(FM15) The African Dream

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Hello one and all, I am playing football manager 15, I have football manager 16 but I'll play that game for club games, for this game I'll play on a national level. Since I've never managed on a national level before because that hasn't really interested me, I figured why not make use of this game still and really get my moneys worth. 

 

The African Dream: Algeria 

 

I chose the Algerian Football Club because I wanted a African team and they seemed like an interesting team to take over.

 

History

The Algerian Football Club was established in 1962 but did not get recognized by FIFA until 1963. From 1963-1979, the Algerians only qualified for 1 African Cup of Nations and that was in 1968 where the made it all the way to the final losing to hosts Nigeria. However their luck would turn around in 1980 when they qualified for a 2nd African Cup of Nations. During this time they also made it to the 1982 World Cup of Soccer which was held in Spain. In the '82 World Cup the Algerians cause one of the biggest upsets in Football history when they beat the defending European Champions in West Germany, 2-1. They didn't make it out of the group stages though. They did however change the World Cup forever after protesting that the crowd was cheering "Feura, Feura" which meant out, out. Algeria protested this because they already had played their last match so it was made that all teams in groups would play the final games on the same day. After another disappointing world cup exit, Algeria hosted the 1990 African Cup of Nations which obviously meant they were in. The host nation was drawn into a pretty tough group with Nigeria, Cote d'Iviore and Egypt. They beat all three which set up a semi final date with Senegal who they beat. In the finals the Algerians played the team they opened up the tourny against in Nigeria. This would be the 1st time in their history that they won the African Cup of Nations and this seemed to secure their place as African Giants.

 

Then after barely missing out on qualifying for the 1990 World Cup of Soccer, the soccer nation went into what seemed like a never ending dark age. For the '92 ACN they disappointingly finished last and were terrible defending champions. In the '94 version of the Cup, Algeria were disqualified for fielding a player who wasn't registered. In '96 they made it back but were ousted by hosts South Africa in the quarter finals. In the '98 ACoN they qualified but might as well have not even bothered showing up as they lost all 3 group matches. They failed to make it to France World Cup 98 as well. In the new millennium they played in '00 ACoN made it to the quarters again but lost to eventual champions Cameroon. In 2002 they failed to make in out of the group stages of the ACoN and didn't even get a sniff of the Brazil World Cup 02. In 2004 though, things stayed the same in the ACoN, they made it out of the group stages but only made it as far as the quarters but lost to Morocco in extra time. After 04 they never even qualified for the ACoN in 2006 and 2008. They of course didn't make it to Germany World Cup 06. It seemed like they would never regain their early years success and the win over West Germany was fading more and more into the past. 

 

In 2010 joint qualifying for both the South African World Cup 2010 and Angola African Cup of Nations 2010, Algeria managed to beat group members Zambia, Rwanda and Egypt. Egypt were considered the huge favourites. Algeria though made a group out of it with the games going down to the wire. Egypt needed to win by 3 or more goals to go to South Africa 2010 but they managed a 2-0 win. This meant a 1 off playoff held in Sudan was needed. Algeria shocked their fiercest rivals in Sudan by winning 1-0 sealing their ticket to South Africa. In Angola, they were drawn into a group composed of the hosts, Malawi and Mali. They surprisingly lost to Malawi in the 1st game and sceptics were closing in on them fast but they still managed to Mali and draw with Angola which sent them to the 2nd round, against the arguably the best team in the tournament in Cote d'Iviore. They beat them in extra time and went to the semi's to face, you guessed it, EGYPT! With tension running at an all time high between the two teams from World Cup qualifying, Egypt avenged that loss in another extra time thriller. After 2 hard fought games, Algeria lost 1-0 to Nigeria in the 3rd place game. The 2010 brought more questions than answers after their 24 year absence. They finished dead last in the group but did manage to snag a point in a 0-0 draw against the English. That was the only bright spot on an other wise disappointing showing.

 

After 2010 the Algerians went back to their disappointing ways. They failed to qualified for the 2012 ACoN. They however did make it to the 2013 ACoN. In 2013 the switched to odd numbered years so it didn't coincide with the World Cup. They were one of the top teams in the 2013 but flamed out in the group stage losing 2 games and drawing against one. After the disappointing showing in the 2013 AcoN, they managed to get into the Brazil World Cup of Soccer 2014. In 2014 they made history by making it out of the group stage in 2nd place behind Belgium. They lost to Belgium 2-1, beat South Korea 4-2 and drew with Russia 1-1 to advance on goal difference. The drew the tall task of playing Germany in the quarter finals. They played them very hard and took them to extra time before losing 2-1. 

 

Now here we are, about to start our campaign here after the World Cup. Please buckle up and hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.  

Edited December 22, 2015 by StevenStamkos91

[jRuutu 2,314]

Algeria is a interesting team! Lots of great players. I got Fm 15 and 16 as well. Currently playing fm 16 with Saint Etienne in France, completed my first season ( finished 2nd).

 

Going to try some international management as well if there is some cool teams without manager !

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

I'm still on FM14. Just waiting for 16 to go on sale at some point.

[jRuutu 2,314]

5 hours ago, flyersfan1493 said:

I'm still on FM14. Just waiting for 16 to go on sale at some point.

What team you managing on fm 14?  

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

41 minutes ago, jRuutu said:

What team you managing on fm 14?  

 

i've done a couple saves. My very first was a Tottenham one, but it got boring because I didn't apply any "house rules" and my 4-2-3-1 quickly dominated both the Premier League and CL. Had so much money to spend it was ridiculous.

 

After that, did a save in the MLS with the Union. Tried to do a 5-3-2, didn't work. Got fired in my 2nd season. After that, took a job with Wolverhampton Wolves, got them from League 2 to Premier League in 3 seasons using a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, and just got bored of it.

 

Started a new save now with Tottenham. Going for a 5-3-2 again, and going with some house rules. Only 1 foreign (outside of UK and US just because) signing a season, and they can't be my highest transfer of the year. Otherwise, I'm trying to using my academy to get most of my players, but we'll see how that goes. No hard and fast rules with that one.

[jRuutu 2,314]

1 minute ago, flyersfan1493 said:

 

i've done a couple saves. My very first was a Tottenham one, but it got boring because I didn't apply any "house rules" and my 4-2-3-1 quickly dominated both the Premier League and CL. Had so much money to spend it was ridiculous.

 

After that, did a save in the MLS with the Union. Tried to do a 5-3-2, didn't work. Got fired in my 2nd season. After that, took a job with Wolverhampton Wolves, got them from League 2 to Premier League in 3 seasons using a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, and just got bored of it.

 

Started a new save now with Tottenham. Going for a 5-3-2 again, and going with some house rules. Only 1 foreign (outside of UK and US just because) signing a season, and they can't be my highest transfer of the year. Otherwise, I'm trying to using my academy to get most of my players, but we'll see how that goes. No hard and fast rules with that one.

 It´s been a while since I managed in England. Might be in FM14 when I did that the last time. Played with Southampton then. 4231 is my usual formation   Well balanced and quite easy to find quality players for all positions. 

 

I try to use my academy and bring in new stars to the starting 11, problem is that I´m quite slow player. Takes quite long to finish a full season, Quite rarely I even get so far in save that I can use those own academy players in my starting 11.  I have 4 or 5 own youth academy players in my Fm 15 Dortmund save that are close to be ready for starting 11, but now I´m at fm 16 ;/  Fun way to play though,feels quite nice to watch a own youth academy player to score a goal in league game!

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Who Am I?

 

I am Lakhdar Belloumi, the most capped player in Algeria History. He scored probably the biggest goal in Algerian history when he scored against West Germany in 1986. He also scored 28 career international goals. He mostly played his club football in Algeria with GC Mascara. Now he takes over the Algerian National Football Club. Enjoy 

Edited December 22, 2015 by StevenStamkos91

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Here we have our goalkeepers. Obviously Rais M'Bolhl will get a majority of the starts whenever he is healthy because he is the best goalkeeper we have. The 28 year old has just joined the Philadelphia Union and has conceded 20 goals in 17 starts. He also has kept 5 clean sheets as well. He has a 7.32 AVG.

 

Azzedine Douka and Faouzi Chaouchi will battle it out for the back-up spot. I will hopefully not need to use them if anything. Douka played for JS Kabylie in Algeria while Chaouchi plays for MC Alger in the Algerian league. They have both yet to make a club appearance 

Edited December 20, 2015 by StevenStamkos91

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Here we have quite a bit of defenders to choose from. It's not just quantity either there is some quality players who are plying their trade in some big European League.

 

Faouzi Ghoulam plays with Napoli in Serie A. He is only 23 and can play anywhere down the left side so he is very important going forward. He moved from Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 two seasons ago for $6.25 million US. He has yet to play a game this season.
 

Essaid Belkalem is on loan at Tranbzonspor in Turkey from Watford in the English Championship. He only got into 8 games for Watford last year and hopes to break into the 1st team in the Turkish squad. The 25 year old will be one of the 2 centerbacks.

 

Aissa Mandi plays in Ligue 1 with Stade de Reims. He has been there from their days in Ligue 2 and the National League which is the what I can only assume is the 3rd tier of French soccer. He can play both Left and Right defence and both wingbacks as well. He of course will have to eanr his spot but he since he is very versatile he will find his name called a lot in the coming years. 

 

Liassaine Cadamuro made his name in the 4th tier of Spanish football with Real Sociedad "B". This meant a call up to Real Sociedad in LA LIGA. He didn't feature much so he was loaned out to Osasuna in LIGA Adalente, the 2nd tier of Spanish football. He can play anywhere on the backend but prefers Right Centerback, he can play right wingback, defensive midfielder and right midfielder. The 26 year old will see his name on my team sheet a lot.

 

Mehdi Zeffane also plays in Ligue 1. He plays with Olympique Lyonnais. He hasn't featured much in the side until last year where he saw action in 8 games. Hopefully the 22 year old can play some more on loan this year or break in as the number 1 right back because he sure is a talent I'd like to use now and in the future. 

 

Dejamel Mesbah is a Serie A veteran at this point in his career. The 29 year old has played for some great Italian teams such as a cameo for A.C Milan, Parma, Lecce, Livorno and now Sampadoria. He also spent some quality years playing in the Swiss Super League with Basel and Aarau. His experience is vital and he will battle it out with Ghoulam for playing time on the left side.

 

Carl Medjani is a AC Ajaccio veteran in the French Leagues (1+2). He also spent time at Liverpool in the English Premier League. He made some appearances at AS Monaco and is now playing in the Turkish league with country mate Essaid Belkalem in Tranbzonspor. The 29 year old has a lot seasons under his belt and I will look to him to lead the young defence.

 

Madjid Bougherra has played in 1 year in the EPL, he has played with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, in Ligue 2, before moving on to play in Qatar and is not finally in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Faujairah. The 31 year old is on the downswing of his career but I hope to get at least 1 last year out of him as his experience cannot be replaced. 

 

Mehdi Mostefa is 30 but is still playing in Ligue 1 so if there is a massive injury crisis Mostefa would most likely get the call. He has spent the last 3 years at AC Ajaccio but is now plying his trade at FC Lorient. He can play defensive midfielder and rightback/right wingback. 

 

Fethi Harek is 31 and is on the downswing. I wouldn't look towards him unless there was a major injury crisis. He still has plenty of experience and has made a name for himself at SC Bastia the last 7 seasons. You just simply can't replace experience. He can play centerback and anywhere on the left side.

 

Habib Bellaid is only 28 so he is in his prime. The problem is that he just isn't that good. He may play one or two game or just get a call up when injuries pile up. He is in the 2nd tier of Belgian soccer after kicking it in Tunsia and Algeria for 2 seasons. Can play centerback and rightback/wingback. 

 

Adel Gafaitl is vice-captain on the U-20 team. I have high hopes for him. He is playing in the English Championship which is the 2nd tier with Norwich City. I hope he turns out because he can play centerback, defensive midfielder and center midfielder. He should be one to watch in coming years. 

 

Chaher Zarour is 31 and without a team at the moment. There is interest from 2 team though. Major interest coming from Racing Club Lens in France and Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel. He can only play centerback, if he doesn't get a club soon I won't be picking him because he needs game time to be chosen. He recently spent 2 years with AC Arles-Avignon in Ligue 2.

 

Brahim Ferradj is 26 years old and looks pretty decent to me. It's a wonder as to why no teams are interested in him. He recently spent most of his career at Stade Brestois 29. Hopefully he gets on with a club because I'd like to be able to choose his versatility. He can play both right and left wingback/backs, defensive midfielder, center midfielder and left midfielder. 

 

Ahmed Madouni is 33 years old and definitely on the last legs of his international career. He is available on free transfer and is drawing interest from Hamburg St.Pauli in the German 2nd tier. He can only play centerback so, unless everyone of my other centerbacks get injured/sick/anything at all. Madouni is the last man on the totem pole. He has spent 3 of the last 4 years in the German 2nd Tier.

Edited December 20, 2015 by StevenStamkos91

[Tagger 2,722]

Algeria should be a good save, I wonder how good Mahrez is on 15 considering I didn't really know much about him till midway through last season. 

 

I think a big question here though is how have we not set up a VHL FM 16 Fantasy Draft game yet? 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

11 hours ago, XaviYEAH! Woods said:

Algeria should be a good save, I wonder how good Mahrez is on 15 considering I didn't really know much about him till midway through last season. 

 

I think a big question here though is how have we not set up a VHL FM 16 Fantasy Draft game yet? 

@jRuutu @flyersfan1493 sounds like a plan to me

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Here we have our defensive midfielders, you will see some other that can play defense. So it's interesting to see where they match up against other players.

 

Nabil Bentaleb is the obvious star here. He can play either center midfield or defensive midfielder. He is about to start his 4th season with Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League. The 19 year old will feature on the team for many years to come. 

 

Adiene Guedioura is a 28 year old who has been playing in some of the top leagues in Europe. He was in the Belgian top flight before going to Wolverhampton for 3 seasons, he moved to Nottingham Forest for 3 years before moving to Crystal Palace last season. He is about to start his 2nd season in the English 1st tier. The man can play defensive midfielder, center midfielder and right midfielder. He figures to be on the team for a few years to come.

 

Mehdi Lacen is a 30 year old LIGA BBVA veteran. He has played 3 seasons a Real Racing Club before moving on to Getafe where is is going into his 4th season. He has so much experience I will be hard pressed to not name him on the roster. He can play defensive midfielder, center midfielder left midfielder and left wingback. 

 

The rest of the players on this screen, I have talked about in a previous post. 

[BOOM 8,425]

17 hours ago, XaviYEAH! Woods said:

Algeria should be a good save, I wonder how good Mahrez is on 15 considering I didn't really know much about him till midway through last season. 

 

I think a big question here though is how have we not set up a VHL FM 16 Fantasy Draft game yet? 

 

Mahrez is single handedly saving my EPL fantasy league.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

And now we have our midfielders. 

 

Sofaine Feghouli is a 24 year who is playing in the Spanish top flight and is also surrently drawing major interest from some big clubs. Manchester City, AS Monaco, Benfica and Inter Milan are all interested in his services. He can play and of the attacking midfielder positions. He might be entering his 4th season at Valencia but he may also move on.

 

Riyad Mahrez is a 23 year old who can play both right and left attacking midfield and midfield positions and occasionally lineup as striker. The man went to Leicester City for just 550K and is not worth 10.75 million. Talk about a steal. He's about to enter his 3rd year with the Foxes.

 

Nabil Ghilas is a 24 year old who is on loan at Cordoba in the Spanish 1st tier. He played at FC Porto last year in the Portugal 1st tier. He can play all over the attacking side of midfield. We have a very young attacking midfield group that we will lean on a lot.

 

Saphir Taider is 22 years old and has plenty of experience in Serie A already. He spent 2 years at Bologna, a year at Inter Milan and is now on loan at Sassuolo. He can play midfield, left/right midfield and attacking midfield. He just adds to the growing stable of under 25 players that are playing quality football all over the top European countries. 

 

Nabil Fekir is a 20 year old midfielder who can lineup at attacking midfield too. He is entering his 4th year at Olympique Lyon. He is the Algeria under 20 captain. The future is looking brighter and brighter every player I look at. 

 

Medhi Abeid is a 22 year old at Newcastle United in the English 1st tier. He is currently listed for loan and is drawing major interest from Burnley and Middlesbrough. He was loaned from Newcastle on 2 occasions once to St.Johnstone in the Scottish 1st tier and once to Panathinakos in the Greece 1st tier. He and Ghilas will fight for playing time at center midfield now and for years to come.

 

Foued Kadir is a 30 year old who is playing with Real Betis in the Spanish 2nd tier. He may feature depending on form and because he has experience. It is so vital at this stage. 

 

Idir Ouali is a 26 year old who has spent 3 years in the German football tiers. He is currently at Paderborn after 2 years with Dresden. He is comfortable on either right or left attacking/midfield. 

 

Karim Ziani is a 31 year old who has 61 caps for Algeria. I may give him some games due to the fact I love rewarding veterans. He is however playing league football in United Arab Emirates with Ajman. We will see how ths turns out as he is a big fan favourite in the Algerian side.

 

Laurent Agouazi is a 30 year old French football tiers veteran. He is playing for the 1st time out of French football in the Greek Superleague with Atromitos. He can play defensive midfield or center midfield. He will most likely only feature in some throwaway friendlies. 

 

Sofiane El Bekri is a 18 year old who could be great in the future. He recently joined Millwall in the English Championship. I have high hopes for him. He is currently on the U-20 team.

 

Mourad Meghni is a 30 year old who is available on free transfer. Hopefully he picks up with a team because he is decent. He could be a good injury replacement but I won't play him unless he gets some club football. He is recently coming off 3 years in the Qutari Stars League. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

And now we have a plethora of attacking midfielders. Most of them were talking about in a previous post. 

 

Yacine Brahimi is a 24 year old who played 2 seasons at Granada in LIGA BBVA and is now plying his trade at FC Porto in Portugal. He can play all 3 attacking midfield positions and will figure to be featuring a lot.

 

Hilal Soudani is 26 and plays with Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb. He can play right and left attacking midfielder but can play striker too. 

 

Ishak Belfodil is a 22 year old striker who can play the attacking midfield positions. He at Parma in Serie A. There are a lot of players who want to play the attacking positions so it will be interesting to see if Ishak can make it if he is on great form. 

 

Ryad Boudebouz is 24 years old but has been playing in Ligue 1 since he was a 16 year old. SC Bastia is the team he calls his own right now. He's very versatile and can play 6 midfield positions.  

 

Djamel Abdoun is 28 years old. He plays in the Belgian 1st division with Lokeren. He is on loan there from Nottingham Forest. He is in the middle of his prime and with some great form he could find his way onto the team sheet. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

and finally we have the strikers. Not a bad bunch here. Could be better but could be worse.

 

Islam Slimani is 26 and is playing for Sporting Portugal in the Portuguese 1st tier. He can only play striker though and that might be what is holding him back because hes not a standout one at that. 

 

The others I have talked about and are better than the ones that haven't been talked about here. 

[jRuutu 2,314]

On 20.12.2015 at 0:38 PM, XaviYEAH! Woods said:

Algeria should be a good save, I wonder how good Mahrez is on 15 considering I didn't really know much about him till midway through last season. 

 

I think a big question here though is how have we not set up a VHL FM 16 Fantasy Draft game yet? 

Mahrez is a beast on FM 16 at least. Vardy too. No idea how they are in 15 though. Might even try managing Leicester at some point!

Edited December 21, 2015 by jRuutu

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

As you can see we are drawn into a group with Togo, Liberia and Chad. That's a great draw if I don't say so myself, we should top the group and go to the African Cup of Nations 2015. We shouldn't lose any game. If we do I will resign.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Here is how the fixtures match up. If we get at least a draw vs Togo in Stade de Kegue. We need to keep Emmanuel Adebayor in check. Other than him there is no major threats on this team. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Fifa just announced the new rankings. Algeria is still ranked 24th in the world. Germany is still Number 1. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Chelsea pulling a Chelsea a year earlier. Looks like the is going to be a realistic season. I went to watch a guy play for the national team, but he didnt even end up getting off the subs bench, but I was treated to a good game

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Here is the short handed squad I had to name. Only 20 players got named since 2 of our 3 goalies got injured. Since not all the players have started their season either, I went with most of the players who have been playing. Soudani has been doing the best, I watched him twice and he scored 4 goals. 

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

 

Well that is not what I was expecting at all. A 3-1 loss to start off the group? When we fell down 1-0 I thought well we can still tie it. Then we got a penalty but he missed the damn shot! I honestly don't know what else to you guys, this was disappointing way to start. We also hit the woodwork 4 times 

Edited December 22, 2015 by StevenStamkos91

[jRuutu 2,314]

3 hours ago, StevenStamkos91 said:

 

Well that is not what I was expecting at all. A 3-1 loss to start off the group? When we fell down 1-0 I thought well we can still tie it. Then we got a penalty but he missed the damn shot! I honestly don't know what else to you guys, this was disappointing way to start. We also hit the woodwork 4 times 

Not the best start sure, but you should still make it !  Interesting to see if you manage to win the group though.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

3 minutes ago, jRuutu said:

Not the best start sure, but you should still make it !  Interesting to see if you manage to win the group though.

I blame the 3rd string goalie