Back to the 80’s – The Story of Real Sociedad

 

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Back to the 80’s – The Story of Real Sociedad

Real Sociedad was a successful team during the 80’s (hence the title), and I’ll be attempting to reproduce the same results of that time. This won’t be a short run however, as they recently got relegated, however now they’re back up with the toughest sides.

Introduction

This is my first FM-story ever, and therefore any criticism/advice about my storytelling will be gladly received. In regards to my FM-decisions you’re free to discuss/comment/suggest all you like – after all I’m no FM-Wizard! Also, I will be focusing on young players, and as a result the results will be lacking early on – let’s hope I don’t get sacked so this story ends prematurely, right?
Now to the FM story.

Tactics

I’ve always been playing FM with the idea, that whatever formation I use, I will be using it regardless of Home/Away and opposition. I believe any losses won’t come down to the formation, but rather the team selection, or lack of tactical adjustments (non-formation ones). For this game, I will be using a 4 – 5 – 1 formation (some would call this a 4 – 3 – 3 formation normally).

First assessment of the team:

This will be slightly boring, however to give readers and idea of what I’m coming from I will make it detailed. Summary can be found at the end of the section.
I started by assessing the quality of the team. In my 4 – 5 – 1 formation I would require:
1 GK, 1 DR, 1 DL, 1 DC, 1 DMC, 2 MC, 1 AML, 1 AMR, 1 ST



The positions that are weakest are clearly the two fullbacks, along with the anchor man (the best for this position is at the same time my best DC).
Next I took a look at the depth of the team.
The GK position is quite weak in depth. Both the backup GKs are bad, and there’s no future in them.
The DC position is slightly weak, as the backups are quite weak, however two of them has a bright future, and I’ve decided to leave this area untouched.
The fullbacks are both lacking in depth, with the DL being the worst.
The DMC is another area which needs a big boost, as the backups are poor as well as the starting.
The MC position is well protected, and even the backups are good. I won’t be spending any money on this.
The wingers are both sort of weak in depth, however Vela can act as backup for the AML
The ST position is great in depth and will remain untouched.

Summary:
I need to address the situation at the fullback position and defensive midfielder position, along with finding backup wingers and goalkeeper.

Expectations:

Having gone through the material I had I decided to tell the board, that I expected to end the season in the middle of the table. This would give me time to build up a roster of young prospects, without putting too much pressure on their performances.

Transfer activity:




I started by offloading one of my reserve GKs, who was useless to be, although I could only get rid of him on a free transfer.
Coming in, I managed to secure a young goalkeeper for the future, a cheap DR which will primarily work as backup for now, a young defensive midfielder who I snapped up in front of the likes of Barcelona, a DL who is almost ready to take over as the first choice, along with a right winger.
It’s not the best of outcomes, but the wage budget and transfer budget limited my options.
Another huge change was on the coaching side, where I decided to use a chunk of my wage budget on bringing in proper coaches.

Pre-season:



My pre-season started off poorly with a 3- 1 defeat, however since then I managed to secure wins in the remaining fixtures. Injury wise I didn’t get any major ones during the pre-season, and therefore I’m very pleased with the pre-season overall.

[Swizz CataR]

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First 2 games of the season:



Sporting VS Real Sociedad

Pre-match: Markel(DMC) and Llorente(ST) were injured, and therefore not up for selection. They would have been selected for the starting 11, had they been fit. From the bench came Elustondo(DMC) and Ifrán(ST) to replace them, making the complete starting 11:

Bravo(GK), De la Bella(DL), González(DC), Demidov(DC), Martinez(DR), Elustondo(DMC), Mariga(MC), Zurutuza(MC), Griezmann(AML), Prieto(AMR and C) and Ifrán (ST).

Expectation: My expecation for the match was a draw, however a win would be great, as Barcelona was up the game after. Sporting were predicted to finish 12th, and they had a great pre-season, which they capped off with a 6 – 0 win(although against a weak side).

Summary: The lads got off to a great start, dominating the start of the match with up towards 65% possession, and winning countless of set pieces. And this point I was afraid they would score on a counter, but finally on the 7th corner of the game González(25) rose to head our team in front. From that point I was confident it was going to be a win. Sporting didn’t seem to have an answer, with my back-four and midfield locking them down completely. Eventually Mariga(38) and Prieto(61) settled the scores, before a frustrated Cannella(Sporting) got himself sent off. This resulted in a lot of open space, which gave substitute Vela(83) the last goal of the game.

Stats:



Awards:

Man of the Match: González(DC), a goal and a clean sheet. Commanded the defense alongside Demidov. He later went on to be named in the team of the week alongside fellow teammate Prieto(AMR).

Highlight of the Match: Mariga(CM) smashing the ball into the opposite corner from the edge of the box, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of stopping it. It later went on to become the goal of the week.

Worst Player of the Match: Ifrán(ST). Had 5 shots, 2 on target, and should have done better on at least two of them.

Last words: 4 goals, a clean sheet and a great start to the season!

Result: 4 - 0



Real Sociedad VS Barcelona

Pre-match: Both Markel(CDM) and Llorente(ST) returned from injury. Markel was fit to figure on the bench, however not match fit to start, and with Elustondo doing a good job in the previous match, I decided to give him another match. This decision would turn out to be a poor one. Llorente was not fit enough to play at all. With that in mind, and a great 4 – 0 win against Sporting Gijon, I decided to play the same 11 from start:

Bravo(GK), De la Bella(DL), González(DC), Demidov(DC), Martinez(DR), Elustondo(DMC), Mariga(MC), Zurutuza(MC), Griezmann(AML), Prieto(AMR and C) and Ifrán (ST).

Expectations: Well, it’s Barcelona. They won their first match of the season against Villareal 3 – 2, so the only thing giving me hope was the great football played in the previous game, and the home advantage.

Summary: What a nail biter. Barcelona completely dominated early on, with Elustondo(CDM) picking up a yellow card in the very first minute. Unfortunately, just as the lads were fighting their way back into the game, Villa(25) decided to take on the defense on his own and score. The lads continued to play better and better, and eventually a cross ended up with Ifrán, who played it across for Prieto(37) who smashed it past Valdes. The score was the same until Xavi(84) decided to blast it past Bravo. Before that happened both teams had a goal disallowed. In the end the players weren’t able to respond to the goal, although they managed to put on the pressure for a few minutes and even coming very close to stealing a point in the dying minutes. Fatigue ended up being the deciding factor in this game.

Stats:



Awards:

Man of the Match: Prieto(AMR). Scored a goal and was the most dangerous player throughout the game.

Highlight of the Match: Managing to take back control of the game, and having 50% of the possession after 20 minutes played.

Worst Player of the Match: Elustondo(DMC). Picked up a yellow card early in the game, and he never recovered. Was wasteful in possession, and started a majority of Barcelona’s attacks.

Last words: Didn’t expect points, and didn’t get any. Coming awfully close makes the result bitter, however there’s a lot of positives to take from the game.

Result: 1 - 2

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Game 3 and 4 of the season:



Sevilla VS Real Sociedad

Pre-match: Running into Sevilla away after a bitter defeat to Barcelona isn’t exactly what I wanted. Nonetheless I wasn’t plagued by injuries, and all the players had recovered from the physically draining Barcelona game. My hardest decision was who to field in as anchor man. Elustondo(CDM) had a bad match against Barcelona, while first choice Markel(CDM) wasn’t match fit. I decided to field Markel from start for the first time this season. Meanwhile Llorente made it to the bench for the first time this season aswell. The starting lineup in full:

Bravo(GK), De la Bella(DL), González(DC), Demidov(DC), Martinez(DR), Markel(DMC), Mariga(MC), Zurutuza(MC), Griezmann(AML), Prieto(AMR and C) and Ifrán (ST).

Expectation: Sevilla might not be as tough an opponent as Barcelona, but they’re still part of the top flight on a consistent basis. They had beaten Villareal in the previous round, aswell as a 3 – 0 win against Wien in Europe. Fatigue from the Wien game only 3 days earlier could prove to be an advantage though. Despite that, I only expected to pick up a draw if the midfield took control of the game.

Summary: What a game. An own goal by Spahic(4) forced by Ifrán gave us the lead very early on. The domination continued after that, and with a thundering strike Griezmann(14) made it 2 – 0. When Spahic(26) got sent off a little while later, I was quite sure that it was a win. Throughout both the first and most of second the lads continued to dominate, but despite that Negredo(68) managed to pop one in. After the goal the game shifted, and Sevilla was suddently making chances despite being one man down. In the end, to my huge frustration, Negredo(83) won a point for Sevilla by individual skill. A huge disappointment for the team.

Stats:



Awards:

Man of the Match: Griezmann(AML). Was involved in all chances, and capped his performance with a stunning goal, which came in 3rd in Goal of the week.

Highlight of the Match: Griezmann’s (AML) stunning shot from the edge of the area.

Worst Player of the Match: De la Bella(DL). Was wasteful in possession, and could not reproduce the performances of late.

Last words: Very disappointing. Before the match the result would be acceptable, however giving up a 2 – 0 lead with 11 vs. 10 is unacceptable.

Result: 2 - 2



Real Sociedad VS Granada

Pre-match: Only a few days rest has left much of the squad exhausted before the game. New signing Fanchone(DL) will be replacing De la Bella, who also disappointed in the previous game. Elustondo(DMC) will be coming in for Markel(DMC), as his lack of fitness prevented him from recovering in time for the match. Upfront Llorente(ST) will be handed his first start of the season instead of Ifrán, who still has to get his goal scoring started. The starting 11 in full:

Bravo(GK), Fanchone(DL), González(DC), Demidov(DC), Martinez(DR), Elustondo(DMC), Mariga(MC), Zurutuza(MC), Griezmann(AML), Prieto(AMR and C) and Llorente (ST).


Expectation: Granada has only picked up a single point so far this season, although that one point was in the previous round against Villareal. Villareal however is in the relegation zone, so this game should be a win, as it’s also a home game. Greatest hope for the game is to get Llorente(ST) started on his goal scoring, as Ifrán(ST) has not been able to so far.

Summary: Quite a rollercoaster ride. First half was a mess, we neither of the sides creating any chances. That was until Ighalo(38) brought Granada in front after a solo run. Second half was quite the opposite – chances left and right, a red card and 3 goals. It all started when Llorente converted from the spot, after a penalty had been awarded from a corner. The lads kept pressuring, and González(75) finally scored from a corner with 15 minutes to go. Just 4 minutes earlier Martins(71) had gotten himself sent off with a second booking, and everything was pointing in the direction of a win. Ribeiro(89) disagreed with that result however, and hammered a point to Granada in the dying minutes.

Stats:



Man of the Match: Griezmann(AML). His delivery from set pieces was outstanding. Put the ball in from a corner that resulted in a penalty, and assisted for González’s goal, again from a corner.

Highlight of the Match: Martinez(DR) sprinting across the length of the pitch to deny Granada a certain goal.

Worst Player of the Match: Demidov(DC). Was way too shaky in defense, and looked like a stranded whale at times.

Last words: Enough of these 2 – 2 results after being in the lead. It wasn’t a beautiful match, but at home in front 2 – 1 with 1 man up we should be able to close down the game.

Result: 2 - 2