Progress of your club should be documented using this thread, we want to hear the story of your club all the way through. Please keep us updated, even if you are doing really badly.

At the end of every season, please post some kind of season review, including a screenshot of the league table (or other pages relevant to the outcome of your season - e.g. some leagues decide promotion/relegation on average points, so a screenshot of the average points table should be included) and the club's transfer page. If you give this a title in bold then it's easier to spot, and should be easier for me to see and include in the table of participants.

Other info

This challenge isn't intended to be a competition - it's all about fun, and sharing our experiences of some leagues that many of us wouldn't normally manage in.

A big thank you to Dafuge and Gundo, whose challenges were obviously a massive influence on this one! If you haven't tried their challenges, they come very highly recommended. I think of this as their slightly weird (because of all the strange rules in South American leagues) younger brother. Hopefully people who have enjoyed those fantastic challenges will enjoy having a go at this one too.

I've been all the way back through the forum and I can't see that anyone has ever posted a challenge like this before - however, if somebody has already posted this challenge... go play that one!

Any questions, just let me know!

Good luck to everyone! :thup:

retired_kellygildner

Mexico isn't in the south america.

retired_macca1875

Their clubs have competed in the Copa Libertadores in recent years though.

aivanv

I know that, thanks. But they're staying in the challenge, as I said in the original post above!

retired_macca1875

Their clubs have competed in the Copa Libertadores in recent years though. </BLOCKQUOTE>

and you might want to read the whole thread first.

retired_macca1875

I do like the look of this, this might give me the motivation to play a long term career game in Brazil rather then the odd season or two I've managed before.

retired_kellygildner

I might try this with Colombia

retired_stesska

Could be interesting, won't be playing yet but might do at some point.

Anyone going to start up an Asian small club to big club challenge?

retired_kellygildner

I just found out that no club gets relegated from the peru first division.

aivanv

To be honest with you, that's pretty much the reason I came up with the challenge (or rather, decided to transpose your challenge to South America :p ) - I'd been dabbling with games in Argentina and Mexico on FM07, and decided the best way to really get into a game and become attached to a team is by taking them from nothing to glory - as ably demonstrated by your challenge!