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For Sparta! | Part 2 | Final Day Excitement
The intimidating figure of 6ft 8in King Leonidas burst through the front door of Ainslie Park Stadium, muttering Greek curses as he rushed towards his office. He’d just received the news that big-name signing Asamoah Gyan had agreed a move to Bosnia just days after Leonidas had allowed backup striker Cammy Russell depart for Elgin City.
South America’s Exciting Title Races
A few months ago, we wrote about why Chile had the world’s most exciting title race and, while we weren’t wrong, we also weren’t exactly right. Because Brazil, in true Brazilian fashion, has only gone and trumped the still pretty exciting battle in Chile.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 9 | J2 League Domination
The decision to depart Kamatamare Sanuki for Albirex Niigata was very much justified at the halfway mark of the 2026 campaign. Robaato Rasamu’s second club enjoyed a healthy 11-point lead with a game in hand and Niigata fans were dreaming of a return to J1 League under their exciting new manager.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 8 | Moving To Albirex Niigata
Three seasons of overachievement at Kamatamare Sakuni had hugely increased the stock of fledgling manager Robaato Rasamu. Indeed, his efforts in leading Sakuni to a club-record 7th place in J2 League saw Albirex Niigata come calling and Rasamu joined the second club of his career on 7 December 2025.
For Sparta! | Part 1 | Asamoah Gyan’s Brief Stint In Scottish League 2
With the superbly named The Spartans FC being playable for the first time in Football Manager 2024, it’s time for a save that epitomises the Spartan ethos of courage, honour, loyalty, integrity, selflessness and values of equality, military fitness and austerity in Football Manager terms.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 7 | A New Kamatamare Sanuki High
Kamatamare Sanuki were again defying all expectations as they sat safely in mid-table halfway through the J2 League 2-25 campaign. The massive relegation favourites looked to be avoiding any concerns at the bottom of the table, and even had the playoffs in their sights on the back of an eight-game unbeaten streak.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 6 | Stepping Up To J2 League
The streets of Takamatsu were painted blue as the fans of Kamatamare Sanuki celebrated an unexpected promotion and J3 League title win in 2024. The supporters were united in thinking there was only one man to thank for this success, their fledgling manager Robaato Rasamu, who was instilled as a fans’ favourite alongside the mighty Himan “He-Man” Morimoto.
Gli Azzurri | Part 13 | Our Little Argentinian Genius
Despite only losing once in the first half of the 2028/29 Serie A campaign, Empoli FC found themselves trailing leaders Napoli by five points. But there were certainly shoots of optimism at the young side’s improving fortunes against Italy’s traditional big boys.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 5 | By The Power Of Greyskull!
Football management was supposed to be a really challenging job, but Robaato Rasamu was absolutely loving life as manager of Japanese J3 League side Kamatamare Sanuki. His first half-season had been a bit of a challenge, but season two had been a flying success to date.
Gli Azzurri | Part 12 | Rejoicing In Justice
The old FM24 goalkeeper injury curse hit Empoli FC hard and curtailed their push for a maiden Serie A title in 2027/28. But that disappointment aside, we’d built an exciting young squad in Tuscany and the club was very much on the up.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 4 | First Winter Rebuild
Fledgling manager Robaato Rasamu had made a lively start to life in his first role at Kamatamare Sanuki, averaging four goals per match in his first 20 career games. But he was also a manager keen to make progress, as proven by bagging his first coaching badge, the National C License, in January 2024.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 3 | Goals Aplenty!
Robaato Rasamu was a little taken aback at how quickly he’d managed to fall into a job in football management. He’d only spent 13 days as an unemployed and inexperienced Football Manager yet Japanese third-tier side Kamatamare Sanuki had deemed him the ideal option for their vacant managerial role.
Gli Azzurri | Part 11 | Goalkeeper Injury Hits Hard
Europa League champions Empoli FC were flying high, heading into 2028 sitting 2nd in Serie A and with the Champions League knockout stages tantalisingly close.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 2 | Robaato Rasamu’s Job Hunt
Rasamu wasted no time in applying for vacancies that were available on 3 July, including a couple of roles in his native Japan and clubs in South Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia. Six days later, he attended his very first Football Manager interview with Malaysian club Melaka FC then two more interviews with Japanese side Kamatamare Sanuki and South African side Black Leopards.
Pentagon Pursuit | Part 1 | Introducing An Epic Global Challenge
“These days, it seems like every man and his dog thinks he’s capable of being the next Pep Guardiola.” That was the opening line from the thesis that Robaato Rasamu (ロバート ラサム) had proudly presented to the advisory board at The University of Tokyo Sports Science Initiative a few months ago.
Gli Azzurri | Part 10 | Empoli In The Champions League
The good people of Empoli painted the streets blue with gallons of Nastro Azzurro, Chianti, limoncello and Negronis flowing freely as they celebrated the greatest day in the history of Empoli FC. Our young side defied all the odds to win the Europa League and record the highest-ever finish in club history.
Gli Azzurri | Part 9 | Homegrown Hero Primoz Kompara
These were exciting times at Empoli FC as we’d established ourselves in Serie A, were beginning to challenge some of Italy’s bigger sides, and were edging towards the latter stages of the Europa League.
Gli Azzurri | Part 8 | We All Dream Of A Team Of Mads Rasmussens
European nights were coming to Empoli FC as our exciting young side wrapped up a 7th-place finish in Serie A in 2025/26. We now faced a big challenge to try and strengthen to compete on two fronts with minimal finances. An even greater challenge was posed by big teams looking at our best players in […]
Gli Azzurri | Part 7 | Possible European Push
Empoli FC had reached heady heights, enjoying a 7th-place position heading into 2026. That was despite having already lost three times more home matches than last season and struggling slightly at the start of the campaign.
Gli Azzurri | Part 6 | Spending The Baldanzi Cash
Empoli FC brushed off the loss of their talismanic striker to work their way into the top half of Serie A, securing a 9th-place finish in 2024/25. That success saw the board get all big-headed and expect a mid-table finish in our third campaign, so the pressure was on.
Gli Azzurri | Part 5 | Club Record Transfers
A massive summer turnover had worked very nicely as Empoli FC sat pretty in the top half of Serie A heading into 2025. Any risk of relegation looked long gone, given we were 19 points clear of the dropzone.
Football News | Copa Sudamericana and Libertadores Finals
We’re about one week away from knowing who will be crowned the Kings of South American football as the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores Finals take place over the next two weekends.
Gli Azzurri | Part 4 | Massive Summer Turnover
Empoli FC enjoyed a season of overachievement in our first season of the Football Manager 2024 Beta, as we led them to an 11th-place finish. Those achievements were all the more impressive considering most of our squad was considered Serie B players, and most of them were on loan.
Gli Azzurri | Part 3 | Entertainment At Empoli
Empoli had made a solid start to the 2023/24 Serie A campaign as, despite a seven-match losing streak, we found ourselves firmly in mid-table heading into the new year. The hard work continued now as we looked to avoid the risk of a relegation battle.
FM Guide: 10 Challenges For FM24
Having attempted – and even created – a fair few adventures in our time, we got our thinking caps on for a few that we think make for an exciting FM24 save. So read on for 10 exciting FM24 challenges in alphabetical order.
Gli Azzurri | Part 2 | Seven Successive Defeats
In part one of Gli Azzurri, we gave you a brief introduction to Empoli FC, ran through the board and supporter expectations and met the players available to us in the FM24 Beta. Now we’ll look to play our first matches of FM24 with Empoli.
Gli Azzurri | Part 1 | Benvenuto A Empoli
The arrival of the Beta version of Football Manager 2024 means that, as is now customary, we’re heading back to Italy for the fourth year to begin our FM stories for the season. Having managed Sampdoria, Milan and Roma, we’re doing something a little trickier as we take the reigns at Empoli FC.
FM Experiment | What If… Lionel Messi Moved To The Premier League | Part 3: Newbies & Strugglers
The final part of this experiment series will see Lionel Messi placed at last season’s relegated sides and the clubs that were newly promoted to the Premier League.
FM Experiment | What If… Lionel Messi Moved To The Premier League | Part 2: Mid-Table Contenders
Last time out in this FM Experiment, we explored how Lionel Messi would fare in 3 seasons with each of the Premier League’s main contenders. But what if he took a gamble and joined some of the league’s less-fancied sides?
FM Experiment | What If… Lionel Messi Moved To The Premier League | Part 1: The “Big Six”
When Lionel Messi moved to PSG it felt like a wasted opportunity. But the World Cup winner’s move to the United States with Inter Miami feels even more so. A more interesting challenge would have been to see how arguably the world’s greatest-ever player would fare in arguably the world’s best league. So we put it to the test in FM23.
Football Manager 2024: My Save Plans
Football Manager 2024 – potentially the final version of FM as we know it – is almost upon us, which means it’s time to start thinking about the saves, adventures, and experiments we want to embark on for the next 12 months of virtual management. Again, my FM plans may be hindered by life, as […]
Europe’s Fairytale Football Successes In 2022/23
Are you bored of the big-money clubs dominating major leagues and a sucker for a little footballing romance? If so, we think you’ll enjoy some of the unheralded stories we’ve plucked from European football in the 2022/23 campaign.
FM Guide: 24 Teams To Manage On FM24
With Football Manager 2024 edging ever closer, it’s time to start thinking about the exciting challenges we want to take on in the new game. So if you’re a little short on inspiration for where or who to manage in FM24, we’ve pulled together a few ideas.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 45 | The End of OstDeutscher Sieg
Ruprecht Prusseit – the first man ever to win a Bundesliga title with a team from East Germany – led Union Berlin to a fifth Bundesliga title in six years and a second Champions League crown in three years in 2043. And that marks the moment where we brought this particular FM Story to an end.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 19 | A Forest Review
Our Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge went well beyond what I expected as we ended up staying at Nottingham Forest for 26 years to play out the career of the great Luís Pereira to its conclusion. In that time, we firmly established Forest as the best team in the world, lifting an absolute armoury of trophies.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 44 | Going Out On A High
Union Berlin had made a flying start to their Bundesliga title defence, taking a seven-point lead into 2043. The onus was now on Ruprecht Prusseit to maintain his side’s good form to win their fifth title and target a second Champions League success.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 43 | Union’s First Ballon d’Or Winner
The summer of 2042 saw manager Ruprecht Prusseit and attacking midfielder Leandro Van Dessel instilled as Union Berlin legends, while record-breaking striker Claudio Sepúlveda became an icon.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 18 | Celebrating The Great Luís Pereira
After 15 Premier League titles in 16 seasons, the end was very much nigh in this successful Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge. However, I felt we had to conclude the career of arguably the greatest player in Football Manager history, Luís Pereira.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 42 | 80 Goals Sepúlveda
World Champions Union Berlin headed into 2042 with a narrow lead at the top of Bundesliga as they looked to regain the title they’d previously won three times in a row.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 41 | First World Club Cup
But manager Ruprecht Prusseit had a new challenge on his hands, to re-surpass Bayern as champions of Germany and lead his team into their first attempt at becoming World Champions.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 17 | Record-Breaking Season
Sir Alex Ferguson’s impressive tally of 13 Premier League titles had been broken as we led Nottingham Forest to our 14th championship success in the 2041/42 campaign. I’d also racked up 5 Champions Leagues, 6 FA Cups and 4 Carabao Cups among my 47 trophies as a Football Manager.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 40 | The Most Perfect Hat-Trick
Union Berlin’s hopes of a fourth successive Bundesliga title were long-gone as Ruprecht Prusseit’s exhausted squad took a winter break heading into 2041. A run of 10 league games without a win had seen Union go into the new year sitting in 7th place and 11 points back from leaders Stuttgart.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 39 | A Sudden Drop In Form
Recent success saw Union Berlin reach the top 10 in the European club rankings for the first time, moving above the likes of Arsenal, Atlético and Chelsea. And manager Ruprecht Prusseit was keen to push for European glory in his 10th season at Union.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 16 | SAF’s Titles Record In Reach
Approaching our 20th season at Nottingham Forest, we were now tied with the great man Sir Alex Ferguson’s 13 Premier League successes having won the last nine titles in succession.
FM Guide | 73 Summer Transfers Affecting Your FM24 Saves
Football Manager 2024 is about two months away and a critical factor affecting the big decision of which team to manage is the players you’ll have at your disposal.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 38 | 60 Goals Sepúlveda
A mean defence had seen Union Berlin only concede seven goals and keep 13 clean sheets in the first half of their second Bundesliga title defence. And they again enjoyed a decent gap over Bayern München, who spend nearly four times more on wages than their smaller rival.
Football News | Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana Quarter Finals Round-Up
A couple of weeks ago, we gave you an introduction to South America’s continental competitions as Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana headed into the quarter-finals. Now those games have been played and only four teams remain in each competition. So we thought we’d look back at how the last eight played out.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 37 | Union’s Mean Defence
The supporters of Union Berlin enjoyed the best summer of their lives as they celebrated their team winning their second Bundesliga title and their first DFB-Pokal. Indeed, they were so elated that they instilled manager Ruprecht Prusseit as a bonafide Union legend. The summer of 2039 saw two of the manager’s rivals depart as Bayern […]
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 15 | 60 Goals Luís Pereira
Having become the most successful Football Manager of all time in surpassing Sir Alex Ferguson’s haul of 38 trophies, the only remaining objective on our list was his 13 Premier League successes.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 36 | 50 Goals Sepúlveda
An inspired summer signing and a superstar striker had fired Union Berlin back to the top of Bundesliga as they began their first-ever title defence in style. Manager Ruprecht Prusseit’s biggest challenge now was to keep hold of his in-demand players.