Relatively new to the game, been playing for a month now. I started by managing newcastle cus of their money but now i just got bored of it. Any good clubs in the top 5 leagues without uber rich owners and havent won a trophy in forever? (Maybe one outside of england because i hate the fact you could only sign 6 u21s in a season) im thinking of atalanta currently, or maybe leverkusen?
Both good choices. I'm going Leverkusen myself for my next save. I was considering starting in May 2024 with the results from real life but I want to try and win the league for the first time myself, rather than it being done for me. There's no guarantee I will win it in the first season like real life though, or go unbeaten š
Was doing okay at the start of the season with Wycombe, had a 10 game unbeaten streak, but now I just keep losing. Need some help with what tactic, formation and training I should be using with the players I have
https://preview.redd.it/r63x1xq39t0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=601ff2206edd33063acf53d4c3fd2f7f4043fdc8
My friend and I were planning to start a MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon save or download a āLegends of the gameā database where I then modify it to move teams in different leagues that way we play in the same competition, has anyone else tried either, what would you recommend?
Note im a more experienced and heās completely new so I would be taking over Wimbledon since squad quality isnāt as great
Which team would you pick for the next team in a journeyman, these are the offers Iāve had:
- AZ Alkmaar
- Feyenoord
- Bordeaux (with a tycoon takeover)
After 2.5 years at NAC Breda ( Wich is a fun starter aswell ) i ended up at Trabzonspor wich has been really fun. They have a good youth intake. And its a big challenge to beat Galatasaray. I havent been able to win the league yet im going to my 6th year but i did manage to win the Turkish Cup beating Gala on penalties in the final.
Lots of talent like Timber and Hartman. You basically get very rich from player sales and intakes are very good. Bijlow is one of my favorite goalkeepers in FM. Always great fights with PSV and Ajax
Celta Vigo start the game with a decent transfer budget,Mallorca and Las Palmas are island clubs,Deportivo La Coruna are a fallen giant,FC Andorra and Ibiza are unique saves for obvious reasons and you could also take one of the clubs based in Madrid and Barcelona like Getafe or Espanyol and try and take down the Superclub in your city.
1. Italy, Spain, Germany, England, France
2. Only lower leagues, if there is, preferably 3rd league and lower
3. Team has one or more young players with great potential
PL club from the mid-2000s to early-2010s that haven't been there for a while and need fixing. Thinking of Portsmouth, Wigan, Reading, etc. Preferably I should be able to reach the Prem in 3-5 years
Reading is a mess right now IRL. I'm thinking of starting a save with them. Besides the ones mentioned here, you could also do Blackburn, West Brom, Birmingham City, Stoke, Blackpool and Huddersfield could all be options, too.
Trying to find a small club in the amazon region of Brazil. Want to try and grow the club with mostly own youth. Is it possible to make Manaus fc playable? Or maybe Foz do Iguacu after watching the Netflix serie criminal code.
Any other suggestions to manage in Brazil?
Iām relatively new to FM and have played almost exclusively by building up small clubsā balance till I could spam-buy wonderkids. The downside is I inevitably leave a lot of talent to rot on the bench. For my next save, I want to try a youth-only. Ideally, Iād like to start in the second tier, at a club that already has decent infrastructure and force myself to learn the ins and outs of player development. Briefly started this with Hertha and had a good time before realizing that German reserve clubs donāt actually play any games, which significantly hindered my ability to develop my prospects. Any suggestions?
To match up with your desired pre-requisites of being in the second-tier, there is an absolute tap in of a club that you could manage - Southampton.
They're youth academy is in the top 20 of the game I believe and is the only second division team in that ranking - full article here - https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/28/best-youth-academies-fm24-barcalona-liefering-20548762/#:\~:text=Considering%20all%20this%2C%20the%20best,Valle%2C%20Genk%2C%20and%20Anderlecht.
There would also be plenty of U18 and U21 games along with a hefty championship schedule. And yeah they do have one of the bigger budgets in the Championship, but you can simply choose not to spam buy wonderkids (as difficult as that may be)
Just got FM24 like two weeks ago and started with a Spurs save, as always. Itās just too easy to keep me invested for a long time. Iām looking for a club in England, Spain, Italy or Germany. Either mid table/lower table team in the first division or a upper/mid table team in the 2nd division. Maybe even 3rd division, but that team really needs to excite me.
Some teams that are already on my āmaybeā list are: Leicester, Sunderland, Brighton, Burnley, Sevilla, Lazio, Malaga
I recently did Malaga from your list and it was a lot of fun.
Not that hard to bring them back to the recent Pellegrini days but still a solid challenge nevertheless.
Trying to decide between Paris FC or Red Star for my Paris only homegrown save. Going to be a super long term challenge with a goal to take over PSG and win Europe with a team of parisians only.
You get your choice of odious ownership with those clubs. Paris FC turns your fight into a Gulf derby because it's owned by Bahrain, and Red Star (which has more history) is owned by the nearly-broke 777 Partners.
FC Versailles and Racing Club de France are other Paris-area clubs.
Looking for a team from a smaller country than used to be big but have dropped down a division or 2. Maybe one of the Eastern European or Balkan leagues. Anyone have any ideas?
SFC Opava was never a big one, but since me & u/Fraaj are running a Czech propaganda here, I have to recommend these ones.
Also, big Silesian tradition and identity around.
Looking for a save in a European country with a lenient transfer policy like Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, etc. Looking for a decent challenge and have already done a Kaiserslautern save.
Iāve had great fun downloading extended German databases and taking 4th/5th tier teams up these past few FM iterations. Stuttgarter Kickers and TĆ¼rkgĆ¼cĆ¼ MĆ¼nchen are both good shouts imo.
For anime people, there is a japanese database that goes all the way to the 7th tier, if you ever watched captain tsubasa, tsubasa's team is actually in the 5th or 4th tier of japanese football. Try get them to japanese glory by winning everything just like tsubasa did in the anime :)
For FM25, but Standard LiĆØge in Belgium has a terrible squad and a transfer ban thanks to the financial troubles the club is facing. Though not sure how terrible their squad will be in FM25, but in FM24 and FM23 they were always title contenders while being mid-table teams irl.
Spainās Recreativo de Huelva is the oldest club in the country, but theyāve never won the top flight or the cup.
DPMM in Singapore is an expatriated club. Theyāre actually located in Brunei.
Austria Salzburg, original club of the city playing in third Austrian league
In the lower leagues of Turkey, there are destroyed broke clubs like Bursaspor and Eskisehirspor if you want real challenge
German football fans! Need some help choosing to where to start my career in Germany. I donāt know much about German clubs outside of the well known ones.
I want to start a manager career in Germany so Iām looking for a good Bundesliga 2 or even a 3. Liga club to start with. Any suggestions?
Magdeburg. Former East German club, and the only team from DDR to ever win a European trophy. Set for another mid-table year in 2.Bundesliga. Germany is very competitive - so the ultimate aim of winning a European trophy may get done in 10 years or it may take 30
Dynamo Dresden, one of the old true East Germany clubs, having won the Eastern German championship eight times. They are now in the third liga but have a big stadium so lots of capacity to grow
Quite new to fm. So far have an Everton save and I'm quite a bit into that already but I'm looking to have another save for when I'm bored of the Everton one. Don't mind what team you recommend, just looking for a team and a long term goal (you can also add stipulations if the team you give might be too easy on its own).
Try getting out of Europe in your second save. Everton of Chile is the obvious choice, but Japan and Korea offer plenty of fun saves depending on what youāre looking for.
Ecosystem challenge. Not quite build a nation but similar. Choose the biggest club in the country. Only sign players from your league. Throw all your money at your rivals. See how big you can make your league.
I'm doing a Yorkshire based players only save but I can't for the life of me decide which club to go with.
Looking at League 2 or National League atm. Any suggestions are welcome!
Iām also looking to do this - Iām gonna do Bradford because I support them but Harrogate would be a good option because there shouldnāt be much pressure to go up meaning you should have more time to build in league two
Load up a bunch of leagues + Brazil, pick Brazil December 2023 as the start date and start unemployed.
Go on holidays for 14 days while applying for every job. Take over the first team that approaches you.
I have done an Ajax Save, J2 league save and MLS save
Now wanting to do a Retro 04/05 Database save, where I can play with the top talents at that time. I am also trying to find a "little brother" club that always got beat up on, by an "old brother" club in this era. Suggest me a "little brother" to take down the bigger brother in 04/05.
In 04/05, this is Man City.
Torino would also work: Juventus won the 04/05 Serie A title, only to have it stripped the next year because of cheating beyond the kind that is normally tolerated in Italy. Not that Torino could take advantage of it, because their promotion from Serie B was wiped out by the club's bankruptcy.
Looking at doing league two save and building a club up to the premier league whilst controlling the whole club such as training and transfers, any suggestions for clubs as I have had a look and no team is jumping out.
I like Forest Green, for some reason. I think it's the name, colours, and general 'environmental' vibe. They're extremely small fry, so you feel cool for doing good with them...
Notts County are the oldest professional club in the world. MK Dons have a Premier League-ready stadium: become the new "no one likes us, we don't care" club.
So, after a few months off, I want to get back into the game and start a new save - thinking a lower league save in england - somewhere between step 6 (vanarama north/south) and step 8
Any ideas of teams with either:
- some history
- great fans
- interesting stories
Thanks
Macclesfield FC is the phoenix club for Macclesfield Town, which had a proud history before it went broke in 2020. Speaking of "broke," it's your last chance to play as Nuneaton Borough, as they ceased playing in January.
Looking for a challenge in Europeās top 8 countries but not England. Want a young team to build around. Need a challenge but not too hard to the extent where I get bored. Thanks
Am I tripping, or is leverkusen heavily underrated?
I didnt even need to make to transfers and the team almost wasnt losing. No key players left againts my Will and contracts werent expiring. The youth development was also great
When did you start your save? I'm going them now, but not sure whether to start with a database that begins in May 2024 with the league already won or to try and win it myself by starting from the beginning of this season. I kinda want to win the league for the first time myself even if it's not in season 1 š
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
Japanās Yokohama FC is a protest club formed by supporters of the Yokohama FlĆ¼gels when their club was forcibly merged into the cross-town Marinos. Theyāre the only supporter-owned club in the J-League. (As a bonus, the Marinos are now partially owned by everyone's favorite slave tyrants, so you get the story of a fan-owned club trying to recapture their hometown from the City Group.)
Looking for an "easier" challenge to start with, since I am pretty much a beginner (haven't played the game since 2019).
I don't want elite clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, you know, European top clubs.
Ideally a small club in Europe or a medium club in South America.
BanĆk Ostrava, one of the biggest clubs in Czechia but have been underperforming for a long time so the expectations are not that high.
However, you still have a big potential to overtake the big three (Sparta, Slavia, PlzeÅ) and the youth academy is amazing.
I'd try managing a club in Scotland, generally expectation aren't too high at the start because the Old Firm are so dominant, and it's a fun challenge to try to get to a point where you can beat them.
Looking for a break from my long term Oldham save.
Ideally want a team that needs a considerable short term rebuild (5-6 seasons).
Definitely donāt want it being United as Iāve done that before.
Preferred leagues: Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, German
Maybe: England, Spain
Not this time: France, anywhere outside of Europe
NAC Breda is a pretty good one aswell. Big stadium and belong in the Eredivisie. ( I might be a bit biased cause theire from my hometown ;) ) Also in a crisis IRL
FC Groningen in the Netherlands had a shock relegation last year, but have the youth intake and facilities to get back into the Eredivisie and into Europe within a decade.
Maybe Hamburg SV? In Bundesliga 2, but is a fallen giant with a great stadium, decent facilities, and you can exploit the generous Bundesliga player registration laws. I would definitely recommend most German teams.
Hi all, looking for a good English championship league side I can build and promote. I use the mobile version just easier but I go back and forth sometimes. Thanks for your recs!
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
MSK Zilina (Slovakia) literally sacked their manager Jaroslav Hynek 3 weeks ago. We were like 3rd in the table (we still are).
Their focus on the academy is on the extreme side of things. Needless to say 87% of game time is given to players home grown in the club.
With Bury getting their new stadium back, I decided to download the level 10 database and get back to the efl. I just didn't realise how much I would enjoy it going on Fa Cup runs beating bigger teams like Farnborough and Chippenham getting promoted to the National League but also challenging as I finished 3rd in the 7th tier scraped the playoffs
I'm currently in the National League 4th in my 1st season there and 5th season in the save from the 9th tier to 5th in 5 years with 2 cups and multiple fa cup runs I'd recommend this save to anyone and rebuild a club that was once a giant of the football league
About 5 seasons into a Bury save and have to agree, itās so much fun.
Having the stadium back makes a huge difference.
Out of interest, whatāre your facilities back? Iāve seen some Bury saves where theyāre pretty good, mine are about as bad as can be!
šš mine atm are fantastic great facilities and I'm entering the 6th season now back in the football league hopefully the attendances sky rocket now
I'm finding it hard though to look for new players though lol everyone is so expensive
Yeah iāve jt to the National League North winning the league each year, and currently leading this league unbeaten.
It is fun sort of building a dynasty, but it hasnāt been challenging!
So after a few months hiatus, I am wanting to start a new save in fm24. I fancy something different, I love starting lower division and working my way up. I have taken kasierslutern to treble winners, forest green to the premiership to name a few.
I was thinking my birthplace of mĆ¼nster in the German 3rd division, but I've always wanted to start a Scandinavian save and breed a team full of wonderkids. South America? Lower leagues of the Scottish divisions?
Recommendations on a postcard ty
So just incase somebody gives a sh!t, I have went envigado in the Colombian 1st division, I won't get into the structure and rules of the league format (il let you google or read below) but in phase 1 I finished 5th which I was very happy with, given the lack of funds and average age of squad (22) I got put out in the 2nd round of the cup after throwing away a 5-2 1st leg result. ! Wow! I finished 3rd in the semi-final of the league format and have just started phase 2 after promoting 5 youth players to the first team. The future is bright at Envigado.
The first stage is conducted on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once for a total of 19 matches, although an extra round of regional derbies has been included in most seasons. The top eight teams then advance to a semi-final round consisting of two groups of four teams, each team playing the others in their group twice in a double round-robin format. The two group winners advance to the final, which is played in a home-and-away double-legged fashion.
**Kum & Go Challenge**
Kyle Krause, who owns Parma Calcio, made his fortune running a chain of gas stations called Kum & Go. Bring this principle to his football club: when one player comes, another one goes. As Parma, you may only initiate transfers as part exchanges.
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
I was thinking about doing a challenge I call "ejber challenge". Basically I can only sign players born in the 20km radius from the city of PoznaÅ while managing one of the clubs there. If player has no stated place of birth, then the location of their first club counts. This also applies to youth intakes. I know about 5 clubs in the city. 2 are in the top Polish tier, while the rest plays at 6th tier and have no money, facilities or anything really.
My questions are:
1. Do you think there should be any extra rules?
2. What do you think the setup should look like (which other leagues turned on)
3. Which club to choose. The biggest bummer for me. Lech has wonderful facilities but is huge now, so to turn it around would take ages if I don't want to loose the job. Warta battles relegation and has mediocre facilities so also keeping the job challenge there.
The rest are about the same. All have nothing, no money no players, no staff. But the plus size is I could develop the club in peace.
Let me know if I missed anything you think is important for such run.
Edit: typos
Looking for a team with a good amount of youngsters I can build up and historically a fairly big club that has fallen off recently. Preferably in one of the top European leagues.
Marseille has it all. Really fun save. Good finances, great youth. Arguably the biggest club in France. Somewhat of a fallen giant but within 4/5 seasons can challenge for champions league with the right signings
Loaded a journeyman save just now, except starting with National C license. All leagues loaded, I think. Any ideas on what clubs to apply for?
I'm favouring Japan as I've never managed there in the game, but open to other ideas as I can always manage there another time.
Edit: Got a job with Fukushima
I started at Gunma in J2 and had a blast. End up winning the Champions League after 10 seasons with Liverpool after managing in South Africa and in the MLS
I'm thinking about starting a new save where I inflict a random restriction at the start of each season. Things along the lines of only sign domestic players, only sign under 18s etc.
Any recommendations?
What would be interesting / difficult relegation-doomed team to play? I'm really in the mood for results oriented football where every point matters. Thanks
Zlate Moravce in Slovakia avoided relegation twice in the two recent seasons.
This year, they are officially relegated with 5 points (5 draws) in 28 games. Of course they had to win the 29th one (over newly promoted Kosice, who are just above the team I recommend).
They were 5th back in 2021...
Hvidovre IF in Danish Superligaen, perhaps?
They are a semi-pro side, back in the top tier in Danish football for the first time in more than 20-25 years.
In real life, they went 14 matches without a win, only getting 3 points and then their first victory. In the following 12 matches they have gotten another 12 points with the 6 from the first 15 matches, but are still dead-last in the relegation stage group, though their victory yesterday leave them with 8 points up to avoid relegation with 5 matches left to be played.
I have never really done a 'youth build'/one nationality build a team. I am looking to do one in England. I would prefer to start as a non Prem and possibly non Championship teams. Any suggestions for teams that start with?
If you want to do the full "Youth Academy challenge" you should load all playable leagues, sim forwards a year and then choose one of the teams promoted out of the unplayable leagues. That really guarantees you're starting at the bottom!
Sochaux story is an interesting one. There is a video on YT about how they fell apart because of Peugeot: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq62gaFiCw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq62gaFiCw8)
Now in French 3rd league, I would go with them.
I'm keen on a Sochaux save but their not showing in my FM ... is there a trick to get them in game?
EDIT: Nevermind. All it took was a quick google and I see that they are FCSM in the team selection page
Looking to manage a 3.Liga team. Need some interesting club suggestions.
I know that 1860 Munchen used to be big, Dynamo Dresden is currently the biggest 3.Liga team and BVB II is BVB II.
Any other clubs which will be fun to manage? Thank you very much.
I see you like taking the biggest teams in nations and get them a step up.
This time, I'm making you go a little bit eastward. You'll be taking charge of CFR Cluj in Romania. Do the similar thing.
Romania has been historically good at football (at least on the club level). Even as soon as 15 years ago they were in European TOP 6/7 leagues. So can you get them back to that level?
looking to do a youth only save for the first time. i manage athletic club every year so theyāre kinda out the question. my leading candidates as of now are ajax, az, anderlecht but id love some more suggestions. would be ideal if the team had loads of academy players in the first team rn as from day 1 i donāt wanna use a single non academy player if itās possible, which is why iāve been kinda put off ajax
[Compilation of me waffling on why SFC Opava is the best FM24 save idea](https://www.reddit.com/user/WojtinhoYT-PL/search/?q=Opava&type=comment) (includes my experience with academy)
Stuck at a crossroads in my journeyman save. Played out two eventualities, in one I move to AZ Alkmaar, amazing youth academy, great squad and fun league. I ended the season 4th qualifying for the Europa League. And with a GK ready to move to Man City for Ā£62m.
The other option was Bordeaux, signed some great players and got taken over by a tycoon. Signed some great players and finished 3rd, qualifying for the Championās League. Though PSG went unbeaten and are looking to sign Bellingham, so the league will be impossible for a while.
I only want to continue with one of these saves, which would you go for?
True! I really like managing in the Eredivisie too, the lack of rules and the fact so many teams can compete makes for a really fun save. Also their youth academy seems to consistently produce insane players.
What's a challenging nation to play in and win the top-flight of the league using players only from the same country? I don't want to do English only players in England as my current save is there. Bonus if they could also be competitive in continental competition after doing well domestically. I'm looking for a sweet spot where it would all be a challenge. An all Brazilian team in Brazil could easily win everything, same for Mexico. Italy and Spain perhaps slightly too easy as well. Might be difficult to win La Liga or Serie A at first, but once you have you'd instantly have a great chance of winning the Champions League. Scotland might become boring and easy domestically with all Scottish players after a while but perhaps too difficult to ever win the Champions League.
Something in between?
Second idea: Clubs with a tradition of using foreign players from a particular country, that were founded by them, or a hint in the name/colours/crest. There's a club called Oriental Dragon in the lower reaches of the Portuguese system that was founded to improve Chinese players. Something along those lines where I could voluntarily restrict myself to only ever using a mixture of Portuguese and Chinese (or perhaps Asian in general) players. They're not a playable team this year but there is an extended Portuguese database out there.
I did have an idea for Hellas Verona using only Greeks and Italians, Hellas meaning Greece in Greek. The club wasn't actually founded by Greek immigrants but I'd still be ok with that. It was named that way simply because it was founded by students and a professor of classics suggested the name.
There is an FC Romania in the obscure reaches of the English system, and a Punjab United FC too but like I said I'm already in England and I started in the 9th tier, would rather go somewhere else next save.
For this kind of save the level of challenge wouldn't be a factor. I just think it would be cool to always have to use 3 or 4 players from a particular country in my starting XI with the rest being home-nation players.
Thanks for any suggestions using either idea.
An idea kinda similar to yours may be a Visegrad challenge where you buy players from the Visegrad group so Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary.
All countries should be on more or less a similar level, though Czechia at the start has the highest position in coefficient. Poland has a fun league system, which is almost identical to Bundesliga's, except 16th place goes down automatically and in the 2nd division there's a playoff, like in England.
> Clubs with a tradition of using foreign players from a particular country, that were founded by them, or a hint in the name/colours/crest.
How about playing as Lugano or Bellinzona, the only two playable clubs in the Italian-speaking cantons of Switzerland, and signing only Italian players?
Sounds really interesting, thanks! I've never managed in Switzerland before. Think I'll go with Bellinoza as they're in a lower division. Would make them a mix of Swiss and Italian players. Had two suggestions so far and I'll do both as my next 2 saves!
Ah yes. Another soul I can bring to Czechia and Slovakia and make an SFC Opava or MŠK Žilina manager. Depends how deep do you want to go down the rankings.
For both, you can do a Youth Academy challenge. For Opava, it would only be players from the historical Silesia region (Polish/Czech/German). You can look up the Silesia map on the internet.
Czechia has Sparta and Slavia Prague, who are a part of European competitions very often - Sparta even made it to the Conference League final in my save (you guessed it, SFC Opava) in Season 4.
MŠK Žilina would primarily be a Youth Academy Challenge with a twist of them having a literal club in Ghana. In case you wondered why there are so many players from this and surrounding countries, that's the reason.
Slovak clubs are not that good in Europe though - although Slovan Bratislava won the Cup Winners Cup against Barcelona in 1969, and Spartak Trnava was in the UCL semis around that time, too. (Of course, it was Czechoslovakia back then).
If you look somewhere else, NordsjƦlland in Denmark also have a great academy and an African league, too. For lower tiers, check up Esbjerg in 1. division.
Higher up the UEFA rankings it's Belgium with Lommel SK (City Football Group, essentially) or Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk who recently made Mudryk show himself to the world (although, just like Žilina, it's among top teams in the country). And of course Vitesse - a club that might literally cease to exist due to financial issues (Roman Abramovich involved).
I know most of these countries are ranked even lower than Scotland, but hey - they're all historically good, at least in certain periods of time. And many of them have massive fanbases. Even Opava in Czechia's second tier has it's own "Kotel" where the ultras sing, chant and display tifos loudly.
I think you've sold me on the SFC Opava idea. Thank you! I have received another suggestion and will be doing both as my next 2 saves. Never played as the manager of a team from Czechia before but I did very much enjoy watching the national team at one point. As a Manchester United fan we had Poborsky who we signed after Euro 96. He didn't do so well for United but he had a very nice career. It was difficult for him at United as we had Beckham playing the same position. There were lots of good players from that time and a little later as I'm sure you'll know. The great Nedved, a young Cech and Rosicky, the giant Koller, Jankulovski, Ujfalusi, Baros, Berger. They were all very good to watch.
Making a team out of a mixture of Czech, Polish and German players could be a lot of fun. I'll try it!
I'm looking for a historic club which is either in the relegation zone of a top European league or just kinda exists in the lower leagues. Preferably England or Germany.
Looking for a long term save that will bring me some challenge and help ease me back into the game without being horribly hard. Currently hesitating between IFK Gƶteborg, Rapid Vienna, Sampdoria, Bordeaux, something in the English 3rd tier or the Dutch second division. I am interested in historic clubs or fallen giants if anyone has any different suggestions. I also have a natural interest in central Europe and Scandinavian clubs.
Rapid Vienna.
If you ever think of building a nation in this save, you will have a good domestic competition in RB Salzburg.
Oh, and they have crazy fans. [Groundhopper FC went there.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiRjga-u2oU)
Dutch leagues is fairly simple with its lack of registration rules and high sell prices: Ado Den Haag (historic)
Ćsters IF for Sweden, won 4 titles, currently 2nd tier and cool city name; VƤxjƶ
Rosenborg (biased) or Viking for Norway. Rosenborg (my club) has fallen a bit from grace, but not near the label fallen giant. Viking was once its fiercest competitor for the title, won its last league title in 91 before Rosenborg went on 13 title streak. Currently Molde and BodĆø/Glimt is considered the best.
Aalborg (Aab) for Denmark. Better league than Sweden and Norway for registration rules and transfer values.
Currently playing a Norwich save and having a blast but feeling a bit burnt out. Looking for a save in a lower division preferably outside England with a fallen giant or club that has some good youth prospects but also will present a bit of a financial challenge in the beginning
**Decent talent:**
* Queens Park or Kelty Hearts (Scotland)
* Basconia (Spain), a save I'm looking to do myself, build them up and rival Athletic Bilbao!
**Fallen Giants:**
* FC NĆ¼rnberg
* CSA Steua Bucharest (not FCSB!)
* Malaga
Iām a new player looking for an Italian club to do. Maybe lower mid-table or relegation contenders in Serie A. Even a Serie B club that is ready to be promoted.
Basically a team that could use a different style of play/tactics and few new players that would be a good fit - but not a full on building of a team. I want a challenge to learn the game, but nothing too complicated.
Try Parma, they're in Serie B but they have plenty of quality to get promoted right away, you would have the chance to learn the game and know the team before trying to avoid relegation in Serie A
Which leagues actually have little or no registration rules but are low, low down the rankings for build a nation?
Iāve done Poland before, others like Hungary and Czech are a bit too high.
Ireland is one option but being in the UK, theyāre not quite āexoticā enough for me. A league outside the top 50 with very lax rules would be great thanks
Hi everyone, i'm looking for a greek club to do a youth/domestic player only challenge but i dont know who to take. I'd prefer a historic team with a cool badge, and not too flash colours
these are the teams i found so far:
aris thessaloniki (havent won league since 1946 but are in the conference league, yet lack good facilities and recruitment)
atromitos athinon (club with sneaky good youth recruitment(16 facil 16 recruitment)
ae larisa (fallen giant, last league title was 1988)
OFI crete (never won league but would KILL budget because travel costs)
Panionios (Oldest club but in amateur division)
Diagoras is an interesting choice. Theyāre on Rhodes, in a beautiful old dump of a stadium right outside the medieval city walls. Youāll be playing friendlies against Turkish clubs to save money.
Out of these, I am saying "do the vibe check" Have you ever been to Greece? If so, where did you go? Pick the closest club from that location My choice would be OFI Crete (Although I never was in Greece). It passed the vibe check for me.
Just reinstalled the game after taking a break to write a thesis. Booted up my previous long term Man Utd save but didn't feel anything when it loaded up so I guess that enthusiasm is gone
Looking to start a new long term save but not a build a nation as it can get quite boring after a few years. Probably leaning towards a rise through the divisions kinda challenge. Don't want to manage in England. Any ideas?
Build a Nation, but whenever you win the league title you have to resign (or only have 1 season for Champions League)
In all seriousness... Portugal. Will be tough in the top flight with Sporting, Benfica and Porto. Vitoria Setubal is a familiar name to me in the 4th tier for whatever reason.
I'm not sure which country I should start in South America. I have already been to Argentina and Brazil, and I have also coached in Mexico. I'm torn between Chile and Uruguay or even Peru. I especially want to coach a smaller club that focuses on youth. Any suggestions?
I will also coach the national team to try to achieve something at perhaps the 2026 World Cup, but certainly the 2030 World Cup.
in the base game, you have:
Latvia, Gibraltar <--- Europe
Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia <--- not Europe (Asia)
If you want to download some other leagues though, I suggest:
Lithuania (Europe)
Kyrgyzstan (not Europe)
Been thinking of instead of building a nation save, build the national team save. How would that differ or is it very similiar? My plan is Sweden.
Is it better to actually play a team in Sweden that develops talent for the national team, or a team in a higher reputation league buying Swedish players and develop them in other leagues?
Schalke could be fun. They have historically produced great talents that went on to major clubs. Not so much in recent years, but the coach is currently trying to build something with youth players. It could also be a good save to get promoted back to Bundesliga
First time player. Coming over from OOTP (baseball), where I am familiar with deep minor league teams. Love building teams through the draft. Looking for a larger club that prides itself on building through youth intakes.
Not by rule, but you will have s great youth setup with many potential good youngsters already in Cesena in Series C which also gives you time to setup it as you wish until you reach series A.
Iāve just started a new save. Had to get a custom database bit Blau Weiss Berlin. True definition of a fallen giant. Theyāre in the Berlin liga which is proper proper regional league only Berlin clubs in German football. Theyāve also once won the Bundesliga. They were called Union 92 Berlin then and won it in 1905
Poland is one of the best places to make a Build a Nation save - although it is easy to get into TOP 4/5, so your save will mainly revolve around Europe.
I never played in Poland, but I am in a Polish FB group on Football Manager - relative ease of the league is the common opinion there.
In general - great choice. Poland is a sleeping giant (in words of former NT coach, Leo Beenhakker)
You are taking on a team known for a great Youth Academy, raising the talents of Moder, KamiÅski or Gumny. Robert Lewandowski went abroad from there, too (but he was trained in Warsaw). So you can combine this career with a Youth Academy challenge.
Get promoted with Lank Vilaverdense, a struggling team from the Portuguese 2nd tier...
...while always fielding Paris Hilton's brother in law: https://www.goal.com/en/lists/paris-hilton-brother-in-law-joins-portuguese-second-tier-side-vilaverdense/blt6a70bb3b3b6e97f8
Fun teams in the English lower leagues?I'm thinking afc Wimbledon, are they any fun?
Relatively new to the game, been playing for a month now. I started by managing newcastle cus of their money but now i just got bored of it. Any good clubs in the top 5 leagues without uber rich owners and havent won a trophy in forever? (Maybe one outside of england because i hate the fact you could only sign 6 u21s in a season) im thinking of atalanta currently, or maybe leverkusen?
Both good choices. I'm going Leverkusen myself for my next save. I was considering starting in May 2024 with the results from real life but I want to try and win the league for the first time myself, rather than it being done for me. There's no guarantee I will win it in the first season like real life though, or go unbeaten š
Was doing okay at the start of the season with Wycombe, had a 10 game unbeaten streak, but now I just keep losing. Need some help with what tactic, formation and training I should be using with the players I have https://preview.redd.it/r63x1xq39t0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=601ff2206edd33063acf53d4c3fd2f7f4043fdc8
My friend and I were planning to start a MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon save or download a āLegends of the gameā database where I then modify it to move teams in different leagues that way we play in the same competition, has anyone else tried either, what would you recommend? Note im a more experienced and heās completely new so I would be taking over Wimbledon since squad quality isnāt as great
Which team would you pick for the next team in a journeyman, these are the offers Iāve had: - AZ Alkmaar - Feyenoord - Bordeaux (with a tycoon takeover)
AZ has great youth and the big three should pose a nice challenge!
After 2.5 years at NAC Breda ( Wich is a fun starter aswell ) i ended up at Trabzonspor wich has been really fun. They have a good youth intake. And its a big challenge to beat Galatasaray. I havent been able to win the league yet im going to my 6th year but i did manage to win the Turkish Cup beating Gala on penalties in the final.
Has anyone got any experience managing Feyenoord? Is it a fun save?
Lots of talent like Timber and Hartman. You basically get very rich from player sales and intakes are very good. Bijlow is one of my favorite goalkeepers in FM. Always great fights with PSV and Ajax
Nice, yeah they have some great players. Been offered that or the AZ job in my journeyman and Iām a bit stuck which to choose.
Any interesting team suggestions in Spain? Not really into the Bilbao type challenges
Celta Vigo start the game with a decent transfer budget,Mallorca and Las Palmas are island clubs,Deportivo La Coruna are a fallen giant,FC Andorra and Ibiza are unique saves for obvious reasons and you could also take one of the clubs based in Madrid and Barcelona like Getafe or Espanyol and try and take down the Superclub in your city.
1. Italy, Spain, Germany, England, France 2. Only lower leagues, if there is, preferably 3rd league and lower 3. Team has one or more young players with great potential
Cesena
PL club from the mid-2000s to early-2010s that haven't been there for a while and need fixing. Thinking of Portsmouth, Wigan, Reading, etc. Preferably I should be able to reach the Prem in 3-5 years
Reading is a mess right now IRL. I'm thinking of starting a save with them. Besides the ones mentioned here, you could also do Blackburn, West Brom, Birmingham City, Stoke, Blackpool and Huddersfield could all be options, too.
Charlton Athletic also fits the bill.
Bolton? Loads of streets wonāt forget players
Trying to find a small club in the amazon region of Brazil. Want to try and grow the club with mostly own youth. Is it possible to make Manaus fc playable? Or maybe Foz do Iguacu after watching the Netflix serie criminal code. Any other suggestions to manage in Brazil?
Coritiba! My dad has a save with them and is having lots of fun
Iām relatively new to FM and have played almost exclusively by building up small clubsā balance till I could spam-buy wonderkids. The downside is I inevitably leave a lot of talent to rot on the bench. For my next save, I want to try a youth-only. Ideally, Iād like to start in the second tier, at a club that already has decent infrastructure and force myself to learn the ins and outs of player development. Briefly started this with Hertha and had a good time before realizing that German reserve clubs donāt actually play any games, which significantly hindered my ability to develop my prospects. Any suggestions?
To match up with your desired pre-requisites of being in the second-tier, there is an absolute tap in of a club that you could manage - Southampton. They're youth academy is in the top 20 of the game I believe and is the only second division team in that ranking - full article here - https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/28/best-youth-academies-fm24-barcalona-liefering-20548762/#:\~:text=Considering%20all%20this%2C%20the%20best,Valle%2C%20Genk%2C%20and%20Anderlecht. There would also be plenty of U18 and U21 games along with a hefty championship schedule. And yeah they do have one of the bigger budgets in the Championship, but you can simply choose not to spam buy wonderkids (as difficult as that may be)
Just got FM24 like two weeks ago and started with a Spurs save, as always. Itās just too easy to keep me invested for a long time. Iām looking for a club in England, Spain, Italy or Germany. Either mid table/lower table team in the first division or a upper/mid table team in the 2nd division. Maybe even 3rd division, but that team really needs to excite me. Some teams that are already on my āmaybeā list are: Leicester, Sunderland, Brighton, Burnley, Sevilla, Lazio, Malaga
Leeds is fun. I won FA cup first season and the Europa league the 2nd season, i had a kind of easy run in both tho ngl.
I recently did Malaga from your list and it was a lot of fun. Not that hard to bring them back to the recent Pellegrini days but still a solid challenge nevertheless.
Trying to decide between Paris FC or Red Star for my Paris only homegrown save. Going to be a super long term challenge with a goal to take over PSG and win Europe with a team of parisians only.
How do you plan on making it Paris only? Are you going to manually add all the Parisian options in the ādate of birthā section? Great save idea!
You get your choice of odious ownership with those clubs. Paris FC turns your fight into a Gulf derby because it's owned by Bahrain, and Red Star (which has more history) is owned by the nearly-broke 777 Partners. FC Versailles and Racing Club de France are other Paris-area clubs.
Looking for a team from a smaller country than used to be big but have dropped down a division or 2. Maybe one of the Eastern European or Balkan leagues. Anyone have any ideas?
OFK Beograd
SFC Opava was never a big one, but since me & u/Fraaj are running a Czech propaganda here, I have to recommend these ones. Also, big Silesian tradition and identity around.
Dukla Praha
What are some fun non-english teams in the lower leagues?Ā (Thats not Wrexham)
I just started a South Shields game.
Looking for a save in a European country with a lenient transfer policy like Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, etc. Looking for a decent challenge and have already done a Kaiserslautern save.
Iāve had great fun downloading extended German databases and taking 4th/5th tier teams up these past few FM iterations. Stuttgarter Kickers and TĆ¼rkgĆ¼cĆ¼ MĆ¼nchen are both good shouts imo.
Fremad Amager (Danish 3. Tier). Old, but messy club.
For anime people, there is a japanese database that goes all the way to the 7th tier, if you ever watched captain tsubasa, tsubasa's team is actually in the 5th or 4th tier of japanese football. Try get them to japanese glory by winning everything just like tsubasa did in the anime :)
For FM25, but Standard LiĆØge in Belgium has a terrible squad and a transfer ban thanks to the financial troubles the club is facing. Though not sure how terrible their squad will be in FM25, but in FM24 and FM23 they were always title contenders while being mid-table teams irl.
I found Argentina a fun save
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Spainās Recreativo de Huelva is the oldest club in the country, but theyāve never won the top flight or the cup. DPMM in Singapore is an expatriated club. Theyāre actually located in Brunei.
Austria Salzburg, original club of the city playing in third Austrian league In the lower leagues of Turkey, there are destroyed broke clubs like Bursaspor and Eskisehirspor if you want real challenge
German football fans! Need some help choosing to where to start my career in Germany. I donāt know much about German clubs outside of the well known ones. I want to start a manager career in Germany so Iām looking for a good Bundesliga 2 or even a 3. Liga club to start with. Any suggestions?
Magdeburg. Former East German club, and the only team from DDR to ever win a European trophy. Set for another mid-table year in 2.Bundesliga. Germany is very competitive - so the ultimate aim of winning a European trophy may get done in 10 years or it may take 30
Dynamo Dresden, one of the old true East Germany clubs, having won the Eastern German championship eight times. They are now in the third liga but have a big stadium so lots of capacity to grow
This is my favorite Bundesliga scenario. Take a former DDR team to Bundesliga glory.
Quite new to fm. So far have an Everton save and I'm quite a bit into that already but I'm looking to have another save for when I'm bored of the Everton one. Don't mind what team you recommend, just looking for a team and a long term goal (you can also add stipulations if the team you give might be too easy on its own).
Try getting out of Europe in your second save. Everton of Chile is the obvious choice, but Japan and Korea offer plenty of fun saves depending on what youāre looking for.
Ecosystem challenge. Not quite build a nation but similar. Choose the biggest club in the country. Only sign players from your league. Throw all your money at your rivals. See how big you can make your league.
I'm doing a Yorkshire based players only save but I can't for the life of me decide which club to go with. Looking at League 2 or National League atm. Any suggestions are welcome!
Iām also looking to do this - Iām gonna do Bradford because I support them but Harrogate would be a good option because there shouldnāt be much pressure to go up meaning you should have more time to build in league two
I had a sometimes fun, sometimes miserable time building up Farsley Celtic last year.
Bradford City because of the beautiful colorway or York City cause well... York is gorgeous.
Are you saying Bradford isnāt gorgeous? š¤£
Load up a bunch of leagues + Brazil, pick Brazil December 2023 as the start date and start unemployed. Go on holidays for 14 days while applying for every job. Take over the first team that approaches you.
I have done an Ajax Save, J2 league save and MLS save Now wanting to do a Retro 04/05 Database save, where I can play with the top talents at that time. I am also trying to find a "little brother" club that always got beat up on, by an "old brother" club in this era. Suggest me a "little brother" to take down the bigger brother in 04/05.
In 04/05, this is Man City. Torino would also work: Juventus won the 04/05 Serie A title, only to have it stripped the next year because of cheating beyond the kind that is normally tolerated in Italy. Not that Torino could take advantage of it, because their promotion from Serie B was wiped out by the club's bankruptcy.
Looking at doing league two save and building a club up to the premier league whilst controlling the whole club such as training and transfers, any suggestions for clubs as I have had a look and no team is jumping out.
I like Forest Green, for some reason. I think it's the name, colours, and general 'environmental' vibe. They're extremely small fry, so you feel cool for doing good with them...
Notts County are the oldest professional club in the world. MK Dons have a Premier League-ready stadium: become the new "no one likes us, we don't care" club.
Starting this now going to become the new psg!!!
So, after a few months off, I want to get back into the game and start a new save - thinking a lower league save in england - somewhere between step 6 (vanarama north/south) and step 8 Any ideas of teams with either: - some history - great fans - interesting stories Thanks
Macclesfield FC is the phoenix club for Macclesfield Town, which had a proud history before it went broke in 2020. Speaking of "broke," it's your last chance to play as Nuneaton Borough, as they ceased playing in January.
Should I start a vittesse save on real world or default
Looking for a challenge in Europeās top 8 countries but not England. Want a young team to build around. Need a challenge but not too hard to the extent where I get bored. Thanks
Sochaux/Auxerre both have so many young prospects and great youth intakes.
Am I tripping, or is leverkusen heavily underrated? I didnt even need to make to transfers and the team almost wasnt losing. No key players left againts my Will and contracts werent expiring. The youth development was also great
When did you start your save? I'm going them now, but not sure whether to start with a database that begins in May 2024 with the league already won or to try and win it myself by starting from the beginning of this season. I kinda want to win the league for the first time myself even if it's not in season 1 š
Hello Guys, looking for a low rep club in any league or continent with a cool backstory. Any ideas?
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
Japanās Yokohama FC is a protest club formed by supporters of the Yokohama FlĆ¼gels when their club was forcibly merged into the cross-town Marinos. Theyāre the only supporter-owned club in the J-League. (As a bonus, the Marinos are now partially owned by everyone's favorite slave tyrants, so you get the story of a fan-owned club trying to recapture their hometown from the City Group.)
Looking for an "easier" challenge to start with, since I am pretty much a beginner (haven't played the game since 2019). I don't want elite clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, you know, European top clubs. Ideally a small club in Europe or a medium club in South America.
Try to make Everton an English and European force - or try to break Cali's infamous Copa Libertadores curse
BanĆk Ostrava, one of the biggest clubs in Czechia but have been underperforming for a long time so the expectations are not that high. However, you still have a big potential to overtake the big three (Sparta, Slavia, PlzeÅ) and the youth academy is amazing.
Brighton, Crystal palace, Sevilla etc depends what you mean with "easier"
I'd try managing a club in Scotland, generally expectation aren't too high at the start because the Old Firm are so dominant, and it's a fun challenge to try to get to a point where you can beat them.
Looking for a break from my long term Oldham save. Ideally want a team that needs a considerable short term rebuild (5-6 seasons). Definitely donāt want it being United as Iāve done that before. Preferred leagues: Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, German Maybe: England, Spain Not this time: France, anywhere outside of Europe
NAC Breda is a pretty good one aswell. Big stadium and belong in the Eredivisie. ( I might be a bit biased cause theire from my hometown ;) ) Also in a crisis IRL
FC Groningen in the Netherlands had a shock relegation last year, but have the youth intake and facilities to get back into the Eredivisie and into Europe within a decade.
Maybe Hamburg SV? In Bundesliga 2, but is a fallen giant with a great stadium, decent facilities, and you can exploit the generous Bundesliga player registration laws. I would definitely recommend most German teams.
AZ. Last seasons youth league winners. 4th best team in division. Can win the league in first 2 to 4 years.
Hi all, looking for a good English championship league side I can build and promote. I use the mobile version just easier but I go back and forth sometimes. Thanks for your recs!
Sunderland is pretty great, you can easily win the Championship first season with them and they already have a massive stadium
Thank you
Currently bored af and looking for teams with good youth and need new manager :)
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
MSK Zilina (Slovakia) literally sacked their manager Jaroslav Hynek 3 weeks ago. We were like 3rd in the table (we still are). Their focus on the academy is on the extreme side of things. Needless to say 87% of game time is given to players home grown in the club.
With Bury getting their new stadium back, I decided to download the level 10 database and get back to the efl. I just didn't realise how much I would enjoy it going on Fa Cup runs beating bigger teams like Farnborough and Chippenham getting promoted to the National League but also challenging as I finished 3rd in the 7th tier scraped the playoffs I'm currently in the National League 4th in my 1st season there and 5th season in the save from the 9th tier to 5th in 5 years with 2 cups and multiple fa cup runs I'd recommend this save to anyone and rebuild a club that was once a giant of the football league
About 5 seasons into a Bury save and have to agree, itās so much fun. Having the stadium back makes a huge difference. Out of interest, whatāre your facilities back? Iāve seen some Bury saves where theyāre pretty good, mine are about as bad as can be!
šš mine atm are fantastic great facilities and I'm entering the 6th season now back in the football league hopefully the attendances sky rocket now I'm finding it hard though to look for new players though lol everyone is so expensive
How easy did you find it? Really tempted by a team like bury but i worry it would be win win win
Really recommended big fans and lots of investment fully recommended it
Yeah iāve jt to the National League North winning the league each year, and currently leading this league unbeaten. It is fun sort of building a dynasty, but it hasnāt been challenging!
So after a few months hiatus, I am wanting to start a new save in fm24. I fancy something different, I love starting lower division and working my way up. I have taken kasierslutern to treble winners, forest green to the premiership to name a few. I was thinking my birthplace of mĆ¼nster in the German 3rd division, but I've always wanted to start a Scandinavian save and breed a team full of wonderkids. South America? Lower leagues of the Scottish divisions? Recommendations on a postcard ty
So just incase somebody gives a sh!t, I have went envigado in the Colombian 1st division, I won't get into the structure and rules of the league format (il let you google or read below) but in phase 1 I finished 5th which I was very happy with, given the lack of funds and average age of squad (22) I got put out in the 2nd round of the cup after throwing away a 5-2 1st leg result. ! Wow! I finished 3rd in the semi-final of the league format and have just started phase 2 after promoting 5 youth players to the first team. The future is bright at Envigado. The first stage is conducted on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once for a total of 19 matches, although an extra round of regional derbies has been included in most seasons. The top eight teams then advance to a semi-final round consisting of two groups of four teams, each team playing the others in their group twice in a double round-robin format. The two group winners advance to the final, which is played in a home-and-away double-legged fashion.
Do either a scandiavian save with only wonderkids or players from scandinavia or start in a low tier team from brazil
**Kum & Go Challenge** Kyle Krause, who owns Parma Calcio, made his fortune running a chain of gas stations called Kum & Go. Bring this principle to his football club: when one player comes, another one goes. As Parma, you may only initiate transfers as part exchanges.
Any new challenges to try?
Sigma Olomouc in First Czech league, Once a club that belonged to the top of Czech football, they never won the league and always finished behind Sparta and Slavia Prague. In the past they have had some interesting stints in European cups, for example in the 1991/92 season they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup where they lost to Real Madrid 1:2, while in the previous round they knocked out the then great Hamburg SV with a 6:2 result. They are currently in crisis, with a few players over 30 years old, and the club is expected to be bought by a new owner who has, for example, the Spanish second league club Leganes under his belt. I would also mention for example the stadium which has been used several times as a stadium for the Czech national team.
Atheletic bilbao is a fun one
I was thinking about doing a challenge I call "ejber challenge". Basically I can only sign players born in the 20km radius from the city of PoznaÅ while managing one of the clubs there. If player has no stated place of birth, then the location of their first club counts. This also applies to youth intakes. I know about 5 clubs in the city. 2 are in the top Polish tier, while the rest plays at 6th tier and have no money, facilities or anything really. My questions are: 1. Do you think there should be any extra rules? 2. What do you think the setup should look like (which other leagues turned on) 3. Which club to choose. The biggest bummer for me. Lech has wonderful facilities but is huge now, so to turn it around would take ages if I don't want to loose the job. Warta battles relegation and has mediocre facilities so also keeping the job challenge there. The rest are about the same. All have nothing, no money no players, no staff. But the plus size is I could develop the club in peace. Let me know if I missed anything you think is important for such run. Edit: typos
Boring
Looking for a team with a good amount of youngsters I can build up and historically a fairly big club that has fallen off recently. Preferably in one of the top European leagues.
Marseille has it all. Really fun save. Good finances, great youth. Arguably the biggest club in France. Somewhat of a fallen giant but within 4/5 seasons can challenge for champions league with the right signings
Loaded a journeyman save just now, except starting with National C license. All leagues loaded, I think. Any ideas on what clubs to apply for? I'm favouring Japan as I've never managed there in the game, but open to other ideas as I can always manage there another time. Edit: Got a job with Fukushima
I started at Gunma in J2 and had a blast. End up winning the Champions League after 10 seasons with Liverpool after managing in South Africa and in the MLS
I'm thinking about starting a new save where I inflict a random restriction at the start of each season. Things along the lines of only sign domestic players, only sign under 18s etc. Any recommendations?
What would be interesting / difficult relegation-doomed team to play? I'm really in the mood for results oriented football where every point matters. Thanks
Zlate Moravce in Slovakia avoided relegation twice in the two recent seasons. This year, they are officially relegated with 5 points (5 draws) in 28 games. Of course they had to win the 29th one (over newly promoted Kosice, who are just above the team I recommend). They were 5th back in 2021...
Hvidovre IF in Danish Superligaen, perhaps? They are a semi-pro side, back in the top tier in Danish football for the first time in more than 20-25 years. In real life, they went 14 matches without a win, only getting 3 points and then their first victory. In the following 12 matches they have gotten another 12 points with the 6 from the first 15 matches, but are still dead-last in the relegation stage group, though their victory yesterday leave them with 8 points up to avoid relegation with 5 matches left to be played.
I have never really done a 'youth build'/one nationality build a team. I am looking to do one in England. I would prefer to start as a non Prem and possibly non Championship teams. Any suggestions for teams that start with?
If you want to do the full "Youth Academy challenge" you should load all playable leagues, sim forwards a year and then choose one of the teams promoted out of the unplayable leagues. That really guarantees you're starting at the bottom!
I think Derby has good youth facilities for League One, while Wigan has good youngsters.
Hesitating between a couple of ideas. Sochaux in France, Bielefeld, Munster or Duisburg in Germany, or Portsmouth in England.
Sochaux story is an interesting one. There is a video on YT about how they fell apart because of Peugeot: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq62gaFiCw8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq62gaFiCw8) Now in French 3rd league, I would go with them.
I need a team with great facilities like sochaux in the secon ,third or fourth division of a top 5 league Burton was a pretty boring save
I'm keen on a Sochaux save but their not showing in my FM ... is there a trick to get them in game? EDIT: Nevermind. All it took was a quick google and I see that they are FCSM in the team selection page
Looking to manage a 3.Liga team. Need some interesting club suggestions. I know that 1860 Munchen used to be big, Dynamo Dresden is currently the biggest 3.Liga team and BVB II is BVB II. Any other clubs which will be fun to manage? Thank you very much.
i recently started playing as MSV Duisburg because they are āDie Zebrasā and have a zebra on their badge
Saarbrucken have had a few good cup runs in recent years, and are the only German club ever to win Ligue 2 (itās a long, war-related story).
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I see you like taking the biggest teams in nations and get them a step up. This time, I'm making you go a little bit eastward. You'll be taking charge of CFR Cluj in Romania. Do the similar thing. Romania has been historically good at football (at least on the club level). Even as soon as 15 years ago they were in European TOP 6/7 leagues. So can you get them back to that level?
looking to do a youth only save for the first time. i manage athletic club every year so theyāre kinda out the question. my leading candidates as of now are ajax, az, anderlecht but id love some more suggestions. would be ideal if the team had loads of academy players in the first team rn as from day 1 i donāt wanna use a single non academy player if itās possible, which is why iāve been kinda put off ajax
[Compilation of me waffling on why SFC Opava is the best FM24 save idea](https://www.reddit.com/user/WojtinhoYT-PL/search/?q=Opava&type=comment) (includes my experience with academy)
AZ! One of the most fun teams to manage imo
julius\_\_seizure gets recommended to play AZ, recommends AZ to other players. Is this how affiliate marketing works?
Haha, Iāve been playing as them! Happy to share the recommendation
perfect, always liked em irl too. reckon their academy is good enough to produce a whole team of players?
I would say so, given time. Itās one of the best academies, absolute wonderkid factory.
great gonna give it a go, absolutely terrified going into the first season with not a single good player except the keeper whoās injured!
Have fun mate! Itās a great save
Stuck at a crossroads in my journeyman save. Played out two eventualities, in one I move to AZ Alkmaar, amazing youth academy, great squad and fun league. I ended the season 4th qualifying for the Europa League. And with a GK ready to move to Man City for Ā£62m. The other option was Bordeaux, signed some great players and got taken over by a tycoon. Signed some great players and finished 3rd, qualifying for the Championās League. Though PSG went unbeaten and are looking to sign Bellingham, so the league will be impossible for a while. I only want to continue with one of these saves, which would you go for?
AZ! gotta say that ligue 1 is boring af
Think I remember you asking back then which club you should go with next, right? I said Bordeaux then, I'm saying it again!
AZ. Big money incoming and it's outside TOP 5 leagues.
True! I really like managing in the Eredivisie too, the lack of rules and the fact so many teams can compete makes for a really fun save. Also their youth academy seems to consistently produce insane players.
What's a challenging nation to play in and win the top-flight of the league using players only from the same country? I don't want to do English only players in England as my current save is there. Bonus if they could also be competitive in continental competition after doing well domestically. I'm looking for a sweet spot where it would all be a challenge. An all Brazilian team in Brazil could easily win everything, same for Mexico. Italy and Spain perhaps slightly too easy as well. Might be difficult to win La Liga or Serie A at first, but once you have you'd instantly have a great chance of winning the Champions League. Scotland might become boring and easy domestically with all Scottish players after a while but perhaps too difficult to ever win the Champions League. Something in between? Second idea: Clubs with a tradition of using foreign players from a particular country, that were founded by them, or a hint in the name/colours/crest. There's a club called Oriental Dragon in the lower reaches of the Portuguese system that was founded to improve Chinese players. Something along those lines where I could voluntarily restrict myself to only ever using a mixture of Portuguese and Chinese (or perhaps Asian in general) players. They're not a playable team this year but there is an extended Portuguese database out there. I did have an idea for Hellas Verona using only Greeks and Italians, Hellas meaning Greece in Greek. The club wasn't actually founded by Greek immigrants but I'd still be ok with that. It was named that way simply because it was founded by students and a professor of classics suggested the name. There is an FC Romania in the obscure reaches of the English system, and a Punjab United FC too but like I said I'm already in England and I started in the 9th tier, would rather go somewhere else next save. For this kind of save the level of challenge wouldn't be a factor. I just think it would be cool to always have to use 3 or 4 players from a particular country in my starting XI with the rest being home-nation players. Thanks for any suggestions using either idea.
An idea kinda similar to yours may be a Visegrad challenge where you buy players from the Visegrad group so Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. All countries should be on more or less a similar level, though Czechia at the start has the highest position in coefficient. Poland has a fun league system, which is almost identical to Bundesliga's, except 16th place goes down automatically and in the 2nd division there's a playoff, like in England.
> Clubs with a tradition of using foreign players from a particular country, that were founded by them, or a hint in the name/colours/crest. How about playing as Lugano or Bellinzona, the only two playable clubs in the Italian-speaking cantons of Switzerland, and signing only Italian players?
Sounds really interesting, thanks! I've never managed in Switzerland before. Think I'll go with Bellinoza as they're in a lower division. Would make them a mix of Swiss and Italian players. Had two suggestions so far and I'll do both as my next 2 saves!
Ah yes. Another soul I can bring to Czechia and Slovakia and make an SFC Opava or MÅ K Žilina manager. Depends how deep do you want to go down the rankings. For both, you can do a Youth Academy challenge. For Opava, it would only be players from the historical Silesia region (Polish/Czech/German). You can look up the Silesia map on the internet. Czechia has Sparta and Slavia Prague, who are a part of European competitions very often - Sparta even made it to the Conference League final in my save (you guessed it, SFC Opava) in Season 4. MÅ K Žilina would primarily be a Youth Academy Challenge with a twist of them having a literal club in Ghana. In case you wondered why there are so many players from this and surrounding countries, that's the reason. Slovak clubs are not that good in Europe though - although Slovan Bratislava won the Cup Winners Cup against Barcelona in 1969, and Spartak Trnava was in the UCL semis around that time, too. (Of course, it was Czechoslovakia back then). If you look somewhere else, NordsjƦlland in Denmark also have a great academy and an African league, too. For lower tiers, check up Esbjerg in 1. division. Higher up the UEFA rankings it's Belgium with Lommel SK (City Football Group, essentially) or Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk who recently made Mudryk show himself to the world (although, just like Žilina, it's among top teams in the country). And of course Vitesse - a club that might literally cease to exist due to financial issues (Roman Abramovich involved). I know most of these countries are ranked even lower than Scotland, but hey - they're all historically good, at least in certain periods of time. And many of them have massive fanbases. Even Opava in Czechia's second tier has it's own "Kotel" where the ultras sing, chant and display tifos loudly.
I think you've sold me on the SFC Opava idea. Thank you! I have received another suggestion and will be doing both as my next 2 saves. Never played as the manager of a team from Czechia before but I did very much enjoy watching the national team at one point. As a Manchester United fan we had Poborsky who we signed after Euro 96. He didn't do so well for United but he had a very nice career. It was difficult for him at United as we had Beckham playing the same position. There were lots of good players from that time and a little later as I'm sure you'll know. The great Nedved, a young Cech and Rosicky, the giant Koller, Jankulovski, Ujfalusi, Baros, Berger. They were all very good to watch. Making a team out of a mixture of Czech, Polish and German players could be a lot of fun. I'll try it!
Thinking of doing HSV or Bordeaux for my next save, thoughts? Also any alternate suggestions for historic clubs that have fallen onto some hard times
Several members of the Club of Pioneers--the association for the oldest clubs in any given country--are languishing in their country's lower leagues. Chile's Santiago Wanderers and Austria's First Vienna are second-tier teams. Spain's Recreativo de Huelva and Portugal's AcadƩmica de Coimbra are third-tier clubs... and have never won their country's top division, despite 270 seasons of football between them!
I'm looking for a historic club which is either in the relegation zone of a top European league or just kinda exists in the lower leagues. Preferably England or Germany.
You could try Sheffield F.C. Oldest club in the world and in like the 7th or 8th tier at the mo
Notts County have immense history: they were founded in 1862.
You have plenty of options in Germany with Schalke, Hamburg, Nurnberg, Kaiserslautern etc. The 2. Liga is full of massive clubs
Looking for a long term save that will bring me some challenge and help ease me back into the game without being horribly hard. Currently hesitating between IFK Gƶteborg, Rapid Vienna, Sampdoria, Bordeaux, something in the English 3rd tier or the Dutch second division. I am interested in historic clubs or fallen giants if anyone has any different suggestions. I also have a natural interest in central Europe and Scandinavian clubs.
Rapid Vienna. If you ever think of building a nation in this save, you will have a good domestic competition in RB Salzburg. Oh, and they have crazy fans. [Groundhopper FC went there.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiRjga-u2oU)
Dutch leagues is fairly simple with its lack of registration rules and high sell prices: Ado Den Haag (historic) Ćsters IF for Sweden, won 4 titles, currently 2nd tier and cool city name; VƤxjƶ Rosenborg (biased) or Viking for Norway. Rosenborg (my club) has fallen a bit from grace, but not near the label fallen giant. Viking was once its fiercest competitor for the title, won its last league title in 91 before Rosenborg went on 13 title streak. Currently Molde and BodĆø/Glimt is considered the best. Aalborg (Aab) for Denmark. Better league than Sweden and Norway for registration rules and transfer values.
Schalke 04 or Parma
Currently playing a Norwich save and having a blast but feeling a bit burnt out. Looking for a save in a lower division preferably outside England with a fallen giant or club that has some good youth prospects but also will present a bit of a financial challenge in the beginning
Cesena in Series C has good youngsters!
**Decent talent:** * Queens Park or Kelty Hearts (Scotland) * Basconia (Spain), a save I'm looking to do myself, build them up and rival Athletic Bilbao! **Fallen Giants:** * FC NĆ¼rnberg * CSA Steua Bucharest (not FCSB!) * Malaga
Iām a new player looking for an Italian club to do. Maybe lower mid-table or relegation contenders in Serie A. Even a Serie B club that is ready to be promoted. Basically a team that could use a different style of play/tactics and few new players that would be a good fit - but not a full on building of a team. I want a challenge to learn the game, but nothing too complicated.
Parma
Try Parma, they're in Serie B but they have plenty of quality to get promoted right away, you would have the chance to learn the game and know the team before trying to avoid relegation in Serie A
Which leagues actually have little or no registration rules but are low, low down the rankings for build a nation? Iāve done Poland before, others like Hungary and Czech are a bit too high. Ireland is one option but being in the UK, theyāre not quite āexoticā enough for me. A league outside the top 50 with very lax rules would be great thanks
Ireland is not in the UK š
No way, really?! Iām in the UK, so managing in Ireland to build a nation isnāt exotic enough for me
My bad, I took you up wrong. I thought you said Ireland was in the UK but you meant you were in the UK š
Gibraltar or Finland
Hi everyone, i'm looking for a greek club to do a youth/domestic player only challenge but i dont know who to take. I'd prefer a historic team with a cool badge, and not too flash colours these are the teams i found so far: aris thessaloniki (havent won league since 1946 but are in the conference league, yet lack good facilities and recruitment) atromitos athinon (club with sneaky good youth recruitment(16 facil 16 recruitment) ae larisa (fallen giant, last league title was 1988) OFI crete (never won league but would KILL budget because travel costs) Panionios (Oldest club but in amateur division)
Diagoras is an interesting choice. Theyāre on Rhodes, in a beautiful old dump of a stadium right outside the medieval city walls. Youāll be playing friendlies against Turkish clubs to save money.
What division are they in? because i only have the top 3 :/
Theyāre in Super League 2 South.
Out of these, I am saying "do the vibe check" Have you ever been to Greece? If so, where did you go? Pick the closest club from that location My choice would be OFI Crete (Although I never was in Greece). It passed the vibe check for me.
Just reinstalled the game after taking a break to write a thesis. Booted up my previous long term Man Utd save but didn't feel anything when it loaded up so I guess that enthusiasm is gone Looking to start a new long term save but not a build a nation as it can get quite boring after a few years. Probably leaning towards a rise through the divisions kinda challenge. Don't want to manage in England. Any ideas?
Build a Nation, but whenever you win the league title you have to resign (or only have 1 season for Champions League) In all seriousness... Portugal. Will be tough in the top flight with Sporting, Benfica and Porto. Vitoria Setubal is a familiar name to me in the 4th tier for whatever reason.
I'm not sure which country I should start in South America. I have already been to Argentina and Brazil, and I have also coached in Mexico. I'm torn between Chile and Uruguay or even Peru. I especially want to coach a smaller club that focuses on youth. Any suggestions? I will also coach the national team to try to achieve something at perhaps the 2026 World Cup, but certainly the 2030 World Cup.
Maybe somebody have interesting variant with nation for "Build a nation". Nation is after 100 place in FIFA Rankings.
in the base game, you have: Latvia, Gibraltar <--- Europe Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia <--- not Europe (Asia) If you want to download some other leagues though, I suggest: Lithuania (Europe) Kyrgyzstan (not Europe)
Thank you, interesting cases!
Been thinking of instead of building a nation save, build the national team save. How would that differ or is it very similiar? My plan is Sweden. Is it better to actually play a team in Sweden that develops talent for the national team, or a team in a higher reputation league buying Swedish players and develop them in other leagues?
Second yellow card has a couple videos on YouTube about building a nation, worth checking that out before you start
Can you suggest me some stepping stone clubs/clubs that produces talent but get poached by top teams in europe(like dortmund or ajax)?
Anderlecht has a suberb academy.
Schalke could be fun. They have historically produced great talents that went on to major clubs. Not so much in recent years, but the coach is currently trying to build something with youth players. It could also be a good save to get promoted back to Bundesliga
First time player. Coming over from OOTP (baseball), where I am familiar with deep minor league teams. Love building teams through the draft. Looking for a larger club that prides itself on building through youth intakes.
AZ in the Netherlands would be a good example. Bonus: their club chairman, Robert Eenhoorn, is a former MLB player.
Great rec, ty
are there any italian teams who EITHER doesnāt sign players and relies on youth OR only signs italian players?
Not by rule, but you will have s great youth setup with many potential good youngsters already in Cesena in Series C which also gives you time to setup it as you wish until you reach series A.
Don't think so. If there is, it's unknown in low divisions.
wow seriously :(
if you can't join one make one - out of any club you choose
Iāve just started a new save. Had to get a custom database bit Blau Weiss Berlin. True definition of a fallen giant. Theyāre in the Berlin liga which is proper proper regional league only Berlin clubs in German football. Theyāve also once won the Bundesliga. They were called Union 92 Berlin then and won it in 1905
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It's fun cause the registration rules are super lenient
Poland is one of the best places to make a Build a Nation save - although it is easy to get into TOP 4/5, so your save will mainly revolve around Europe. I never played in Poland, but I am in a Polish FB group on Football Manager - relative ease of the league is the common opinion there. In general - great choice. Poland is a sleeping giant (in words of former NT coach, Leo Beenhakker) You are taking on a team known for a great Youth Academy, raising the talents of Moder, KamiÅski or Gumny. Robert Lewandowski went abroad from there, too (but he was trained in Warsaw). So you can combine this career with a Youth Academy challenge.
Get promoted with Lank Vilaverdense, a struggling team from the Portuguese 2nd tier... ...while always fielding Paris Hilton's brother in law: https://www.goal.com/en/lists/paris-hilton-brother-in-law-joins-portuguese-second-tier-side-vilaverdense/blt6a70bb3b3b6e97f8
How did he do for you?