Millossobek's Master League Written Stories!

millossobek · 12 November 2023

Claudio Pizarro's Preseason Show vs Barca! (Part of a Brace!)
Werder is now competing against the World's Giants!
First the Central Europe Federation, Defending our Title,
Then The World! We are Ready.

millossobek · 14 November 2023

Millossobek's Master League Stories!!
:BSCARF:

Football Is Not Just a Game. It's an Emotion, a Feeling, an Experience. :BSCARF:

Holland · 16 November 2023

You are unstoppable Bro
:APPLAUD:

millossobek · 17 November 2023

Hey bros! Before I go all-in into my Four PES Main Stories,
I'd like to share with you guys a Player Career I've been playing in FIFA 19!

Introducing, Montenegrin Striker, 21 year-old Milo Mugosa!! :RSCARF:

I've wanted to play a Player Career for a long time, and this has been the first time I've been able to maintain it for an entire season! (Been playing it for a few months now!) My intention with this story is to have a sort of "chillout campaign" to accompany my 4 main ML stories in PES, one that I plan to update after each season! Given @Madmac79's great recommendation, I decided to give FIFA 19 a try, and I've loved my Player Career Experience..

In fact, it's the first Player Career/BAL I've seriously played, the first one that has really gripped me, and I've really been quite amazed at how much fun I've had.. 19 is so much fun!! :TU:

Anyway on to my invented player! Hailing from Montenegro, I took the inspiration for Milo from real-life player Stefan Mugosa. Stefan is one of my favorites, he has played several years for Incheon United in the K-League, playing as their striker and scoring plenty of goals! (As you guys know I'm also a huge fan of Asian Football). Stefan began his career in Europe, but it wasn't until he moved to Korea that his career really took off. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to win any silverware with Incheon yet, but this is definitely something that I would like to address!

So given that introduction, I decided to invent a younger brother for Stefan and give him his own Player Career: INTRODUCING OUR VERY OWN MILO MUGOSA!! I thought it'd be really cool to see how their careers would parallel each other, as in 2019, Stefan is 27 and already playing in Korea, where he is one of the league's top strikers, and Milo is 21! (I will only be playing with Milo, but will be taking a look at Stefan from the rearviewmirror). Additionally, I tried to create somewhat of a resemblance between them! (I kinda wanted to give Milo a cool rocker vibe, with longer hair, tucked in old school shirt, and a laid back, charismatic and humble personality!)

Similar to his older brother, Milo has started his playing days in Europe! I decided to start my Career in Austria's ADMIRA WACKER! Why Admira? I wanted to begin in a smaller European League, lesser known yet still competitive! I liked their logo and history (9-Time Austrian Champions, but no titles since 1965-66!), and they seem like a perfect choice to start a Career!

A bit more about Milo: Like his brother, Milo is a Center Forward, a classic #9 striker and goal poacher. Standing at 185, he has good size and a good eye for goal, relying more on timing, headers, and finishing than speed or dribbling skill (although he is getting better at these)! I definitely wanted to play with a Striker, and I have found it quite fun so far, trying to find spaces, capitalizing on my opportunities! Milo is not a pressing forward, but one who likes to maraud and wait in advanced areas, looking for opportunities to get free and find himself in scoring positions!

As for the season itself, we ended up winning the League on an amazingly improbable run!! The Austrian Bundesliga is an interesting system (similar to the K-League!): To start the year, each team plays every other team in the league home and away (22 games). After the 22nd game the league is split in two "rounds" or mini-leagues of 6 teams each. Their point totals are halved, and the teams in each "round" (know as the championship and relegation rounds) play each other home and away for a mini-season of ten games! (source).

So, in the "first round", Admira went 9-8-5, for a point total of 35. This was halved to 18 for the following round! In the "second round", we struggled a bit, going 3-2-5 against the other top 5 teams, but this was enough to give us a playoff spot.. Which amazingly, we ended up winning, upsetting Austria Vienna in the final (aggregate score 6-3)!! Admira's first title in over half a century!! (What a way to start a career!) We were definitely one of the darkhorses to take the title, but in the end, we prevailed and ended up lifting the trophy, which I thought was really improbable! Our boy Milo scored 3 goals total in the two-legged final, and 4 goals in the playoffs as he went on a really nice streak! :RSCARF:

As a result, Milo was named Player of the Competition as we went on an improbable run to the title, scoring 21 Goals and dishing out 8 Assists accross all competitions in 37 matches!! (leading the Austrian Bundesliga in goals!!) His overall statistics went from 67 to 72 in a single season,, with great progression! (An important note: As I want Milo to grow naturally, I will not be using the training drills in the future as I want his progression to be much more gradual). My goal with Milo is not necessarily to make him a Superstar, but to create a realistic career for him, and see where it goes!

Milo Mugosa: "I still can't believe I led the league in scoring, having won Player of the Competition is an amazing honor! But most importantly, we Won the League, and that is what makes me the happiest! We gave Admira's fans their first title in 53 years, and this is a source of enormous joy, to be able to give the fans this long-awaited title!! We came from way behind and nobody gave us much of a chance, as giants such as Red Bull Salzburg, Rapid, and Austria Vienna were in front of us! But that's the unpredictability of the playoffs, where anything can happen! It's great to be able to follow in my brother's footsteps, and I would like to thank him for all he's taught me, he is my closest friend and my inspiration,... This is an incredible start to my career! I can't really say where things will from here, but I will keep giving it my all in every match! I can't take this for granted: I am really living a wonderful life and will try to savor every single moment of it!!"

Here is a short compilation of 5 goals I recorded from Milo's debut campaign:

And a replay of the second leg of the final!

Joga · 21 November 2023

People nowadays talk about football mostly with statistics & xG's & transfer numbers..
but here is a storyteller, keeping the true spirit of football alive.

I still have catching up to do on some, but I just wanted to say thank you brother.

Stat's can be good, but football was never meant to be about stats. Football is about the moments, the team spirit & the fans! ( yes I sound like an Adidas commercial :LMAO:

)

millossobek · 21 November 2023

Joga said:
People nowadays talk about football mostly with statistics & xG's & transfer numbers..
but here is a storyteller, keeping the true spirit of football alive.

I still have catching up to do on some, but I just wanted to say thank you brother.

Stat's can be good, but football was never meant to be about stats. Football is about the moments, the team spirit & the fans! ( yes I sound like an Adidas commercial )

Thank you, bro!! Your words are fuel for my inspiration!! :BSCARF:

Take your time reading the stories, they are meant to be enjoyed slowly, like a nicely brewed coffee!! ☕

There's nothing like Football in this world, my friend. It can make you fall in love, cry, shout, feel despair and beautiful hope, all in the course of 90 minutes (unless there's extra time, of course)! :LOL:

This is why it is not only a game, but something much, much more.

millossobek · 21 November 2023

MASTER LEAGUE STORY #8: THE BALLAD OF ÁNGEL COMIZZO! (PES 2017)
After Becoming a Superstar in Japan, Comizzo Makes an Indescribable Decision!!

Ángel Comizzo. The protagonist of Master League Story #2. A huge, oversized personality who went from a relative unknown to a superstar, you've all grown to know and love him! The fiery, temperamental, always controversial manager of our Dear Gunma United made ABSOLUTE history in Asia, after defying all naysayers.. Leading little-known and lowly-regarded Gunma to the Title of the AFC Champions League in only 3 short seasons! :RSCARF:

In an undoubted historical run for the Argentinean manager and former Goalkeeper and River Plate icon, he had to traverse a lonely and difficult road to get back to a place of managerial respect after years of hard struggle in South America! From Forgotten to Commemorated, let's recap with a quick journey of his Managerial career:

After retiring as a player in 2004 (best known for his two fiery, passionate spells at starting goalkeeper for River: 1998-1993, 2000-2002, winning a total of 4 Titles with the storied Argentinean side), Comizzo landed several jobs in different Argentinean and Mexican clubs, in a career full of ebbs and flows.. His early managing days, however, were highlighted for his stint with one of the biggest clubs in Peru, Universitario, a very proud and successful team, and one of the "Peruvian Big 3". Comizzo himself led them to their 26th championship back in 2013, but left in 2014, once again surrounded by controversy, he left the team after feuding with players and management and leaving a sour taste in "La U's" fans!!

After a short spell in Mexico, Comizzo went back to Universitario but was largely unsuccessful in his second tenure as manager there, doubly compounded that both of La U's main rivals, Alianza Lima and Sporting Cristal, won championships during this time. His reputation took a serious nose-dive, as he was better known for his on-field screaming battles against opposing managers and uber-confrontational style with the press. He was unable to mount a serious title run during this time. The press and fans criticized him for his perceived lack of tactics, (relying more on intensity and spirit than actual x's and o's), volcanic temper, controversial statements, and failure to give his teams an identity apart from playing with a lot of effort. What would be in store? With his reputation as a manager at an all time low, and with few opportunities offered to him in South America and elsewhere, Comizzo accepted an opportunity on the other side of the world, managing little known Japanese side Gunma United, recently promoted to the first division of the J-League, but considered one of the weakest teams in the league. A Total and Complete change of scenery and pace. Could this work????

What happened next was nothing short of magic: After a rocky start in Japan, leaving the respectful Japanese press absolutely dumb-founded with his adversarial, temperamental style ("Mourinho stole my tactics!" "Nobody gave a shit about me a year ago!" "No Sushi Please!" "My name is not Guardiola!", "What you guys write is not my problem!"), and after an initial run of bad results, things started slowly coming together for Comizzo and Gunma. After saving the team from relegation in his first season, and qualifying to their first ever AFC Champions League after his second, Comizzo and his boys went on an absolutely historic run in the AFC CL in his third season, finishing second in their group and beating Asian Giants such as Shabab Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, FC Tokyo, and FC Seoul in the final!! This run was straight out of a rags-to-riches football movie, as it featured comebacks, last minute goals, insane 4-3 aggregate scores, and all the drama in the world packed in this international competition!! The city of Gunma and indeed, the entire country of Japan and the Asian Footballing fans fell in love with Comizzo as he became an almost overnight sensation: He promoted Shampoo brands (Mr. Perfect Hair!), rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets to the stadium, assumed a rebel "us-against-the-world" image (in fact, this was not an image, this is who he truly is!!), and enchanted all of Japan with his direct, Argentinean, polemic style. In only three short years, Comizzo went from a Managerial Pariah to the hottest, most in-demand manager in all of Asia!!

But here comes the next chapter of our story..... A chapter that no one, not even the most hardened football pundits, could imagine: Against all predictions, after winning the AFC Champions League and enamouring an entire nation (in fact, an entire continent!!) after becoming a leather-jacketed rocker celebrity in celebrity-mad Japan, raising his managerial profile to unprecedented highs, and after receiving lucrative offers to manage in Europe and elsewhere, our Argentinean badass had a serious surprise up his sleeve: After drowning himself in Kirin Beer, Sake, the best Argentinean Beef restaurants in Japan for an entire two weeks (he never warmed up to Japanese Food, especially Sushi!), Brazilian Rodizio, and a celebration full of culinary debauchery and calories, Comizzo decided to call a press conference in Gunma's media room (with a few extra kilos to spare!). Everybody was expecting a contract renovation, the announcement of a new deal that would extend his link for years to come with the loveable Asian Champions: What they got instead was an insane twist, one of the most memorable press conferences in Japanese Football history:

Ángel Comizzo: "I have thought this long and hard, harder than any decision that I've had to make in my life, and now my mind is set. I have come here to say one thing: I have just spoken to the team president and the players, just a few hours ago in fact, and I told them the same thing I'm telling you right now. I will keep this short: MY DAYS AS GUNMA UNITED MANAGER ARE OVER."

Loud groans and cries could be heard accross the room, an unusual happening in the usually reserved Japanese media!! Camera flashlights shining everywhere, the entire room becoming hectic from one second to the next as chaos reigned in the press core:

"Comizzo-San!!!!! What!!!!! What is this!!!!! You have just won the AFC Champions League!!!! Comizzo-San!!!! You can't leave!! Please reconsider!!!!!!!"

Ángel Comizzo: "This decision is irrevocable. There's nothing you guys, or anybody can do about this. I Love Japan. I Love Gunma. I Love our Fans, our incredible Supporters who sang their hearts out every match and made this the best managerial experience of my life. I Love my Players and would lay down in front of a truck for them. AND IT IS IS PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THIS LOVE THAT I AM LEAVING. I don't care if the media doesn't understand, YOU NEVER DID ANYWAY. Don't forget, you called me "Mr. Zero tactics" in the press two years ago, and now it's Comizzo-San hahahah.. But you know what, for your benefit, I will explain, anyway: This memory must remain golden forever, fully entrenched in the incomparable Gunma United's fans. I brought glory to this city. Gunma gave me back my pride and self-respect. My players and our supporters went to absolute war with me. The deepest affection between us will ALWAYS remain, and they know this. But the story is over. It Must be Over. Some stories are meant to end beautifully. There's nothing more to be said. It is final: Arigato Gozaimasu Gunma, the Memories will Stay Inside Forever, but this Story has Come to an End."

"But Comizzo-San!!!!! Where will you go!!!!" "Have you accepted an offer!!!!" "Is it Al-Hilal, River Plate, Milan, Borussia Dortmund????"

Ángel Comizzo: "None of them. DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL of PERU."

The Japanese media is left in complete, overwhelming, stunned, almost sepulchral-like silence.. You could hear a pin drop..

"Deportivo Who?"

Stay tuned for Part #2: Introducing DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL!!!!!!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!

Kopite1990 · 21 November 2023

millossobek said:
View attachment 247958

MASTER LEAGUE STORY #8: THE BALLAD OF ÁNGEL COMIZZO! (PES 2017)
After Becoming a Superstar in Japan, Comizzo Makes an Indescribable Decision!!

Ángel Comizzo. The protagonist of Master League story #2. A huge, oversized personality who went from a relative unknown to a superstar, you've all grown to know and love him! The fiery, temperamental, always controversial manager of our Dear Gunma United made ABSOLUTE history in Asia, after defying all naysayers.. Leading little-known and lowly-regarded Gunma United to the Title of the AFC Champions League in only 3 short seasons! In an undoubted historical run for the Argentinean manager and former Goalkeeper and River Plate icon, he had to traverse a lonely and difficult road to get back to a place of managerial respect after years of hard struggle in South America! From Forgotten to Commemorated, let's recap with a quick journey of his Managerial career:

After retiring as a player in 2004 (best known for his two fiery, passionate spells at starting goalkeeper for River: 1998-1993, 2000-2002, winning a total of 4 Titles with the storied Argentinean side), Comizzo landed several jobs in different Argentinean and Mexican clubs, in a career full of ebbs and flows.. His early managing days, however, were highlighted for his stint with one of the biggest clubs in Peru, Universitario, a very proud and successful team, and one of the "Peruvian Big 3". Comizzo himself led them to their 26th championship back in 2013, but left in 2014, once again surrounded by controversy, he left the team after feuding with players and management and leaving a sour taste in "La U's" fans!!

View attachment 247956 View attachment 247957

After a short spell in Mexico, Comizzo went back to Universitario but was largely unsuccessful in his second tenure as manager there, doubly compounded that both of La U's main rivals, Alianza Lima and Sporting Cristal, won championships during this time. His reputation took a serious nose-dive, as he was better known for his on-field screaming battles against opposing managers and uber-confrontational style with the press. He was unable to mount a serious title run during this time. The press and fans criticized him for his perceived lack of tactics, (relying more on intensity and spirit than actual x's and o's), volcanic temper, controversial statements, and failure to give his teams an identity apart from playing with a lot of effort. What would be in store? With his reputation as a manager at an all time low, and with few opportunities offered to him in South America and elsewhere, Comizzo accepted an opportunity on the other side of the world, managing little known Japanese side Gunma United, recently promoted to the first division of the J-League, but considered one of the weakest teams in the league. A Total and Complete change of scenery and pace. Could this work????

View attachment 247955

What happened next was nothing short of magic: After a rocky start in Japan, leaving the respectful Japanese press absolutely dumb-founded with his adversarial, temperamental style ("Mourinho stole my tactics!" "Nobody gave a shit about me a year ago!" "No Sushi Please!" "My name is not Guardiola!", "What you guys write is not my shit problem!"), and after an initial run of bad results, things started slowly coming together for Comizzo and Gunma. After saving the team from relegation in his first season, and qualifying to their first ever AFC Champions League after his second, Comizzo and his boys went on an absolutely historic run in the AFC CL in his third season, finishing second in their group and beating Asian Giants such as Shabab Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia, FC Tokyo, and FC Seoul in the final!! This run was straight out of a rags-to-riches football movie, as it featured comebacks, last minute goals, insane 4-3 aggregate scores, and all the drama in the world packed in this international competition!! The city of Gunma and indeed, the entire country of Japan and the Asian Footballing fans fell in love with Comizzo as he became an almost overnight sensation: He promoted Shampoo brands (Mr. Perfect Hair!), rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets to the stadium, assumed a rebel "us-against-the-world" image (in fact, this was not an image, this is who he truly is!!), and enchanted all of Japan with his direct, Argentinean, polemic style. In only three short years, Comizzo went from a Managerial Pariah to the hottest, most in-demand manager in all of Asia!!

View attachment 247954

But here comes the next chapter of our story..... A chapter that no one, not even the most hardened football pundits, could imagine: Against all predictions, after winning the AFC Champions League and enamouring an entire nation (in fact, an entire continent!!) after becoming a leather-clad celebrity in celebrity-mad Japan, raising his managerial profile to unprecedented highs, and after receiving lucrative offers to manage in Europe and elsewhere, our Argentinean badass had a serious surprise up his sleeve: After drowning himself in Kirin Beer, Sake, the best Argentinean Beef restaurants in Japan for an entire two weeks (he never warmed up to Japanese Food, especially Sushi!), Brazilian Rodizio, and a celebration full of culinary debauchery and calories, Comizzo decided to call a press conference in Gunma's media room (with a few extra kilos to spare!). Everybody was expecting a contract renovation, the announcement of a new deal that would extend his link for years to come with the loveable Asian Champions: What they got instead was an insane twist, one of the most memorable press conferences in Japanese Football history:

View attachment 247967

Ángel Comizzo: "I have thought this long and hard, harder than any decision that I've had to make in my life, and now my mind is set. I have come here to say one thing: I have just spoken to the team president and have embraced the players, just a few hours ago in fact, and I told them the same thing I'm telling you right now. I will keep this short: MY DAYS AS GUNMA UNITED MANAGER ARE OVER."

Loud groans and cries could be heard accross the room, an unusual happening in the usually reserved Japanese media!! Camera flashlights shining everywhere, the entire room becoming hectic from one second to the next as chaosi reigned in the press core:

"Comizzo-San!!!!! What!!!!! What is this!!!!! You have just won the AFC Champions League!!!! Comizzo-San!!!! You can't leave!! Please reconsider!!!!!!!"

Ángel Comizzo: "This decision is irrevocable. There's nothing you guys, or anybody can do about this. I Love Japan. I Love Gunma. I Love our Fans, our incredible Supporters who sang their hearts out every match and made this the best managerial experience of my life. I Love my Players and would lay down in front of a truck for them. AND IT IS IS PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THIS LOVE THAT I AM LEAVING. I don't care if the media doesn't understand, YOU NEVER DID ANYWAY. Don't forget, you called me "Mr. Zero tactics" in the press two years ago, and now it's Comizzo-San, hahahahaha.. But you know what, for your benefit, I will explain, anyway: This memory must remain golden forever, fully entrenched in the incomparable Gunma United's fans. I brought glory to this city. Gunma gave me back my pride and self-respect. My players and our supporters went to absolute war with me. The love between us will ALWAYS remain, and they know this. But the story is over. It Must be Over. Some stories are meant to end beautifully, and this one ended beautifully. There's nothing more to be said. It is final: This Story has Come to an End. Arigato Gozaimasu Gunma, the Memories will Stay in my Heart Forever."

"But Comizzo-San!!!!! Where will you go!!!!" "Have you accepted an offer!!!!" "Is it Al-Hilal, River Plate, Milan, Borussia Dortmund????"

Ángel Comizzo: "None of them. DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL of PERU."

The Japanese media is left in complete, overwhelming, stunned, almost sepulchral-like silence.

"Deportivo Who?"

Stay tuned for Part #2: Introducing DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL!!!!!!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!

Congrats on the Asian Champions League success Milloss! Hopefully I can follow in your success with my Shonan Bellmare save 👍🏻

Looking forward to your next update buddy!

Joga · 21 November 2023

"Mourinho stole my tactics!" - Comizzo :LMAO:

The madman is back!

thiago vanniot · 21 November 2023

millossobek said:
Hi bros! Welcome to millossobek's Master League written stories!!!!

(Disclaimer: All of my Master League written content and stories are exclusively my own, and cannot be posted in this forum or anywhere else without my consent. Even though I do base my stories on the match results that I play in different PES editions, a lot of hard work and creativity are put into the imagination and storyline parts of it, and I consider these to be my own work. )

I am currently playing several ML's at the same time, but I have decided to focus on my main save, my team, Millonarios FC.

This first post will include some introductory background information of my team, and I will add my Master League information in the next post.

I'll start with a bit of location info:

My city is Bogota, the capital of Colombia. We are quite a large metropolis, with approximately 8 million people. My city is not the typical image that people have of Latin America. It is cool and sometimes rainy (which I prefer). The average temperature is 14-18 C during the day, and the weather almost never changes at all during the year. This is because we are in the middle of the Andes Mountains, 2600 meters above sea level.

View attachment 120488

As for my team, Millonarios, we play in Estadio El Campín, capacity 36,343 people. I love the location of our stadium, nice and historical, and you can get a cool view of the mountains and buildings as you can see..

View attachment 120489

I've been a fan of Millonarios for as long as I can remember, we are a team that is quite entrenched with the local culture of our city. While most other Colombian teams play in humid, hot, tropical climates, we are high up in the Andes Mountains, and this I feel contributes greatly to the identity of our city, as well as our team. A lot of our matches are under rainy, cold conditions. We're not a touristic city like Cartagena, or Medellin, but more gritty, more industrial, yet at the same time a very cultural and artistic city with a lot of flavor and our own flair. 🌆

Millonarios is perhaps the most historical team in Colombia, with 15 local championships. We have struggled a little lately, (even though our last championship was in 2017), and other teams, such as Atletico Nacional, and America de Cali, have accumulated titles too, but we are one of the largest and perhaps the most loyal fanbase in the country! We are looking to recapture our local glory, and improve on the Copa Libertadores tournaments.. 🏆

The name Millonarios comes from the fact that back in the 1950's, the team used to have a lot of money to hire Argentine players, so the nickname became official name. Actually it has nothing to do with supporters. In fact, we come from all socioeconomic classes, rich poor middle class etc.. in fact if you go to some of the poorest areas of my city you will see so much support for my team.

Our nickname is "Los Embajadores", translation in English, "The Ambassadors", because we used to represent Colombia with a lot of pride in South American international cups, a glory which we are looking to find once again.

Millonarios is also quite unique in the sense that we have not one but two recognized derbies: The Clásico Capitalino, against our rivals Santa Fe, also from Bogota, and also against Atletico Nacional, perhaps our most intense rivalry, and is considered by many as the national Colombian Derby.

View attachment 120490

We are a proud team, with a proud history and one of the largest and most loyal fanbases in Colombia. Right now, we are tied for second place in local titles, (Atletico Nacional has 16, we have 15 tied with America de Cali) and we would love to recapture the leadership in local titles. We were runners up in the last tournament, against Deportes Tolima, a smaller but up-and coming team.. But we're looking to take the title this time and qualify for the most important tournament in South America, La Copa Libertadores.. 🏆

I will follow up with my save information!! ⚽

This career at Millonarios was very good. congratulations on the work

millossobek · 21 November 2023

Thanks for your comments bros! :BSCARF:

In the meantime, I'd like to post this goal I scored recently
with Ricardo Vaz Te in my Wanderers story..
In the Division 2 Cup of the Championship!
Really liked the control!
Is He Unofficially Becoming the Fifth Musketeer?

millossobek · 21 November 2023

Joga said:
"Mourinho stole my tactics!" - Comizzo

The madman is back!

Get ready for a new round of madness and intensity bro!! With "Mr. Perfect Hair", "Mr. Zero-Tactics"!! :LMAO:

millossobek · 2 December 2023

MASTER LEAGUE STORY #8, Part 2: Who is Club Deportivo Municipal?

The Protagonists of our Newest Story, Club Deportivo Municipal, also known as "Deportivo Municipal" or simply "Municipal/El Muni" by their supporters, are a historic, very traditional Peruvian team, based in the "Villa El Salvador" District of Lima, the capital of Perú. Taking the colors of the Peruvian flag as their inspiration, they were founded on July 27th, 1935, and as a storied team full of heritage, they are beloved by many especially in the older Peruvian generation, with a respectable fanbase in the newer generations as well, even if the younger ones were not present to watch their glory-filled days.

Municipal has won four first division titles (1938, 1940, 1943, and 1950) in their history, gaining many followers in their early years. Their "Golden Generation" was between these twelve golden years, boasting such Peruvian legends such as Humberto Becerra, Vides Mosquera, Germán Colunga, Roberto Morales and many others! One of their greatest international achievements was beating iconic Argentineans Boca Juniors TWICE in 1943, in a mythical night that will live forever in the hearts of their supporters, at least those who can still remember such a historic night. Municipal was one of Peru's first Champions, stars in the Amateur era, and the memories of their legendary beginnings are deeply etched in the subconscious of Peruvian Football.

These early glories gave Muni the nickname of "La Academia" (the Academy), as they were truly giving a football lesson to many local and regional teams around these decades. There isn't much actual footage to be found in these mythical teams (like most non-Brazilian and non-Argentinean South American teams of this era, footage is incredibly hard to find), but the feats of "El Muni" lived on, and passed on from generation to generation, mostly based on the telling of oral traditions.. Mythical teams.. Older grandparents and parents passing on stories of how Municipal used to play, they really did give a lesson in quality football back in the golden era, playing beautiful football that was only recounted in dinner tables, in living rooms or by parents taking their kids to the stadium, passing on from memories to myth to golden legend along the years..

But this glory has not lasted in the annals of their lore. Since 1950, Municipal's fortunes have been mixed... The team was relegated three times to Peruvian second division (1967-1969, 2000-01, 2009-2014), and even had to withstand some campaigns in third division. For the most part, however, Muni has been a midtable team in first division since their great era, as the Big 3 of Peruvian Football (Universitario de Deportes, Alianza Lima, and Sporting Cristal, have won 72 titles overall and have absolutely dominated the local league, creating huge separation much in the same way the Portuguese Big 3, or the Turkish Big 3 have done so in their respective leagues). Yet, year after disappointing year, Muni's fans have carried on faithfully. Even though they aren't amongst the largest fanbases in the country anymore, as they have been surpassed in numbers, they are incredibly loyal, with both the older and the younger generation being represented. It is true, however, that their stadium, in the district of Villa El Salvador, in Lima, doesn't sell out anymore. Their numbers have dwindled, but they are still there. Present, active, ever hopeful, most of them remembering something they never actually lived, but is still there.

Now the question beckons: Why Municipal? And why did our infamous manager, Mr. "Perfect Hair", "Mr. Zero-Tactics" Comizzo, fresh from his Asian glory with Gunma United, choose this apparently humble team but with a proud, proud past, over other, much more lucrative offers? This is not an easy question to answer, but let us turn the reins over to the man himself to answer in an unusually long-winded, rather poetic response in his introductory press conference, only a few days after arriving from a one-way ticket from Japan, and with much more fanfare than his rather unceremonious exit from South America only a few years before. Where he had exited gracelessly from Universitario de Deportes, now all of the Peruvian sports world has centered on his arrival and his unusual, highly unexpected choice. The story must, indeed, continue on with this press conference:

Peruvian Reporter: "To say that this is surprising is a huge understatement! Why Municipal? What offers did you recieve and what made you choose this much lower-profile offer? Especially after winning the AFC Champions League??"

Comizzo: "Not everything in football is money, or prestige. I am looking for neither. This might surprise you, but huge paydays and front-line newspaper headlines don't interest me. That has never been my driving force. I've had a long managerial career and I've saved my money. The J-League compensated me enough, and I live a fairly comfortable life. I'm not gonna be on the street anytime soon, so there's no reason for you to worry about me."

Reporter: "But we've heard that you had offers from the Calcio, from the French League, from the Bundesliga! How could you turn these down!"

Comizzo: "Well if you want to go, then take a Managerial course and apply. I am telling you once for the last time: I am not here for the money. I am not even here to pursue glory. What I want, is not only to build a legacy, but to CREATE ONE. If you want to know, Deportivo Municipal never contacted me. I called the President up, I told him that I'd be willing to take a huge paycut from what I could've earned in order to come here. I want a challenge, and now that I am in my late 50's, I want the rest of my Managerial Life to be an epic struggle."

Reporter: "You WANT your Managerial career to be a struggle? And you haven't answered: why Municipal?"

Comizzo: "Yes. I don't want anything to come easy. I don't want to be remembered as a Guardiola, going to the winningest teams and winning everything and have the world love me. My intention is to build something from the very beginning. Municipal is the perfect team to do that. An old lion that has laid dormant for a long time. A team whose last championships are the stuff of legend, only distant dusty memories from older folks with only old yellow newspaper clips to show the youngsters, only memories that, while strong, valid, and completely true, are collecting dust in the coffers of footballing lore. And that's not fair. Not fair to Municipal. I don't want these memories to be forgotten. I want to CREATE new ones, because the fans deserve it. Because this club was born great, and remains great, and its spirit is one of an old dormant tiger that has been asleep for too long. Enough. 71 years is enough. I am here to wake the Tiger up. That is my motivation. And Why Municipal? Well, I will answer: It has to be Municipal, because you don't think i can. Because nobody think I can. But I am here to prove you all wrong, to show you that glory isn't everything. That your smoke and mirrors are only that, smoke and mirrors. And yet, this press conference isn't over. I have a Surprise for all of you. One that none of you, not even your press, has even imagined."

Reporter: "What Surprise?? What are you talking about? Please explain yourself, Manager Comizzo!"

Comizzo: "There is a player that stands head and shoulders above everybody in this country. I am not afraid to say this: He is the Best Player in our League. He Knows this Responsibility, He is Ready.. His name is":

The entire Peruvian Press Corps stands absolutely astonished as Farfán walks into the room! Cries of "Jefferson!!!!" "I thought he was retired!!", "La Foca!!" can be heard, but most of them stand in complete, open-mouthed astonishment as The Peruvian Legend (whose career was long-thought to be absolutely ruined by injuries) emerges from backstage to join Comizzo in the Presser. After two almost-devastating injuries to his knees, and reconstructive surgery being performed on both of them, nobody expected him to appear, much less to keep playing. He was thought of as an ex-player by many, not only in the press corps, but in the country. This has to be considered a huge risk.

Jefferson Farfán: "Yes. I can see the surprise in your eyes: But I spoke to Manager Comizzo and he convinced me just a few weeks ago. Many people had written me off after my long list of injuries and double knee surgery have exiled me from Europe.. But I am back in Peru. I am not retired, not by a long shot, not even after all of you thought my career was over. The German doctors have reconstucted my knees. I am back, and I am here to do what I love the most: Play Football!"

Comizzo: "You didn't think I'd face this challenge without an ace up my sleeve, didn't you? You don't go into battle without armor, and you don't start a project without inspiration. Jefferson Farfán is our inspiration. "

Reporters: "But Jefferson's Career is over!! Tell us what happened in Germany!! Will your knees hold up?? Did Schalke buy you out?? What makes you think you can contribute to football after your injuries!!"

Farfán: "Only I know what I am capable of doing. Inside, I know what I have left. And to answer your question: No. Nobody bought me out. My contract with Schalke was over, and I was written off, by many of you I might add, as a has-been after my two knee surgeries. Nobody in Europe believed in me anymore. But I have returned, to the team that gave me my first chance as a youth, and I am here, like Manager Comizzo says, to write history. My knees feel great, and I am here to give all Municipal fans brand-new joys, I am here to face a new challenge and contradict my naysayers. Manager Comizzo himself went in secret to visit me in Germany, and he convinced me to be a part of this great project, to lead our dear Municipal back to where they truly belong. I will prove you all wrong. I am still a football player, and this is the start of the second half of my career. My obligation now is only to our team, and our fans. Comizzo Believes in Me, and I will make you believers before it is all said and done."

Comizzo: "Haha! You see, you see! Glory is short lived. Stories stand the test of time. You might not believe me now. But you will."

And just like that, both Ángel Comizzo and Jefferson Farfán exited the press conference, leaving reporters hustling and fighting at the scraps for more answers. Many naysayers remain, and there many more questions than answers hanging over everybody's head:: "Can Comizzo lead a player whose career we all thought was completely ruined back to relevance? How much does Farfán have left? Is he playing with his health? What is Comizzo truly looking for here? And perhaps most importantly, can Muni be relevant again, build on top of momentous but dusty memories, and create a new legacy in Peru, a new story on top of a mythical beginning? In anycase, I hope I answered the question: Why Deportivo Municipal? I cannot think of a better alternative for our story.

The story continues: Deportivo Municipal's exciting first season in the Peruvian League!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!

Joga · 3 December 2023

"Go ahead punk ... try to Gegenpress me" - Ángel Comizzo

Holland · 3 December 2023

Your narratives are something to be jealously guarded because you put so much passion and involvement into them.
:APPLAUD:

A new adventure from Mister Millo who will also transform this competition into a work of art!!!
We are all with you
:BEER:

millossobek · 22 December 2023

🎄 Millossobek's Master League Stories has been taking a short Holiday Break! 🎅
But My 4 Main Stories are Brewing,
⚓ From The Ports of Germany to the Metro Areas of Brazil, 🏢
🌊 From The Peruvian Pacific to the Industrial North of England 🏭
Four Narrations That I Hope
Will Be a Reminder of Why We Love Pro Evolution Soccer.
The Struggle, The Wonder, The Nostalgia,
Feeling the Cool Wind-Swept Oceans of Expectation,
🏆 Our Stories Have Just Begun. ⚽

millossobek · 8 January 2024

The Tension is Building, the Anticipation, Brewing.
The Tides of South American Football Are Waxing and Waning.
Like a Temperamental Moon Which At Times, Appears Bright in the Sky,
And at Other Times, Remains Shrouded in Mystery,
Hidden Behind Andean Mountains and Pacific Oceans,
But Hiding a Power Untapped like Mythical Memories..

Coming Up Soon,
Ángel Comizzo and Jefferson Farfán's Entire First Season With Deportivo Municipal!

millossobek · 11 January 2024

Friends, I have not-so good news regarding my Deportivo Municipal save..

I've been using an edited Peruvian option file (which was supposedly compatible with PES Smoke Patch), but it has crashed my save twice already, once after the first transfer window, and then after Fixture 29 (of 36).. I have tried really hard to find a way to work around it (I've tried everything, trust me..), but no matter how many workarounds I try, my ML crashes at a certain point in time, whether it is after fixture 17, facing the first transfer window, or after fixture 29.

I am left with two options..
1. Keep trying to find a way to solve this in PES 2017.
2. Move my entire story to PES 2019 or 2021. This might take a long while, because I would have to move all my players to make sure the rosters are correct, simulate all 29 Fixtures so that they match the results of my played games, make sure everything is running smoothly, etc.

I apologize for this delay, my friends.. These are circumstances which are out of my control.. But I am DETERMINED to save my story, whether it is in PES 2017, 2019, or 2021. There is NO WAY I am going to leave Comizzo and his Municipal squad stranded.. I ask for your patience. Muni's story is under maintenance..
But Comizzo, Jefferson Farfán, and Muni Will be Back. I Promise You.

-Millossobek.

Joga · 11 January 2024

Sorry to hear this bro. It's a pretty low feeling, after you've become invested in your team & you get a game-breaking ML crash.
I spend like an hour organizing the team & setting up my transfer list, before I even start the first match of ML :LOL:

29/36 is brutal.

But in any case, don't stress. I'm sure you'll find a way mate. You have the determination level of Comizzo himself!

kibaxx7 · 11 January 2024

Take your time, brother. It has happened to me COUNTLESS times, in FIFA, PES and also in a lot of basketball stories I started in other forums, and it's always a bummer... 😥

millossobek · 15 January 2024

Update time bros! :TU:

I was able to finish my first season with Municipal in PES 2017!
However, the game crashed after the last day of the season.
So I have decided to move my entire story to PES 2021!
I still have a lot of work ahead of me before starting my campaign..
Transferring all my players and stats to PES 2021,
Plus other details I need to sort out in the new Option File, setting everything up,
But I'm On My Way!
Stay tuned for Muni's First Season Update, as it should be coming up soon!
Thanks for your patience and support friends!!
We Continue Our Story!!

- Millossobek

millossobek · 27 January 2024

SEASON 1: THE POWER OF PERSONALITY!
Comizzo Gives Muni Back its Respect While Farfán Resurrects his Career!

34 Matches Played
14 wins, 7 draws, 13 losses
5th in Peruvian Liga 1!

The Supremacy of Tactics. X's and O's. Efficiency. It is indisputable that Football has experienced a major transformation in the past 10 years. Most of the winningest sides in the world trot out ever-increasingly mechanized armies of players with what seem to be chips in their brains, following strict orders, discouraging flair, individuality and creativity, all at the service of maximum efficiency. Players are now trained to be "complete", like cyborgs following tactics.. Yes. Our dear game (at least at the top level) has become increasingly technified at the expense of much more human emotions, the randomness of the game, the moments of personal brilliance, a human error which, at the toss of a dime, can turn into something sublime and otherworldly in its imperfection. Chaos breaking into order, the poetry of motion, the stubbornness of a Defensive Midfielder, the brushtrokes of a Trequartista, the true beauty of going to the Stadium; the Art of Football.

Yet, while many modern pundits, fans, and observers might prefer a type of "Robocop" football, the studying of footballing metrics "passing into this space and pressing at this angle will result in a 58.7% greater chance of a win, etc.. etc..", some of us, the romantic few, still cling onto human emotion, imperfection, doubt and inspiration, as the main drivers of this beautiful experience. This is why I love the so-called "lesser known leagues". There is room to breathe, a scotch-move followed by a Gambeta can still decide a Cup final, there is space to make a mistake, bury your head in your hands for a minute, get over it, and look to recuperate (that same space can create brushtrokes of a Masterpiece). In short: Football retains its humanity: the bitterness of disappointment, the power of hope: there is always another day, another season, and those who cry today can rejoice tomorrow. Nothing is decided.

One of the most exciting-and underlooked- stories in these leagues is ocurring in the Pacific Coastlines of Peru, in the capital of Lima. Our infamous contrarian, the one and only Ángel Comizzo, has just finished his first season with Deportivo Municipal, and has brought them back to a place of respectability, in fact, back to their rightful place in Peruvian football. But the road was long, filled with ups and downs, a true roller-coaster of human emotion as he looked to impose his will on the league, give the team a strong identity, and rally the fans of a sleeping giant who has been in a slumber for a long time, for way too long. This was no easy task, going up against not only the 3 Peruvian Giants (Alianza Lima, Universitario, and Sporting Cristal), but against a Peruvian League which is becoming more and more competitive not only by the year, but also seemingly by the minute!

In Parts 1 and 2 of our story, we covered the circumstances of Comizzo's arrival in Peru and the recruitment (or should we say, welcoming) of Jefferson Farfán to Deportivo Municipal. We also briefly described the team's history and identity. What was expected of our dear Muni in our first season was perhaps best described as an unknown quantity. Nobody knew what to expect. Were expectations high or low for our team? How would Comizzo re-adapt coming back to South America after spending 3 years in Japan? And perhaps the question that was most pressing on everyone's minds: How much does a 25 year old Farfán, with reconstructed knees, have left in the tank? These questions would all be answered very soon! Even the Peruvian football analysts did not know what to make of this season's Muni, all that was guaranteed is that no matter what happened, interest was absolutely peaking in the league!

Our story began (Fixture 1 of 34) against Alianza Atlético de Sullana, as we hosted them in our stadium, Ivan Elias Moreno. The crowd was fired up as the "new look Muni" took the field, yet a sense of uncertainty filled the stadium, how would our revamped roster look? An interesting tidbit is that long-time Muni striker Roberto "El Búfalo Ovelar" (age 28) remained the captain of the team, even with the addition of Farfán (age 26), as Comizzo trusted him with leading the team in these early stages.. As El Búfalo led Muni out, thousands of red and white confetti flew from the stands, the expectation was palpable, and as the match was underway, it was clear that this indeed, was a new-look Muni , we raced out to a 3-0 lead by halftime with goals by Farfán, Ovelar, and one of our wonderkids, Right Midfielder Mauricio Matzuda! We were able to hold on to this lead and as the final whistle blew, we had a resounding win, three goals to start the season with a bang!

The Comizzo era had started in spectacular fashion, but the next 4 matches would be a test, and a show of strength by the Peruvian League.. Fixture 2 featured us visiting Alianza Universidad, in the middle of the country in the city of Huánuco, also known as "The city of eternal sunshine". We weren't able to hold on in this match, as we were up 0-2 but they were able to score 2 goals in the last 15 minutes to seal the draw! A wasted chance for sure (one that would unfortunately would re-ocurr later on in the season), and one that set us on a negative streak. Next up, we went back to our grounds to host Mannucci, a medium team which had revamped their roster as well.. and even though they didn't play brilliantly, they did make their chances count, as they were clinical in front of goal, beating us 1-3 in our stadium! After starting the season brilliantly in our opening fixture, games #2 and #3 were definitely tests.. Surrendering a lead in the Huánuco, and Comizzo being outplayed in our stadium! Things would get a bit better in fixture 4, as we went up to the highlands of Peru to face the always tough Cienciano de Cusco, over 3700 meters above sea level! Even though Peruvian players are usually used to the altitude, this match was definitely a challenge, as Cienciano not only knows how to play in altitude, but were also fielding a team that knew how to take advantage of these peculiar surroundings. Things were looking dire for us, as we were down 2-1 with only minutes left, yet in extra time, it was Jefferson Farfán who saved the day with the game-defining play to equalize as the clock wound down!! This was a streak-breaking play for sure, and a huge mood lifter for our team.

Four games in, a win, two draws, and a loss and we were sitting in midtable, yet fixture #5 would be yet another drawback for us. No breaks this time, as we would go even higher in the Andes Mountains this time, at 3832 meters above sea level, to face Deportivo Binacional, and in this match, it really seemed like we ran out of oxygen as we couldn't get anything going, surrendering a pallid 1-0 result to the Peruvian highlanders, whose style and of course lungs were much more adapted to these rugged conditions (even more difficult to play here than in Cienciano, even less air!).. Needless to say, after these two matches in the highest altitudes of South America, Comizzo was not in the best of moods during the press conference as he spouted out in frustration:

Comizzo: "You gotta be kidding me. They should outlaw playing in anything over 3500 meters. Ok, so my players train at sea level, in the coasts of Lima, and now we are expected to go 3700, 3900 meters above sea level and perform? 2500 meters is acceptable. This is just ridiculous and it isn't football, it's like playing with a balloon. I give no credit to Binacional and Cienciano for these wins, it was not tactical acumen that beat us, just cheap thin air. How the Peruvian Football Federation allows is completely beyond me."

Comizzo was not suspended for the following match, but he was fined 10,000 soles for his comments against the PFF.

Fixture 6 would thankfully, see us back home in the Peruvian coast, in much milder conditions against Universidad de San Martín, where we were able to hold on to a slender 1-0 victory against "La Muela" (The Tooth, known for their iconic mascot!), a much needed win after our debacle in the altitude of Cienciano. Yet another test would come during the homestand, as in fixture 7, we would be facing none other than League Leaders and defending Champions Sporting Cristal, who were leading the world in points and definitely looked a class above everyone else in the league! In an uncommonly rainy Lima night, we fought bravely in the first half but two goals by Cristal in the second half, by Ecuadorian Washington Corozo and in an ironic twist of fate, Marcos Riquelme (who, coincidentally, was released by Comizzo after a poor first season in Gunma United and came back to Peru). Yet Comizzo was unrepentant, saying in the presser that "Fair play to Marcos, but the decision to release him was absolutely correct, as he achieved very little transcendence in Japan and did not fit our plans at Gunma. He underperformed." Words that, even if they were technically true, added more fuel to the fire and painted Comizzo in the Peruvian press as even more of a contrarian.

Losing to Cristal was perhaps not a surprise, but we weren't able to turn the tide in fixture 8, as we lost a heartbreaking, topsy-turvy match against Sport Huancayo in Fixture 8, a 3-2 result at their stadium (surrendering a goal in minute 87!). Things weren't looking good at the moment, in fact, Muni-World was in danger of being shrouded by black clouds! Were Comizzo's combative personality creating a controversy in Muni? After fixture 8, we were 2-2-4, and sitting in position 14 of 18! (The bottom two teams are relegated in Peru). The horizon did not show clear skies, additionally, as in our next 2 fixtures we would face two of the toughest teams in the country, visiting the red and black sea of Melgar of Arequipa, in the South of Peru, a proud and fighting team which have been challenging the supremacy of the Big-3 in the past few years, (along with quite respectable showings in Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana), and League Giants and perennial title contenders Alianza Lima!

Yet, amazingly, at our lowest point of the season, we found the strength to carry on, undoubtedly spurred on by pride, which was hurt by a less than stellar start. as we were able to salvage a 0-0 draw against the tough Melgar crowd, in one of the most passionate, most hostile crowds in Peru, and even more surprisingly, beating Alianza Lima (Peru's most popular team), 2-1 in our stadium, a complete reversal of fortunes. Two results that seemed to right the ship for the time being, especially the match against Alianza, which was undoubtedly our biggest win of the season, showed that anything could and would definitely happen in the Peruvian League. It is interesting to note as well, that Alianza Lima had also been in the running to sign Farfán before the season, before he decided to sign with Muni, and so this victory against the "Aliancistas" was double sweet for that reason. A goal by our Captain, el Bùfalo Ovelar, and a second goal by Rengifo (after being set up by Farfán) gave us a huge victory against one of the three giants.

Farfán: "This was one of the biggest matches of my career, at least emotionally speaking. It was first and foremost a great win for the team, but it also had a large personal significance for me. Having grown up an Alianza Lima fan, I would've never imagined that I would be playing against them. But Deportivo Municipal was my first team.. I came here when I was 10 years old and Muni embraced me and gave me my first football lessons, and so it really seems like I've come full circle."

This morale-boosting win sent us on a positive stretch, as we won two out of our next three matches! (2-0 vs Cantolao, "The Dolphin-Men", then a tough well earned 1-1 draw against Ayacucho, and back on our grounds, a 1-0 win against Cusco FC!) An interesting tidbit about these opponents is that all 3 were in a similar situation to us in terms of table position, so getting 7 out of 9 points was a tremendous turnaround and gave us a boost in the standings. After 13 matches, we had recovered and were 5-4-4, and back in the top half of the table. A solid recovery, which in turn set the table for a meeting against the Third Peruvian Giant, Universitario de Deportes in our stadium! We had lost to Cristal in the first match, then had beaten Alianza in the second, could we record a positive balance against the third giant?

Universitario would make it difficult for us.. Even though we outplayed them for much of the match in front of our fans, it was them who would escape with the victory in a hard-fought intense battle at our stadium, in a match that had tons of emotion riding on it. An added spice to this encounter was definitely the fact that Universitario had been the team which had fired Comizzo before his departure for Japan (and his farewell was not amicable at all after losing the final vs Sporting Cristal and having mediocre results in his second season). Feelings were testy as there was a lot of saltiness in the air, and of course our Argentinean madman had words to say in the post-match press conference:

Comizzo: "Yeah, I'm not happy at all with the way things ended with Universitario. The owners treated me like I was nothing in my last year there, like I'd never given them anything. I gave them a title back in 2013, and years later took them to the final against the strongest team in Peru, Sporting Cristal. And they rewarded me by firing me. Yeah, classy move. But Karma comes back to bite you. Even with today's result, look at our league standings, and look at theirs. We are 8th, they are 11th. Let me ask you this: Have they won anything while I was gone? While they were busy shuffling managers and in their lowest period in their history, fighting relegation, I was winning the AFC Champions League."

Fiery words, especially after a loss. But Comizzo's not one to shy away from controversy. Would his confrontational tactics work in the long run? No matter, as in the present, it was time for Muni to start the Peruvian Cup, La Copa Bicentenario (called this way because of Peru's 200-year anniversary of independence). And our first match, perhaps poetically came against a traditional rival, Sport Boys del Callao. Historically speaking-and also in the past decades' points table-our dear Muni and Sport Boys (also known as "Los Rosados" due to their pink and black kit) have had similar trajectories, having had storied teams in their history but being overwhelmed by the Supremacy of the Big 3 in recent decades. Even though the rivalry is not fierce, they are both deeply rooted organizations that are looking to bring themselves back to relevance, so it was fitting that the first match was against them! We were able to beat them 1-0 in a very close match, courtesy of a late goal by Cuello with an assist by Farfán! We moved on to the next round! Back in the League, it was time to face UTC de Cajamarca, yet another match at altitude (2.750 m above sea level). Although this wasn't as drastic a change as against Cienciano or Binacional, it was still a tough match, one which seemed to be headed to a 1-1 draw.. But then, out of nowhere in extra time, it was Jefferson Farfán once again playing the hero's role, with his second game winning goal of the season! This time, the three points were ours, and this was a really nice way to recuperate in the league after the loss to Universitario. "La Foca" Farfán for the win!!

Back in the Cup however, our fortunes would be different, as we lost in the second round against Alianza Universidad, the same team who had made their comeback against is in Fixture 2, as they were able to oust us 0-2. A respectable performance by us in the Cup, although we did feel like we had a bit more to progress further. Still, we had two matches to go before the midseason break, as we were poised to face Cesar Vallejo (UCV) and once again our historical rivals, Sport Boys.
Even though our first match was a bit of a disappointment, as we went to the Northern Coastal city of Trujillo (in much warmer weather than we are used to) and lost resoundingly to UCV 3-0, we were able to rebound nicely against Boys in Fixture 17 back at our grounds, winning 2-0! After the first half of the season was over, we were sitting in the top half of the table in 6th place, with a record of 7 Wins, 4 Draws, and 6 losses, a bit over .500 effectiveness, and even though we had let some chances slip away, we were in good position heading into the second half.

Phase II of the League is identical in format as Phase I in terms of fixtures, and the order of teams played in the home-and-away format. At the halfway point, Sporting Cristal was leading the world and had a huge lead in the table.. Even though catching them would be difficult, we knew we were in a good position to perhaps fight for a Libertadores spot. We opened Fixture 18 with a somewhat pallid 0-0 draw against Alianza Atletico de Sullana, followed by a disappointing 1-2 loss to Alianza Universidad at home. It is noteworthy to mention that we missed a lot of chances in these two matches, perhaps due to us debuting 4 new players (two from the youth system and two signings, the team was still trying to find its way).

We rebounded quite well in the next 2 games though. Fixture 20 was an impressive win 0-3 against surprising Mannucci, a game which featured a strong performance by our newly signed midfielder, Rafael Sangiovani, straight from Argentina's Rosario Central (he scored a goal and assisted another)! A promising match for our 23-year old. the next fixture was a very adventurous 3-2 match against Cienciano de Cusco, and we prevailed 3-2 in an intense, very South American 90 minutes! In addition to Sangiovani's performance, these two games were noteworthy for two reasons: The continuing emergence of Jefferson Farfán as not only a goalscorer but also an assist man, and it is also important to note that our two youth products, Condorí on the wings and Axel Quispe as a strong Defensive Midfielder had strong performances! A good augury for the future. This was a 2-1-1 start in the first four games of the second phase, as we maintained our top 6 position in the standings!

Yet for this streak, the difficulty of the Peruvian League would rear its head once again: We weren't able to maintain our form in the following 3 Fixtures, as we drew 2-2 against Binacional at home, lost a very surprising match against San Martín 2-1 at their grounds (who were fighting relegation and would continue to do so for the rest of the season, this was a surprising result), and lost once again against league leaders Sporting Cristal, in Fixture 24! (Cristal was well on their way in their march towards the title at this point). Yet we could find somewhat of a silver lining in the fact that we fought Cristal this time, played neck and neck and tooth by tooth with them despite the 2-1 loss; Farfán scored the first goal off a penalty and our backup Center Forward Naranjo was very close to equalizing in minute 74.. That being said, the encounter ended with a very high number of shots attempted, and could be seen as somewhat of a moral victory for us, the fact that we were able to go toe to toe against the team that is dominating the league (not to mention coached by Comizzo's old Nemesis, Manager Roberto Mosquera, also known as Morpheus for his bald-headed, dark glasses look). In fact, the press conference after the match was quite lively, detailing both managers' emerging rivalry at this point:

Roberto Mosquera: "Muni is a strong team, but we are a class above them, and I was a bit disappointed by the fact that we didn't put them away. In fact, I still consider our direct rivals to be Alianza Lima, and Universitario, they are the Big 3 and Muni is on the outside looking in. I just hope Comizzo doesn't burn the team out by seeking too much protagonism."

Angel Comizzo: "Mosquera said that? Typical. Let him talk, let him run his mouth.. It's very easy when their budget is three times as big as ours and you have the backing of a large company. I came here to win, and the fact that he feels like he needs to put me down shows that deep inside, he is afraid. Afraid of what we might become. Afraid of the fact that we played him man-to-man this time. Yeah, you're leading the league this year, but we shall see in the future. We shall definitely see."

Undoubtedly motivated by Comizzo's words, we went came out quite strong in our next encounter. Fixture 25 matched us up against Sport Huancayo (A surprisingly disappointing side: they were touted as a top-half table team but had been on a tailspin as of late), and we were able to take advantage of their poor form by drubbing them 3-1 in estadio Elias Moreno! A nice win for us, which was followed by our only defeat in this sequence of matches, a 1-2 loss against perennial title contenders Melgar, a team which might not have the firepower of Cristal but who has fielded very good teams in the past 10 years and are always in the mix.. Fixture 27 would follow, as we went up against arguably the toughtest crowd in all of Peru, Alianza Lima and their huge, incalculable fanbase in Estadio Alejandro Villanueva in the working-class area of Matute, Lima. Alianza Lima is considered by many as "the people's team", the most popular team in the country by a good margin and with a huge following in all social classes, AL had presented a fortress in their stadium, led by their captain, Argentinean Hernán "El Pirata Barcos", and boasting top-class signings such as Peruvian NT players Andre Carrillo at the wing and goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.. An impressive squad. So even more impressive was the fact that we had beaten them the first time, and were able to salvage a 1-1 draw (after conceding an early goal by Barcos, we clawed our way back in the second half, as our other recent acquisition Rodrigo Rivero was able to equalize!). This was a very good result against a tough title contender, the team with the largest fanbase in the country and one of the "Big 3". Farfán was emotional after the match (he had received a standing ovation after the final whistle ended).

Jefferson Farfán: "Like I mentioned in my last game against Alianza Lima, I grew up a fan. Coming to Matute, wearing Municipal's colors, and playing in front of a team where I won titles as a youth was very emotional. When the people stood up and clapped for me, I just realized that no matter what happens, Alianza will always be part of my past, just as Muni is part of my heart and my childhood. This was an incredible night, and I'm happy that we were able to come away with a positive result."

The inspiring result against Alianza, the draw at their stadium, was a huge morale boost for Comizzo and our players, propelling us to 3 straight wins in fixtures 28, 29, and 30: 1-2 vs Cantolao, 2-0 vs Ayacucho, and 1-2 vs Cusco! (Not Cienciano de Cusco, but their crosstown rivals, Cusco FC)! This was win against Cusco was very special, since we were finallly able to beat a team in the insane altitude of the Peruvian highlands in the Southeast part of the country. Comizzo wasn't happy with the fact that we, once again, had to go 3600-3700 meters to play in what seemed like inhumane conditions for players from the Lima Pacific coasts, but there was absolutely nothing we could to about it but grit our teeth and play with our heart. (When the lungs don't work, run with the heart). This was an intense match, as all 3 goals came in the first half, and the second half was more of a scrappy encounter than a skilled one, as each possession seemed like our players were out of breath. Even with the depleted oxygen, we were able to hold on, and this win, perhaps more than any other this season, showed a lot of character and the resilience and siege "us against them" mentality that Comizzo is characterized for. Our talent was enough to pull us through in the first half (Farfán with the beautiful assist to el Búfalo Ovelar, and Condorí coming through once again as a young promise) and we showed a ton of grit in the second half to hold on. Comizzo had tons to say after the match:

Comizzo: "I want to instill a fighting mentality in this team. Once again we went up to play where no football player should play, that damned altitude that is the absolute bane of Peruvian Football, and we were able to scratch out a win. Our players were absolutely gassed at the end of the day, but we were able to hold on through the strength of pure and sheer willpower, nothing else. But I repeat, these conditions are absolutely ridiculous. I wonder how many points Cienciano, Cusco, and Binacional win not because of power and effort, but because of that ridiculous home field advantage. But no matter. These are the cards that we are dealt, and we gotta play with them. I am immensely proud of my players."

This really convincing streak of 3 straight wins gave us a lot of hope.. Interestingly enough, with only 4 matches left to go, the hope of Copa Libertadores was very much alive! It is important to note that in Peru, the top two teams qualify automatically to group stage, and the teams that are ranked #3 and #4 play in the Libertadores qualifying stage (a kind of a preliminary round).. The guts-and-heart win against Cusco took us all the way to #5 in the rankings, with only goal difference separating us from #4 Mannucci! We were effectively tied for 4th place, and earning a Libertadores berth was well within reach! Would we be able to maintain our late-season streak?

The last 4 matches were interesting, even if the results were not optimal. First came an away game vs Universitario, in yet another testy encounter, this time in the largest stadium in Peru and second biggest in South America, Estadio Monumental. This encounter was chock-full of emotion and bitterness as well. The Universitario crowd taunted Comizzo all throughout, yet our Argentine protagonist just stood there, clapping and smiling and gesturing to their crowd in the Monumental stands, as if he were saying "sure, bring it on, bring it on!" The match itself was tough and physical, full of yellow cards on both sides, and even a red card for one of our players! (Youngster Axel Quispe, after accumulating two yellow cards). Comizzo went on a furious tirade against the press, raging at what he perceived to be favoritism in the refereeing.

Comizzo: "Today was a perfect example of the favoritism that Universitario is receiving from the Federation, as they don't want them to be relegated, that's damn obvious. Did you see Quispe's second foul? Was that worthy of a second yellow card? VAR wasn't even called, and given the circumstances, a normal shoulder barge which would otherwise be a normal foul, all of a sudden today is a yellow card, leading to a red? Like I said: Universitario is at the doors of relegation (they were never in this situation while I was coaching them) and the Peruvian Football Federation wants to do everything in its power to make sure they "stay in first division". You gotta be blind not to see this, and if I'm the only one who's got the balls to come out and say this, well, so be it. We were robbed, widely and in front of the whole country."

The Peruvian Football Federation was not pleased this time, not only content with giving Comizzo a fine of 20,000 soles (double the amount of his first fee), but also suspending him for the next match due to his comments! And his absence was definitely felt. Fixture 32 was a disappointing result, A 1-3 result against UTC (Cajamarca) was replete with defensive mistakes.. Even though we started the match well with Farfán scoring in minute 22, an uncleared ball, a goalie throw which fell way short, and many other amateurish mistakes doomed the match as Cajamarca scored 3 to pull off the upset. And even though Comizzo was back on the sidelines for Fixture 33, against Cesar Vallejo, he couldn't prevent another negative result, an 0-1 defeat against yet another team that we were supposed to beat in terms of squad strength. A couple of highly disappointing results after the Universitario drama. Yet amazingly, even after these two consecutive losses, we faced the last fixture with a chance to qualify for Libertadores, depending on other results! Even though our chances were quite small mathematically speaking to qualify, we still wanted to go all out in our last fixture against Sport Boys del Callao! And we did go all out, finishing the season strong with a 1-2 win at their stadium (after being down 1-0 in only 2 minutes, we showed a lot of mettle and scored 2 goals before the first half ended, a header off a perfectly placed corner by Farfán, scored by Quispe (who was back from his unfair suspension against Universitario, and a goal in minute 45 courtesy of our captain and staring #9, El Búfalo Ovelar). Overall, this was a solid way to finish up an up-and-down season, a season in which we had plenty of joys, plenty of disappointments, and a heart-pumping finale. Now, it was time to take a look at the standings..

After it was all said and done, Melgar had won their last game against Alianza Atlético de Sullana, so we finished in 5th place, one point behind them and just outside of Libertadores pre-qualification zone! In the second phase of the season, we went 7-4-7, for an overall season record of 14 wins, 7 draws, and 13 losses, with a performance of just above 50%! What is very interesting about this season is that, taking a look at the table, only 6 points separated #3 Melgar and #15 Universitario, in fact the table couldn't have been tighter! Even though Sporting Cristal ran away with the title (the result was little in doubt several fixtures before the end of the season, with an 11 point lead over second place Mannucci), the rest of the table was incredibly tight, showing the evenness of the Peruvian League! The sentiments amongst the Muni faithful is that we, in a sense, were quite lucky to have finished as high as #5, given our record and total accumulated points, yet in a sense, it was a good reflection of the insane first season that we endured, a season full of friction, competitiveness, controversy, passion, and most of all.. personality! Farfán had a marvelous season, finishing second in the league in goals scored (13), and first in assists (with 10), earning Player of the Year and exceeding all expectations given the doubts that shrouded him before the start of the League..

Despite the fact that we were oh-so-close to qualifying to Libertadores, and the tail-end of the season was fraught with drama, this first season was considered a success for Deportivo Municipal, by both the fans and the media. Not only did Farfán's knees hold up, but he absolutely shined with his superior quality, fulfilling the prophecy made by Comizzo at the start of the season "He is the best player in the League". Even though we lost Matzuda early on (due to a Chilean team paying his release clause and transfer), we were able to rejuvenate our team and promote a couple of players from our youth system (Muni has been known in the past for having a good farm system, and this year was no exception). No, we didn't win the league, and no, we didn't qualify for an International Tournament (by a sliver!), but Comizzo did what very few people deemed possible at the beginning: He gave back Muni its pride, aided considerably by Farfán's talent, Ovelar's captainship and steady leadership, and promising young players who are finding a cohesion and more importantly, an identity! Tactics are overrated. X's and O's will remain dots on a board. The engine of this season was The Force of Personality, creating a new ambition from scratch on the shoulders of a historical team which should've never lost its mystique, its magic.. That, more than anything, is what I will take from this season. The Mystique is back, the historical weight of Muni has returned, and our aspirations for season 2 loom large on the Peruvian horizon, on the shores of Lima, the faded grandeur of Deportivo Municipal is faded no more!

Jefferson Farfán: "This season was magical for me, personally. This was the season where I proved to myself that I am still a football player, that the second half of my career starts now. But the focus is entirely on the team. I have just signed a 5-year extension with Muni. I want to continue my career here indefinitely. My ambitions are here. Not in Europe, not in Brazil or Argentina, but here.. In Club Deportivo Municipal, where I hope to bring fans a lot of joys and continue restoring their name in Peru and South America!"

Reporter: "Thanks Jefferson. Now on to Mr. Comizzo, what is your overall balance of this season? Do you feel like you've gained more enemies than friends, and do you consider your first year at Muni a success?"

Ángel Comizzo: "What kind of question is that? Nobody would've expected a #5 position when the season started. Yeah, the table was very tight, but these were the results, and I refuse to let the media or anyone else spin the results to their advantage. We had to fight everything this season: questionable refereeing, the Peruvian Football Federation, ghastly altitude in the highlands, but in the end, we prevailed, and were ONE POINT AWAY from Libertadores. Do you know what this means? We are chipping at the heels of the leaders, and all I have to say at the end of the day is this: Cristal, you are at the corner of my eye. We're gonna be aiming high next season, and not only will we look to reinforce ourselves in the offseason, but will look to fight for the title and an international competition. Just like that. I didn't come here to meekly give excuses. We are going all out next season, and in terms of friends and enemies, all I can say is: well, hell, that's just the way it goes, I don't really care about that. I am here for one reason: TO DEFEND THE COLORS OF CLUB DEPORTIVO MUNICIPAL!!!!!"

Stay tuned for Season 2 of Comizzo and Farfán's journey in South America, to be played in PES 2021!!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!

Joga · 28 January 2024

millossobek said:
The Supremacy of Tactics. X's and O's. Efficiency. It is indisputable that Football has experienced a major transformation in the past 10 years. Most of the winningest sides in the world trot out ever-increasingly mechanized armies of players with what seem to be chips in their brains, following strict orders, discouraging flair, individuality and creativity, all at the service of maximum efficiency. Players are now trained to be "complete", like cyborgs following tactics.. Yes. Our dear game (at least at the top level) has become increasingly technified at the expense of much more human emotions, the randomness of the game, the moments of personal brilliance, a human error which, at the toss of a dime, can turn into something sublime and otherworldly in its imperfection. Chaos breaking into order, the poetry of motion, the stubbornness of a Defensive Midfielder, the brushtrokes of a Trequartista, the true beauty of going to the Stadium; the Art of Football.

Yet, while many modern pundits, fans, and observers might prefer a type of "Robocop" football, the studying of footballing metrics "passing into this space and pressing at this angle will result in a 58.7% greater chance of a win, etc.. etc..", some of us, the romantic few, still cling onto human emotion, imperfection, doubt and inspiration, as the main drivers of this beautiful experience. This is why I love the so-called "lesser known leagues". There is room to breathe, a scotch-move followed by a Gambeta can still decide a Cup final, there is space to make a mistake, bury your head in your hands for a minute, get over it, and look to recuperate (that same space can create brushtrokes of a Masterpiece). In short: Football retains its humanity: the bitterness of disappointment, the power of hope: there is always another day, another season, and those who cry today can rejoice tomorrow. Nothing is decided.

Great opening paragraphs. Unfotunately the gremlins in suits will never understand these feelings. They forgot how to feel long ago.
After Messi retires, do we even have any true 10's left?
also "When the lungs don't work, run with the heart!" :SAL:

Forza Muni, unlucky at the end there. Hope to see some Libertadores action next season :BAND:

millossobek · 28 January 2024

Joga said:
Great opening paragraphs. Unfotunately the gremlins in suits will never understand these feelings. They forgot how to feel long ago.
After Messi retires, do we even have any true 10's left?
also "When the lungs don't work, run with the heart!"
Forza Muni, unlucky at the end there. Hope to see some Libertadores action next season

Thanks bro!! Unfortunately, to me the era of the #10 has already gone past us, at least in European Football. IMO, the last true #10 we had was Mesut Özil, the purely creative "enganche" or "triquartista", the pass first-score second kind of mentality! What a joy it was to watch him play when he was on. :RSCARF:

Really appreciate your support my friend.

I love that "run with the heart" quote, I adapted it from Jorge Cazulo, a real life player (he actually said, "when the legs don't work, run with the heart") I changed it in my story given Comizzo's grievances with the Peruvian altitude! :LOL:

Actually, come to think of it, there's very little that our Argentinean Madman has no grievances with in my story! He is up against the Federation, Mosquera, the Mountaintops of Peru, everyone not in a Muni uniform! That's part of what makes writing this story so enjoyable.

I'm getting everything ready for season 2 in PES 2021, so keep the channel on..... Football is not a game, it's an emotion!!

Holland · 4 February 2024

I read your whole adventure
YOU ARE UNIQUE BROTHER!!! :APPLAUD:

You manage to convey incredible emotions, WOW :WORSHIP:

I'm sure you'll shine next season :EASY:

millossobek · 5 February 2024

Holland said:
I read your whole adventure
YOU ARE UNIQUE BROTHER!!!
You manage to convey incredible emotions, WOW
I'm sure you'll shine next season

Thank you, Sensei Holland, and everybody who is taking the time to follow my stories! :TU:

I'm so glad that you guys are enjoying them. :WORSHIP:

And that the emotions that I feel while playing and writing are conveyed and you can experience them!
Stay tuned!!!!! :BSCARF:

kibaxx7 · 7 February 2024

Just one point behind Libertadores spots? That's a bummer. But as always, this is looking amazing

millossobek · 7 February 2024

kibaxx7 said:
Just one point behind Libertadores spots? That's a bummer. But as always, this is looking amazing

Thanks bro! It was a roller-coaster of a season. The table was the craziest part of it!

In a sense it's a bummer Muni missed out on Libertadores by one point, but on the other hand, take a look at the points! Only 6 points separated #4 Melgar from #15 Universitario! A couple of results here or there and I could've finished 15th instead of 5th, so I suppose that given my 14-7-13 record, we were in a way lucky to finish as high as fifth! At least, that's the way I choose to look at it. :LOL:

Next season is an all-out pursuit of Libertadores. Comizzo and Farfán are committed!! :BSCARF:

millossobek · 12 February 2024

An Interlude!

Hey guys!!
Before going forward with my PES stories with Muni and Werder,
I've decided to have an interlude, and play a Career Mode in FIFA 15
As Rafa Benítez and Deportivo La Coruña!
Inspired by his real life campaign with Celta de Vigo,
I decided to take one of the weakest teams in La Liga in the 15-16 season,
and play a completely different adventure:
This time, it's not promoting a team to first division,
or a promising new star in a South American League,
but now Benitez is charged with a simple, straightforward task:
Try to avoid relegation!
My first Spanish Adventure!
I am almost finished with my first season, so updates are coming soon!

-millossobek

millossobek · 14 February 2024

RAFA BENÍTEZ GOES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS IN HIS FIRST SEASON WITH DEPOR!
A FIFA 15 MINI-STORY INTERLUDE!

38 Matches Played
14 wins, 7 draws, 17 losses
11th in Spanish La Liga!

What's going on, good people! Following up on my previous post, I decided to take a short break from my PES stories and carry on with a different adventure. Well, break is not exactly the word, think of it more of an interlude! From time to time, I like to vary it up and switch football franchises, and after Comizzo's first season with Muni, this seemed like the perfect time to do it! (Not to worry, Comizzo and Muni are still very much on my mind and plans!) This is my third FIFA story included in my thread, The first one being our dear Zamalek giving me my first Three-Stars Cup victory in FIFA 16, and the second one being my Milo Mugosa invented Player Career in FIFA 19!

A very short disclaimer regarding this adventure. I won't be going in as much depth with personalities in this one, at least not as much as my usual stories, but that doesn't mean that I'm paying less attention to it! Sometimes, I like to play a bit more of a "chillout campaign", without writing as much immersion into it, but going with the flow of it. Still, I think this is a good approach to vary it up at times, and give me a rest from immersive writing (which I thoroughly enjoy, but sometimes it's cool to just play along like this!) :TU:

In anycase, why Rafa Benítez? And why Deportivo La Coruña? Well, I've always liked Benítez. He's always seemed like a humble, hard-working manager, one who sticks to his strategies and has a clear idea of how he likes to play. Plus, I find his career arc very interesting: Coming up from the Real Madrid academy, revving up his career with several Spanish teams without much success before winning several surprising titles with Valencia (two leagues and an UEFA Cup) in the early 2000's followed by massive success with Liverpool, taking them to a Champions League title before more title winning glories with Chelsea and Inter. Many remember him for those days, as well as his highly publicized tenure as Madrid manager (who many deemed as a failure), and then came the most interesting part: Promoting Newcastle and coaching somewhat troublesome teams in Everton, China, and now Celta de Vigo. It's a career that has spanned an entire breadth of experiences, with rising stock, glory at the biggest stages, falling fortunes, second division adventures and even coaching in Asia! In real life, Benitez is currently just keeping Celta de Vigo afloat in what I think is one of the most interesting strories in Europe. And so I thought, let's do that, let's take one of the weakest teams in 2015-16 La Liga (arguably one of the toughest Ligas ever, with Real Madrid, Barca, and Atletico near the top of their game, and go with Deportivo La Coruña! (ironically, Celta's Galician rival)!

Moving on to the season, Deportivo was one of the lowest-rated teams in la Liga in FIFA 15, which is exactly what I was looking for. In terms of Overall Star team ratings, FIFA 15's La Liga is structured like this:

5-Star Teams: Real Madrid, Barcelona
4.5-Star Teams: Atlético Madrid, Athletic Club, Sevilla, Valencia
4-Star Teams: Celta de Vigo, Málaga, Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad, Villarreal
3.5-Star Teams: Cordoba, Elche, Getafe, Granada, Levante, Deportivo La Coruña, Espanyol, Eibar, Almería

So, understandably, my main task as appointed by the team's directives was as follows in my first season:
- Avoid Relegation
- Qualify into R32 stage in Copa del Rey!

Another HUGE challenge moving forward was that by season's end, 11 of my players (many of which are in my starting lineup and are amongst my highest rated players) would return to their teams as they were loaned out to us. So this definitely gave me a sense of urgency, that Benítez had this season, and perhaps only this season, to prove his mettle and stay in first division before moving forward with a much-depleted squad! So this definitely gave the adventure an immediacy which was pretty evident.

Things started out very poorly for us, with 2 consecutive defeats in Fixture 1 and 2, a 2-1 loss vs Granada and a 0-2 result vs Rayo Vallecano. Defenses were playing tight and we were having trouble scoring! (a theme that would repeat itself throughout the season). Following this trend, things would not look up in the next two matches, as we drew 0-0 vs Eibar at home and were then humiliated vs Real Madrid in Fixture 4 in our stadium, losing 1-5!! The start of La Liga was less than auspicious for Benítez and company, as we were lingering near the bottom of the table. Fortunately though, we were able to somewhat save face and salvage a result, in Fixture 5, as we got a much needed 3 points away at the Galician Clásico against our rivals, Celta! This win lifted the spirits of our fanbase quite a bit despite the bad start of the campaign!

Unfortunately, this win did not propel us to more immediate success, as in the next 4 games, we lost 2 and drew 2 (0-0 vs Almería, 2-1 loss vs Sevilla, a 1-1 result against Valencia, and an away 2-0 loss against Espanyol). We were sitting near the bottom of the standings, in relegation zone, and a serious lack of goal production was ultimately hurting us! (Benitez's defensive tactics notwithstanding!) Even though we rebounded well in fixture 10 against Getafe (a 1-0 win at home), we would go on to lose Fixture 11 against Córdoba away (1-0), while retaining a pallid 0-0 draw vs Real Sociedad at home, and getting drubbed 3-0 away in fixture 13 (the hard-luck fixture) against Simeone and Atlético Madrid!

After this loss to "Los Colchoneros", it was time to regroup and start Copa Del Rey. We actually went on a pretty good run, beating second-division squad Recreativo La Huelva 2-1 in the first leg of the Cup R64. setting us up nicely for the return match (even though we had to look out for the away goal rule, and Recreative played us with a lot of spirit). Following up in la Liga, we were able to pull off another tight win at home in fixture 14, a 1-0 result against Málaga at our stadium. This result served as a conduit for the second leg of la Copa del Rey, as we went to Recreativo's stadium and were able to pull off yet another tight 0-1 victory, at their stadium, and qualifying to the R32! Even though the results in La Liga were not as expected so far, qualifying to the R32 (a goal set by the board before the season started) was achieved, which increased confidence in Benítez's work. Still, we had to prove ourselves in La Liga, and we did just this, as we emerged victorious in Fixture 16, perhaps our biggest win of the season so far, a 1-2 away win against much stronger Villarreal! (with an extra-time goal to boot!). This game was a huge confidence boost, not only due to the points, but also due to the fact that we had proven our mettle against a much stronger team and an international cup contender!

Time to go back to the Cup, we were matched up this time against a stronger squad, Rayo Vallecano, with the winner to face Real Madrid. We weren't able to pull it off this time though, as a 2-1 away result and a 1-1 draw at our stadium were not enough to see us through to the next round. A disappointing result? Somewhat, but we were able to achieve one of the board's season objectives. Our next two league matches, however, were losses, a 2-1 result against Levante and a 0-3 defeat against a very in-form Barca (who was leading the league at this point and were looking like world beaters, with a lead vs Real Madrid at the standings). Our position was worrisome: We were barely treading water, only a few points above relegation zone, and we needed points urgently to close out the first half of the season, which we fortunately achieved in Fixture 19, with another signature Benítez 1-0 win against Athletic (a solid win against one of the stronger teams in the league).

Fixtures 20-23 did not yield the desired results though: Only one win in these 4 matches (1-0 loss vs Rayo, followed by a 1-0 victory vs Eibar, and two consecutive losses against Granada 0-1- and Real Madrid at the Bernabéu-2-0. Luckily, our wins against Athletic and Eibar had moved us up the table, and we were finally starting to create some separation from the relegation zone. Then came our best streak of the season: 4 consecutive victories! :BSCARF:

(1-0 win once again against Celta de Vigo in yet another Galician Derby, a 1-2 away win vs Almería, and a couple of really impressive wins at home, 1-0 vs Sevilla and 1-0 vs Espanyol in fixture 27)! This streak of 4 consecutive wins definitely sent us above relegation, and nothing but a disaster at the end of the season would prevent us from maintaining our Liga 1 campaign! This was just the type of injection we needed, and it came at just the right time.

Even though we weren't able to keep this 4-game winning streak going in Fixture 28 (a 4-2 defeat against Valencia), we finished the last ten games of the season in a respectable fashion, going 3-2-5. Fixture 29 featured a 1-1 away win vs Getafe, followed by a 1-0 home win against Córdoba, a 2-1 away defeat against Real Sociedad, and a 0-2 defeat at home vs Atlético Madrid at our stadium. An important note about this game, even though we were playing against one of the Top 3 teams in the league in terms of talent, we held our own against Simeone's squad this time, which was encouraging for the rest of the season. Even though we couldn't pull it off in the following game (3-1 vs Málaga), we rebounded nicely vs Elche (a team which was just above us in the rankings) with a crazy, impressive 2-4 away win in fixture 34! (Another important point: We were finally scoring more goals after the "one-nil" trend of previous encounters! Benitez's tactics were defensive, but spaces were starting to open, and our players were finally finding more offensive chances!) The final four games were a 1-1 draw against Villarreal, a 2-1 defeat against an inspired Athletic (who came out looking for revenge due to the result in the first leg), a 2-1 win against Levante, and closing out the season in fixture 38 with a 4-0 defeat against Barca in Camp Nou, a lopsided result (and quite an understandable one). Despite this, we did play some exciting matches to close out the season!

Final league standings! (Valencia ended up winning the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid in a stunning upset, but Madrid pull off the title race in an impressive comeback after trailing for most of the season, and end up edging Barca by 3 points!)

As you guys can see, not only did Benítez steer Deportivo away from the relegation zone, but we also actually finished midtable, going above and beyond our initial expectations for the season! (14 Wins, 7 Draws, 17 Losses, 11th place, quite respectable given the circumstances!) Depor started the season as one of the weakest teams in La Liga, and results weren't always forthcoming, but we had some nice winning streaks (especially from Fixtures 24-27, these four games really propelled us forward and secured our midtable position). Even though we weren't able to get a point against the big 3 (Real Madrid, Barca, Atletico), we beat #3 Sevilla at home and drew against #4 Valencia! (Even though we had a bit disappointing results against lower-ranked teams as well). Overall, I would call Benítez's first season with Deportivo La Coruña a resounding success, and even the board seems to agree!

I really enjoyed playing this season: The ups and downs, fighting against really tough odds (My two best players, Portuguese striker Hélder Postiga and 76-rated midfielder Juan Domínguez were injured for long stretches of the season-quite literally at the same time), and on most nights, I ended up facing teams that were much better than my squad. But Benítez and Depor were able to persevere, a huge step in favor of resurrecting his Managerial Career. I am sure that more lucrative, flashier deals will start landing on his lap now, but I am determined to sticking with Deportivo and see how far I can take them in my second season! It's going to be a huge challenge, with so many of my players gone back to their teams (as their loans have expired), and I will probably have to shore up my team with a lot of free agents in my second season (in fact, we don't have much money to spend in the transfer window, as they only gave me 10 million Euros), and chances are that we'll start our second season with a weaker team than the first, but I have hope that Benítez will be able to steer us into avoiding relegation again, and hopefully secure another midtable finish!

Rafa Benítez: "Next season will be even more of a challenge. We were really financially strapped for cash and the fans have to understand that this is a process: Winning teams are not built overnight, especially in such an elite league like the Spanish one, and remember this: 11 of our loanees (ELEVEN!) many of which were on our starting team, went back to their respective squads. leaving us a bit depleted. In a sense. But I'm excited. Even if on paper our team won't be the same next season, our plan is to clean house during the transfer market, secure some contracts of some key players, and see what we can pick up, most probably in the free agent market. When 11 players leave your team overnight, you have to take a deep breath and be very strategic in how to approach the offseason, especially if you have financial challenges. I think we did a great job this season, exceeding our expected performance by finishing midtable, but the real challenge begins now, and I couldn't be happier."

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!

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