• Major upgrades completed! Please report any issues you spot in here

The Master League adventures thread

Here is the 2nd Leg of the Div 2 Cup v Nottm Forest!

Can our patched up "pub team" knock out the European Cup Winners of 1980!?





View attachment 352597


:LOL: Ignore the Ipswich Badge it was done with ChatGPT :LOL:

Seriously though it was a great defensive performance from the team. I was going to upload the whole match because this is one of the things that I love about the old PES games. That battle for a 0-0 draw with few chances and little battles going on all over the pitch. Not constantly end to end like the newer games.



1746996122568.png
 
So Match Day 7 and it is a battle between the two bottom teams Ipswich and Burnley.





Both Ipswich and Burnley get a share of the points. Sammie Szmodics is becoming our best player, another excellent left footed shot from him. His left foot is like a wand.


SEASON 1
WINTER TRANSFER WINDOW UPDATE


There was a lot of activity in the transfer window which was a bit of a surprise considering I had the setting on the middle setting (whatever that is called).

We got a new striker, Jessic Ngankam, who was a free agent in the game. (In real life he plays for German side Hannover 96)

Feyenoord approached us for midfielder Massimo Luongo with a trade offer, Calvin Stengs + 788 ML points. So we accepted as I was looking to offload Massimo.

Man City
came in for left back Connor Townsend with an offer of 1232 which we accepted.

I was quite satisfied with our business until the last week, the last day, Atletico Madrid came in with an offer for promising young forward Omari Hutchinson. I had to let him go, how could I hold him back from leaving us with a Team Rating of -- for a Team with a Rating of A.

A little annoying as he was our back up for Jaden Philogene. :(

There were a number of other transfers but nothing really big, although ML striker Gutierrez joined Roma along with Filip Helander.

Toby Alderweireld
joined Villarreal along with Elye Wahi from Frankfurt.


As I said before, I will make these changes in a separate option file so that when I decide to leave Ipswich or get sacked and join another team, I can use that option file with all the transfers intact. :)

On that note, in the option file I will move Gutierrez from the ML default team to Roma, is that allowed? It works in the editor, but will it crash the game?

If anyone knows please let me know. :)
 
Match Day 8 at home against Sheff United, hopefully we can start picking up points in the second half of the season.





Once again Sammie Szmodics is injured again but the goal that came from the free kick, what a strike from Jens Cajuste! A lovely 'daisy cutter'. There was a debut for Jessic Ngankam and how he did not score, only the woodwork can tell you. Also, Calvin Stengs made his debut as he came on for the injured Szmodics.

Screenshot 2025-05-12 at 22.50.12.jpeg

Sammie watches on as Jens smashes in the equaliser :D
 
Been a while since my last post, simply because I started playing on a better tv. Everything was fine until watching the recording and everything looks squashed up. So was a little annoyed, then went away for a few days and came back and my pc is playing up again, so I had to reinstall everything on it,

I suppose I could have just said there was an international break.

Anyway Matchday 9 away at Luton.





Quite an easy win this one. Great finish from Delap. :)


The next few will also be squashed up because they have already been played, but after I will return to ye ol telly. :D
 
Just like a bus, you wait a while and then 2 turn up at once.

Next match is back in the Div 2 Cup Semi Final 1st Leg away to Leicester.





Happy to get away with a 1-0 defeat if I’m honest. It was good to see Winksy miss his penalty and then the great technique for the follow up volley.
 
Here is the next match at home to Leicester. Been a bit slow going because I have been busy so playing catch up with the videos and still uploading the ‘squashed look’.





Another defeat, but what a great goal from Delap. Really showing his strength to go through the 2 defenders and finding the finish. No wonder Chelsea are after him in real life. :D
 
Hi All,

I have switched back to my PSP for now. Having a newborn has killed off my gaming time but I am managing to get a few decent games in with my PES2008 ML.

I am using the Laziale 24/25 OF.

I forgot how brutal this game was, especially on PSP.

As you can see below the first season was pretty disastrous, most of those games were spent with me just getting used to how the PSP versions played again. So the first half of the season was a bit of a write off - We picked up a bit in the second half when I managed to win a couple of games and sneak some draws.

IMG_5120.jpeg

I have started off with the ML defaults and I am in Div.2 of a mixed European League. The other 3 leagues are Prem, Serie A and La Liga.

I have just started season 2 and we are fairing a little bit better after making some signings 👍🏻 Will post another update soon.
 
Hi, do you use any rules to make your ML experience more realistic/more challanging?

I am currently using this in my PES21 Aberdeen ML
-No scouting
-No free players singing
-No academy singing
-No players higher than 75 ovr singing
-If other club bid more than market value for your player you have to accept (2 players protected max)
-Always look for local players from the league/nation first

Especially with that you have to sell players if other club bid more than market value it makes it challenging bit more than usually. It should sim that as an Aberdeen is not top tier club that players constantly leaving to better clubs. It gives you few headaches as my players are constantly transfering to Rangers or Celtic and I need to look for replacements.

Would like to see if you are using something similiar to make ML experience more challenging but rewarding.
 
Hi, do you use any rules to make your ML experience more realistic/more challanging?

I am currently using this in my PES21 Aberdeen ML
-No scouting
-No free players singing
-No academy singing
-No players higher than 75 ovr singing
-If other club bid more than market value for your player you have to accept (2 players protected max)
-Always look for local players from the league/nation first

Especially with that you have to sell players if other club bid more than market value it makes it challenging bit more than usually. It should sim that as an Aberdeen is not top tier club that players constantly leaving to better clubs. It gives you few headaches as my players are constantly transfering to Rangers or Celtic and I need to look for replacements.

Would like to see if you are using something similiar to make ML experience more challenging but rewarding.
Hi...
I like all your rules 👍
I make my team have at least 7 players from that clubs nationality in the squad.
If I'm managing a smaller club i have a maximum salary cap of £1 million a year.

Interested in people's favourite players?? I quite often end up with J.Zirkzee and A.Lobato up front 🤣
 
Hi All,

I finally have a bit of time back to dive into another long term ML. I have just transferred my PS4 data across so that I can play PES21 on the PS5.

I am just rebuilding my option files and then I will hopefully be underway.

I am thinking of a return to Europe after my previous long term saves in Brazil and Japan.

I am thinking of a long term return to glory with Sampdoria in Serie B after their struggles this season, but still considering a couple of options!

See you soon 👍🏻
 
Finally managed to get up and running with my next PES21 ML save.

I settled on Sampdoria, starting in Serie B I will be aiming to build them back up to glory and possibly leading them one step further than they were able to go in the 1992 European Cup final.

I have made a custom squad, mainly made up of veteran Italian players, youth prospects and the return of a couple of ML legends - All to be revealed.

First game is against Frosinone, I’ll aim to do a proper update with screenshots later 👍🏻

Forza Sampdoria :BSCARF:
 
PES21 - Master League Season 1 (Sampdoria - Serie B)

Another master league journey begins, this time with Sampdoria. I was fascinated by their story towards the end of last season as they miraculously avoided relegation to Serie C.

It definitely provided me with some inspiration for a real return to glory save - With 1 Scudetto, 4 Coppa Italias and a European Cup runners up spot to their name it is safe to say Samporia should be punching a lot higher than scrapping for survival in Serie B.

To make the challenge a bit more difficult, I have stripped out their squad and replaced them with a mix of aging Italian veteran players and a good mix of promising youngsters.

I have also included a couple of Italian ML defaults from previous PES games (Dodo and Cellini) just to add a bit more fun. Cellini is still the veteran enforcer from earlier PES games and at 35 we will be lucky to get a couple of seasons from him. Dodo, on the other hand, presents a more longer term option aged just 20.

I have also recreated Giorza, the Italian PES21 ML default and switched his position to LB. Vucetic has been added from the youth squad too as a promising addition.

Overall, the squad is definitely on the thin side and with most players 30+ we have a major overhaul on our hands. Hopefully the likes of Giorza, Maldini, Dodo and Portanova can grow to be key members of the squad.

IMG_5365.jpeg

We managed our first win off the bat against Frosinone. It was a typical opening day ML game, team spirit is really low at the moment so passing and player movement feels really sluggish.

It was a fairly even game but we managed a breakthrough down the right hand side and after a low cross into the box Dalmonte was able to head home from 6 yards.

IMG_5366.jpeg

A two legged Coppa Itália affair against Crotone next up - Forza Sampdoria :BSCARF:
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5365.jpeg
    IMG_5365.jpeg
    892.5 KB · Views: 3
Last edited:
I've resumed with more consistency the Genoa Master League I started some months ago on Pes 2019. The idea of this save was of kinda imitating the Atalanta cycle that started around 16/17 and is more or less still ongoing, so a tactical base of 3-4-2-1 (that can also become 3-4-1-2, and every other possible variation with the 3 back as the main certainty), and the broad market objective of picking up young, but promising strong players who I may sell when they'll become strong enough and reinvest as the bergamaschi did in those later years (although I'll go case by case, even if I don't want to buy superstars already formed or at least keep those as exceptions, the idea is to become a powerhouse in a couple seasons).

Without mincing words, this first season was very harsh 😁 :

Screenshot 2025-08-19 18-15-15.pngScreenshot 2025-08-19 18-15-20.png

I think I had a decent start, where I thought I could have even fought for EL, but between changing like 3/4 of the players between summer and january, having a particular harsh chain of losses in a row, I could only get back in the end of the season, and me not being much used to Pes 19 ruthlessness, I only avoided an humiliating virtual demotion by finishing 16th (since, as it's well known, there is sadly no Serie B in 19).

However, as of now I'm satisfied of the team of young, very promising players I put togheter:

Screenshot 2025-08-19 18-15-46.png
and looking forward to grow them, hoping to do better in the next season 😉
 
I've resumed with more consistency the Genoa Master League I started some months ago on Pes 2019. The idea of this save was of kinda imitating the Atalanta cycle that started around 16/17 and is more or less still ongoing, so a tactical base of 3-4-2-1 (that can also become 3-4-1-2, and every other possible variation with the 3 back as the main certainty), and the broad market objective of picking up young, but promising strong players who I may sell when they'll become strong enough and reinvest as the bergamaschi did in those later years (although I'll go case by case, even if I don't want to buy superstars already formed or at least keep those as exceptions, the idea is to become a powerhouse in a couple seasons).

Without mincing words, this first season was very harsh 😁 :

View attachment 369898View attachment 369899

I think I had a decent start, where I thought I could have even fought for EL, but between changing like 3/4 of the players between summer and january, having a particular harsh chain of losses in a row, I could only get back in the end of the season, and me not being much used to Pes 19 ruthlessness, I only avoided an humiliating virtual demotion by finishing 16th (since, as it's well known, there is sadly no Serie B in 19).

However, as of now I'm satisfied of the team of young, very promising players I put togheter:

View attachment 369900
and looking forward to grow them, hoping to do better in the next season 😉
Since there's no Serie B, if you finished 17th, what would happen?
 
Since there's no Serie B, if you finished 17th, what would happen?
There are 3 relegations in Serie A, so I guess you mean if I finished 18th? Either way, nothing really, as far as I know single leagues in Pes are just like there are no demotions in them, so I would just start again in Serie A (at least in classic mode, in challenge I'd most probably still get sacked)
 
I've resumed with more consistency the Genoa Master League I started some months ago on Pes 2019. The idea of this save was of kinda imitating the Atalanta cycle that started around 16/17 and is more or less still ongoing, so a tactical base of 3-4-2-1 (that can also become 3-4-1-2, and every other possible variation with the 3 back as the main certainty), and the broad market objective of picking up young, but promising strong players who I may sell when they'll become strong enough and reinvest as the bergamaschi did in those later years (although I'll go case by case, even if I don't want to buy superstars already formed or at least keep those as exceptions, the idea is to become a powerhouse in a couple seasons).

Without mincing words, this first season was very harsh 😁 :

View attachment 369898View attachment 369899

I think I had a decent start, where I thought I could have even fought for EL, but between changing like 3/4 of the players between summer and january, having a particular harsh chain of losses in a row, I could only get back in the end of the season, and me not being much used to Pes 19 ruthlessness, I only avoided an humiliating virtual demotion by finishing 16th (since, as it's well known, there is sadly no Serie B in 19).

However, as of now I'm satisfied of the team of young, very promising players I put togheter:

View attachment 369900
and looking forward to grow them, hoping to do better in the next season 😉

Are you playing on PC?

Just curious as I really enjoy PES19 but can't find a more up to date option file for PS4. But noticed you have like Califiori and players who wouldn't be on an older option file.
 
PEs 19 (league mode)
I've started with River Plate and caught my first silver ware Vs bitter rivals Boca Juniors in the Supercoola Argentina
2da9a48e-c526-4bc2-a2e5-000e44376f4a (1).png

Then my first league game vs Belgrano away
A solid 4-1 win


This game in league mode playing the Argentinian league is brilliant, atmosphere fantastic and yellow cards flying everywhere

Next stop is a cup double
 
Completed my second season with Genoa in Pes 2019.. a significant improvement compared with the first one:

Screenshot 2025-09-19 19-23-22.png

A single important signing (defender K. Ajer, who played a great championship) I was eliminated early in the Coppa Italia but actually fought for a spot in EL for a good portion of the season, unfortunately a couple of bad results cut me out in the last part of the league, a special mention for the "other" derby, the Spezia one.. I swear it's shockingly WAY harder than the main Samp one, I think I've not won one a single one in two years and I already lost another in the first game of the new season (they also ironically bought Gvuardiol and Mollejo, who were great protagonists in my epic Pes 21 run with the spezzini.. when art imitates life 😂 ) not even the other rival game with Milan feels so hard lol (even tho another loss with them was decisive for my EL missed qualification). Anyway, as the Team Spirit, and my youngsters grew, must say the team started to play as I wanted, and the season felt really enjoyable (since it never happened to me, as I usually play players stricly in their roles, had also no idea that players could actually completely learn a new role if you play them enough.. was pleasantly surprised when I saw Tavares becoming a proper LMF.. hoping I can make the same with Alvarez as an SS) I actually still have to play the last day of market and that's my team:

Screenshot 2025-09-22 20-05-05.png

Decided to sell Mac Allister with a tinge of sadness, as even tho he was the protagonist of the season and the top scorer of the team as an OMF with something like 16 goals, he wanted too much money to renew and I was already planning to slightly change the physiognomy of the team.. so I bought Cherki in january to let him settle, signed Enzo Fernandez as a free agent, and also brought in Malanga Sarr (sold CB Balerdi who was always disappointing), Pellistri and Carnesecchi. Wanted to give out F. Conceicao on loan as he needs to grow a bit, but as of now no offers, so we'll see in the last hours. Tempted by an available Jude Bellingham as for as much as I like both Ederson and Frendrup, I feel like I need to make a leap forward in the midfield.

Third season did not start as good as I hoped (the Spezia loss I already described, and a draw against Empoli), but I'm very hyped to do well and finally qualify for a Cup, at least 😁
 
@Madmac79 A great improvement in season 2, mate!! I would absolutely sign Jude Bellingham! (I even thought of signing him in my PES 2018 Toro adventure, but since I already had Luka, it seemed like it would have kind of a "too similar to Real Madrid" vibe to it, but in your Genoa, it makes perfect sense!) He would definitely start a midfielder revolution and jumpstart your season!! I also really like that you are using the 3-4-2-1 formation, a very dynamic and I should say "in vogue" formation for modern football! Your team is definitely looking like a very solid base, with my main man (And South Korea NT mainstay) Lee Kang In, Fabio Silva, De Ketalaere, and Ajer! You know bro, it's interesting, usually when I play a back 3, I usually have the highest rated defender (in your case, Ajer), right down the middle, but perhaps you want him in the right to play out of the back! Definitely looking like Genoa is on the upwards trend! :RSCARF:

@rockstrongo That's really cool you're playing with the 2019-20 River! Part of that amazing generation which won Libertadores and was THIS close to achieving the double (until Gabriel Barbosa from Flamengo went crazy).. Marcelo Gallardo's Magic doing his thing! I feel like that River Plate was the latest non-Brazilian team that had a real chance in Libertadores before the Brazilians took over, so it's nice to see them in action! :TU: It's definitely been a long time since I've played League Mode, but it definitely sounds like good fun to play seasons that way as well!

PES 2019, to me the most challenging chapter, along with 2013.. And it definitely looks really nice in terms of presentation! The colors of it were my favorite in that generation of PES. :) Great to see you guys re-taking it.

@SP83 I also play on PC, so I haven't been able to test this option file
But here is a useful link for PS4 if you'd like to give it a shot: https://www.dekazeta.net/foro/files/file/124-pes-universe-option-file-pes-2019-ps4/
 
Last edited:
@millossobek Thanks mate! What you say about the three back makes a lot of sense, personally I preferred to play Ajer on the side as he's faster than Maksimovic, that in exchange is a very good header, so it made sense to me to put him central.. but unfortunately (as he's kind of my defensive leader despite the lowest overall of the 3) he's slowly declining at 32, I calculate in a couple of weeks Sarr will become the starter and I'll probably put Ajer at the center.

I've ultimately decided to end the market by selling Frendrup and buying Bellingham as you suggested.. he was playing a beautiful debut in the first Coppa Italia game of the season.. then, in the second half, this happened:



2 months out 😅 .. sucks a bit of course but I've seen it as the mirroring of real life situations where this happened, so it's another small event that makes the story interesting and alive🙂
 
@Madmac79 A great improvement in season 2, mate!! I would absolutely sign Jude Bellingham! (I even thought of signing him in my PES 2018 Toro adventure, but since I already had Luka, it seemed like it would have kind of a "too similar to Real Madrid" vibe to it, but in your Genoa, it makes perfect sense!) He would definitely start a midfielder revolution and jumpstart your season!! I also really like that you are using the 3-4-2-1 formation, a very dynamic and I should say "in vogue" formation for modern football! Your team is definitely looking like a very solid base, with my main man (And South Korea NT mainstay) Lee Kang In, Fabio Silva, De Ketalaere, and Ajer! You know bro, it's interesting, usually when I play a back 3, I usually have the highest rated defender (in your case, Ajer), right down the middle, but perhaps you want him in the right to play out of the back! Definitely looking like Genoa is on the upwards trend! :RSCARF:

@rockstrongo That's really cool you're playing with the 2019-20 River! Part of that amazing generation which won Libertadores and was THIS close to achieving the double (until Gabriel Barbosa from Flamengo went crazy).. Marcelo Gallardo's Magic doing his thing! I feel like that River Plate was the latest non-Brazilian team that had a real chance in Libertadores before the Brazilians took over, so it's nice to see them in action! :TU: It's definitely been a long time since I've played League Mode, but it definitely sounds like good fun to play seasons that way as well!

PES 2019, to me the most challenging chapter, along with 2013.. And it definitely looks really nice in terms of presentation! The colors of it were my favorite in that generation of PES. :) Great to see you guys re-taking it.

@SP83 I also play on PC, so I haven't been able to test this option file
But here is a useful link for PS4 if you'd like to give it a shot: https://www.dekazeta.net/foro/files/file/124-pes-universe-option-file-pes-2019-ps4/
Thanks buddy, me on league mode and it works really good, always loved the look and feel of this game, never liked the ML gameplay though, bit on league mode it plays very differently
 
PES21 - Master League Season 1 (Sampdoria - Serie B)

Overall, the squad is definitely on the thin side and with most players 30+ we have a major overhaul on our hands. Hopefully the likes of Giorza, Maldini, Dodo and Portanova can grow to be key members of the squad.
BORINIIII!!! I hope he's going to leave a mark in this team because he deserves it.

I remember that he used to play for my beloved Milan back in the day. He didn't do that well at Milan (like less than 10 goals in two and a half seasons, or somethinjg like that) but we must be honest and reckon that Milan in that period was hardly the best Milan that the fans had ever witnessed. Not even close.
 
BORINIIII!!! I hope he's going to leave a mark in this team because he deserves it.

I remember that he used to play for my beloved Milan back in the day. He didn't do that well at Milan (like less than 10 goals in two and a half seasons, or somethinjg like that) but we must be honest and reckon that Milan in that period was hardly the best Milan that the fans had ever witnessed. Not even close.
did u mod pes 21? because default gameplay i really couldn t take, it s so repetitive and automated, and the ai game patterns
 
Back
Top Bottom