Breaking the Spell - *aLe's unconventional ML corner

[*aLe]

Is there anything better than hosting a Euro and reaching the final in front of your own fans? You'll also be facing a complete underdog, everything seems already written: for this dream to come true, it's just a matter of time. What could go wrong?
Well, this could go wrong: Basinas taking a corner for Greece, Charisteas being the first to get to the ball before Carvalho, Ricardo rushing out to no avail.
Enough to instantly turn the dream into a nightmare:

​

Needless to say, this was the one and only goal of the match. Greece were crowned champions, and Portugal had to make do with the losers' medals. This generated an earthquake within the Portuguese FA, with Gilberto Madaíl, head of the governing body, being pretty straightforward about it:

«Things are going to change drastically soon,
what we saw tonight is never gonna happen again.»​

His idea didn't take long to be explained: a strict limit of three non-Portuguese players per team and the request to the clubs to heavily rely on the youth system would, in his mind, allow Portugal to become even more competitive on the international stage.
What would this mean to the three Portuguese teams competing in the Winning Eleven Football Authority (WEFA, from now on) Master League?

Stay tuned, and we'll soon find out.

Spoiler: Credits and special thanks

Meanwhile let me thank @millossobek for the inspiration (the idea to open a thread for my "wall-of-text-esque" adventures came from him, @TheWolf for his "Vuelta del Lobo" patch (which, with some little modifications that would be useful for the storyline, is the base I used for this ML campaign), @miguelfcp and @mattmid for their Amador project (because you'll see some made up characters in here, and it's thanks to Amador that I started re-exploring the "fantasy" side of the game)...
And Manuel Rui Costa (because, as a Milanista totally fond of him, he's the reason I started following (kinda) Benfica when he re-joined them in 2006).

 

[millossobek]

Awesome bro @*aLe !!!! I think it's great that you decided to open up your own thread for your ML stories, makes everything easy to follow!!

Thanks for the kind words, I've had so much fun accross the months writing my ML stories, I'm so sure that you'll enjoy it a lot as well!

What will be the repercussions of Portugal's new decision from WEFA? How will this affect the teams?

Can't wait to hear your story buddy!

 

[*aLe]

In the wake of Portugal's biggest footballing heartbreak to date, Gilberto Madaíl has been clear: Portugal needs to pick up the pieces and immediately fight back, but to make this reaction permament they need to invest more on the homegrown talent.
It's no mystery that some promising players like Ricardo Vaz Tê, Eliseu from Belenenses, Sporting CP's youth prospect Nani, and last but not least Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United are out there and will hopefully lead Portugal to a bright future, but in Madaíl's mind they aren't enough. This is why he's mandating some new rules for Portuguese teams to follow, starting from the 2004/05 season that's about to begin. These rules are simple yet powerful:

• Focus on homegrown talent: each Portuguese team should bring into the first squad at least three players from their youth academy by the end of the season, letting them enjoy first-team football.
• Limiting the squad spots available for foreign players, which go down to five. That's right: only five foreign players can be under contract to a Portuguese team in any moment, and of these two at most can be non-European.

This is of course bringing havoc in the Portuguese transfer market, because the top-flight teams, which usually are the ones with the most foreign players, have now to make their choices and, most likely, axe some important players.
José Mourinho, the man in charge of current European champions FC Porto, said he's not scared of the challenge. "I was about to sign for Chelsea, you know, and bringing a couple of players with me in the process, but this isn't going to happen anymore. I'll stay here and show that Porto can win also with these stupid limitations" were his words.
Manager Fernando Santos of Sporting CP also said he's not worried, and added "what's the problem with these rules? We're going to sell some foreign players, but we'll definitely have some money to spend on young, promising Portuguese footballers then. And well, maybe some old acquaintances of the club are willing to come back too, who knows". We just need to see if he was referring to former Sporting legend Luís Figo, currently playing for Real Madrid, or to Cristiano Ronaldo, the most promising Portuguese footballer around, who used to play for Sporting before moving to Manchester United in 2003. Or, maybe, he was referring to both of them and we'll see a Figo-Ronaldo duo on the flanks of Sporting soon.
Luís Filipe Vieira, the current SL Benfica chairman, isn't of the same advice and would love to have a word with the Portuguese FA about these new rules. "It's incredible how you work for ten years to bring a team back where it deserves to be, and someone manages to ruin everything with a stupid idea like this. So tell me, what are we gonna do with the likes of Zahovič, Geovanni, Šokota? And where do we put now Luisão and Mantorras? This is going to be a disaster for us, trust me. I'll tell you what we're going to do: we're selling them. At a deflated price because now everyone knows we're forced to sell. Heck, we'll probably also have to let Nuno Gomes go to cover the loss. I've seen people saying that they'll buy this and that player from Real Madrid, or Manchester United: it won't work like that. Rui Costa texted me already saying that he'd run here for us should we need him, but truth is that AC Milan are asking for an insane amount of money to let him go. It's not going to work, as simple as that".

«What are we gonna do with the foreign players now? This is
going to be a disaster for us, we'll have to sell our stars to cover the losses.»​

He isn't done there of course and he adds that, unlike other teams, Benfica are going to use a no-nonsense approach to the situation. "We've been underperforming for years now, because we were slowly building something that could be solid, trustworthy and lasting. Our goal doesn't change, we'll just heavily rely on our youth academy for it to happen. We have some great players in there in almost every department. Goalkeeper? Rodrigues. A centre back? João Tomás without any doubt. Midfielders? João Ferreira and Martins, they're both just eighteen. Forward? You've already seen Rafa sporadically play for the senior team in the past season, haven't you? He's got broad shoulders and he'll definitely not fear the challenge".
Even the newly appointed manager, the experienced Italian Giovanni Trapattoni, said that Benfica are going to take it slow and to try and build something sustainable and lasting. Could this former Milanista lead Benfica to the battle for the WEFA Masters Cup, or even for the WEFA Championship? Is he the right man to finally break the spell cast on Benfica by another former Milanista, Béla Guttmann? Ironically enough it's Milan, the team the two have in common, that defeated Benfica the last time they reached a cup final in Europe, and to add insult to injury it was Frank Rijkaard, a former Sporting CP player (despite having never appeared for them in an official match), who scored the winner.

 

[millossobek]

Aha! So Giovanni Trapattoni, the Milanista! Also known as "Ale's alter ego"! I think he should have no problem adjusting to Portugal's footballing culture, as I think it's kind of similar to Italian!

Can't wait to see the newly formed starting eleven and how the summer transfer market shape up looks up! I'm sure Trapattoni will have no problem rising up to the challenge!! This is shaping up to be a great story. I love what you did with the newspaper too!

 

[*aLe]

Aha! So Giovanni Trapattoni, the Milanista!

As a player, yes. He spent more than 10 years at Milan, to the extent that he's in the top 20 AC Milan players with most appearances ever (with a total of around 350) and he could be considered almost a "one-club man" (if we exclude a dozen of appearances with Varese at the end of his career).
As a manager, not really. He's universally known for being the man in charge of In*&r (🤮) during their record-breaking 1988/89 season.

I just found curious that AC Milan is a recurring name with this "spell": Guttmann managed Milan, Milan was the first (1963) and the last team defeating Benfica in a European cup final (as of 2004, of course), Trapattoni was there (playing for Milan) during the 1963 final, the first that Benfica played (and lost) after Guttmann's spell had been casted.
It would be great if "the Trap", as we call him here in Italy, could break the spell that he helped come into action for the first time in 1963: that's why in this ML I decided to let him join Benfica (as it happened in real life in 2004), as opposed to Porto retaining Mourinho (who left for Chelsea in 2004) and Sporting going on with Fernando Santos (who was succeeded by Peseiro in 2004 in real life).

(yeah I definitely did some homework here before choosing Benfica)

 

[*aLe]

And now, it's about time we get to know these youth prospects better. Let's start with Rafael Nuno Peixoto Silva, commonly known as Rafa Peixoto or, simply, Rafa. Born and raised in Belém, this 20-year-old striker already has a couple of appearences with the senior team under his belt, and represents the future of the Portuguese national football team according to the insiders. His physique allows him to easily protect the ball, to resist shoulder-barges and hopefully to dish out also some when needed. He's pretty good at heading and on top of that, should you need something else to convince yourself he's worth, he's also pretty gifted technically. This according to the ones who saw him play in the youth teams of Belenenses, first, and Benfica, with which he became the under-21 league's top scorer in the past season. He can also proficiently dance around the offside line when he's on a good day; when he isn't, though, expect offsides being called like there's no tomorrow. Should we find a downside to this player, we could probably say that he often gets a little too nervous on the pitch. This temperament lead him to complain and argue a little too much with officials and teammates in the past, receiving a couple of cards more than needed and reaching the point in which he would refuse to speak to some teammates.
He swears he'll be working on it, though.

Talking about controversial/polemical characters: here comes Carl De Smet, the Belgian volante that Benfica just signed from Club Brugge's youth academy.
This 19-year-old midfielder loves to define himself as a "quality over quantity" guy, and we found out that this also applies to bookings: be sure that when he'll be shown a yellow card, it'll be for a badly-ending yet spectacularly executed tackle (let's say he's a little clumsy at times and he doesn't always get the timing of the tackles right) or for a totally over the top and probably useless argument with the referee. Either way, it'll be something that's not ordinary. Like Rafa, he also managed to argue with almost every teammate at Bruges, to the extent that many were relieved when hearing that he would be joining Benfica, despite everyone agreeing on the fact that the one that was leaving was a very promising player.
Time will tell if he'll live up to the expectations in a new club, with new teammates.

Staying in the midfield area but moving to the right flank, it's time to meet the youngest player of the lot: João Ferreira. Born in 1986 and yet to turn 18, he's also considered one of the rising stars of Portuguese football. Born and raised in Coimbra, he used to play for Académica before joining Benfica's under-17 team aged 15. No rules apply when he's on the pitch with the under-19 squad: he could outrun his opponent, nutmeg him or just gently dispose of him with a rainbow flick. Creativity is power, they say. No rules apply when he's off the pitch, either. He's the kind of teenager that you may find on the backseat of a car carelessly dancing to Groove Coverage's "God is a girl" tune, with a bootle of beer in his hand, the night before a match. And he'll probably still deliver his magic anyway, the day after.
Trapattoni is absolutely positive that Ferreira would soon be able to showcase his on-the-pitch skills also with the senior team.
About the off-the-pitch ones, well, hopefully he'll do away with them soon.

Before we move to the back line, there's one last midfielder from the youth academy that is worth mentioning and it's Rafael Martins: this 18-year-old trequartista has been shining match in match out with the under-19 team during the 2003/04 season, to the point that he won the "Youth player of the year" award for that category, and he's just awaiting his chance to show what he's capable of also with the seniors. While not being all that graceful with the ball, some may say his playing style is even ugly, he's been delivering killer passes at will with the youth team and that's all important. Like Rafa, he'd probably need to work hard on his character to be able to stand the pressure of the first team, with which he never appeared yet, but we're sure he will eventually overcome the understandable apprehension he's through.
Hopefully, being named captain of the under-21 team for the 2004/05 season will give him the confidence boost he needs.

The oldest player of the six is a defender and has been the captain of the under-21 team during the season that's just ended. With the motto "ankle or ball? To me there's no difference", he's set to scare some attackers soon: João Tomás, this is his name, has just turned 21 and he's already a solid defender that in Trapattoni's plans will become a key element of the back line in a couple of seasons.
He'll find a good teacher in the Brazilian centre back Luisão, who apparently isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Last but not least here comes a goalkeeper: Luciano Rodrigues is set to start as a third choice behind Quim and Moreira (and will more often than not be unavailable for selection as he'll still play for the under-21 team) but being aged just 19 he's still got much to learn from the two. Who knows, maybe one day we'll see the apprentice surpass the masters. Like Martins and Ferreira he's been a regular in the under-19 team during the season that has just ended, team that he helped win the title for the first time in years with some spectacular saves.
In addition, his quirky character (the same one that made him play the last matches of the 2003/04 season with his hair totally bleached) will definitely help the morale of the squad in the long run.

 

[millossobek]

He's the kind of teenager that you may find on the backseat of a car carelessly dancing to Groove Coverage's "God is a girl" tune

LMAO! You actually had me looking up the song. You gotta have some personality to sing that in public, and even more, dancing!

Sounds like a offbeat bunch! Full of personality. You have some fiery temperaments in there, a teenager with questionable music taste, an enforcer CB who will probably get a few send-offs, and a bleached-hair early 2000's rebel keeper! I predict Rafa and Carl De Smet will get into on-the-pitch arguments! (and off the pitch as well). Sounds like Trapattoni's gonna have his hands full with this ramshackle group! One thing's for sure: entertainment is guaranteed!

 

[*aLe]

I predict Rafa and Carl De Smet will get into on-the-pitch arguments! (and off the pitch as well).

Either this, or... Imagine them teaming up, shoulder to shoulder, against everything and everyone, to conquer the world one game at a time.
With Knights of Cydonia playing in the background.

Wait, this is a 2006 song so we're doomed to see them arguing with each other for two full seasons at least. 🤣

 

[*aLe]

​

In other news, Italian side Juventus are looking to strengthen themselves to try and steal the Scudetto from the Rossoneri, signing Emerson from Roma (€ 28m) and the controversial Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimović (for what looks like a bargain, € 16m) to replace leaving Di Vaio.
Milan are not looking to settle either, as they'll add defender Jaap Stam from Lazio and forward Hernan Crespo from Chelsea to the squad that won the 2003/04 Serie A. Inter look to add some talent to their squad by signing Burdisso, Cambiasso and Davids while runners-up Roma signed Philippe Mexès from Auxerre and Simone Perrotta from Chievo. Portuguese side back Abel Xavier was set to join too but he opted for Benfica instead in a last-second decision change.

In Spain, Barcelona and Real Madrid are trying to fill the gap with league winners Valencia: the team from Catalonia just announced the signing of Samuel Eto'o from Mallorca (€ 27m) and Ludovic Giuly from Champions League runners-up Monaco. Real Madrid on the other hand have already signed Walter Samuel from Roma (€ 23m) and Jonathan Woodgate from Newcastle (€ 18m, would it be the right move?) and will soon announce Michael Owen's signing. The Brit, who's currently undergoing his medical tests, will join the club in the coming days.
Current title holders Valencia went shopping in Italy after losing Carew and Ricardo Oliveira: they signed Stefano Fiore and Bernardo Corradi from Lazio, Marco Di Vaio from Juventus and Emiliano Moretti from Parma. Would this be enough for coach Ranieri to retain the title?

With the current situation of Portuguese football, it's no surprise that there has been some movement around Lisbon and Porto this summer. Sporting CP are trying to bring back a Portuguese winger duo that would be the best in the nation, hands-down. Cristiano Ronaldo on the left (deal almost done) and former Sporting legend Luís Figo (currently in the talks, but positive that they'll go through) on the right. Porto had to sell their Brazilian defender Pepe, who never got to enjoy an official match with them (having just joined from Marítimo), to Real Madrid but got to keep Deco (who was set to join Barcelona), Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira who boto would have followed José Mourinho at Chelsea had he decided to sign the deal with Abramovich's side. José's staying though, so are the players. Benfica have to wave goodbye to Zlatko Zahovič and to Nuno Gomes for financial reasons, but are able to welcome Abel Xavier from Hannover 96, Bruno Basto from Bordeaux and Giorgios Karagounis from Italian side Inter.
All of this while being demoted to Division 2 as they cannot meet the financial requirements for Division 1 registration.
Would they be enough, alonw with the young blood we've already met, to bring Benfica back to Division 1 in a timely fashion?

 

[millossobek]

Definitely sounds like Sporting are the favorites, with Luis Figo still in his prime probably signing and with the ascendancy of Cristiano Ronaldo, it sounds like they could be the team to beat in the Portuguese League. No matter what happens this is good for the league, it brings in some star power at the top!

But the really interesting story is actually brewing with Benfica! It'll be very cool to see what happens with Benfica's young prospects in D2! Will they show temple and grit to get back to Primeira? Can't wait to see the bleached hair quirky youngster keeper, and how the rest of this group of ramshackle offbeat mad-hatters get on with the season!

 

[*aLe]

Wonder no more! Our first unofficial match has been played. Well, kinda.

BENFICA - AEK ATHENS​

Trapattoni's brand new side kicks off the pre-season tour with a match against Greek side AEK Athens, from D1 South. The home side goes all-in with youths as all of the six under-21 players are featured in the starting XI: Rodrigues starts in goal, João Tomás starts at the centre back along with Luisão, with the new signings Abel Xavier and Bruno Basto playing wide. De Smet is in front of the defense with Petit, Ferreira is on the right wing with the other new arrival, Karagounis, taking care of the other one. Rafael Martins plays his forst ever match with the senior team starting behind the lone striker Peixoto.
By minute 7 it's already De Smet getting booked: he gets outrun by an opponent and his only option to prevent him to go away undisturbed is to tackle him from behind whit a slide. Minute 18: Kontis to Ivić, who fires a screamer from just outside the box. The ball goes wide by inches with Rodrigues not being able to do anything. Then, the show begins: at minute 24 Benfica have a great chance to open the scoreline. Martins sends in a wonderful ball for Peixoto who beats the offside trap, goes round the keeper with a feint, then has his shot deflected by a last-ditch attempt by Stergiatos who miraculously recovered in the meantime. It's only the prelude: minute 34, this time it's in! Rafa wins a ball near the box, gives it to De Smet who opens it on the left to Karagounis. The Greek midfielder finds again Rafa Peixoto in the box with a low pass, and the young striker doesn't forgive: it's 1-0 TO BENFICA!!!
Little we know that it won't last much: at the end of the first half, Malbasa sends a cross in from the left to find Julio Cesar just outside the box. The forward heads it in for Lyberopoulos who deflects it just into the oncoming Krassas' path. The left midfielder manages to tip the ball past Rodrigues with his right foot, and it's all leveled again. AEK EQUALIZED, IT'S 1-1.
The second half sees Miguel in for Basto and Simão Sabrosa in for Ferreira: Benfica are dangerous again with a header by Rafa deflected out for a corner by Michailidis, but when everything seems set for a draw, there's a counter-attack by AEK that sees Julio Cesar make fun of João Tomás and find himself all alone in front of Rodrigues. The Portuguese goalkeeper heroically saves the first shot, but can do nothing on the second attempt that rolls into the open net. AEK TURNED IT AROUND, 1-2.
This result won't change until the end of the match unfortunately, with De Smet being dangerous once from outside and Rafa sending a ball just a little too high on a free kick. Trap's side lose their first match and are now set to face Inter Milan away in another friendly match.
Hopefully things will go better there, despite Inter being much stronger than AEK.

 

[*aLe]

INTER - BENFICA
​

The pre-season tour of our guys goes on as after being defeated by AEK the team travels to Milan in order to face Inter, in a not-so-packed San Siro, for the second and last friendly. Trapattoni chooses a 4-3-3 formation not much different from the 4-5-1 used against AEK but, unlike what he did in the last match, this time he fields the best possible eleven. A wise choice, given the difference in strength between AEK and Inter.
So, Quim will start his first match of the season, with Luisão and Ricardo Rocha in front of him. Miguel and Bruno Basto are the side backs, while Petit sits in front of the defence to provide a shield against Inter's highly acclaimed trio made of Verón, Cambiasso and former laziale Dejan Stanković. Tiago and Manuel Fernandes (rumoured to be playing his last match for Benfica before leaving the team) share the midfield. Upfront, there are Simão and Karagounis on the wings, with the new arrival Ricardo Vaz Tê being the centre forward. Quite a leap (and not in the right direction if you ask us) from the likes of Nuno Gomes, but this is what apparently happens when you're facing dire financial trouble.
Inter get the match underway and they're straight away dangerous: a cross by Favalli from the left finds Vieri who heads it towards the goal, the ball ends just a little too high. Inter attack a lot but leave much space to Benfica and at around minute 20 a counter attack sees Tiago send Karagounis past the defensive line, all alone, on the left: the Greek winger (who just joined from Inter themselves) flies away and sends a low ball in for Vaz Tê but the young striker can't control it ant it gets cleared away for good. On the subsequent corner, a goalmouth scrambe represents the best chance of the first half. Luisão finds himself with the ball just three or four metres away from the goal line and fires it for what seems to be an easy goal, but Toldo performs a miracle and denies Benfica the advantage. Another chance by Vieri is the last remarkable event of the first half, but Luisão is very good at tackling the Italian striker down before the situation gets too hot. The second half sees Nuno Morais, a new signing coming from Penafiel, enter the pitch for Fernandes but the situation doesn't change much: Inter are superior and seem able to score within moments. Adriano hits a post first, then Stanković forces Quim to perform a great save. It's then De Smet in for Petit and Martins in for Tiago, but this can't break the deadlock either. Shortly after it's Rafa Peixoto's turn for an off-colour Vaz Tê. The "two Rafas" (like they used to call them in the youth team) combine perfectly, and at minute 73 it's Martins that sends in a killer ball for Peixoto: the shot seems heading straight at the top corner, but Toldo once again denies the chance with a great save. Shortly after it's De Smet's turn to team up with Peixoto: Benfica's striker shields the ball, turns in a great fashion and fires it towards the goal but this time the shot gets deflected by Iván Córdoba. Nothing more happens until minute 90 apart from another header by Vieri that hits the bar and then sails away, and the match ends with a goalless draw.

«We may have not won today but it's not the result making me happy,
it's seeing the boys team up and play as one that made me proud.»​

This is what Trapattoni had to say after the match. The Italian manager said he's mildly positive about this team's chances to be promoted back to Division 1 straight away with the current roster, but he also painted himself aware of the financial trouble the team's going through, saying that "if more players are to be sacrified to be sure that the team can survive financially, so be it. We'll make do with what we have and always aim for the best possible result: a weaker team is definitely better than no team at all. Should we not be promoted to Division 1 this season, in this case, I wouldn't see it as a catastrophe: this club's been working for 10 years to build the foundations for future success, and it will eventually arrive. It's just a matter of first fixing what's in need of an immediate solution, even if it may hurt at first, and then planning ahead carefully".

 

[millossobek]

I'd say that a draw against Inter is a very positive result, especially taking into account their squad strength! Even though the loss against AEK Athens might be a bit disappointing, it's all about accumulating points to get out of financial trouble, and possibly tinker the squad a bit in the opening transfer window! (I'm assuming it's open, right??) How many more preseason friendlies do you have scheduled before the season starts? A good chance to create some breathing room in terms of market power!

Would love to also see some screens to go along with some of the players, the two Rafas, De Smet, Joao Tomas, etc!

 

[*aLe]

Thanks pal! I'm studying a way to include some screenshots in the stories indeed. Soon you'll be able to see how Peixoto and De Smet look!
I was about to include some GIF images of the remarkable plays, but the ones I record automatically with ReLive (or however is now called AMD's recording tool) weigh like 90 MB for 10 seconds of footage and loading three or four of them per post just wouldn't be feasible.

I haven't planned any more friendly but, I'm afraid to tell you, these two didn't count towards the "starting budget" of the Master League.
5000 WEN it was, 5000 WEN it is. With the total wages of the team being 10K-ish (I just did a quick sim and I don't remember now the exact amount), we'll just have to try to not go bankrupt even before trying to get promoted.

 

[*aLe]

Aaaaaaand the first day of the league has finally come! Our heroes are ready to enter the pitch, you can clearly hear the fans roaring on the stands from within the tunnel, they got pretty excited when "Neocon" by the Offspring had been played loud from the speakers along with Malaga entering the pitch for the pre-match warmup in an attempt to intimidate the away team.
Such a bold statement, let's hope Benfica can live up to the expectations.

BENFICA - MALAGA​

Needless to say, Trapattoni's Benfica still have everything to prove, even if they're expected to clinch promotion straight away. Is there a better way to kick off the season than a comfortable win at home in front of a stadium packed with your fans? I don't think so... But apparently our players do: minute 5 and Malaga go too damn close to the opening goal. Nuno Morais loses a heavy ball in front of the defense, Manu Sanchez plays it through to Amoroso who beats the offside trap and hits the post from within the box. Moreira is the quickest on the rebound and makes the ball his. A nice way to start the match, definitely.
Malaga don't have to wait much to go ahead though, at minute 15 Amoroso assists Manu Sanchez who forces Moreira to perform a miraculous save, but the ball stays there: Gerado is the quickest to reach it, on the left flank, and his cross finds Michel all alone in the box... The Spaniard heads it in for the opener! It's BENFICA 0 - MALAGA 1 unfortunately. Luckily enough we fight back straight away: at minute 19 Tiago sees Rafa Peixoto on the run, plays a wonderful ball to the striker who finds himself one on one with the keeper... Flag's up. Minute 28 and it's Amoroso again! Our offside trap doesn't work as expected (not this time, either) and the Brazilian tries a lob that luckily enough ends just a little too wide. The first half ends with a chance for us though: from a corner, Simao swings it in and Rafa Peixoto heads it towards the goal, only to hit the top part of the bar. A remarkable event happens in the stoppage time: Ricardo Rocha earns the first booking of the season for stopping Amoroso on the counter in a non-conventional way, forcing the former Borussia Dortmund player to leave the pitch in pain. The trial in Den Hague will begin in a couple of weeks.
Trapattoni sends Rafa Martins in for Tiago at the beginning of the second half, an things seem to get a little better. Minute 57, we're still alive! Rafa Peixoto opens the play up for Karagounis on the left, the Greek wins a duel with his man and crosses it in: the ball is a little too high for Peixoto but it's perfect for Simão's diving header: WE EQUALIZED IN STYLE!!!

Simão Sabrosa kisses the shirt as the fans go wild! Shortly after, though, he's forced to leave the pitch limping and to give way to another of Trapattoni's youths, João Ferreira. Malaga aren't happy with the result of course, and Wanchope (who came in as a substitute for the injured Amoroso at the end of the first half) forces Moreira to perform yet another great save. De Smet enters the pitch for Nuno Morais who really didn't have an impact of any kind on today's match, with twenty minutes to go. This is the last substitution available for Benfica, with Trapattoni deciding to send in yet another youth player. Minute 75: talking about the Offspring, if the pre-match anthem was "Neocon", we believe that now "Nitro (youth energy)" would be more suitable to be played out loud at the stadium as BENFICA CELEBRATE THE 2-1 GOAL. De Smet wins a ball in the midfield circle, he plays it on the right to Ferreira who stops, gets rid of his man with a feint then plays it through for Rafa Peixoto in the box. The young striker gets tackled off the ball but he manages to lean back and send it in with the tip of his foot... For the oncoming Karagounis who gently knocks it into the open goal. We turned it around, it's one goal and one assist for the Greek who just joined from Inter!

Not much happens after that, and Benfica go on to win the first match of the season. Trapattoni's idea to let the youth players have fun actually seems to have worked properly as it's three of them (out of four that were on the pitch at that time) who took part in building the winning goal. The next match will see us traveling to Lille, in France, to hopefully extend the winning streak that's just begun.

 

[millossobek]

Congratulations on your first official win of the season! So nice to see some screenshots of the players as well!

Interesting that you're facing a Spanish team! Not only are you battling in second division, but it seems to be a pan-European one, or at least a pan-Iberian one! Love how in these old-school PES you can easily set up these international second divisions. Who else is in your division??

Really seems like the Offspring got your players all pumped up! Hopefully your players won't get into on the pitch discussions, or else you've "gotta keep em separated"!

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the league keeps going!!

 

[*aLe]

Really seems like the Offspring got your players all pumped up!

They got me all pumped up, to be honest. I finally got to see them live mid-week here in Italy (I've been waiting for the proper chance to see them for like 20 years) and... Boy, what a blast! 🤩

By the way, I divided Europe into 4 areas:

• D1 North with some teams from Belgium, England and Scotland plus any Scandinavian team available in the "Rest of Europe" selection
• D1 East with some teams from Germany and the Netherlands plus any Czech, Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian team from the "Rest of Europe"
• D1 South with teams from Italy plus any Greek, Serbian, Turkish team available in the "Rest of Europe" selection
• D1 and D2 West (the one we're playing in) with some teams from France and Spain plus the three ones from Portugal

And yes, that was one of the big things of the "old" Master League: that you were free to create fantasy world like this in the old games with no regret... You were even encouraged to do so!

 

[*aLe]

Meanwhile it's time for the second match in our Division 2 campaign, and this time we travel to France to face Lille.

LILLE - BENFICA
​

During the pre-match press conference Trapattoni leaves everyone stunned by affirming that 19-year-old De Smet will be starting today along with Petit and Tiago in a three-men midfield. The only other of the "terrible youths" on the pitch at kick-off will be Rafa Peixoto, but that was to be expected. Trapattoni always said he's going all-in on the young striker from Belém and we of course hope he's betting on the right horse here.
The first thing that catches the eye is that it's not only Benfica facing financial trouble: Lille are apparently so poor that they had to buy Kipsta gear from the nearest Decathlon shop for this season.
And they are poor indeed, but not financially: in the first ten minutes it's Benfica that have twice the chance to go ahead. At minute 3 it's De Smet receiving the ball right outside the box, but his first-timer rockets away: hadn't the MIR been already deorbited in 2001, it would probably be tonight. On the other side of the Bering Strait, the guys at NASA are currently monitoring closely the trajectory of the ball to make sure it doesn't hit their space station either.
It's then the turn of Rafa Peixoto who receives a sweet ball from Karagounis, finds the space and the time to perform a turn and fires the ball towards the goal only to have Sylva deflect it out for a corner. The goal is in the air though and it doesn't take long for it to come: at minute 28 Karagounis performs a perfect through pass for Rafa who beats the offside trap and lifts the ball with his left foot over Sylva who was rushing out desperately. It's 1-0 TO BENFICA!!!

The joy however doesn't last much as Odemwingie finds the equalizer with a well placed shot from outside the box just a couple of minute before half time. The trajectory of the ball seems a little weird but it doesn't, unfortunately, prevent the goal from standing. It's 1-1 AT HALFTIME.

It's Rafa Martins in for Tiago at halftime, and it's the new entry performing one of his infamous killer passes to put Karagounis one-on-one with the keeper, but the Greek wastes a chance that was easier to convert than to miss. Lille then have a couple of chances with Tafforeu and Moussilou but nothing major. It's always Benfica who seem to be on the verge of scoring, and they go close at minute 69 when a cross by Bruno Basto gets deflected out for a corner by a defender, with Rafa Peixoto in ambush into the box who would have hardly missed had the ball reached him.
On the subsequent corner, Simão crosses it in and this timethe ball does reach Rafa, who smashes it home with a header for THE 2-1 GOAL. Benfica are ahead again! The young striker slides on the grass to celebrate his first brace with the seniors.

A handful of minutes later, the striker from Belém has the chance to make the afternoon even more epic when, collecting a ball sent in by De Smet, he gets rid of a defender and goes for the hat trick, but Sylva denies him the goal that would've made him immortal among Benfica fans. We're ready to bet that it'll only be a matter of time before this young striker becomes unforgettable, but unfortunately it won't happen tonight. At minute 84, Rafa leaves the pitch for Ricardo Vaz Tê: Trapattoni wanted him to enjoy the standing ovation of the away fans and Rafa happily watches the rest of the match, which ends 2-1 for Benfica, from the bench.

 

[Werdllitrah]

*aLe-might not be the correct thread but I remember you mentioning a custom serie A/national team project you built on pes 3/5? Years ago. Any screen shots/info of that, I'm thinking along the same lines with a fictional aussie league system, need some inspiration.

 

[millossobek]

@*aLe Hey bro! Eagerly waiting to see how Benfica keeps going! Great win against Lille. It will be great to see the youth movement in action, Rafa almost scored a hat trick! Could I make a quick request? Could you break down your team in terms of nationalities? How many non-Portuguese players do you have? Go Benfica!!

 

[*aLe]

Sorry guys, I'm abroad for some days and I can't post updates. Just to let you know that I've been able to play some more matches and we're now halfway through the season and still broke af. 🤦‍♂️
(more on that later)

@Werdllitrah the only thing I can recall is this:
https://evoweb.uk/threads/pes3-iss-experience.83829/
Is it what you were looking for?

 

[Werdllitrah]

Not quite, I think you mentioned your own file for pes5/6. No worries, my fictional ml will happen...someday.

 

[*aLe]

Not quite, I think you mentioned your own file for pes5/6. No worries, my fictional ml will happen...someday.

Oh yeah I remember that now. It was something I had left pretty much incomplete (as far as I remember it had national teams and Italian teams, nothing more) but it was a very old thing with also fake players (the likes of Roberto Larcos to be clear), not only fantasy ones... And I don't think anymore that fake players will blend in well in a totally fictional/fantasy ML.
I mean, ISS 98 for the Nintendo 64 had Belbiero (obviously the fake version of Del Piero). My PES 5 OF at that time had him included, now I would never add him.
I'd rather go the extra mile and add Del Nero (just saying) as it's a proper Italian surname (a thing that Belbiero hardly is).

The closest thing to that OF (which was not only an OF really, it also included some kits in the 0_text) I managed to do was the ISS Project for PES 3.
I might try and see down the line if a project like that coould still raise some interest, though, as it's something that still intrigues me pretty much.
Now that I also have some more players with a background (like De Smet, Rafa and such) it could also be interesting to see how they'd progress, if let totally free, in a totally fictional world.

By the way, I'll have a look around and see if I still manage to retrieve something (not sure if I could, though).

Back on topic: I'm kinda back. Currently reviewing the third match of the season (which I played at the end of June before leaving), hopefully I'll be able to post it (and maybe the fourth, also?) in the weekend. Stay tuned!

 

[*aLe]

Aaaand finally, after a pretty long break, the third match of the D2 league is here!

LEVANTE - BENFICA
​

After winning the first two matches of the league against Malaga and Lille, Trapattoni's boys travel to Spain, more precisely to Valencia, to face Levante in what should be the first test against another team that is expected to battle for promotion. The Trap plays it safe and fields the best possible starting eleven: this means no De Smet and no Rafa Martins, the only youth player on the pitch is Rafa Peixoto acting as a lone striker with Karagounis and Simão Sabrosa on the flanks. The spot of De Smet in the midfield is taken by Nuno Morais.
The first minutes of the match see the teams studying each other. Levante prefer long balls to Manchev and Cuellar while Benfica are more slow in their buildup and try to rely on short passes (not without mistakes, unfortunately). From one of these mistakes comes the first scoring opportunity of the match: at minute 7 Tiago completely misplaces a pass that was meant to be for Karagounis, Ettien recovers the ball and immediately tries to play it high over the defenders for Cuellar: Luisão manages to slow the opposing striker down and allows Moreira to rush out and cover the goalmouth efficiently, it's just a corner. Minute 19 and it's Benfica being seen near Cavallero's goal. Petit plays it deep for Rafa who stops the ball shoulders to the goal just outside the box, turns and shoots from within the 10 yard arc: the shot is powerful but not accurate enough and flies over the bar with the Argentine goalkeeper, who has just joined from Celta Vigo, evaluating it correctly and standing still.
From there Benfica start to grow but seem unable to find the proper "last pass" for Rafa. Levante decide not to stand for that and go close to the opening goal at minute 27, with Culebras firing a powerful shot with his left foot from just within the box, after a corner, that bounces off Tiago's hip. Tito is the quickest to recover the ball but his shot is weak and Moreira catches it with no trouble.
At minute 34, Rafa decides that if the ball doesn't get near him it'll be him to come deeper into the pitch and win it. The young striker receives a ball from Karagounis right outside the midfield circle, takes on Diego Camacho (disposing of him with ease) and then faces Felix getting past him with little difficulty. He charges the shot from just outside the box, forcing Cavallero to perform a wonderful save, but Rafa is the quickest to pounce on the loose ball and gently knocks it in with his left foot without giving Cavallero the time to recover. RAFA SCORES!!!

With this goal, the 20-year-old striker makes it three in three matches: pretty impressive for someone who was expected to be just a rotation player before the beginning of the season. The first half ends with Benfica rightfully ahead in Valencia, and trying to keep the match under control.

The first ten minutes of the second half bring havoc on the pitch: first Manchev has the chance for the equalizer and fires it away from the limit of the box only to have Moreira perform a brilliant one-handed save, then Rafa Peixoto tries to make it 2-0 with a powerful strike from outside but the shot gets deflected by a defender stretching his leg out, actually making it impossible for Cavallero to reach the ball but also making sure it goes out for a corner and not in for the 2-0.
After that, the match intensity suddenly decreases to the extent that the match becomes almost boring: De Smet gets subbed in for Nuno Morais but doesn't have any major impact on the match. So does Ferreira, who enters the pitch for Simão. To feel something we have to wait for minute 77 when Jofre wins a ball in the midfield, nutmegs De Smet, opens it wide on the right to Ettien who controls it and forwards it to Manchev. The man from Bulgaria sees Ángel Cuellar in a favourable position, passes the ball ahead to him, but the Spaniard is closed down by Ricardo Rocha right at the moment of the shot. It's Benfica's time then to react: Rafa, once again coming deep to receive a pass, sends Karagounis all alone on a run, on the left flank. The Greek winger runs all the way down to the byline, crosses it in for Rafa who gets anticipated by Cavallero with his fingertips just moments before hitting it hard for the 2-0 goal.
It's Martins in for Tiago then, and you can clearly see that the young advanced midfielder has something special about him. Despite not being all that graceful in his movements, he definitely knows how to put the opponents in danger: between minute 84 and minute 86 he sends Rafa first and Ferreira then in front of the keeper with two wonderful passes. Useless to say, none of the two converts the chance, and the match ends with a well deserved 1-0 win for Benfica.
With this win, Benfica keep the pace of the league leaders Real Betis (who seemed to be in a league of their own at the beginning of the season) and keep Real Zaragoza at bay behind them.
With what looks like an easy match upcoming, against Auxerre at home, can Trapattoni's boys keep dreaming?

 

[millossobek]

3 official matches, 3 wins! 9 out of 9 points, and Benfica keep dreaming!! Can you guys keep it up and find a way to claw yourselves into first division? One thing's for sure, Rafa Peixoto's probably player of the tournament so far!! Impressive stuff from the youngster as he is showing not only his mettle, but also stepping outside of the area to receive passes and play more of a false nine, getting involved with the midfield! Keep this up and you'll be challenging Betis for the league top position!

 

[Werdllitrah]

Oh yeah I remember that now. It was something I had left pretty much incomplete (as far as I remember it had national teams and Italian teams, nothing more) but it was a very old thing with also fake players (the likes of Roberto Larcos to be clear), not only fantasy ones... And I don't think anymore that fake players will blend in well in a totally fictional/fantasy ML.
I mean, ISS 98 for the Nintendo 64 had Belbiero (obviously the fake version of Del Piero). My PES 5 OF at that time had him included, now I would never add him.
I'd rather go the extra mile and add Del Nero (just saying) as it's a proper Italian surname (a thing that Belbiero hardly is).

The closest thing to that OF (which was not only an OF really, it also included some kits in the 0_text) I managed to do was the ISS Project for PES 3.
I might try and see down the line if a project like that coould still raise some interest, though, as it's something that still intrigues me pretty much.
Now that I also have some more players with a background (like De Smet, Rafa and such) it could also be interesting to see how they'd progress, if let totally free, in a totally fictional world.

By the way, I'll have a look around and see if I still manage to retrieve something (not sure if I could, though).

Back on topic: I'm kinda back. Currently reviewing the third match of the season (which I played at the end of June before leaving), hopefully I'll be able to post it (and maybe the fourth, also?) in the weekend. Stay tuned!

Many thanks, I will try to edit my 21 ml tonight. Its been hot here and I dare not boot up my ps5, paranoid of it overheating! Daft but that's me. Been on a cruise to Norway, so itching to get editing.

 

[*aLe]

The guys come back home after two matches on the road, to try and secure another win that would keep them on the top of the table (arguably, on par with Betis who just seem unstoppable for now), this time in front of their own fans.

BENFICA - AJ AUXERRE​

For what is expected to be an easier match than the one against Levante, Trapattoni decides to let Rafa Peixoto rest for a match: it's Ricardo Vaz Tê starting upfront this time. The rest of the team is pretty much the starting one, except for Ferreira on the right wing and De Smet starting instead of Tiago. "Because he will benefit from this. I know he's not been as brilliant as we were expecting from him, but we shall consider that he's niteneen, that he's abroad and that he's still settling. Give him time and trust in him and he'll show what he's capable of" were the words of the manager once asked for a reason he decided to name De Smet among the starters.

As usual, Benfica are off to a slow start and the first chance is for the away team: at minute 5 Violeau wins a ball off Nuno Morais' feet and opens it on the right for Tainio. The Finn crosses it low towards the limit of the box where Mathis collects it, gets pretty easily rid of Ricardo Rocha who is out of position and fires a low shot that ends not much distant from Moreira's right post. Luckily for us he didn't see Akale in a perfect position and went for the shot instead.
Some minutes later it's the two youths combining with De Smet finding Ferreira on the right flank with a perfect through ball: the Portuguese winger takes on Jaurès in a one-on-one and wins it, crossing the ball for Karagounis on the other side. The Greek midfielder, who's enjoying his time as a winger in Lisbon, just doesn't reach it for a couple of inches and the ball gets then pushed away.
Minute 15: Jaurès with a sliding tackle brings down De Smet who has to be brought off on a stretcher. The Belgian volante also tried to retaliate and hit the French defender while being down, and is lucky that the referee didn't see that. Trapattoni has Martins immediately warming up just in case but the Belgian can resume playing: he's bruised and definitely angry, but fit. In the meantime, a shot by Akale ends wide.
What happened before between De Smet and Jaurès seems to be the norm: when a Benfica player gets past his man, he's instantly brought down, no matter the way. At minute 27 it's Radet who tackles Karagounis from behind after being outpaced, earning the first yellow card of the match. Petit crosses the ball in the box from the subsequent free kick, but Vaz Tê can't convert a pretty easy chance. Right before the end of the first half also Coulibaly earns a booking when he elbows De Smet. The Belgian is fuming but his teammates are quick enough to calm him down before he takes the law into his own hands. Petit goes for the shot in an interesting position, but the ball ends high and wide with the first half ending in a deadlock, not before another shiver: in the stoppage time Violeau performs a wonderful through ball for Tainio who heads it forward to Kalou who finds himself in fromt of Moreira, but the linesman's flag is up. Tainio was offside when Violeau passed the ball forward.

In the second half it's Martins in for a nervous De Smet and Peixoto in for Ricardo Vaz Tê, who didn't have any kind of impact on the match. You can clearly see the quality of play has improved when, at minute 50, Peixoto receives a vertical ball by Martins straight outside of the 10-yard arc, he shields the ball fending off Coulibaly's attack and fires a shot that lightly kisses the post before ending out for a goal kick.
Near the one hour mark, MArtins wins a ball in the midfield perfectly anticipating Violeau on a pass. He quickly passes it forward to Peixoto who controls it and opens it to Karagounis on the left. The Greek is out in the open, he accelerates and finds the timing for a sweet cross for Ferreira on the far post, but his header is weak and floats out of danger. Munute 70: Martins finds Peixoto just outside the box with yet another pinpoint pass, the young striker shields the ball while getting past his defender, charges the shot but he scuffs it badly and the ball rolls gently out of play. We aren't afraid to say that we missed Vaz Tê in this occasion. Let alone Nuno Gomes or the likes of Mantorras and Zahovič.
As often happens in football, missing a sitter results in the opposition scoring: it's during minute 75 that Violeau finds Benoit Cheyrou on the left flank, the midfielder gets past Abel Xavier, suddenly turns to avoid Petit and sends a low, hard ball in for Pieroni to fire home. The Belgian striker gets to the ball before Luisão and delivers, with a powerful left-footed strike that leaves Moreira powerless, and AUXERRE ARE AHEAD IN LISBON.

Benfica are stunned and risk to concede the second straight away, it's just Moreira who says "no" to Tainio perfectly found by the man of the match Violeau. With the time rapidly ticking out Benfica have the last chance of the match to equalize: Martins dispossesses Cheyrou with a perfectly timed sliding tackle, plays it ahead to Peixoto who controls it, turns, and sends it wide on the right flank for Simão who has just entered for Ferreira. The winger has his shot saved, the ball can't be cleared far enough and Rafa Peixoto reaches it near the penalty spot, but his shot is too weak.

It's the first defeat for Benfica in this campaign, and it comes after three wins in a row. Now it's Trapattoni's duty to have the guys bounce back immediately.

 

[*aLe]

It's not been an easy period for Benfica, not at all. After the unexpected defeat against Auxerre Trapattoni stood up for the guys and took the blame in front of the press and the deluded fans, but now it seems that it's getting bigger than this.

For the cup match against Saint-Etienne, the Italian manager decided to rest some key players like Luisão and Tiago and to give some lesser used players a chance. "Of course this had an impact on the team's chemistry, but I'm happy with how the players blended into the squad and with how they adapted to the tactics" the manager said after the defeat.
Benfica started well and went close to the opener with Simão at minute 15 when a good cross by Ferreira, playing on the left in this occasion, was missed by Rafa Peixoto but reached the head of the right winger who managed to let the cross find him ready: the ball went out by not much.
On the subsequent goal kick, though, Janot kicked it hard upfront for Feindouno who tried to control it but got shouldered off the ball by Petit. Sarr was the quickest to collect the loose ball, opened it on the right to Citony who crossed it in for Hellebuyck: the first-time pass to Piquionne was perfect, not so was Benfica's offside trap with Bruno Alves keeping the opponent onside and giving him the chance for an easy tap-in. 1-0 TO SAINT-ETIENNE!!!
Hellebuyck decided to do everything by himself shortly after, with De Smet having to drop down in the middle of the defence to recover the ball and to launch the counter: his long ball found Rafa Peixoto in the centre circle. The striker chested the ball down with class and opened it to the right for Simão who went on a run past a defender and crossed the ball to the centre: once again Rafa couldn't reach it but it became an assist for Ferreira, who got dispossessed right before shooting.
Minute 32: Rafa Peixoto went down in the box, visibly pulled. With the away team almost sure to have won a penalty, the referee just said "play on" and Rafa's complaints were just ignored. Saint-Etienne were quick to counter and only a double save by Moreira, first against Citony then against Sarr, denied the home team the 2-0 goal.
The second half was much of the same: Benfica trying to rely on Peixoto to equalize, with the striker being double-marked more often than not, and Saint-Etienne trying to hit on the counter. In one of these occasions, a very nervous De Smet got booked for tackling Citony from behind.
The Saint-Etienne midfielder proved vital for his side shortly after: at minute 56 Sarr recovered a ball just into the attacking third and offered it to Citony who struck a first-timer from outside that just curled past Moreira's stretched hands. 2-0 FOR THE HOME TEAM.
From there on, it looked like nothing could be changed: Trapattoni tried to bring in Ricardo Vaz Tê for Peixoto and Rafael Martins for De Smet, to no avail.
Saint-Etienne had one final chance to make it even heavier, but once again Moreira denied it. On the counter, the unthinkable happened: Ferreira ran with all he got on the left flank, he entered the box and passed it towards the middle where... Well, we don't know where Vaz Tê was at that time bus we surely know where Simão was: right on the ball, to smash it in for THE 2-1 GOAL that kept, after all, Benfica alive for the second leg.

The league match, on the other side, saw Trapattoni completely do away with the 4-5-1 formation in order to employ a 4-3-1-2 one with both Rafa Peixoto and Vaz Tê upfront, and with Karagounis behind them. Things seemed to start better as De Smet sent a very sweet ball behind the defence to Rafa who got to it but completely scuffed the shot. Several minutes later, it was Vaz Tê's time to make Trapattoni swear as he collected a free kick by Petit with his head, but the header was definitely weak and too central to worry Janot.
Benfica kept creating chances, and the duo upfront kept devouring them and this was pretty much the plot of the entire first half. The only clear chance for the home team was a cross by Feindouno which Hellebuyck magistrally hit with a volley but the shot ended just a little too wide.
After the break Trapattoni sent Rafa Martins in for a tired Karagounis to keep the momentum going, but apparently Rafa wasn't that keen to go with the flow as he missed another couple of chances that on almost any other day he could, and most likely would, have scored blindfolded.
Trapattoni decided then to sub him off and have Edson come in to support Vaz Tê along with Rafa Martins, in a 4-3-2-1. Shotly after, out of desperation, Trapattoni sent in also Nuno Assis for De Smet, reverting to a 4-2-3-1 formation: a more narrow version of his usual one, this time.
This had Benfica run out of substitutions and, of course, when the fatigue hit Saint-Etienne started to benefit from it.
Minute 65 saw Hellebuyck hit the bar from outside, and shortly after it was Piquionne to go very very close to the 1-0 goal with a header.
It was somehow bound to happen, at that time, but it did in the most cruel fashion of course. In the stoppage time, when Benfica were almost sure to have secured a draw, Ilunga won a ball on the left flank dispossessing Edson with ease. He sent it upfront to the ever-present Hellebuyck who lifted his head, saw Piquionne cutting behind the defence and offered him a perfect assist to beat Quim. SAINT-ETIENNE GOT AHEAD with the very last chance of the match.

Now all there's left to do is to pick up the pieces of the team and to sew them together for the next matches. We all know Trapattoni has the expertise and the mentality to do so, and hopefully Benfica could bounce back straight away.

 

[millossobek]

Patience is the name of the game, bro!

Right now the Benfica fans may not see the reward, but I am sure that in the future they will see the potential of Ricardo Vaz Te, Rafa Peixoto and the rest of the youngsters realized!

This is a marathon and building for the future seems to be the plan! Hoping that the fans of a big team like Benfica wait for the project to be realized! It is up to Trapattoni to convince the youngsters and the fans of the long-term process!

Love how you have a "newspaper report" style in your narration and graphics. So original!!

 

[millossobek]

Any news my friend??

Looking forward to hearing some more of your Benfica adventures!!!!