retired_ginaisevil

i just lost the champions league final with Barcelona to the club i support! Arsenal. However with Arsenal on a previous save I won the CL final after being 2-0 down to AC Milan with 5 minutes to go - i couldnt believe it when I saw it.

retired_marcias

Arsenal are idiotically good in the champions league in my FM07 save - they have been to something like 10 of the last 15 finals and won about half of those

retired_micoege

Lost in the 6th round of the FA Cup - 3rd Round of the League Cup (to City) - Second in the league by 3 pts behind Arsenal... but won the CL last night. Beat Arsenal 1-0 in the final with a Rooney wunder-goal.

EPL next season is the aim.

retired_gwenlyn

In FM07 and before it was relatively easy to win the champions league, but the difficulty in FM08 is what makes it a great achievement when you do win it.

I seem to get slated when I mention the "tactics" word, but it is true when it comes to the champions league. If you are Barcelona or any of the other great attacking teams in the game, you will have tuned your tactics to play attacking football and you'll no doubt win most games. This will also have the effect of increasing your reputation (to almost maximum) which then means that teams will sit back and soak up the pressure - and then hit you on the break. This is a good tactic against Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter and Man Utd and one that I use as Valencia.

So, you can use the same formation, etc, but when it comes to the champions league quarter final and beyod, try to think about the following changes:

- Slightly deeper defensive line
- Less forward runs from defenders
- Less closing down by the team as a whole (helps keep your shape defensively)
- Less tempo

You don't have to make huge changes but these will help improve your chances.

And one final thing is to use the media. I hate the media section personally, but although I can't stand it, I realise I have to use it to gain an advantage. What I mean by this is that if you are winning 4-0 from the first leg and then the opposition turns it around in the second, it would suggest that there is complacency in your team and a "fired up" attitude from the opposition. If you search these forums, you'll find a great thread on using the media to gain an advantage. Make sure your players are warned of complacency and that the opposition is in fear and you'll find that second leg turnarounds are a thing of the past.

p.s. Although Barca has the best team in the game (in my opinion), it is actually quite hard sometimes to win with the bigger teams due to the tactics the AI deploys against the higher reputation teams. It makes it a difficult challenge therefore to win the CL with all teams - which is the way it should be.

Ansthenia

So you're complaining because you have failed to win the CL in5 seasons just because you are playing as Barca?

That's pathetic. You shouldn't be guaranteed to win the CL just because you are a top team. What would be the fun in that? It's up to you to be a good enough manager.

Milan
Porto
Liverpool
Barcelona
Milan

Those are the last five winners. Are you saying it's unrealistic because in the last 5 years Real Madrid haven't won the CL? or Man Utd, Arsenal, Inter?

Stop complaining about such stupid trivial things and enjoy the fact that the game isn't so easy that it is actually still a hard feat to win the CL with someone like Barcelona.

retired_gwenlyn

That's a bit harsh sebsy. I don't think he was moaning about anything trivial. The reason people come on to the forums is for advice or support about something. Got any help to offer him?

Smokey3957

i must admit, it's more realistic that english teams aren't dominating europe like they were in fm07. so when i eventually win the CL if i'm fussed to go back to my arsenal game, it will feel like more of an acheivement for english football :thup:

since pitch dimensions seem to make that much of a difference (in my game, anyway), if and when i do get to the CL final, i will probably have the appropreate tactic. in my 3rd season at arsenal, i lost the fa cup semi at wembley to spurs (ffs) after dominating. i then thrashed them in the charity shield 5-1 simply by using the most appropreate style of play for the wembley pitch.

tbh, i was more geared towards winning the league since i was so far away from it on fm07, but after winning back to back titles i lost interest in that game. this topic has probably got me back into that game just to see if i could win the CL with my stupidly perfect squad. cheers lads.

Ansthenia

I'm sorry but having read the OP again, he isn't asking for help, just moaning because he hasn't won the CL, despite playing as Barca, Milan and Chelsea, as if he should be guaranteed to win the CL just because he is playing as one of those sides.

The only advice anyone could give him taking in to account what he has said, is that if he is winning the first leg by a few goals then losing the second leg by 3/4 goals to go out, then he seriously needs to look at his second leg tactics. But that is obvious anyway.

All he has really done is moan that he hasn't won the CL even though he has played as 3 top clubs.

Smokey3957

i understand what you're saying, but some people think that just because they dominate the league they should be able to win everything. although knockout football is quite different to league football, it is difficult to understand the difference for some people, although not realising after 5 seasons that something needs to change is just neglectful.

retired_lennypekerti

Jose M, Arsene Wenger, Alex ferguson and Frank rijkaard. Combined total of CL wins : 3


That says it all, it should be bloody hard to win it!!