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OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 6 | Massive Relegation Favourites
Ruprecht Prusseit came into the summer of 2024 unsure of whether to continue the work he’d started at SV Dessau 05 or seek pastures new. He’d worked wonders to keep Dessau in the fifth tier with a bunch of high-potential but low-current-ability teenagers and the club’s finances were a huge concern.
Sir Alex Ferguson Challenge | Part 1 | Relegation Battle
With Football Manager 2023 nearly done and dusted, I was running out of save ideas having completed all my long-term series. But I took inspiration from a few of the lads on the FM Library, who’d all taken on the intriguing-looking challenge to emulate the achievements of arguably the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 5 | Dismal End Of Season Form
Newly promoted SV Dessau 05 found themselves locked in a tough battle to survive in tier five of German football. And survival looked a tough ask with just a three-point gap to the bottom three.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 4 | A Significant Step Up In Quality
Ruprecht Prusseit had enjoyed unexpected success in his first season as a Football Manager, leading SV Dessau 05 to an unexpected promotion led by the incredible goalscoring exploits of star striker Branden Stelmak. But the hard work began now as his semi-professional side made the step up to tier five with his only three paid players departing the club, leaving him with a bunch of kids to work with.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 3 | Sensational Goalscoring Exploits
Striker Branden Stelmak was proving far too good for the bottom tier of German football, and so it proved as he went on to plunder an incredible 69 goals for SC Dessau 05!
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 2 | Finding Our First Club
Ruprecht Prusseit – which translates to “Robert a Prussian” – fell into football management when he picked up a nasty ankle injury during a Sunday League match near his home in Dresden. And local success saw him chance his arm at becoming a real Football Manager.
OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 1 | Revisiting OstDeutschland!
In OstDeutscher Sieg (East German Victory) we can only manage football teams based in former East Germany. Our aim is to become the first-ever Bundesliga champion to hail from the former Soviet-ruled area by working our way from the bottom to the top of the German football system.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 40 | The End Of Wonderkid Factory
As the clock ticked over to 2042, Robinho Lazaró called off his time at Envigado, standing down as a true legend of the club. He’d taken a club from relegation favourites in 2021 to becoming one of the best teams in South America, purely using homegrown talents from the Envigado Wonderkid Factory.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 39 | Robinho Lazaró: Greatest South American Manager Ever
As he approached 20 years in charge of Envigado, Robinho Lazaró had achieved outstanding success focusing solely on developing the club’s outstanding youth prospects.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 38 | Assist King Juan José Vizcaíno
Robinho Lazaró lifted his and Envigado’s 21st Liga BetPlay title as they won Apertura 2040, making Envigado the most successful club in Colombian history. However, more big transfers would seriously impact the club in the mid-season break.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 37 | Colombia’s Greatest Club
Envigado FC moved into the 2040s level with Millonarios as the joint-most successful club in Colombian history with 20 league titles to their name. Robinho Lazaró was keen to extend that record and establish Envigado as number one.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 36 | Record-Equalling Envigado
Robinho Lazaró had taken Envigado FC from no trophies to two-time South American champions and just one title behind Millonarios’ all-time league title record.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 35 | Diego Mena: Record Envigado Appearances Holder
Envigado’s fans were in a state of shock at the massive overachievements of their homegrown heroes. But manager Robinho Lazaró didn’t know whether to be shocked, joining in with the many parties he’d been invited to, or smugly gloating in his glory. And he largely chose the latter, professing to anyone who’d listen that he was indeed “a special one.”
Wonderkid Factory | Part 34 | Copa Libertadores Repeats
Envigado FC refocused to dominate yet another half-season in Colombia and overcome a potentially tricky group in their maiden defence of Copa Libertadores. But could they do it all again on both domestic and continental fronts in the second half of 2038?
Wonderkid Factory | Part 33 | La Cantera De Héroes
The streets of Envigado had witnessed their fair share of wild parties greeting their fútbol heroes’ rapid rise to success. But the summer of 2037 saw a seemingly neverending fiesta callejera as manager Robinho Lazaró and his team of young homegrown stars partied with their adoring fans having lived up to the “La Cantera De Heroes” – the quarry of heroes – motto.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 32 | Biggest Match In Envigado History
Envigado FC had broken all sorts of records as they began the 2037 campaign in sparkling form. It was clear that Robinho Lazaró had established the wonderkid factory as by far and away the dominant club in Colombia. The big question was whether they could compete with South America’s best.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 31 | Record-Breaking Form
15 years into life at Envigado, Robinho Lazaró had overseen the transformation of a club considered relegation favourites to the dominant team in Colombian football and competing with South America’s best.
FM Experiment | FM Retro 98/99 | Part 5: Parma Come Calling
Trebor Mahtal’s overperformance had attracted the attention of one of the biggest clubs in European football. Parma came with an offer that upped Mahtal’s wages to £86k per week until 2032.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 30 | Penalty Shootout Drama
A fourth successive Apertura stage title saw Envigado establish their dominance in Colombian football. Robinho Lazaró had led his fully homegrown team to three successive titles, seven of the last eight and ten of the last 13.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 29 | Four In A Row
After 15 years in charge of Colombian wonderkid factory Envigado FC, Robinho Lazaró had proven that focusing on youth development alone can deliver success. In that time, Lazaró hadn’t spent a single penny on new players but brought in an incredible £92m by selling 131 players.
FM Experiment | FM Retro 98/99 | Part 4: Real-Life Newgens Join Hammers Revolution
Trebor Mahtal led his exciting West Ham wonderkids to back-to-back titles led by the exceptional Ronaldinho and Hidetoshi Nakata in 2025. And more exciting times were in store for Irons fans.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 28 | Goalscoring Records Smashed
Robinho Lazaró spent two weeks between league stages celebrating becoming the greatest Colombian ever to try his hand at football management. But his attention swiftly switched to targeting a league stage double and Copa Libertadores progression.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 27 | Greatest Colombian Manager Ever
Robinho Lazaró was proving that transfers weren’t everything in the beautiful game. He’d relied on Envigado FC’s prodigious youth development to continually churn out new starlets that had won 10 league stage titles.
FM Experiment | FM Retro 98/99 | Part 3: Big Name Signings
Trebor Mahtal led West Ham United to their first-ever league title in just his second season in charge led by future superstar Ronaldinho and a team that had been wholly rebuilt from the one he inherited.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 26 | Borrero Smashes League Goals Record
Envigado FC had well and truly established themselves as the best team in Colombia by sealing four consecutive league stage titles. But competing with the very best in South America looked a step too far for Robinho Lazaró’s side.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 25 | Record-Breaking Acevedo
Envigado FC celebrated a second Liga BetPlay Apertura and Finalización double in the 2033 season as an exciting generation of players really hit their stride. The challenge now was for Robinho Lazaró to try and keep hold of his top talents.
FM Experiment | FM Retro 98/99 | Part 2: Ronaldinho At West Ham
The start of 1999 saw an exciting new name join West Ham United, as Mahtal beat the likes of Milan and Juventus to the signature of Ronaldinho for £2.3m from Gremio.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 24 | Copa Libertadores Excitement
Robinho Lazaró had assembled the best squad he’d worked with in his 12 years as Envigado FC anager. Going into the second half of the 2033 campaign, the club had won six of the last eight Liga BetPlay Dimayor titles, reached the least eight league stage finals and was seeking a fifth successive Finalización victory.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 23 | Envigado: Most Reputable Club In Colombia
Robinho Lazaró ticked off one of the overarching aims of his Wonderkid Factory challenge as Envigado became the most reputable team in Colombia. They’re also the 25th most reputable team in all of South America.
FM Experiment | FM Retro 98/99 | Part 1: West Ham Wonderkids
Having just completed a Football Manager Experiment using a custom database in the European Super League, we were keen to take on another fantasy challenge in FM23. So the release of The Mad Scientist’s annual retro database was very timely.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 22 | 50 Goals, 50 Goals, Acevedo
Robinho Lazaró oversaw a mass of sales and somehow dragged one of his youngest group of homegrown players so far to a sixth successive Liga BetPlay Dimayor league stage final. But the sales weren’t done there as another young starlet departed between the Apertura and Finalización stages.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 21 | Record-Breaking Sales
Envigado FC wrapped up a third-successive Finalización title at the end of the 2031 campaign. But the summer ahead of the 2032 season was set to be one of significant changes and record-breaking sales.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 6: Title Defence
In four seasons, we’d taken Vélez Sarsfield from the bottom tier through to becoming European Super League champions. The key to this success had undoubtedly been Endrick, who’d scored 126 goals in 121 league games and 161 goals in 157 games in all competitions for the club.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 20 | Copa Libertadores Pain Continues
After a couple of seasons of massive success, Envigado’s board invested in a new trophy cabinet to house the shiny Recopa Sudamericana trophy earned by defeating the mighty Corinthians. But as we see all too often, with great success comes greed.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 19 | Envigado Leads National Team Production
Envigado FC’s homegrown heroes enjoyed a historic season in 2030, winning a famous quadruple as they bagged both the Liga BetPlay Dimayor Apertura and Finalización titles, Copa Sudamericana and Súperliga BetPlay Dimayor.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 5: A Frightening Strikeforce
Vélez Sarsfield had made light work of progressing through the lower reaches of the fictional European Super League database which was, effectively, a global super league. But their rewards for significant cup and league success in season 3 were game- and club-changing finances.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 18 | Homegrown Heroes
Robinho Lazaró’s team of young starlets became the first Colombian club to win back-to-back league stage titles for a decade. But these homegrown heroes were verging on the edge of greatness.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 17 | Juan Manuel Zapata: Record Appearances Holder
The wonderkid factory that is Envigdo FC saw its exciting prospects flourish in 2029 as, free from the shackles of continental football, a young team dominated Colombia’s Finalización stage. But the hard work began now.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 4: Massive Financial Rewards
Vélez Sarsfield quickly progressed to the second tier of the new-look European Super League as we dominated the Rest of the World Africa division led by the talents of striker Endrick.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 16 | Lazaró’s Best Envigado Team
The absence of continental football had seen Robinho Lazaró’s Envigado FC return to the upper echelons of Colombian football, finishing second in their Apertura post-season group. And Lazaró was excited to see if his promising homegrown squad could continue to flourish.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 15 | Youth Products Shine Again
Robinho Lazaró came into his eighth season as manager of Envigado FC with the board’s full backing despite a couple of tricky seasons and failing to qualify for continental football for the first time in five years.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 3: Endrick Smashes Vélez Goalscoring Record
We completed the first task in rising through the fictional European Super League database by leading Vélez Sarsfield to promotion from the Pepsi Elevation League. But now could we make it back-to-back promotions?
Wonderkid Factory | Part 14 | Consecutive Cup Finals
The worst league stage of Robinho Lazaró’s time in charge of Colombian wonderkid factory Envigado FC was fairly inevitable after losing several key players and replacing them with raw youngsters. But Lazaró was optimistic after a prolonged rest between the Apertura and Finalización stages of the 2028 campaign.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 13 | Fully Homegrown
A summer break was much needed as Robinho Lazaró’s Envigado FC endured a heavy conclusion to the 2027 campaign, such is the ridiculous rigour of fixture overload in Colombian football. But that failed to take the gloss off winning the club’s first-ever Colombian Cup.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 2: Elevation League Title Battle
In Part 1 of our first FM Experiment series of FM23, we introduced you to the intriguing format of the custom European Super League database and took control of Vélez Sarsfield, who are at the very bottom of this mammoth new format.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 12 | Trivino Breaks Guzmán’s Goalscoring Record
Robinho Lazaró takes positives from an Apertura failure by finding new levels of success in a competition he’d previously disregarded.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 11 | Elite Talents Overload
The summer of 2027 saw significant change at Envigado FC as club icon James Rodríguez retired from football on a high aged 35. He was joined in leaving by stalwart midfielder William Hurtado, which saw manager Robinho Lazaró turn to his exciting young academy prospects.
FM Experiment | European Super League | Part 1: Into The Super League System!
The more cynical among you out there may hypothesise that the new Champions League format is the natural first step towards the European Super League. So we tested out a new format in our first FM23 Experiment.
Wonderkid Factory | Part 10 | Talisman Departs Envigado
The streets of Envigado were packed with orange shirts as Robinho Lazaró and his exciting young Envigado FC team celebrated the club’s first-ever Apertura trophy with their growing supporter base.
FM Experiment | Bottom At Christmas | Season 6: West Ham
Big Sam’s final set of options in this Bottom At Christmas series included one standout team as West Ham propped up the Premier League with just 12 points.