My Football Manager 16 Story #9: Yellow Fever
The plan made by the board was simple. Earn a quick promotion to Primera Division, fill out the stadium and bring in sponsors who will pay a fortune for billboards around the turf or a place on Pena Sports FC shirt. I was the one supposed to complete it. Smoothly. Or die trying.
Many coaches already worked under similar pressure. In such Palermo, where President Zamparini ruled and divided, you never knew when you’ve started your last day at work. However, no coach had the same situation as me. Above me, the ax that could cut me was hanging not only in a metaphor. After the bad start of the season, this conditions turned out to be pretty unpleasant.
Fortunately, my squad surprised in October. The new acquisitions learned how to work with current stars of Pena Sports FC and the tactics started to function, so the results improved dramatically. 6:0 with the Sporting Gijon reserves turned the fans and chairman into ecstasy and pretty much saved my skin. I could be most grateful to my offensive trio – forward Luizinho and wingers Giordano and Navarro who pulled this trolley in such difficult time. Navarro recorded the biggest progress as in October he already improved his achievements from the whole previous season. But the great things were yet to come.
It was surely one of the best performances of Pena Sports FC under my command. Not only we destroyed our rival away from home, but we showed great quality against a side full of decent lads hoping to pop into Sporting first team in future.
In some hard to explain circumstances, Pena Sports FC continued its adventure in Copa del Rey. After the elimination of two theoretically easier rivals in the third round, the fate threw us in front of a highly ranked opponent from our league, UD Logrones. Current stage was already meeting the board expectations and I could bet my salary that no one assumed we could advance any further. So we surprised. After hard fought 0:0 we won on penalties and earned a place among the thirty-two best teams from Spain.
An important win in penalties gave us first real chance to show ourselves to bigger audience. Pena Sports among 32 best teams in Spain!
Chairman was satisficed and took that success as a promise of future successes. He decided to personally represent club at the draw of next rounds in the Spanish federation headquarters. Dressed in expensive black suit, he packed his ass into white BMW and let Arturo drove him to Madrid. On the way he called me to say – you know Brucevsky, I have a dream – at this moment I already knew it wouldn’t be anything good – I would like to see a great Spanish club at San Francisco. Read the announcement of a match with Pena Sports as one of the sides in the national press – he added. So he already thinks about giving interviews in Marca or AS, nice. With every day passing the thought that he may be out of his mind was clearer to me.
His wish was fulfilled. We were drawn against Villarreal CF….
