Yeah, quite a strange nick for a pretty girl[/b]
No, no. The first part of "Alien," the 'Ali' part is pronounced (in English) in a similar way as the "Eli" of her name. However, when you short the name to just 'Eli', it has a completely different sound. Therefore, "Alien" is quite a fitting name, but still, I'll never call her that... maybe for a joke once. I mean, she never calls me Ed, so I should just use her fu-... her real name too. (Her full name is quite... long is what I noticed some time ago)
Daniel Alves (unknown guy, but pretty good midfielder). [/b]
I think I know Daniel Alves. Isn't he from Brondby?
Won all the tournaments and qualified for the World one, which i won. I kept in this pace, always saving the best players for real important games (thats why i lost the Eqohuatls') and won 2 other World champs. Now my main team is: Casillas, Ferdinand, Arellano (defence), Gamarra (defence), Rafael Márquez (defence), Daniel Alves (left), Kapo (right midfielder), Cuautehmoc Blanco (top midfielder), Fred (attack), Robinho (attack), Jared Borghetti (attack). Aguillas de Guadalajara 4th time champion, consecutive, with that team :infernal: [/b]
I don't know most of the players, but I do have a question. The team you are managing, what kind of role does it play in that league? As example, the English Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are the strongest clubs from England (I still don't want to count Liverpool to that), and in Spain it would be Barcelona and Real Madrid. In the Netherlands it would be PSV, Ajax and Feyenoord (some say that AZ Alkmaar is now a top team as well, some, I'm one of them, don't agree with that) while SC Heerenveen, FC Utrecht, FC Groningen, FC Twente and Vitesse are the subtop of the Netherlands (in that order of quality).
The secret is to lower the training program when your players are injured or getting tired. But of course, European Leagues are much more difficult.
[/b]
Perhaps so, but I had a rough season at that moment and a far too small team to win thropies with. I didn't really expect to get that far in the Champions League either. When I was dropped in a poul with Manchester United (top of England, and at that moment, champion of England), FC Bayern (definitely the strongest team of Germany) and Celtic (top of Scotland), I didn't really thought I would get through without getting a scratch. The start of the Champions League experience wasn't too good all in all either.
To qualify, I had to deal with Shakthar, which is already (in theory) a much better team than me... and they didn't want to fail their reputation. They crushed me in the Abe Lenstra Stadion (my home stadium) with 2 - 0, something I quickly hit them back in 20 minutes of time with a 2 - 0 of my own. Because we had a draw, we went into Extra-Time, something which didn't give pleasant thoughts. Shakthar scored in the fifth minute of the extra-time, leaving them with a 3 - 2. In the final minute (seriously), Andre Hanssen, my midfielder went down in the penalty area and I got a well earned penalty. My top striker, who bagged in two goals already in that match, took it... and missed. Only a few weeks before that, I bought Eddie Johnson, an English striker of Manchester United who didn't have a future there. He wasn't all that good, but he was a completely different kind of striker than my first team player. When both of them played at the same time (I only play with one striker), it would be guaranteed that one more goal would come... and it happened. Hirayama, my striker, shot against the hands of the goalkeeper and he bounced it back right in front of Johnson, who didn't give any second of hesitation and bagged it in. Making me qualified for the Champions League.
Johnson had a very... reasonable season further. He didn't play any decisive role in that Champions League (he did score once more) but had a minor role in the normal league. AZ Alkmaar is one of the stronger teams of the Netherlands, and in the game, they're quite strong too. When I have to face AZ, you can make sure it wil be an entertaining match. The game with the least goals would be a 3 - 2, with me leaving as the winner. The highest scored game was a 7 - 5, leaving AZ as the winner. The most remarkable match was a 5 - 3, which was won by me. AZ scored twice in the early stages of the game and I was being pushed away, not being able to score at all. During the second half, Hirayama finally got loose and scored 4 times in a row (!!!). Right after scoring the fourth goal, he got injured and was out for two months (returning just in time to face Manchester United a second time in the Champions League). I had a feeling he just wanted to settle the score. AZ scored a single time after that and one of my players closed the doors with a last goal, setting the score on 5 - 3. A very remarkable match it was.
There are about four teams I've played from the European Top, and I've never won of them... ever. That would be Manchester United (who I've won of now), Inter Milan (I got a draw (0 - 0) once), AC Milan and Barcelona. There are some other teams I've never won of either (Newcastle, is a fair example) but they aren't really the European top. In truth, I never won of Chelsea either, but might have, if I didn't get all those injuries.
I play in a 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 formation. But a big part of my team is left as it was. I play with the Belgium goalkeeper who plays for Heerenveen in real life too, and (in real life) has one cap. In the game, he has been called up several times, but never made his debut: Bryan Vandenbussche.
His sub is also a keeper who plays for Heerenveen, the extremely talented Dutch goalkeeper, Boy Waterman. In real life, together with Ajax's Kenneth Vermeer and Maarten Stekelenburg, he is one of the biggest talents of goalkeepers. Unfortunately, he has been injured for two seasons right after each other.
On my right back, I've had several players, starting with Heerenveen's disappointing Marcel Seip. I wanted to replace him with Henrico Drost, eventually, one of the most talented youngsters of Heerenveen in real life. But because he was too young, I kept bringing in new players. Nowadays, he is ready, but right now, Danny Buijs (Buys), a former player of Heerenveen's rival, FC Groningen, is playing there. He is the player I've paid the highest sum for... in this game, at least. I try to keep the same kind of policy as Heerenveen in real life, so I refuse to pay a big sum of money. None of them are internationals for the A-squad.
On my left back, I have Jeroen Drost, the twin brother of Henrico Drost and perhaps more talented, but maybe that's because he is left-footed, which many teams lack. Jeroen Drost has been my first team left back from the start of the game, but has had a little trouble during his first season, losing his first team position to Fernando Derveld. Later I kept Joey v/d Berg as his backup, but he was sold after the Champions League season, picking up Michael Jansen, one of the most talented left-backs from the Netherlands who plays for Vitesse, but has been out of football for quite some time now because of heart-problems. He is slowly trying to gain his old level back, but I personally think he will never become as good as he used to be, despite being still young. Again, no internationals, except for the Under 21-teams. Jeroen Drost recently (in the game) was called up by the Holland A-squad though, but he has two other (and better) players in front of him, so I doubt he'll make his debut any time soon.
In the centre I have the Swedish top defender, Petter Hansson. He is pure quality in real life and rarely gets a yellow card - not to mention a red one. He is also the captain of Heerenveen and has been chosen as the best player of Heerenveen three times in a row (in real life) of the four years he has played here. He lives up to that reputation for me too, and despite being 31 now, he is still one of the players that can ensure himself with a first team position. The second in defence, which used to be Michel Breuer, is now Ramon Zomer, a talented young left-footed central defender. He isn't all that great, but he isn't bad either. Hansson and Zomer are a nice combination. If something would happen to either of them, Kees Kwakman (a very disturbing last name in Dutch), who is quite decent, is ready to replace them. He is the only fast central defender I have, but he lacks the quality that Hansson and Zomer have. Besides Kwakman, Henrico Drost and Geert Arend Roorda can play on that position too. Roorda didn't have much of a chance yet in the first team, and I believe he isn't ready for it either. Hansson is a Swedish international, all others aren't. Except that Henrico Drost has a record of Under 21 caps.
My two midfielders existed mostly out of Paul Bosvelt (Dutch international), Hjalte Bo Norregaard (Danish International), Thomas Prager (Austria international) and Andre Hanssen (International of Norway). Kees Kwakman, Geert Arend Roorda, Orlando Engelaar and Henrico Drost could also play on that position. Paul Bosvelt is a veteran player (34 years old at the start of the game) but is still pure quality. He was sold after my first season because I wanted to give the younger players a chance. Thomas Prager is a very talented midfielder (if not the most talented midfielder) of Heerenveen in real life and is a back up for Bosvelt. Thomas never really got a first team at me though, and has been on loan for three seasons straight. Hjalte Bo Norregaard, despite being one of my best players at most saves, he didn't really get much of a chance here either and after three seasons of keeping the bench warm, he left. Andre Hanssen played a giant role through most of the season, scoring in very important games. Besides that, he is a great quality player.
Another midfielder I have, is Lasse Schone, a Under 21 international of Denmark. He was my captain and by far, the best player (together with another Under 21 international of Denmark, Ken Ilso Larsen) of my youth-team. But because he had a horde of quality midfielder in front of him (including Prager), he never got a chance in my first team... until the Dutch grand manager, Van Gaal, at that moment manager of the English Everton, decided to take him on loan. Because I couldn't see a disadvantage for me, I agreed on it with the possibility to call him back, afraid that I would get a similar problem as my Champions League season. They accepted and after two months, I checked up on Schone, where he got himself a place in Everton's first team, classing out all other midfielders who were ALL better than my midfielders. Halfway during the season, I called him back and placed him in my first team as well for four games in total. After that, I dropped him back in my Under 21's. Because Hjalte Bo and some other minor midfielders (I bought) left for an other club, I tried to make a midfield of Lasse Schone and Andre Hanssen. It isn't too great just yet, but I'll let them play together for a full season first.
My right winger is the real Heerenveen player, Ugur Yildirim. Yildirim (in real life) was compared to Beckham in his first season because of his glorious ability to give an assist. Yildirim also became World Champion of Free kicks. However, in his second season (last year), he was extremely disappointing. Being the weakest player of the team every match. Luckily, in my save, he kept the same kind of quality as his first season and played extremely well. He later gained a sub of a several minor players, but because Ugur never got injured, they never had to do anything. Lasse (Lars) Nilsson switched positions with him from time to time. In my most recent season, I bought a very fast winger from Ghana who is the sub for him.
On left, I've had stories to tell. We started out with Heerenveen's (real life) Georgios Samaras, a player from Greece who was together with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the biggest talent of Heerenveen for years. Because he left half way during the season (in real life), the Drost-brothers became the biggest talent. Samaras left halfway during the season as well, and I've left Lasse Nilsson play on left instead. Which went well for a little while too. After the end of the first season, I bought Orlando Engelaar, who immediately became one of my best players. Engelaar eventually got a few calls ups from the A-squad of the Netherlands, but never made his debut. Partly because he had Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben in front of him. Something I agree on, he isn't better than those two. Later on, I got another Japanese winger, Nakamura. Not because he was all that great, but mostly because I wanted a player with the same nationality as my striker and a back up for Engelaar. I also have an Estonian left winger in my Under 21's who plays great against the somewhat weaker teams of the Netherlands, but lacks the quality to play against the Subtop and the top. Ugur Yildirim is an international of the Netherlands, as is Nilsson for Sweden. Nakamura is an international for Japan. Or at least, he has caps. Sergei Mosnikov, my Estonian winger, is an international too. Samaras is an international too.
My attacking midfielder has been Arnold Bruggink most of the time. Bruggink has had his two caps when I got him, and in real life, he now left the team. Several fans were not happy with him (because he couldn't bring what they thought he would) but others (like me) were. Bruggink admitted that he couldn't play as good as he hoped because Heerenveen plays in a different system than he is used to. Arnold has been a pleasant guy to talk to and a fair player. I'm sad that he left the club in real life. He is one of my favorite players in real life. Bruggink isn't on his favorite position at me either, but I'm a little biased about him. ^^ Engelaar and Nakamura can also play on that position, but they are for left only. Leaving Bruggink there alone with a lot of minor players such as Bo Storm (Under 21 Danish International, a very upcoming talent in real life, but isn't as good in the game) and some others. I later brought in Marcus Berg (Under 21 Swedish international), who is currently on loan at Arsenal and proves backup for Thierry Henry. Ken Ilso Larsen can also play on Bruggink's position, despite that his favorite position is the striker. Larsen scored nearly the double as Hirayama did in the league. That is, Larsen scored in the Under 21 league, leaving the league with top scorer (by far) and it would either be Lasse Schone or Larsen that would be the best player of the league. Geert Arend Roorda, Lasse Schone and Ken Ilso Larsen were of a completely different quality than other players in the U21 league. Unfortunately, all three of them had much better players in the first team, so they never got through. Larsen finally started to complain about first team football (and in truth, he earned it) and he may now replace Bruggink from time to time, knowing that Arnold isn't willing to extend his contract. I've wanted Afonso Alves to replace Bruggink eventually, but it never got as far as that. Alves is trying to make a world-tour. Larsen is heavily disappointing in the first team though, scoring only once in eight games. (Instead of his average of 2 and a half goal a game in the U21)
My striker position has a history. When the game started, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar played on that position, the biggest talent regarding the striker position of the entire nation (who in real life plays for Ajax after they paid a record sum to Heerenveen). People say (and I agree) that he will definitely become better than Ruud van Nistelrooy. Some even say that he'll get better than Cruijff, but I doubt that. ("I think I earned my place in the list of Van Basten, Cruijff, Wilkes and Lenstra." - Dennis Bergkamp; I do think that Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will get himself a place in that list) Huntelaar got me to a very respectable second place in the league during halfway the season (where he left, together with Samaras). To compensate the loss of Huntelaar, Heerenveen got in real life, Mark de Vries on loan. So I did so as well. Mark scored a couple of times, but disappointed greatly, just like he did in real life, not being used to the competition out here. He left after the second season. I wanted to get Zigic, the two meter tall striker of Red Star to replace Huntelaar (or De Vries, whichever you want to look at), but I didn't want to pay 10 milion for him. I bought Sota Hirayama of Malmo FF (Swedish) instead, for two million. And that certainly was one heck of a big buy for me already, considering I didn't pay such high sums normally - before the most recent season, Heerenveen never paid more than 2 million for a player... ever. Hirayama earned his money though, scoring 50+ times in his first season, mostly assists from Engelaar and Yildirim. In the second season, he scored more than 55 times, and brought me a Champions League position. Because defenders play in the way to stop him eventually, I constantly brought new strikers in that plays in a different style than the slow, but tall Hirayama. Mark de Vries, the eventual sub for Hirayama did very reasonable. But was eventually sold to an Italian club, where I got Eddie Johnson of Manchester United to replace him. After his achievements in his season, it didn't go unnoticed. Despite that no club had any interest in him while he played for Man Utd, he had a big list of teams that wanted him now. Most existed out of Championship teams, and a few lower Premiership teams. I agreed upon the fact that I couldn't keep him away from his future, and decided to let him go. After a big search, I finally stumbled across the old Dutch international, Patrick Kluivert, to replace Johnson. He isn't too bad about it, but I don't think he's happy being a sub. But who can blame me? I can't put my class-striker on the bench, now can I?
PSV, the definitely top team of the Netherlands, has been the strongest most of the time. Eventually Guus Hiddink (nowadays in real life, manager of Russia, but was manager of Australia during the WC) was fired after a bad season, but PSV remained big quality after hiring Martin Jol, former manager of Tottenham.
Ajax, the former team of all kind of quality strikers in the past such as Johan Cruijff, Marco van Basten, Dennis Bergkamp and now Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. However, Ajax is also known for dropping their managers in a record time. And had in four seasons, more than seven different managers. Foppe de Haan, manager of Holland U21 and former manager of Heerenveen (in real life, he would NEVER manage Ajax), was perhaps the most successful. A Danish manager is trying his luck now.
Feyenoord has not been weakened much after they sold their arsenal. Kuyt scored mostly in real life for Feyenoord (and in real life, the only reason why Feyenoord is still one of the top 3). He was eventually sold to Juventus, that became the strongest attack of Europe (Ibrahimovic and Kuyt... ouch). Feyenoord brought in a South-Korean and a Switser striker in return, which made them perhaps even more dangerous. Feyenoord became the champion after Kuyt was sold.
AZ Alkmaar dropped down to being a subtopper again, being no real threat to the title... or not much, at least. They do prove to be the hardest opponent for me, with an exception of PSV.
FC Utrecht dropped down to being a very average sub top, not really being a threat to the top of the Netherlands.
FC Groningen joined themselves with me in being the biggest (and strongest) subtop of the Netherlands, together with AZ. This might be the futuristic sub top in real life too.
FC Twente dropped down to being one of the weakest team in the league, while Vitesse became a regular team in the league. Not weak enough to drop, not big enough to become a threat for the subtop or the top.
