[FM22] FK Voždovac - Part 1: An early start
As Anthony adapted to life as Voždovac's manager, his team started their preparation for the tough start to their SuperLiga season.
(Starting from part 1, the story will be told in Anthony’s perspective rather than from the third perspective as I want this series to be like Anthony’s diary throughout his time managing Voždovac. I will add my own comments using italics like this one.)
During my first meeting with the board after being appointed as Voždovac’s manager, they clearly stated their expectation that they wanted to see the club finished in the top half group of the league. However, the media had a different expectation as they only saw the squad as good enough to finish in the 10th position out of 16 teams and that would put the club in the relegation phase. With two contrasting expectations, I want to find the reason as to why the board’s expectation is more ambitious than the media’s. To find the answer for that question, I must look at the players that Voždovac have at the club.
Voždovac have one of the youngest squads in the league (average age is 22.85 years) as there are not that many players who are above 30 in the squad. On the other hand, there are plenty of players who are 23 or younger and most of them show a lot of promises. One of the more experienced players is Stefan Hajdin, who looks like a competent attacking left-back for the level and he can become a good attacking and defensive output for the club. But besides from Hajdin and centre back Mateja Đorđević (who is only 18 and has a lot of rooms to grow), the remaining defensive options are only average compare to the rest of the league. So bolstering the defence is one of the targets for the upcoming transfer window.
In contrast, Voždovac have plenty of decent-to-good midfield and attacking options spreading from young prospects to experienced players. Three of the players that catch my eyes are Lithuanian winger Justas Lasickas, Serbian winger Alen Mašović, and Serbian central midfielder Ivan Milosavljević. They possess very good attacking attributes comparing to the rest of the league while Milosavljević can also do a bit of the dirty work to support the defenders. But among the attacking options, there is a lack of good finisher who the rest of the team can rely on to provide the goals. The club’s main striker Sekou Keïta’s finishing attributes is only 11, while the peak is 12 with two central/attacking midfielder Martin Novaković and Andrej Blagojević leading the group. While the club do not need any more attacking options, loaning out a couple of players to give them game time and bringing in a player who can come off the bench and be the difference maker is also another target for the transfer window.
The SuperLiga also allow unlimited foreigners to be registered for the league, but there can only be four players starting in an official match. Currently, four players who are occupying the four spots in the starting lineup are Keïta, Lasickas, Montenegrin centre back Miloš Milović, and Macedonian winger Marko Gjorgjievski. While Keïta just arrived at the club and is far away from gaining a Serbian citizenship, Gjorgjievski is very close to securing the citizenship and both Milović and Lasickas are two months away from securing theirs. This will free up three foreigner spots and allow me to find three new players who can upgrade the squad.
The summer transfer window is opened on the 1st of July and closed mid-September, which will give me a bit more time than usual to find and replace the players in the squad (this won’t come back and bite me later, will it?). I am also planning to trim the squad a bit to not only give rooms to the new signings, but also give me more flexibility in terms of wage to spend in the transfer market.
The ins and outs
Trimming the squad is exactly the first thing that I do, even before the transfer window is opened. I decide to cut the number of goalkeepers in the squad down by half by sending Miloš Krunić to Inđija and Mihailo Karadžić out on loan to Kabel. Rastko Đorđević is only 20 years old and looks like a decent backup option, but I do not think he can achieve his potential at the club with limited game time, so the best option is to send him to Vršac.
Edin Ajdinović and Stefan Tešić are decent backup midfield options, but both are also very young and need some game time to achieve their potential, so they are also out on loan. The same can be said for Dragan Stoisavljević, but I expect the 17-year-old winger to develop into a decent SuperLiga winger and his loan to top-flight club TSC will help him get closer to his full potential. A slightly controversial departure is Nemanja Vučić as he could have been a decent backup defensive midfielder and left back option. But at 25 and already reaching his full potential, I do not think he has much to contribute to the club so letting him go on a free is probably the best option.
One of the first players that I loaned in for the club is Serbian left back Damjan Daničić from Dinamo Zagreb. Letting Vučić go means my options at left back is very limited and I want to find someone who can be a backup for Hajdin. There is Ivan Ćorković, but his ability to play with both feet intrigues me and I want to turn him into an inverted right back for my tactic. Daničić coming in will give me another decent option at left back and he will get more game time along the way as I prefer to rotate my squad and keep everyone in the squad fresh for future fixtures. Besides, Daničić has played for Voždovac on loan previously and his previous experience with the club can only be a good thing for me.
Midway through pre-season, the first injury case happen and it is to one of my key players. Stefan Purtić is one of the players that I expect to play a lot for me this season and I want him to be ready for the start of the season. This will be a slight blow to my plan for the first few matches of the season.
Another problem arises after Purtić got injured and I looked for his replacement in the squad. The club do not have many midfielders who are capable to defend and support the defenders. There are a few defensive midfielder options in the squad, but besides Purtić, there are no player who has good marking, tackling, and positioning attributes to be the ball-winning midfielder.
I immediately look for a player who can do the job and is available on the transfer market and Mihailo Oreščanin catches my attention. Another former Voždovac player who is very versatile as he can be a centre back, a defensive midfielder, or a central midfielder, which is definitely a huge plus for the team. Besides, he arrives on a free loan and I do not mind loaning in a player without costing the club anything. Oreščanin will provide depth for the defensive midfielder option and become the replacement for both Rastko Đorđević and Nemanja Vučić who left earlier.
I also want to loan in a star midfielder who can challenge both Milosavljević and Nemanja Milojević for a starting spot. While searching for potential signings, I spot two players who I can bring in for Voždovac. Janil Atanasov from Hajduk Split and Martin Baturina from Dinamo Zagreb. My preference is slightly leaned towards Baturina as I have heard good things about him, but the biggest obstacle is he is earning so much at Dinamo and they will want the club to share a significant cut of his salary. I do not know much about Atanasov, but from the scout report that one of my scouts sent me, he said this kid looks very good for our league and he might be available to loan for a cheaper price.
While making a decision on who to loan in, I notice NK Lokomotiva have sent a loan offer to Dinamo for Baturina and I am tempted to send one to them as well. But I do not want to be rushed to make a decision and I want to wait for a few more days. Turns out, Lokomotiva seal the loan deal for Baturina very early on and so I choose Atanasov as my star player. He is earning more than everyone else in the squad but his ability justifies the wage. While negotiating a loan deal for Atanasov, my gut feeling told me that I should retain the option to terminate the loan should anything bad happens. And so, I did while hoping that nothing bad is going to happen to this kid (another foreshadowing).
Coming back to one of my previous targets for this transfer window, finding an attacker who can make a difference off the bench and has good finishing attributes was something that I should consider. Initially, I want to look at players who are on the free agent market, but there are no good options who I can keep around the first team and help him develops. Then, I look at the loan market and a few 18-year-old strikers stand out, but most of them are very raw and cannot play regularly for my team. Then, I come across Vitor Jacaré from Ceará.
21 years old is still very young and while spending €43.5k a year for a player who is mostly on the bench is not a good idea, he is the best option that I can find on the market. Jacaré’s finishing attributes immediately put him among the best in the team as his holy trio (finishing, dribbling, and first touch) are all above 13. His mental attributes also stand out to me as he is decent at off-the-ball movements, slightly composed in front of goal, and, most importantly, willing to follow the tactical instructions and press the opposition when my team is not controlling the ball. Most strikers that I can find might be more composed or can make better off-ball runs, but they do not have the willingness to involve in the pressing phase and follow my tactical instructions. That is the main reason why I want to loan Jacaré in.
Lastly, I want to find a good goalkeeper who can mitigate the attacking threat that we will be facing. Because most of Voždovac’s defenders are only decent for the SuperLiga, having a good goalkeeper in goal will at least limit the number of goals that we might concede. Darko Vukašinović is a decent keeper for the SuperLiga level, but he is definitely not the best. Mihajlo Blagojević is clearly not ready to be in goal but I want to keep him around since he is very young and can be my third-choice keeper while also developing at the same time. And rather than relying on loanees, I want to look for a long-term goalkeeper who can be with the team for a long time and still has rooms to grow.
After evaluating my options, I narrow my selections down to three options. Former Juventus keeper Francesco Anacoura, former Milan and Monaco keeper Seydou Sy, and Cameroon international Fabrice Ondoa. All have their own strengths and weaknesses, so I decide to give all three a trial contract and give them game time during our last three friendlies.
When the time comes to make the decision, I ask their agents about the potential wage that they might be asking for. Ondoa and Sy want a high wage but still affordable, but Anacoura wants too much so the Italian is out of the equation. I initially want Sy to be my first choice keeper because his good reflex is accompanied by decent anticipation and decision-making. But because he chooses to be the backup keeper for (current Dutch international) Andries Noppert at Go Ahead Eagles, Ondoa becomes my first choice keeper just hours before our opening game in the SuperLiga.
The tactics
With the squad finalised, let us talk about the tactics that I will be using for Voždovac. One of the main weaknesses that I want to take into account when choosing the formation and tactics for this team is the lack of good finisher in the squad. We will not have a striker to rely on and to pump crosses into the box for him to score so there is no point of using a lone striker, let alone a striker duo, up front.
I also want to take in account the fact that the team have plenty of good midfielders and wingers. As such, finding the formation that can make the most of both of those groups is crucial. Clearly, this group of player is suited to play with a 4-1-2-3 formation but with no striker, so it is a 4-1-2-3-0. I want to add my touches to this formation as well, and because I have grown up admiring Ange Postecoglou, some of the players’ role will reflect Ange’s tactics, especially the inverted wing backs.
In possession, this will look similar to a 3-2-5 formation as the front five will look to dominate the opposition’s back four or match the opposition’s back five. Keïta remains our main striker because he is very quick on and off the ball, but we will not rely on the Guinean striker to provide us with the goals. Instead, the central midfielders and inverted wing backs with their late runs into the box will be the players who will mostly be at the end of our goal-scoring opportunities.
Out of possession, we will press and defend in a 4-1-4-1 for the majority of the time. But on a few occasions, especially against a back five, we will press with a 4-4-2 as one of the central midfielders will move forward and create a front four with the attacking midfielders. Playing with a high line is slightly risky, but change can be made to the height of the defensive line to prevent attackers from running in behind. The main goal when we press and defend is to guide the opposition out wide to create an overload and regain possession while also limit the space centrally and in between channels.
I also have a slightly defensive version of the previous tactic to play against teams who are expected to dominate possession. As I am learning the art of defending in a mid- and low-block, I cast my eyes into the future (well, it’s technically my eyes and knowledge from the 2022 World Cup so it’s kinda cheating?) to find a solution and settle with a 4-1-4-1 mid block. Quite similar to the previous tactic, but the players will be a bit more passive when we are out of possession. The aim is to allow the opposition to control the ball in less dangerous areas or areas that we can regain possession and limit space centrally.
The early start
Our first five matches of the season was quite challenging, I must say. After facing two similar strength teams in Radnički 1923 and Metalac, we immediately faced three strong teams in Vojvodina, Crvena zvezda (or Red Star), and Čukarički early on in August. But I think we did very well and secured a very positive start, something that I do not expect given the lack of experience that I have.
We were clearly the better team in the first two matches with Radnički 1923 and Metalac, which were my debut and home debut matches for Voždovac. Keïta immediately showed me that I had been using him wrong during pre-season by scoring four goals in two matches, including a hat-trick against Radnički. Lasickas and Mašović also had an amazing game against Radnički as they were the main providers for our midfielders and attackers to score.
But as joyful as I felt after the first two matches, something bad had happened to Atanasov during his debut match. He sustained a damaged spine after being on the losing end of a tackle and he was out for half of the season. It was the last thing that I wanted because I had high hopes for this kid. I had no choice but to return him to Hajduk since we only had two physios, which meant our medical facility was not as good as Hajduk’s, and he was earning too much money without playing a lot in the next months.
Initially, I thought we were fine with the midfield options that I had. But a few days after the match with Metalac brought another bad news. Novaković got a hernia during a training session and he was out for over a month. With Purtić not back at his best for at least another month, it meant our midfield options were getting limited.
Before I had the time to think about how to solve our midfield problem, my starting right back Mijailović got a hamstring strain in a training session and made our injury problem even worse. It was not that easy to get that promising start and things were not going to be easy for me early on.
Going back to the midfield problem. With Atanasov returned to Hajduk, this allowed me a bit of rooms to work with on the transfer market. After going through the players who were available to be loaned in, I narrowed my options down to four players. Lucas Barbosa from Santos, Isaías Barbosa, Alexis Oviedo from Vélez, and Stefano Moreyra from Santa Fe.
Lucas Barbosa immediately became my top target because of my chief scout’s report about him. He rated Lucas at four stars, which meant he had to be at least three or three and a half stars in comparison to my squad. But I was hesitated when I saw him being injury prone and had problems adapting to a new environment. This meant if Lucas managed to avoid being Atanasov 2.0, he would need a bit of time to be at his best in Serbia, the time that I did not have. So I had to put a ‘pass’ on Lucas.
Isaías was my second option as he could do a lot more than just being a good playmaker and could even do a bit of the dirty job to support the defence. The problem with him was his contract was about to come to an end and I could not brought him in. Another ‘pass’ for another midfield targets.
So it was left between Oviedo and Moreyra, two players who were on a youth contract and it would not cost the club anything to loan either of them in. I was slightly leaned towards Oviedo as he was similar to Isaías and could do more than just being a playmaker. Moreyra did not stand out as most of his attributes were average to decent, but he dominated Oviedo in physicality as he was quicker and stronger. I appreciated that Oviedo could also do the dirty job as his tackling was 13 and positioning was 9, but he was not very quick and strong, which meant those attributes would not be in good use.
So, Moreyra it was. As I said my farewell to Atanasov and wished him the best for his recovery, I quickly brought Moreyra in hope that he could be with the team for the match with Crvena zvezda.
There was not much to say about the Vojvodina match as we dominated that match like the previous two. But our second test came against the crowning champion Crvena zvezda. They were a bit tired after their European match mid-week and it was a good opportunity to get a positive result against arguably the best team in Serbia. But even though we gave it our best, a long shot from Nenad Krstičić and a long ball from Milan Borjan to Milan Pavkov secured the win for the away side. I thought we deserved a bit more, but it was not meant to be.
But we managed to bounce back against Čukarički to make sure that our progress was not being halted. From the data report that my analysts compiled ahead of the match, I expected Čukarički to control the ball for most of the time and they did exactly that with 71% of possession. However, we were happy for them to do that and using our 4-1-4-1 mid block to limit them from creating too many dangerous chances. I was also happy that we took our chances well and turned the game around very late on.
Four wins in our first five matches. The stuff of dreams, isn’t it? The only thing that I am hoping for is we can keep this progress throughout this season to maintain our spot in the top 8 and qualify for the European-chasing group in the second phase.
To be continued…