Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...

2015 Il Grande Torino


BatiGoal
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

 

Inspired by Leecutler's Football Club Torino challenge see here http://fmhvibe.co.uk/community/topic/23626-football-club-torino/

 

 

Before I start I need to say this is probably the toughest challenge I've faced. But one I'm gladly taking on for the club Torino A.C.

If you haven't read the initial post please do so (link above) as it is pretty much self-explanatory as to why I feel I should go on this hopefully successful attempt to bringing back the long lost but not forgotten glory days to this great Italian Football Team.

 

SuperGaMonNew.png

The monument to the dead that lies by the basilica at the Superga crash site overlooking Turin

 

 

As a Manchester United fan we are unfortunately not unfamiliar with such tragedy so I guess that's one of the reasons I feel extra motivated to help to club to succeed.

 

Now for the challenge at hand and a quick reminder of the rules:

 

•You must release All your current players
•You can only use the editor to release players
•No unlockables permitted
•No saving or reloading

 

The club was named Il Grande Torino because they were the very best in their time (1940s) and years ahead of the following pack so I thought It'd be a suitable name for the new manager.

 

 

IlGrandeTorino.jpg

 

 

As fate had it on that May 4th 1949 I removed all players from the squad and was left with this.

 

emptysquad.jpg

 

 

To replicate the actual circumstances, those players were 'removed' of the game either released or sold for $0.

Which gives me a pretty unattractive figure in the club's bank account.

 

finances.jpg

 

 

There's not much I can do other than finding the best prospects in the clubs reserve team and a few free agents that have some quality to add to the team I don't yet have. I can lower the wage budget a bit to free up some cash but it's not going buy miracles so I'm going to focus on finding the right mix of talented kids from the clubs youth team in combination with 2 or 3 experienced additions who're willing to join on a wage cut especially on the positions where I can't find a decent enough youngster. I did have a look already and I can tell the FL and FR positions are a problem. I'll need to look elsewhere for a cheap alternative to get those spots filled as they're an integral part of my 4-2-4 formation. Here's why..

 

"Captained by the great Valentino Mazzola, their inspirational leader and the first truly modern midfielder, Torino revolutionised the game under Novo, adopting a fluid 4-2-4 system a clear decade before Brazil would use the formation to conquer the world. Such was the inventiveness of their play that they are even partly thought to have inspired the magical concept of “Total Football” championed by the Dutch in the 1970s."

 

There's simply no other formation I would've wanted to use for this challenge it's in their blood, it's in Torino A.C.'s DNA.

 

 

But I gotta move fast cause I have no squad yet and i'm already looking at the coming fixtures.

 

fixtures.jpg

 

 

After a good and thorough search for potential I promoted 14 youngsters from the youth team to the first team to represent the new Il Grande Torino which is going to be a massive and very memorable day for the club. I have every faith in them.

 

squad.jpg

 

 

Due to the lack of potential in FL and FR positions I'm forced to start off with a 4-3-3 formation to try and get a decent result as their first game counts straight away. Not only for morale but it's also a ECQ game.

 

433.jpg

 

 

Remember this is a no reloading challenge (as all should be) so I'm actually nervous fielding out a squad with an average age of just 17,5 years old. That's unheard of!!

The new match engine will come in handy for me now as it's a little more detailed and I need to adjust and tweak as I go or there's no way the puzzle pieces fall into place.

 

Also, for the people posting in "training update post" I'm following it as well as it could be essential for the development of my youngsters. Odds are massively stacked against me so I need to grab every little advantage I possibly can to succesfully build a new team.

 

Back to the game, I gave my heavily inexperienced team the combo of roles I think will prove most effective. Rather than examining the opponent I just try to play to my kids' strengths. Tackling isn't great so I kept that "normal" stamina is pretty good overall tho so I may do some pressing later on if we're pressed to our box. If I can't get enough balls to my strikers I may need to put an extra guy in midfield or tweak the passing from direct to mixed. Enough detail here's what happened..

 

HT.jpg

 

 

I'm super pleased with this as a start. I'm always one of prepare for worst-case scenario but this ain't that surely. 3 players scored a 6 at half-time the rest did 7 and 8's. I'm not a fan of 6's so I tweaked a bit change the combo on midfield as well as giving my captain his preferred role instead of the recommended one.

 

The first game following the tragedy was against Genoa, and was – as you would expect – a highly emotional affair, beginning in complete silence despite a capacity crowd, until slowly and solemnly the crowd began to chant “Toro Toro” as one.

 

 

 

2nd half..

FT.jpg

 

 

A WIN! in a European game! 17.5 yo / player !! The new Il Grande Torino is born !!!

 

 

The tweaks helped as the 6's became a seven and an eight (captain with preferred role)

We dominated the game but somewhat lucky their big and only chance didn't result in a draw. Probably due to my team's inexperience.

Well done lads, nonetheless!

 

few stats after first game

 

gamestats.jpg

 

 

 

Two players caught my eye during the game so over the next weeks I'm going to follow them (as a side quest perhaps) and maybe post their progress during Torino's revival  as I think they could play an integral part in this team.

 

 

Mario Bisoli

defender.jpg

 

 

Giulio Mantovani

 

striker.jpg

 

 

As for the latest.. I've done some digging in the transfer market and found a couple experienced as well as talented players for the much sought-after FL and FR positions. Luckily their price was low as were their wage demands.

Because afterall Torino are aspiring to play their beloved 4-2-4 system again as that's what brought the club worldwide fame so that's also my aim in this challenge apart from keeping this club healthy and alive.

 

4-2-4

 

424.jpg

 

 

 

A bit longer than I planned but I'm really enjoying this challenge (TX again Lee for the idea) and hopefully there are a couple followers out there who're interested in its journey as well.

Reminder: no reloading etc so things could turn sour real fast just as easily but I'll do my best to apply all the little bits I've learned over the years and may it be a long journey.

 

The next posts will probably be a little more result-based and way shorter as the introduction, idea, build-up and clarification for tactical moves and the underlying story of course what made the challenge worthwhile took a bit of time to explain.

 

Cheers!

 

Torino claimed the 1949 title, but they would never be the same club ever again, and would not lift the Serie A title again until 1976.

 

The next 3 ECQ games before the start of the Serie A followed..

 

 

First I had the 2nd leg to deal with vs Chornomorets and only the 2nd professional game for this youth team.

 

Having found the right players to occupy the FL and FR positions I switched back to 4-2-4 and..

ecqleg2.jpg

 

 

Added by the home team's recklessness we did well to go through. Next opponent Young Boys.

I changed nothing. New players new system complete new team so better to change as little as possible when things go right..

 

torinoybleg1.jpg

 

Extremely clinical. Youngsters are learning fast and settling in quick into their new formation.

Perfect game so no need to make any major changes. Playing att. with mixed passing and pressing seems to suit these players.

2nd leg ditto.

 

torinoybleg2.jpg

 

We made it into the groupstages of the EL. That's a really good achievement already. We'll do our best and I'll post the progress after a few games in.

 

More importantly tho are the Serie A games getting 4 top league teams in quick succession I need decent results or I may find myself without a job. Obviously the board of directors are unaware of my challenge and I still need to finish in a respectable league position. My goal is to survive with these kids and avoid relegation. Tough. Very tough.

 

My next post may well include details of my sacking...

Cheers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 games in and things are dead even... a very very shaky start but there's light at the end of the tunnel..for now.

Let's have a closer look at my nightmare start.

TorinoFix.jpg

 

Cesena - First big game after the 4 solid ECQ matches. Struggled to dominate the game but ahead till 89th min. BAM! 1-1 Lost 2points.

Juventus - Toughest away game possible and down to 10 men 2nd half. 1-0 down 1-1 10min. from time. Very pleased with the result.

Everton - Very even match but youngsters showed their inexperience and inconsistency you'd expect. Another late goal. 0 points!

Cagliari - I'm now realizing I entered a bad run of games. Just couldn't create much. 3 subs to restore 0-2 score. Improved but too late.

Napoli - Simply overpowered. A seasonened team versus my 17-18 year olds. We fought and we died. Good effort tho, but no points.

AC Milan - Heavy loss! I'm now very worried as clearly my youngster can't perform week in week out. Give 3 subs game time.

Slovan Bratislava - Swap players to new positions assign player roles as in ECQ games and we play a solid away game. Deserved.

Inter - Still no win in Serie A I fear the worst. We played really well but miss 6-7 good chances. 0-1 up but I knew we'd come short. 1-1!

Sassuolo - I know my time as a manager is running out. We need something and my team plays brilliantly. 4-2-4 at its best. 3 BIG points!

Split - After a great performance I change nothing. We create plenty but shaky at the back. Clean sheet and first EC group game win.

Chievo - Same team same tactics. Players are settling into their 4-2-4. 0-3 up but again lose our heads. Did enough to seal the points.

Empoli - Confidence is growing, inconsistency too I feared. 0-1 down till 75th min. Supersub saved the day with 2 goals. +1 in 90th min.

 

 

This young group definitely has potential but at this age they're incredibly inconsistent. Good game followed by a bad one. I'm doing 3 subs each game as to give all of 'em as much game time as possible. If I can survive this season my 17 and 18yo will be 18 and 19. That's 1 year experience that's a massive difference. Better stats, settled into the team, bit more consistent. Tough year and looking at the Serie A and ECQ group it's dead even regarding wins-draws-loses.

Will I still have a job next time I post?..

 

SerieAtable.jpg

 

ECgroup.jpg

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still got the job and after half a season things are improving real fast...

 

fix1.jpg

fix2.jpg

 

November: Result-wise a horrible month with 4 loses, however, not overpowered and able to match strong opponents. Quite unlucky as players got decent ratings which gives me faith. If it's anything to go by tho as time will tell.

 

December: And time DID tell. No loses recorded and we're dominating games. Poor defending results in point loss but we're scoring goals so I'm keeping the 4-2-4 which my players are becoming accustomed to.

 

January: It's official. 4-2-4 is now my FAVORITE formation. Absolutely fanatastic. I've got the perfect player roles instilled and my team of kids just beat the defending champions Juventus. It ook me 6 months of tweaking and fine-tuning but I've got the perfect combo's in place.

 

 

As for the transfer window..

profile.jpg

 

Only used 5M in total (all the funds I had) to find talents for those FL, FR positions rest of the team consists of youth players.

$0 players sold of course as I had none to begin with.

 

Starting the challenge I thought it'd be impossible but just wanted to die trying but having everything click it's definitely doable and I'm actually confident now that I can go all the way.  Loving this save.

 

Cheers!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season has come to a close. Aim was to survive and glad I did.

 

games1.jpg

games2.jpg

 

February: Got some decent performances and valuable points in. The more games for the young lads the better. Got to the semi's of Italian cup but Lazio was better over 2 legs. 4-3 aggregate loss. Proceed in EC beating OL 3-1 aggr. Super.

 

March: Progress to EC quarters beating Sevilla 4-3 aggregate. Team is growing stronger as we come closer to the season's end. Climbing the table in Serie A steadily to 10th spot.

 

April: Tough opponents not great results and Leverkusen knocks us out of the EC on away goals. Deservedly.

 

May: 2 big wins and +8 points earned us 7th spot in the table. What an achievement for this group. What started out as a relegation battle really turned into an ambitious attempt finish in the top-10. Can't wait for 2nd season to start and build on this talented group.

 

Serie A League Table

7thplace.jpg

 

 

1st. season stats:

 

Serie A: 7th

Italian Cup: Semi-finals

Euro Cup: Quarter-finals

Youngest Player: 17y 255days

Best Player: Kravets (29 goals/12assists)

Best Talent: Mantovani

 

Just turned 19 and he's definitely going to be an Il Grande Torino Legend.

 

BestPlayer.jpg

 

 

First season was very successful, still got a job, great squad to work with, wont need any additions perhaps just a GK to strengthen defence a bit. Very little money to work with so that's makes for an easy decision.

 

Aim for 2nd season. Finish higher up the table and just get more games into these boys.

 

2nd season will follow..

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Preparing for a killer 2nd season..

 

With the little funds I obtained from last season's modest success I spent some time exploring the transfer market for bargains to strengthen my squad in defencde. I decided to replace my clumsy GK with Zoet (PSV) for 2M. That's the only buy I needed.

 

7M.jpg

 

Formation: check!

Player roles: check!

Il Grande Torino: check!

 

Best424.jpg

 

 

Try this combo yourself. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some facts worth knowing before I post season 2

 

 

The Invincibles of the Grande Torino:

winners of 5 consecutive Serie A titles

holders of some of the most important records

in the history of Italian football

invincibles.jpg

Torino became the first Italian side

to ever win the 'double'

 

 

The Grande Torino - (1940-1949)

 

top score in the standings (65 points in 40 games - 2p/win)

the maximum advantage over runner-up (16 points)

the biggest home win (10-0 vs. Alessandria)

a total of 29 wins out of 40 games

the longest unbeaten run of 21 games (17w-4d)

the highest number of points at home, 39 of 40 (19w-1d)

the highest number of goals scored (125 goals)

the fewest goals conceded (14 goals)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 2

 

My squad is one year older now touching an average age of just over 19yo.

19yo.jpg

 

Loaned a couple gems out in the hope they return stronger and let the games begin!

 

 

August:

Just 1 league game to be played and got off to a good start, 3 points.(Livorno 3-2)

 

September:

Team's playing solid but unlucky with a couple late equalizers. Valuable points lost. Including the all-important derby vs Juventus (1-1)

 

October:

Only 4 games. 2 wins including the massive 1-2 away to Napoli. (got hammered 4-2 last season) Attack's improving, defence is not.

 

November:

A single win this month and 3 draws. But 'big team draws' so despite the lack of points I'm happy with the performance overall. 6th spot.

 

December:

Very good games with 9 points getting up to 4th spot on the table. The clinical strikers are making up for our sloppy defending I definitely need to strengthen the back four. 1 possibly 2 defenders lack the quality to be part of this team. This will be priority come end of season. No funds available to add to the team in Jan. transfer window.

 

I particularly enjoyed getting AC Milan back for trashing me 0-3 at home last season. I do not forget!

 

Tor-ACM.jpg

 

January:

Fantastic month. 5 wins 2 draws. Cemented in 3rd spot. Highlight was beating Inter 2-1 in Coppa Italia Q-finals. Other than that getting 2 clean sheets is very welcome too.

Oh..and beating my great rivals and defending champions in the derby match on their home turf makes my day!!!

 

DerbyWin.jpg

 

 

February:

Dip in form. Average performances and inconsistency is kicking in with 1 win and a few lucky draws 4 and 5 seeded are closing the gap. Played two legs vs Lazio in Italian Cup losing 5-3 on aggregate. Consolation, it's an improvement over last year's Cup when I just reached QF.

 

March:

Dropping to 5th trying to cope with suspensions and injuries to my key players. At least the whole squad is getting game time. Attributes greener, ratings slightly up, age as well now the consistency pls!

 

April:

Slowly getting back in form and massive wins against my closest rivals Napoli and AC Milan. Juventus are way top and champions already. They're cracking a killer season and miles above the rest of us.

 

May:

Starting the month in 4th spot fixtures look in my favor. I get my home wins in and snatch an undeserved point away to an already relegated Bologna, rivals screw up and BAM 3rd spot. Absolutely delighted!

 

I order a round of beer for my squad. Well done lads! :-)

A very very good season! And back in Europe!!

SerieA3rd.jpg

 

 

 

Season 2 stats:

 

Serie A: 3rd

Coppa Italia: Semi-finals

Most goals: Kravets (26)

Most assists: Mantovani (12)

Clean sheets: 8

 

Stay tuned for season 3 of The Revival of Il Grande Torino

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Grande Torino events:

  • 1939 - Torino is bought by Ferruccio Novo, an industrialist from Turin.
  • 1940 - Feb 4th, Franco Ossola begins at Novara with Torino. This is the first Grande Torino stone.
  • 1942 - Novo buys Venezia players Loik and Mazzola, who'd become the club's legend leading Torino to major successes.
  • 1943 - April 25th, Toro win the championship, the second in history, and the Italian Cup. It is the first Italian team that wins both Italian championship and cup in the same year.
  • 1946 - July 28th, Torino win the third title (crushing Livorno 9-1 on final day)
  • 1947 - Torino win a fourth championship. At Comunale stadium of Turin the Italian national team beats the strong Hungarian team 3-2 (ten Italian players were Torino players)
  • 1948 - Torino win their fifth title.
  • 1949 - Disaster strikes.
  • May 4th - the airplane carrying Torino team from Lisbon crashes on Superga's Basilica. 18 players die (incl. trainers, journalists and crew).
  • May 15th - Torino field a reserve team for the four remaining matches. The opponents also played with a reserve team out of solidarity. Torino - Genoa 4-0.
  • May 22nd - Torino - Palermo 3-0.
  • May 29th - Sampdoria - Torino 2-3.
  • June 12th - Fiorentina - Torino 0-2.
  • Torino secure the sixth championship (5th consecutive title).
  • 1953 - Sep 12th Ferruccio Novo resigns. It is the end of Il Grande Torino.

 

TorinoYouth.jpg

Torino reserve team preparing for 4 ramaining games

 

 

Season 3 coming up later..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 3 - Part 1

 

 

Reflecting back on season 2 I needed to strengthen my defence.

Was hoping to get a new CB and DL but funds are still limited to get quality players so rather than going for two average players I'm keeping faith in my DL and got in Sviatchenko a 'cheap' alternative for a solid CB.

 

I'm drawn in the CL group with Athletic, Spurs and PSG after having seen off PSV in CL play offs 5-2 on agg. Horrible group.

 

August:

FALSE START - losing away games to inter and Roma i'm at rock bottom of the table. Ouch.

 

September:

INJURIES - with my two top strikers getting long-term injuries I'm struggling to score goals.

 

October:

CLEAN SHEETS - defence is outperforming attack for the first time. Picking up 7 clean sheets already (just 1 short of last year's total) and a bunch of typical Italian style victories if you like (1-0) my defs deserve credit and we're in top 5.

 

November:

VITAL WINS - Beating Spurs at home (2-1) and Athletic away (2-3) in CL's 4th and 5th round before keeping French giants PSG to a draw (1-1) at home I manage to survive the group with an injury-stricken squad. Outstanding.

 

CL.jpg

 

 

December:

GOALS - Finally getting some players back from injury, especially my top strikers, I'm scoring goals more easily and picking up points leading the team up to 2nd spot. Juventus still very much dominating the Serie A as they've done over the last several years.

 

January:

BIG GAMES - Looking ahead I'm facing Napoli, Roma, Inter in quick succession. With a nearly complete squad I'm confident. A little further in Feb I'm facing Liverpool in CL last 16. Killer game can't wait..

 

S3part1.jpg

 

 

 

 

Season 3 - part 2

 

(coming soon..)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Solid season mate!

 

Thanks. Every season it's an improvement but they're so young they need 4-5 seasons before they're consistent enough to be labelled title contenders.

Almost done with 3rd season and injuries piling up unfortunately. Small squad subs aren't great so it's Juve's 3rd consecutive title. Perhaps next year..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 3 - part 2

 

January:

BIG GAMES - With two wins and a draw vs my closest rivals I'm trailing leaders Juventus by a couple points. Defeating Inter (1-0) in the cup and moving to the semi's it's a great month.

 

February:

Liverpool - Meeting Liverpool in the CL last 16 totally lived up to the expectations. What a game!

 

liv1.jpg

liv2.jpg

 

March:

INJURIES AGAIN - Apparently I have injury prone players in my squad but due to lack of good subs I lose very valuable points in the race for the title. Losing to my biggest rivals hurts especially when dominating the game in Della Alpi Stadium but just not clinical enough.

 

juveloss.jpg

 

 

April:

DRAGON SLAYER - Fantastic performances vs Atletico winning 6-0 on agg. Definitely our best games thus far.

 

atl1.jpg

atl2.jpg

 

 

After the Atletico rampage the newspapers were just as shocked as I was.

 

dragonslayer.jpg

 

May:

BARCELONA - Reaching the last 4 in CL is an amazing feat for this club considering the fact that 3 seasons ago I had litterally no squad to work with. Things are only getting better and better..but Barcelona in their prime are too much game for us.

 

barca1.jpg

barca2.jpg

 

Good performances nonetheless slightly disappointed in scoring 3(!) offside goals. There's always a next season..

But the highlight of this season is without a doubt winning my first trophy for Torino. The boys deserve this!

 

cupwinners.jpg

 

 

Having dropped points due to missing key players through injury it definitely makes getting good subs up front a top priority for next season. It also made up for a super exciting race to the finish in the Serie A. and once again Juventus sealing the title. But seeing the progression my team made and the fact that we're rapidly closing in on our competitors I'm confident we can give them a real run for their money in my 4th season with Il Grande Torino.

 

s3_3rd.jpg

 

 

 

Season 3 stats:

 

Serie A: 3rd

Coppa Italia: Winners

CL: Semi-Finals

Most Goals: Kravets (37)

Most Assists: Vitiello (13)

Clean Sheets: (23)

 

Stay tuned for season 4.

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Toro 1940s

Torino1940s.jpg

Throughout the 1940s, a great Torino side had enraptured Italian football with the excellence of their attacking 

play and the five successive titles it brought. They still hold the record for the most goals scored in a Serie A

campaign 125 in the 40 games of the 1947-48 season – and, in terms of goals-per-game, have the three best

averages in the history of the competition.The very peak of this period, however, came in April 1946 against Roma.

In the ultimate emphasis of their overwhelming football, Torino hit six goals in the first 19 minutes.

Whatever about their ratio of 3 goals/game, this was a goal every three minutes.

At  half-time, Torino manager Luigi Ferrero even told his players that there  was no need to humiliate the opposition further.

The job was done. The performance would play a key part in the legend of Torino, which was so  tragically

– and prematurely – ended in the Superga air crash of 1949.

 

 

 

 

Season 4

coming..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 4 - Part 1 - Supercup Showdown

 

August:

BAYERN FACE-OFF - Having a few extra funds available after season 3's reasonable success I needed to strengthen my team to offer a tougher competition.

-GK (Zoet ex-PSV) has been outstanding since joining last season.

-Defence is very good too except the inconsistency of my DL.

-Midfield is perfect. Loanees returned to the club and they have improved nicely. They'll be a good addition to the first team.

-Attack is magnificent but the problem is I'm thin on good subs for the FL, FC, FR roles as my top strikers seemed rather prone to injuries last season, however, two other strikers who return from their loan spells are significantly stronger so they deserve a spot on the bench to prove their worth for the team. Saves me money thankfully.

 

So my only business in the transfer market was Indepediente's Jose Luiz Ruiz (4M Euro). Already double in price and with 2 goals / 6 assists he's been exceptional for a DL. Nice scouting!

 

JLR.jpg

 

 

Then the face-off with Bayern Munich in the Champions League play-offs. How unfortunate to draw these German giants but having done really well last year we had respect but no fear.

 

bayern1.jpg

 

Youngsters are fully grown pro's by now and they can dream their beloved 4-2-4 attacking style of play. Domination.

 

bayern2.jpg

 

Dominating Bayern over 2 legs is no small feat. Was close tho and extra time needed but fantastic job.

If we can pass this test we definitely have what it takes to go all the way!

 

However, the game that was played bewteen these two CL play-off legs was by far the most exciting yet of the season.

Supercup Showdown with archrivals Juventus. A rollercoaster of emotions and an absolute cracker of a match.

 

ItaSC.jpg

 

Second trophy is in.

Going up 3 times then trailing 4-3 two red cards 2nd half E.T. shoot-out..I needed a breath after the game. And a beer.

 

September:

CRUISING - Starting off very well in Serie A beating Inter (2-0) and drawing their neighbors Milan (2-2). 2nd in the table.

 

October:

ALMOST PERFECT SCORE - with 5 wins and a draw the team's killing it. Best match being 2-0 down away to Sampdoria making it 2-3 with a late come-back. Topping the table.

 

November:

CL GROUP - 3 wins 3 draws makes Torino top the group with Atletico 1p less as runners-up. Not exactly an advantage as I'm facing Barcelona (again!) at the last 16 knock-out stage. The team responsible for my CL exit in semi's last season. Killer encounter!

 

December:

FIRST DEFEAT - recording my first loss in Serie A away against Napoli (3-1) Despite beating them in the Italian Cup last season I don't have a particularly good record against them. They're officially my nemesis. Still at the top tho defending champions are closing the gap.

Will make for an exciting season finisher I'm sure.

 

s4table1.jpg

 

 

Season 4 - Part 2

(later..)

 

 

 

January:

HOME FORM -

 

February:

BARCELONA (partII) -

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@ Leecutler, have been quite unfortunate regarding offside goals and injuries but the latter's perhaps due to their age playing 60-ish games a season. Not sure if that's been factored in the game. But fewer this season tho.

 

@ Carlos, Thanks. It's time-consuming but definitely one of my favorite careers in a long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 4 - Part 2 - The Treble

 

 

January:

HOME FORM - Home form's been brilliant this season dropping only a couple points. Beating Juventus 3-1 increases the gap to 5 points.

 

February:

BARCELONA (partII) - Last season we came short having an inexperienced squad but seeing the amazing progress the guys made over the last season and the amount of goals we're scoring as of late we're giving ourselves a 50-50 chance of making it through.

And coming off a 4-1 aggregate win over Roma in the Cup semi's our confidence is touching the roof.

 

barcaII1.jpg

 

Delighted with the late comeback giving us a real chance in our home game.

 

barcaII2.jpg

 

That's the works. Consistency is definitely kicking in at this point. An injury-free squad surely helps getting these results.

 

 

March:

GOALS GALORE - Winning a couple games by 4 / 5 goals difference is giving as a much better goal difference than the previous seasons. It's hard to find a weak spot in my team at the moment. All the hard work is paying off.

 

April:

KILLING GIANTS - Very tough draw for the Champions League having faced Bayern and Barcelona we're now AGAIN up against archrivals Juventus. For some reason we're playing big teams with much more ease than the relegation battlers in the Serie A.

 

Another top top performance.

 

Juveslaughter.jpg

 

2nd leg was a formailty giving some of my subs some much needed game time before the huge encounter with Man City for a place in the Champions League final. I've been dreaming of this moment for Toro.

 

MC1.jpg

 

8 goals! What a match. And what a game Rooney had. Respect. But Torino has the slight edge for the second leg.

 

MC2.jpg

 

We're in the FINALS!!! Just awesome.

 

 

May:

TWO FINALS - Having been able to keep the gap intact over our rivals in the Serie A it's just a matter of days before we seal our very first title since 1976. We're overjoyed but there are two more massive games to be played.

 

Coppafinal.jpg

 

Our 2nd successive domestic Cup. Certainly no easy game but we were more clinical.

 

Then followed the CL final

 

CLfinal.jpg

 

Il Grande Torino has done it. Wonderful moment!

 

Serie A League Table 2017/2018

 

(1975/1976)

Three straight losses for the “white and black stripes”, the second of which was the derby,

allowed Torino to overtake. The last day, with Torino one point ahead and, until then,

always victorious at home, ended in a draw with Cesena and the defeat of Juventus in Perugia.

It was the seventh title, celebrated by seventy thousand fans delighted by the title,

won 27 years after the Superga tragedy

 

 

TorinoChamps.jpg

 

TORINO WIN THE TREBLE

 

Best in Italy and best in Europe. The team's near perfect and at this age they still got 8-10 years to dominate the world.

 

I'll add at least one more season to this career as I'm enjoying this too much to close the chapter at the beginning of its peak.

 

 

Season 4 stats:

 

Serie A: Winner

Coppa Italia: Winner

Italian Super Cup: Winner

Champions League: Winner

Most goals: Kravets (47)

Most Assists: Igboun (19)

Clean Sheets: (24)

 

 

 

Season 5 - Remembering The Forties

(coming soon..)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes loving following this. Are you using 424 tactic?

 

Yes. I had no choice since it was their tactic in their prime so had to include it in my career.

Don't think I actually ever played this tactic since good (natural rather than accomplished) FL's and FR's are hard to come by in this game.

With the correct player role combo's it's a fantastic formation.

This is a fantastic story! Loving reading about all the history involved!!

 

Thanks. As I progressed in my career I became more and more interested in their history.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Il Grande Torino's Inspirational Captain

 

Valentino Mazzola (1919-1949)

 

Position: CM / AMC / AML

Club appearances: 204

Int. appearances: 12

Club goals: 118

Int. goals: 4

 

VM.jpg

 

He possessed a terrific ability to beat an opponent with his

quick feet and pace as well as excellent aerial ability and

an accurate, powerful strike with both feet.

 

The 1946/47 season was arguably to be Valentino's finest for

Torino. His side not only won the Scudetto once more and this

time Mazzola not only supplied the crucial assists that were

to secure the title but also the majority of the goals as he

finished up top scorer in the league with 29 goals in 38 games.

 

He scored the fastest hat-trick in Serie A in the 29th,

30th and 31st min. against Vicenza in 1947.

This record still stands today.

 

Teammates on Mazzola:

"He alone is half the squad.

The other is made by the rest of us".

 

 

 

 

Season 5 - Remembering The Forties

(coming up..)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 5 - Remembering The Forties - One

 

 

Torino's youth team 5 years on

 

youngsquad.jpg

 

These are the players I started my career with 4 seasons ago with the exception of the 4 teens out on loan. Not having a squad to work with on my first day on the job I promoted 20 youth players into the first team. From those 20 I released four.

The other 16 play a significant part of the current success squad + 6 transfer additions makes a squad of 22.

 

16/22 are homegrown players. That's impressive. But it's also very rewarding to see them develop into top players over the years. I noticed in their early years their painful inconsistency but the potential was there. And as I kept believing in them I only spend 20M euros on additions over a course of 5 seasons. That's very little, and none sold.

 

Let's have a look at the 3 best homegrown players:

 

1. Daniele Pugliese

 

Puglie.jpg

 

 

2. Felice Vitiello

 

Vitiello.jpg

 

 

3. Giulio Mantovani

 

Manto.jpg

 

 

They're outstanding players and they may seem 'cheap' but rest assured they'll triple in price once they're rewarded with bigger contracts. They've become the backbone of the team over the last season and at just 21/22 they're going nowhere. Pugliese and Vitiello play as a block in midfield assigned BWM and BBM. Mantoviani along with top striker Kravets (ex-Dynamo Kiev - 2.5M mega bargain!) share poacher and/or advanced forward roles. These Fantastic Four excel nearly every game.

 

August:

CUP WEEK - Coming off pre-season friendly wins and an injury-free squad I was determined to add two more trophies to the cabinet.

 

Italian Super Cup

 

ISCfinal.jpg

 

 

European Super Cup

 

ESCfinal.jpg

 

 

September:

NEMESIS NAPOLI - Slightly slow start to the season drawing my first 2 games (2-2) it was a welcome encounter with my nemesis Napoli, 2-1 home win, as my negative record against them is slowly overturning.

 

October:

AWAY FROM HOME - Having to play 5 away games this month including CL matches I was glad to not lose any of them and secure CL qualification after 4 games in a group with Sporting Por., M.Haifa and Atl. Madrid.

 

November:

DERBY DAY - Trailing two points to leaders Juventus I was delighted with the away win (0-2) and overtake 'black and white stripes' for topspot. Even match but my strikers were in better form on the day.

 

December:

BEST OF THE BEST - Having won the Champions League last season it was now time to face-off the winners of the Copa Libertadores.

 

CWC-1.jpg

 

 

Not a big score but looking at the stats there could only have been one winner. All trophies are in for Torino. I relished this moment.

 

In all a great first half of the season. Tricky matches coming up in Jan and Feb tho including my archrivals and Liverpool...

 

 

 

 

Season 5 - Remembering The Forties - Two

 

(later..)

January:

DERBY WOES - ..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Season 5 - Remembering The Forties - Two

 

 

January:

DERBY WOES - Good month as far as league games concerned. Both teams from the capital city beaten, Lazio 2-0 and Roma 5-2.

But yet again another derby match versus my great rivals, this time in the Italian Cup. Over the last 3 seasons I've faced them 5-6 times / season either in the Serie A or Cup or CL.

Being more often than not on the winning side this time they were the better side. Very painful to accept defeat, especially in a knock-out match but that's part of the game. After winning this Cup two successive times it's now time for another champion.

 

coppaitalialoss.jpg

 

 

 

DERBY DELLA MOLE

 

 

Derby di Torino (The Old Lady vs. il Toro) is the oldest football derby in Italy first played in 1907.

 

derbyJT.jpg

 

Total games: 230 (all competitions)

Juventus wins: 96 (-350 goals-)

Torino wins: 72 (-310 goals-)

Draws: 62

  

Records:  ( 1907 - present )

 

Highest scoring match: Torino 8-6 Juventus, 1913

Fastest goal: Valentino Mazzola (Toro), 1 min., 1944

Most derby goals: Giampiero Boniperti (Juventus): 14

 

Note: Torino was very much the dominant force up until 1980's with Juventus claiming that spot since.

 

 

 

 

 

February:

MILAN MISERY - Playing mostly small teams this month and collecting valuable points for the league I failed to impress in San Siro stadium and left empty-handed (2-1). Having a busy month with CL games in between perhaps rotating my squad was a bad choice.

 

March:

ANFIELD AGONY - Slight dip in form at the start of the calendar year with good results followed by bad ones it was painful to conceed a goal at Anfield very late in the game losing by the slightest margin, 1-0. This made the 2nd leg in Italy extra difficult but we managed to keep that all-important clean sheet and put two in the back of the net. 2-0. A 2-1 aggregate win over Liverpool.

 

April:

TRIPLE JUVE - As if there's no other team to play I faced Juventus twice in the CL (1st leg home, 2nd leg away) with a home league game against them in between. Winning 2-1, 0-1, 1-0 respectively it felt as a revenge for the Cup loss earlier in January.

 

May:

MAINTAINING THE GAP - Seeing off Bor. Dortmund in CL semi's with the exact same scenario vs. Liverpool 1-0 away loss, 2-0 home win, it was crucial to maintain the gap with 2nd placed Juve in the league as they were recording win after win desperately trying to keep me from retaining the title.

End of May followed the biggest game of the season. Bayern Munich. CL final.

 

eccfinal.jpg

 

Two CL wins in-a-row. Torino are back!

 

With a peaking Torino side at the latter stages of the season we did enough to secure a 2nd successive title in the Serie A. CHAMPIONS!

 

 

2xchamps.jpg

 

 

Despite not winning every single piece of silverware we can't deny we had a tremendous season. Let's enjoy while it lasts!

 

 

Season 5 stats:

 

Serie A: Winner

Coppa Italia: Round of 16

Italian Super Cup: Winner

European Super Cup: Winner

Club World Championship: Winner

Champions League: Winner

Most goals: Mantovani (35)

Most Assists: Malele (14)

Clean Sheets: (23)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

 

5 seasons into this career my primary aim was to bring Torino F.C. back to its glory days and i think I managed to achieve that.

My secondary aim is to dominate Italy, Europe and the rest of the world so I'm adding another 5 seasons to this career.

But to keep things exciting I decided to add a little side challenge so I have things to look forward to and records to break.

 

I did a little searching and decided on the following challenging Torino club records.

These 10 records were set over a period of time and I'll do my best to break as many as I can within the next 5 seasons.

 

torinofc.jpg

 

Side Challenge: Torino Football Club - Club Records 1906-2014

 

  • 1942 / 1943 - Coppa Italia winners without conceding a goal (20-0)
  • 1942 / 1949 - Won 5 successive league titles
  • 1943 / 1944 - Invincible season not losing a game (16 - 2 - 0)
  • 1946 / 1947 - Fastest Hattrick (Mazzola) 29th, 30th, 31st min.
  • 1947 / 1948 - The biggest home win (vs. Alessandria) 10-0
  • 1947 / 1948 - The biggest away win (vs Roma) 1-7
  • 1947 / 1948 - Highest number of points at home, winning 19/20 home games
  • 1947 / 1948 - The longest unbeaten run: 21 games
  • 1947 / 1948 - The highest number of goals scored: 125 goals
  • 1976 / 1977 - The fewest goals conceded: 14 goals

 

Season 6

(up next..)

 

Cheers!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...