It’s tough being an Everton supporter at the best of times, after the last week of Everton news I’m very glad to be able to bury my head into this Málaga save and forget about my club for a while!, I guess that’s essentially the point of Football Manager is isn’t it?, So here we have another blog post at the La Rosaleda and my FM Universe with Malaga continues!, I’m enjoying this save quite a lot and quite surprised how much of a distraction it has been amidst the constant lockdowns my city is currently enduring it’s good to have an FM save that I’m invested in and the interaction with the community on this blog and twitter has been appreciated as I’ve had lot’s of cool messages so far!. (thank you🙏).
Hopefully this GIF heavy blog has all the ingredients to keep you distracted as you step into the world of my FM universe just after a transfer window full of frustration, limited financial funding and add in a sprinkle of delayed gratification like the Salt Bae as we march forward with the season with hopes of reaching LaLaiga.
In the last blog I mentioned some signings that we made but unfortunately are still under contract elsewhere and won’t arrive until next season. So as January rolled around and we hit the ground running, no new additions didn’t effect our momentum initially…or so I thought before we hit a rough patch in late January and early February exiting the Copa del Rey to Tenerife in extra time and going completely goalless for 4 games against Alcoron, Espanyol, Lugo and Tenerife.
But after some much needed squad rotation and we got the Málaga train back on the winning track going undefeated throughout March also earning me the Manager of the Month award for March despite winning only 1 game February it kind of felt like one of those student of the week awards you used to get in school – it’s nice when you receive it, but then when you get home you realize it’s a has absolutely no legitimacy, and you just looked like a stupid idiot parading around the school yard with it!.
Narrator – He looks like an idiot most of the time anyway!…
On a good run now with 5 wins out of 6 games we bounced into April which brought along out first Youth Intake report from Head of Youth Manager Duda. I haven’t mentioned much about the Head of Youth Development coach mostly because well…. there isn’t a lot to mention attribute wise, but the former captain of Málaga was a silky smooth winger and is a club legend and contracted until 2023 so he has a few seasons to bring in some decent players, and bring me a star, to be more concise he has until the end of his contract to find me the next Messi or I’ll be looking for a new Head of Youth.
Overall our first Youth Intake is decent, there’s a few interesting prospects in the squad – Zoilo, José Antonio Fuentes, Rogério Luís could develop into decent attacking players and Jesús Blasco and Julio Deibis could be useful defenders. These players will be focusing on Under 19’s football for the next 2 seasons as they are all still a bit young to be in the senior team.
In general I tend to keep a close eye on the Under 19’s results, training, form, happiness, and development it’s tedious but I try to maximize a youth player’s development (small tip – don’t trust star ratings a player can still turn out very useful with 3 star potential). José Antonio Fuentes is the player that has caught my eye the most with Determination, Teamwork and decent Passing at only just 15 years old, he could be a nice attacking midfielder in the future.
YOUTH PROSPECTS TO WATCH!
Results wise April was hit and miss as we carried our good form into the match against Girona with Juan Cruz scoring but couldn’t find the back of the net in a tough match against Mallorca, But we easily dispatched Castellion and then disappointingly lost to Fuenlabrada who have been in and out of the bottom 4 all season.
Juan Cruz kept his good form going through May with 4 goals in 5 games, but dropping points in crucial matches meant we miss out on automatic promotion by 1 point!….1 point dammit!. Real Sporting and Espanyol gain promotion to LaLiga and we are left to fight it out in the playoffs.
Overall I can’t be to disappointed as we were predicted to finish 12th, and pushed right up to the final day with a disjointed squad full of loan players and youth, but for now we focus on the playoffs.
The disappointment didn’t stop there as in form attacker Juan Cruz is our with sprained wrist ligaments for just under 2 weeks and will miss the upcoming playoff games as we face tough opposition Mallorca.
Mallorca who finished in 5th have been tough opposition for us both matches we played against them this season, drawing twice and we didn’t manage to score in either of those matches. We started the first leg of the playoff dangerously and looking very sharp with a nice combination of passes and a few near misses.
14′ minute mark and we won a throw in!, Ismael Casas throws it in to Iván Calero who quickly plays it back to Casas, the Mallorca defense is scrambling!, unorganized!, perplexed!….Pablo Chavarría takes the touch nicely in the box, composes himself…Strikes it!
⚽ GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL! 15′ Pablo Chavarría (Málaga)
I jump up out of my chair, with my useless Manager of the Month award from March, first pumping aggressively screaming “F*CKING COME ON!” directly into my lamp which is innocently sitting beside my screen monitor!
Narrator – He does this all the time! 🙄
But….The goal is ruled Offside as Pablo Chavarría is ruled offside by the tip of his shoelace – I’ve watched the clip 50 times and I’m still yet to see how he was offside.
19′ Our defense is switched off, possibly still reeling from the goal ruled offside, Mallorca’s Febas plays a pass out wide to Lago Junior who easily get’s around Ismael Casas and Josua Mejías smashing a goal passed Loan Goalkeeper Juan Soriano, Mallorca take the lead 1-0!.
Disappointment, Frustration and Anger set in as I look over at my lamp, looking back smug at me as it just a few moments earlier I was giving it the biggun’s…
19′ ⚽ GOAL – Lago Junior (Mallorca)
We maintained our attack on Mallorca and stood neck and neck with them all game attacking Mallorca at every opportunity. A few words of encouragement at halftime and the boys came out firing 49′ minute mark and Calero intercepts a bad pass from Baba, he quickly plays it off to Jozabed the play maker in the midfield with quick ball movement Ramón Enríquez finds Cristian Rodríguez with a nice through ball to Pablo Chavarría who strikes it off balance!…
⚽ GOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL! 51′ Pablo Chavarría (Málaga)
Narrator – Don’t do it 🤦♂️
I jump up out of my seat AGAIN with a fist pump so tight I could have cracked a metacarpal bone, leveling things 1-1 with Mallorca…wait a moment it’s going to VAR… Oh no!
OFFSIDE!
Narrator – Told you!
With a second goal ruled offside, I lash out and go full John McEnrow with a loud “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” followed by a 2 to 3 minute interval of me muttering profanity under my breath at the game, so much frustrations with colorful language that would put the producers of South Park to shame.
Narrator – Never go full McEnroe!
FIRST LEG
SECOND LEG
The second leg we just had no gas left in the tank, and barely got a shot of on target, to be fair Mallorca didn’t really play much better as they held on to a 0-0 draw allowing them to go on to the final and eventually gain promotion against Almeria.
There’s not a lot I want to write about this match as it was uneventful and I’m still raging about the initial first game.
And just like that – it’s season over in a very anti-climactic fashion for Málaga. A swift but bittersweet end to the first season as we overachieved and had high points and some low points. The 4-4-1-1 worked well for this team, but next season may bring tactical change as we say goodbye to a few players on loan and Theo Zidane, Batista Mendy, Thomas Basila and Jandro Orrellana all wait to join us next season. The board have set the target of reaching the playoffs again but I believe with the right recruitment we can push for an automatic promotion. Financially the board have allocated £800k to the transfer budget next season which finally gives me a bit of room to maneuver in the transfer market. I am eyeing off a Left Back Victor Kristiansen from København who is on loan at Halmstads BK this season. I think with the right training he could develop into a really good Left Back, 17 Determination, 15 Work Rate, decent Acceleration and Crossing for only 18 years old I’ll be looking to get a deal done if the transfer is right.
In closing, the first season has been fun!, reminiscing on the season Pablo Chavarría scored 13 goals and I extended his contract for next season as the two attackers Davis Larrubia and Julio Martinez are still coming through as young strikers and Juan Cruz finished with 8 goals and 3 assists. Roman Enriquez looks a solid prospect in the midfield and Ismail Casas is already getting interest from top clubs such as Alaves and Tottenham so there’s lot’s to be excited about at Málaga for the future.
I’ve grown attached to the save and looking forward to bringing you more updates as I progress through the save. If you enjoyed this blog feel free to give it a like and re-tweet and you can find me on twitter at FM_Prospect chatting all things Football Manager and Málaga.
Until next time….we go again!
~ Prospect
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