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EuroTrip | Part 11 | Heading Back To Eastern Europe
A disappointing season in Belgium, largely due to the ongoing financial challenges in Belgium on Football Manager 2024, saw Trebor Mahtal resign from his role at Royal Antwerp. That saw unemployed for the first time in eight years and back looking for a new opportunity across Europe.
EuroTrip | Part 10 | A Belgian Mistake
Back in April, Mahtal was approached by a new team in a new league and offered a contract at the end of the 2029/30 season. This opportunity took him west to Belgium, as Royal Antwerp, who were then lingering in 6th in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League, came calling.
EuroTrip | Part 9 | Final Day Title Battle
Trebor Mahtal’s flourishing reputation as a serial title winner was done no harm whatsoever as he led Dynamo Kyiv to the national title and his first continental trophy in his first season in Ukraine. That made it four successive top-tier titles for the Zambian, who now faced another Champions League challenge as a result of last season’s success.
EuroTrip | Part 8 | Exciting European Run
Life in Ukraine had picked up just as life in Greece had ended, with Trebor Mahtal winning football matches at an impressive rate.
EuroTrip | Part 7 | Moving To Eastern Europe
Panathinaikos dominated the Greek Super League with a record-breaking season that saw them claim three successive titles. But more penalty heartache in the Champions League had Trebor Mahtal questioning whether he’d achieved all that he could in Greece.
EuroTrip | Part 6 | Goals Galore At Panathinaikos
After establishing his Panathinaikos side as the best in Greece, many commentators were certain that the famously disloyal Trebor Mahtal would seek pastures new in the 2027 off-season. However, a summer of exciting signings and a move to a new 40,000-capacity stadium convinced the Zambian to stick with his Athenian project.
EuroTrip | Part 5 | Champions League Upsets
If you’d told Trebor Mahtal that he’d have won a national title three years into his managerial career, he’d probably have claimed you were smoking something strong. But that was very much the case in 2026 as he led Panathinaikos AO to their 22nd Greek title. That meant the Zambian boss now had the prospect […]
EuroTrip | Part 4 | An Unexpected Opportunity
Fairly unexpectedly, Trebor Mahtal left Turkey with his stock high and made the short trip over to Athens to take control of his third club in less than two years.
EuroTrip | Part 3 | Surprisingly Competitive
Trebor Mahtal already installed as one of Ískenderunspor fans’ favoured personnel. He now faced the significant challenge of strengthening the squad to compete in the second tier of Turkish football.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 12 | AZ Suffer A Drop In Form
AZ Alkmaar celebrated a fifth successive Eredivisie title in the summer of 2033, but their homegrown stars were still some way off competing with Europe’s elite.
EuroTrip | Part 2 | Stepping In The Footsteps Of Alexander The Great
After just three months managing in Sweden, Trebor Mahtal’s stock was apparently on the rise as third-tier Turkish club Ískenderunspor lured him to the far east of Europe. The Zambian manager enjoyed a 16-fold wage increase as his new side paid him a relatively princely £250 a week.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 11 | Another Close European Giant Battle
AZ Alkmaar were well and truly dominating in the Netherlands, but Lazaró’s aim to become European Champions with a fully-homegrown squad was proving much more problematic.
EuroTrip | Part 1 | Finding A First Club
Unemployed wannabe manager Trebor Mahtal put together a CV and began circulating his name with club owners across Europe. He was happy to work anywhere in Europe, with the twist being he didn’t want to manage in Europe’s leading eight leagues (England, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain) or Russia.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 10 | Developing A Genuine Golden Generation
AZ Alkmaar wrapped up three successive Eredivise titles to become the fifth most successive club in Dutch football history, behind the big three of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord and the HVV, an amateur side that won 10 titles by 1915.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 9 | A Relegation Fight With A Twist
The FC Pompei fairytale continued to reach new heights as Robí Sulpicius led the Campanian minnows to a shock promotion from Italy’s third tier via the Serie C/C playoffs.
FM Experiment | England In The Premier League
With EURO 2024 ongoing and England just about scraping into the last eight, it got me wondering how good this current set of players are and how they’d fare as a club side. To put that to test, what better way than to put the current England squad into the Premier League?
Wonderkid Factory | Part 9 | A New Midfield Talent Emerges
The dreaded financial glitch affecting Eredivisie on Football Manager 2024 means this could well be the end to our second attempt at the Wonderkid Factory challenge. It comes at an annoying time, considering Robinho Lazaró was establishing AZ Alkmaar as a dominant force in the Netherlands, with three titles in four years, and taking on Europe’s elite.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 8 | Targeting Serie C Playoffs
Many Italian football lovers were latching onto the Rise From The Ashes tale of FC Pompei, the football club only founded in 2022 that had flown into the country’s third tier. Indeed, many prominent Football Manager content creators were tipping the club as “one to manage” on the highly anticipated Football Manager 2030.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 8 | So Close To An Elite Upset
AZ Alkmaar won a second Eredivisie title in three years with a team comprised wholly of players produced by the club’s youth academy. The challenge now was to try and compete in Europe as they re-entered the Champions League in the 2029/30 campaihn.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 7 | A Seismic Shift At Pompei
There had been a seismic shift in the fortunes of FC Pompei in the five years that previously unknown Roberto de Vesuvius Sulpicius had been in charge. And the minnows defied all the odds to remain in Italy’s Serie C/C for a second season.
FM Guide: Features And Improvements I Want For Football Manager 2025
Football Manager 2025 is set to deliver a big step change for the world’s greatest video game series. But what small feature improvements would you like to see in FM25?
Wonderkid Factory | Part 7 | Fully Homegrown For The First Time
Twelve months on from becoming Champions of the Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar were reflecting on a solid if unspectacular campaign. Manager Robinho Lazaró had done an impressive job of promoting homegrown youth while keeping his promising AZ side competitive.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 6 | Going Pro In Serie C
Little-known FC Pompei were well and truly rising from the ashes as they spewed from tier-five anonymity to turning professional as they stepped up to Italy’s Serie C within four seasons. But now things reached whole new levels of difficulty as Robí Sulpicius attempted to rebuild a squad nowhere near ready for this standard of football with the ongoing threat of crippling debt.
Football Manager 2024 Predicts EURO 2024 Winner
Having created save files with all the real-life squads for the European Championships, which kick off in Germany next Sunday, I thought we’d use FM24 to see who the game thinks will win the tournament. I simulated the tournament five times to see who came out on top.
Play EURO 2024 On Football Manager 2024!
EURO 2024 is nearly one week away and I recently noticed there were no databases available to play the tournament with the real-life groups and final confirmed squads on Football Manager 2024. So I took to FM to do what I could to create the final squads.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 6 | Eredivisie Title Defence
The exciting crop of youngsters at AZ Alkmaar outperformed even their loftiest expectations as they usurped the big three to become champions of the Netherlands for the third time in 2027. The challenge now was for Robinho Lazaró and his young squad to build on that success.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 5 | Serie D Title Fight
Debt-ridden FC Pompei made the doubters eat dust last season as a hot run of form led them to an impressive 3rd-place finish in Serie D/H. But there was no doubt the off-field matters were the biggest talking point in the summer of 2026.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 5 | Wau, This Kid Is Raily Special
The wonderkid factory project at AZ Alkmaar was progressing very nicely as Robinho Lazaró led the club to two 2nd-place finishes in three seasons. He’d also reduced the AZ squad to just five players who didn’t come through the club’s academy heading into the summer of 2026.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 4 | Big Striker Inspires Improvement
FC Pompei pulled off a surprise survival bid to stay in the fourth tier of Italian football in their first-ever season in Serie D. But financial challenges continued to undermine the job that boss Robí Sulpicius was doing at the club.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 4 | Hammering Real Madrid
Footballing overachievement is seemingly always accompanied by the threat of your best players being poached by bigger clubs. And Robinho Lazaró found that out in the summer of 2025 as his AZ Alkmaar’s 2nd place finish in Eredivisie saw big teams across Europe raise interest in his top performers.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 3 | Stepping Up To Serie D
Manager Robí Sulpicius faced the significant challenge of his entire first-team squad being out of contract and a worrying financial situation overshadowing his need to rebuild for Serie D.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 3 | AZ Academy Stars Excel
AZ Alkmaar made a promising start to life under Robinho Lazaró, who’d been impressed with his side’s efforts to finish 4th in Eredivisie in 2023/24. However, these early seasons don’t really matter too much in our bid to become national and European champions with a team of academy products.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 2 | Exciting Title Fight
Under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, FC Pompei were mounting hopes of a title challenge in Italy’s 5th-tier Eccellenza Campania A under new manager Robí Sulpicius.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 2 | Generational Talent In First AZ Youth Intake
The second edition of our Wonderkid Factory save sees Robinho Lazaró bring his youth recruitment prowess to the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar. The club has plenty of exciting youth prospects ready to play their part in the 2023/24 campaign – go back and meet them in Part 1 – but Lazaró was keen to remove any expectation from his young starlets.
Rise From The Ashes | Part 1 | Taking Charge Of FC Pompei
In our latest explosive Football Manager challenge, we’ll attempt to rise from the ashes in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius with FC Pompei.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 1 | Turning Milk Into Cheese
Having completed my Football Manager 2024 Pentagon Pursuit adventure far quicker than anticipated, I struggled for a while to find a new save that would bring us something a little bit different. So I went back to my own 24 Teams to Manage on FM24 guide (shameless plug) and took my own medicine to select an exciting new challenge.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 47 | The End Of Pentagon Pursuit
Robaato Rasamu had achieved a task that seemed almost impossible 23 years ago. The Japanese manager had gone from total obscurity to lifting all five major continental trophies in Europe, South America, North America, Asia and Africa.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 46 | The Importance Of A Rock-Solid Defence
A flying start to the 2044/45 campaign saw VfB Stuttgart sitting pretty at the top of Bundesliga and starting to hold their own with Europe’s elite in the Champions League. But Robaato Rasamu was keen to carry that momentum into the second half of the campaign.
Rewriting Bolton History | Part 7 | Jay-Jay Okocha Arena
The Trebor Mahtal dynasty at Bolton Wanderers was in full flow as the Zambian manager led Bolton Wanderers to three consecutive Premier League titles. But all eyes were on another African legend ahead of the manager’s seventh season in charge.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 45 | Dodgy Penalty
The city of Stuttgart was awash with football fans celebrating VfB Stuttgart becoming Champions of Germany for the first time in 37 years. The fans were unanimous that Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu was the man responsible for this success, and celebrated shoulder to shoulder with their hero sinking pints of craft beer across the city’s numerous beer halls.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 44 | Battling Bayern For Bundesliga
VfB Stuttgart came into 2044 absolutely flying and posing serious questions over FC Bayern’s ability to make it 32 consecutive Bundesliga titles. So manager Robaato Rasamu didn’t think too much work was required in the January transfer window.
Rewriting Bolton History | Part 6 | Favouring All-Out Attack
Trebor Mahtal had well and truly rewritten Bolton Wanderers history as, four years on from the departure of Big Sam Allardyce, he led the Trotters to their maiden English title. But he wasn’t content with that, as he eyed up defending the title and improving their European form.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 43 | Newsflash: Bayern Lost A League Match
Robaato Rasamu was starting to think he’d made life far too difficult for himself by refusing to manage in England and attempting to complete his Pentagon Pursuit with teams that have never previously won the European Champions League. Twenty years into his career as a Football Manager, FC Bayern’s consecutive Invincible seasons had left him feeling downright depressed and he needed a few days away from football.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 42 | Bayern Are Too Good
A tactical switch had seen VfB Stuttgart kick onto a new level at the end of 2042, sitting nicely in the Champions League group phase but massively trailing the seemingly unbeatable FC Bayern. And that uptick in form saw 58-year-old Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu handed a new deal worth £31k per week until June 2047 to continue his good work at the club.
Rewriting Bolton History | Part 5 | Strengthening The Core
Bolton Wanderers pushed Chelsea all the way in Trebor Mahtal’s third season at the club, only missing out on their maiden English title on goal difference. And Mahtal was convinced that, with the right signings and a little more attacking intent, he could push beyond England’s big boys.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 41 | Huge Record Signing
VfB Stuttgart enjoyed a strong season but found themselves well short of a relentless Bayern, who’d now won 30 Bundesliga titles on the bounce. So Robaato Rasamu felt changes were needed to attempt to close the gap in his third season in Germany.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 40 | Lucky Champions League Draws
Midway through his second season in Germany, Robaato Rasamu was beginning to realise the size of the task he faced at VfB Stuttgart. FC Bayern had virtually cemented their 30th consecutive Bundesliga title after splashing £300m in the summer and his side were coming up second best against Europe’s elite. But he trusted in his […]
Rewriting Bolton History | Part 4 | Jääskeläinen Inspires Record-Breaking Defence
A historic season at Reebok Stadium saw Bolton Wanderers tie their all-time record league finish and reach a first European Final. So things were on the up for Trebor Mahtal as he usurped Big Sam Allardyce’s achievements within two seasons.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 39 | First Taste Of European Champions League
After one season in Germany, Robaato Rasamu had worked his magic to inspire VfB Stuttgart to their highest league position in 34 years and European Champions League qualification. So it was feasible – unlikely – but feasible that he could wrap up this Pentagon Pursuit inside 19 years of management.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 38 | Bundesliga Bullies Bayern
Robaato Rasamu had made a solid start to life in Europe, guiding VfB Stuttgart to just one defeat in his first 14 games and challenging the dominant FC Bayern at the top of Bundesliga. As a result, he’d already earned the love of the Stuttgart board and supporters, who both gave him A+ ratings in January 2041.