Forum Replies Created
-
In what was undoubtedly the closest race in Liga history, it came down to the final match in which Chelsea, trailing Inter by a point, hosted the five-time Liga champions in a win-or-die scenario. Chelsea came out the victors, 3-2, in a memorable final thanks to an Antoine Griezmann free-kick goal in the 85th minute. ProPAIN achieves the rare league double with his first ever Dynasty Premiership title. ProPAIN is the first GM to hoist the Premiership title other than Mark or Zizou in eight seasons.
Message from the Chairman: Speaking personally, I don’t really think about what’s good for a league when I’m running a sim. The sim is going to do what it wants and I’ll be the one to record it. Barring mistakes made during the course of a sim where instructions are missed or followed incorrectly, the first sim is the one that’s used and we are literally at the mercy of computer components. So then why is it ever emotional? For ProPAIN, he’s been at this for years and he’s come close but never got to the top. Since Nick’s last title, it’s been Mark and I sharing the spoils, a reflection of the teams we’ve both constructed through years of work – prior to the joining of ProPAIN, evilo, Gooner, Xerxes & some of our other competitors. For me, even though I do always think “What’s good for the league?”, but hell… if the computer is deciding that I’m going to win because of the players I have and the tac they’re following, I’m certainly not going to ever take my foot off. That’s competition. That’s sports. And I’m taking my chances. That’s why I’m pleased to say that this time Inter was bested, in dramatic fashion, as the FM Gods would have it. And so be it. Congratulations to ProPAIN, a good lad, a ruthless competitor and a well-deserved Champion. Truly, to me… what’s GOOD for the league is that the FM isn’t stupid, that we can take the stats and the goals and the results at face value and think “Okay, yeah… that could happen.” The rest, all the little things in between, that’s what makes this league different than the real thing—different from even a video game. The finish of this match proved the appropriate climax for a crazy season. The result of which, you can argue is really good for the league. But next season, Inter will be giving it all they’ve got as they have in every competition they’ve entered. And if we are met by 13 others, then that truly will be what’s good for the league.
It came down to the wire for Borussia Dortmund, as well, as they were able to escape the cellar on the final match day, damning Valencia to the ocean floor. Lautaro Martinez’s double in the last match gave him the sole claim to the Golden Boot with a goal haul of 25, 2 ahead of PSG’s Harry Kane.
Congratulations to Southampton for capturing the first ever league triumph for Gooner. There was a time when you thought Vitória would never let the table lead go. However, buoyed by the league’s best defense and the league’s best keeper in Kasper Schmeichel, the Saints overtook Vitória in the 17th round and then never looked back. The Saints also proved to you gotta be as lucky as you gotta be tough, besting late-season challenges by the high-octane Real Sociedad and always pesky Sheriff Tiraspol.
Golden boot winner Ollie Watkins gave Kawai his second Golden Boot winner, also English. KV Mechelen never recovered from the off-field distractions brought on by disgraced now ex-footballer Benjamin Mendy.
Flamengo held off a fierce title challenge from up-and-comers Newell’s Old Boys, finishing atop the U21 table and winning back to back league titles. Congratulations to ProPAIN and Flamengo for an excellent job well done!
After waiting so long to hoist U21 hardware, Flamengo have done it twice in a row, besting their performance from last year with a 20-win season. Despite their dominant consistency throughout, they did not overtake Newell’s for first until the 16th round but never let up once they did. A high-octane offense as well as the league’s best defense kept Flamengo in high gear all season. Anatoliy Trubin won the Most Outstanding GK Award for U21 by earning an incredible 14 clean sheets during the regular season.
Although Mason Greenwood was off to a potentially Golden Boot winning season, a serious injury caused him to miss the rest of the season. Myron Boadu made up for his absence but it was ultimately Aaron Connolly from league runners up Newell’s Old Boys that won the Golden Boot, as well as the Golden Ball for most Man of the Match awards during the season.
Santos Laguna won their last match of the season, a 13 vs 14 matchup against Columbus Crew with prize money at stake, reversing positions with the Crew thanks to a standout performance from Santos Laguna’s best player, and I would argue their only player, Fabio Vieira, who finished the season with a league-high 12 assists.
Shockingly absent from the summary is without a doubt the moment of the game considering the implications. It was a glorious chance to win the game and Kylian stepped up to try and complete the hat trick and put Inter ahead after Coman was awarded an 87th minute penalty.
