League Performance

Serie A Table Serie A Team Stats Serie A Player Stats Under 20s League Under 18s League

Unfortunately, the continuation of our undefeated run in Serie A was just not meant to be this season following a 2-1 defeat to Juventus in mid-October. Much of the blame for which could be attributed to having lost both Wettstein and Carles to injury in the lead up to the match. There were no such excuses to be made for the 2-1 away defeat to rivals Atalanta, however, where our best group of players simply failed to get the job done. It’s these sorts of performances that leave me wondering whether this squad will ever be capable of the same kind of domination my Stuttgart achieved on FM15 with an undefeated run of over 300 games. Anyway I’m grumbling over what really are minor issues when I should be celebrating the fact we were once again able to finish top of the pile in Serie A. While for the second year running both the Under 20 and Under 18 squads also went on to secure their respective league titles despite the Under 18s, unfortunately, falling narrowly short in the UEFA Youth League.

Awards

World Player of the Year European Golden Boy Ballon d’Or

Rachid Saidi may very well have dethroned him last year but this time around Alexandru Pop was back with a vengeance to reclaim his rightful spot as the holder of the Ballon d’Or and World Player of the Year awards. Taking him to a quite brilliant total of seven Ballon d’Or wins in his time at Cremonese. Though he did perhaps have a little helping hand this time, what with his manager being eligible to vote for the award this year too. Cronyism wins.

Club World Cup

Semi Final Semi Final: 48′ Byczkowski Goal Final: 90+1′ Chianese Goal Final

It was nice to see a little variety in terms of the opposition faced in the competition this year. We’ve faced a number of North and South American teams in the Club World Cup over the past decade or so but very little from elsewhere so the match up against our first Oceanic team in the form of Auckland City this year was quite pleasing. Not pleasing enough to go easy on them of course but I was keen to give the youngsters a good run out in the competition with the hope they would not disappoint. This gambit was rewarded with a comprehensive victory over the kiwi side, though they did well to deny us for the entire first half before eventually succumbing. The Final itself, our second meeting with America (Mex) at this stage, proved a less comprehensive victory but it was a victory nevertheless thanks to Byczkowski’s clinical finish, followed late on by academy product Roberto Chianese scoring his first ever goal for the club.

TIM Cup

1st Round vs Vicenza Quarter Final vs Sassuolo Semi Final 1st Leg vs Juventus Semi Final 2nd Leg vs Juventus Final vs Napoli

After remarking on how nice it was to see new faces making it to the TIM Cup Final just last year it’s a bit of a shame that normal service was somewhat resumed this time around. Napoli may not be Juventus but they’re still a big deal in Italian football and our clash with them this year made it the third time we’d come across them at this stage of the competition. Just like our previous encounters with Napoli, in the 2031 and 2032 Finals, they were unable to show the kind of remarkable spirit displayed by Pescara 12 months previous. Though perhaps I’m being too harsh considering Pescara faced our B-Team while Napoli had the misfortune to encounter a near full strength side featuring the likes of Saidi, Pop, and Nwokolo.

Champions League

Despite the presence of the once mighty Bayern Munich, this group actually proved to be far more straightforward than I could possibly have imagined. In fact, it may even be our most dominant performance in a Champions League Group ever with twenty-two goals scored and none conceded during the six games.

First Knockout (1-0 A | 5-0 H) Last year it was the Quarter Finals, this year it’s the First Knockout Round. Perhaps next year we’ll draw Manchester City in the Group Stages. For now, though, I’ll simply enjoy the fact that at present we seem to have the beating of Andre Schubert’s side, even after selling them Dean Rudan. The first game proved to be a typically stifling away knockout encounter with neither side creating much in the way of decent chances but Pop was able to find Nwokolo to provide us with an advantage to defend in the second leg. Or, as it more accurately turned out to be, an advantage to press home in the second leg. Even with Kalinin and Nwokolo absent through injury, we had more than sufficient firepower to put this rather limited City side to bed at Cremonese Stadium.

Quarter Final (2-1 A | 5-0 H) Another year and another knockout stage meeting with Tolga Zengin’s Arsenal. For those counting, this marks the third year in a row that we’ve come across the North London side and this year they interestingly happen to feature the Cremonese academy product Edoardo Callegaro following his 18.5m move from Manchester City in the summer. One of the few players I happen to regret selling. It was not a successful move for the lad, however, and as a result, he wasn’t selected to take to the field against his former club as they were subjected to a 7-1 drubbing on aggregate.

Semi Final (1-1 H | 2-1 A) Unlike our previous two Knockout Stage opponents it has been quite a while since we’ve come across Barcelona in the Champions League. Over five years in fact, and for the first time since Isaac Ogbonna made his 62m switch to the Camp Nou. It would also prove to be a much closer encounter than our two previous ties as Barcelona survived a first leg barrage only to rob us of victory with a speculative goal in the dying minutes of the game. That left us needing to come away from the Camp Nou with a win which was easier said than done as Barca proved a far sterner and adventurous opposition at home even with a lead on away goals. Fortunately Alexandru Pop was on hand to once again drag the team through another crunch game with two clinically executed finishes and after that it was just a matter of trying to shut up shop which moving Damian Puente over to bolster the midfield seemed to accomplish.

Final (2-0 N) Ricardo Ruiz has long been one of my favourite strikers on this save despite never having played for Cremonese, and even now at 34 years of age he’s been having a wonderful season in the Champions League with 16 goals scored in 11 games. Ultimately, however, the legendary Spanish striker would have little impact on the outcome of the match as PSG proved incapable of managing a single shot on target during the Final. Our own problem didn’t so much lie with creating chances but the taking of said chances. Fortunately, Bastian Futschik had his scoring boots on as he ended the game with a brace, and his goals could not have been more different from one another either with a lovely long-range effort in the first half, followed by a tap-in to secure the win late on.

First XI

Wettstein – Injuries detracted a little bit from what was otherwise yet another fine season from Nikola Wettstein which leaves him just 28 league games away from hitting 500 total league appearances for the club.

(40 Games | 19 Conceded | 25 Clean Sheets)

Puente – Another fantastic season from the Spaniard and one I’m very much hoping will continue into this summer’s Euro 2036 as I try to guide Spain to a victorious tournament in Germany.

(34 Games | 2 Goals | 17 Assists)

Linares – It’s scary to think that Diego is 32 years old now, he barely looks it attribute wise of course but time will soon begin to catch up with him and as of yet I have no real successor in place.

(33 (1) Games | 3 Goals | 2 Assists)

Yeremin – Another steady season for the Russian and I’ve no reason to suspect he won’t continue to keep up his fine form over the coming seasons.

(32 Games | 0 Goals | 0 Assists)

Fish – It’s great to have him back playing regularly and at a high level for the team but there’s no denying the fact that the cruciate ligament injury suffered 18 months ago has had a big impact on the left back. During his time out Fish has taken a hit to nearly every physical attribute and I now fear what another similar injury could do to him.

(29 Games | 1 Goal | 9 Assists)

Kalinin – The metronome of the Cremonese midfield just keeping things ticking over as the years go by, allowing the most adventurous players ahead of him to do the real damage. He currently has three years left to run on his contract and although the standard practice is to renew all deals with two years remaining, I may hold off next year in Kalinin’s case due to his advancing age.

(28 Games | 3 Goals | 2 Assists)

Schößler – A good year all round from the German but hardly one of his more defining seasons. Still, he performs at a consistently high level and forms a crucial part of our midfield acting as a foil for his compatriot Fustchik.

(31 Games | 9 Goals | 3 Assists)

Futschik – Anyone who scores a game-winning brace in the Champions League Final is doing something right, and that performance in the Final from Bastian Futschik was very much the icing on the cake of a very good season.

(33 Games | 10 Goals | 10 Assists)

Pop – Just when you begin to believe the demise of Pop may finally be on the way he comes up with what is arguably his best ever season for the club. His 28 assists this year are a new record for the club and the 33 goals scored in this campaign match his personal best tally of goals from five years ago. Stunning really but that’s Pop at the end of the day.

(32 Games | 33 Goals | 28 Assists)

Saidi – Quite the season once again from Saidi but the hard work begins now with national team duty at the Euros where I’m hoping to make the best use of his knack for scoring important goals.

(32 Games | 24 Goals | 15 Assists)

Nwokolo – When we made it to the Champions League Final this year I was hoping for a repeat performance from Nwokolo after his four-goal haul in last year’s Final. It was not meant to be, however, after some vile villainous scum decided to sabotage that effort by poisoning Nwokolo’s food just a few days before the Final could take place. There are no dodgy lasagna’s in my club cafeteria so it’s clear this was the act of some outside force, no doubt on the PSG pay-roll. Poor Nwokolo, Poisoned by our enemies.

(28 (1) Games | 25 Goals | 13 Assists)

B Team

Carles – Started more games this year after injury ruled out Nicola Wettstein for a good few months of the season, and did very well in those games too. I’ve also made him the Spanish number one because…well…cronyism, I suppose, but so far he’s flourishing in the role.

(18 (13) Games | 5 Conceded | 27 Clean Sheets)

Bastians – He may have missed out on defending his European Golden Boy crown this year but it was still a very impressive season from Karsten Bastians once more. If it wasn’t for the presence of Damian Puente in the squad then he would make a very good first choice right back.

(25 Games | 0 Goals | 8 Assists)

Abreu – A solid season which is about the best I believe is to be expected from him really. He’s a good option but quite a step behind the likes of Yeremin and Linares in the first team and as a result, I’ll be on the look out for improvements here going forward.

(21 (2) Games | 0 Goals | 2 Assists)

Da Silva – Did decent once again but it occurs to me that he’s quite a limited player and one unlikely to improve too much more so I’d be happy enough to see him leave under the right circumstances.

(27 Games | 2 Goals | 0 Assists)

Bull – After some impressive performances for the Under 20 team this season I was keen to see what Nathan Bull could offer to the B-Team during the second half of the season. To that end I had him replace Febbrari as the starting B-Team left back from January onwards and so far I haven’t had cause to look back. He still has a long way to go, of course, in terms of development but it has been a very promising start to his Cremonese career so far.

(16 (3) Games | 0 Goals | 2 Assists)

Roden – Getting on a bit now but he’s been a very dependable player for the B-Team and he may still get his moment in the spotlight what with Kalinin being four years older than he is.

(23 Games | 0 Goals | 1 Assists)

Jules – With Hamzaoui out again with another long-term injury I was forced to reconfigure the B-Team midfield somewhat this season. I decided to shunt Lucas across into the AP slot and bring in a new RPM to take over his role in the team seems as we have a plethora of young talent in that area. The idea was to rotate a few players in the position but once Jules got his chance he took it and held on with both hands to deny anyone else much of a look in this season.

(26 (1) Games | 7 Goals | 7 Assists)

Lucas – Ended up playing in something of a more unfamiliar role this season but needs must and Lucas is such a versatile player that he was able to take it in his stride easily. Physically he’s still in fantastic shape for a 21-year-old nevermind a player heading to 32 later this summer. He has mentioned an increasing desire for a new challenge a few times but I’m reluctant to let such a legendary player leave, even at this stage of his career.

(17 (1) Games | 3 Goals | 10 Assists)

Bertin – Performed his duties very well once again but I’m sorely timed to try him up front next season for one last shot at having him succeed as a striker. Ultimately though that’s unlikely given the sheer strength in depth we have at that position currently.

(20 (1) Games | 14 Goals | 11 Assists)

Huet – Even a broken foot couldn’t keep Elias Huet down for too long as he made his comeback around January before going on to secure his starting place in the B-Team once more. He’s in fine physical condition and rather decent form so I expect him to be a threat at this summer’s Euros.

(15 (3) Games | 8 Goals | 5 Assists)

Gursoy – He was in excellent form throughout the campaign and proved himself more than capable of leading the line for the First Team when push came to shove, most notably in the Champions League Final where he deputised for the ‘injured’ Nwokolo.

(23 (1) Games | 19 Goals | 7 Assists)