FM21: The Greatest of the Islands
After spending the majority of my time in FM20 with JK Narva Trans on the extreme north-east corner of Europe, I decided to do the opposite in FM21. That landed me in Funchal on the island of Madeira, over 500 miles from the Portuguese mainland, as manager of Club Sport Maritimo.
Founded in 1910, Maritimo are a storied club that has spent the majority of its time in the top division of Portugal. They have one of the largest fanbases in Portugal and around the world, especially in the former Portuguese colonies of Brazil, Angola, and Mozambique, as well as regions with a large number of Portuguese immigrants such as Canada and the north-eastern United States (where your humble author resides). They also have a strong connection to Venezuela, which is coded in-game with Venezuelan regens popping up in youth intakes. Fans attend games at the Estadio do Maritimo also known as O Caldeirão (The Cauldron). The Youth and Training facilities are both ranked Good in game.
Despite all this, Maritimo remain a ways behind the Os Tres Grandes of Portuguese soccer — Porto, Benfica, and Sporting. Instead, Maritimo lay claim to a different honor — O Maior das Ilhas (The Greatest of the Islands). While of course my eventual goal is to win the league, that may never happen given the enormous gulf in resources between the top 3 and the rest. Maintaining our position as Greatest of the Islands will be my short term goal.
Rivals
So who else is contesting the title of Greatest of the Islands? That would be our cross-town rival CD Nacional and CD Santa Clara, located in the even more distant Azores islands. Throughout the save I’ll keep track of how many points and trophies I win versus how many are won by our two archipelagic rivals.
Some may recognize Nacional as the club where Madeira-native Cristiano Ronaldo spent some of his youth career before being poached by Sporting. Another goal of the save will be to develop a youth prospect that gets a cap for the Portuguese National Team. If Nacional can do it, so can we. (Maritimo did give Pepe his first professional experience, but he did not come through their youth system.)
Finances and Club Culture
As mentioned previously, the Portuguese league is incredibly imbalanced. Benfica, Porto, and Sporting regularly buy and sell players for sums that would fund clubs outside the top three for several years. Unlike in some of the other top leagues, the TV money is barely enough to subsist on in Portugal. Especially with the COVID market programmed into the early seasons, controlling the finances will be a must.
On the other hand, the registration rules in Portugal are perhaps the most lenient in the world. You basically have to register a few youth prospects and you’re good to go. No foreigner/non-EU limits and no work permits. After my years in Israel and Estonia, this is a breath of fresh air.
With no money but the whole world to search for players, the natural place any FM player turns to is Latin America. And since we’re in Portugal that means Brazil because of the shared cultural and linguistic connections. In fact, Maritimo’s club culture is structured around signing young Brazilian players. You don’t have to ask me twice!
Important Players
With a limited budget, it’s absolutely vital that the few important players we can afford play at the highest level. Here are our two team leaders that we’ll rely on through the early years of the save.
Rodrigo Pinho has the highest technical skills on the team, and will be vital for both scoring and setting up goals as part of a strike partnership. I believe his traits and attributes make him a perfect Deep-Lying Forward.
Our captain and Mozambique international Zainadine Junior will be our field marshal at the back. At 32 he may be just past his prime, but with 16 Natural Fitness, I’m hoping to rely on his strong mentals and solid technicals for at least a few years.
A Vicious Struggle
With the top 3 of the league all but locked up, it’s a vicious struggle for places throughout the rest of the league. Points come at a premium and teams frequently rise and fall throughout the season. The board wants us to achieve a top-half finish, which will be difficult but achievable. I’m hoping for a little better — consistent finishes in the lower European spots (4–7 generally, depending on the cup winner/co-efficient), but that will be a tougher ask.
In the next post, we’ll see what we were able to achieve in the first few years of the save. For smaller bits and pieces from the save, follow my twitter account at @FMBowser.
