ManagerLeague S211 - International Competitions Update, Getting Closer to the Finals

 Hello ladies and gentlemen,

The ManagerLeague International Competitions of Season 211 are getting closer and closer to a conclusion. We've reached the Final Stages of the ML Champions League and ML Super Cup and the Semifinal Stages of the ML Cup Winners Cup. You can find an update on them, below. 

ML Champions League Semifinals - Results

Granvegen Rovers vs Real Vikings 4-5

H Berg was off to a promising start after Rossi's 31st minute penalty miss and the 2-0 lead he took after Kevin de Bruyne's 34th minute opening goal and Munti's impressive run that lead to Moses's 2-0 goal in the first minute of the second half.  Furst had a mountain to climb after the frist 46 minutes and started to "siege" H Berg's goal with longballs. Rick's 31 meters shot from freekick reduced the early lead to a single goal, while Munti's mistake lead to Lindh's equalizing goal. Pål Andre Helland, the "Hattrick Hero" from the Quarter Finals had a quiet, lackluster game before being substituted by Gulbrandsen in the 60th minute. In the same minute, unhappy with Munti's defensive job so far, H Berg decided to replace him with Nicki Minaj, while Duffy, the freekick specialist, made way for Ilie Plesan. Furst's siege continued until the 75th minute, he when decided to change the all out attack approach with his carefully planned counter-attacks, while H Berg switched to a more defensive approach in order to hold on to the result. 

H Berg and his Granvengen Rovers drew first blood, as Mike Newell scored for 3-2 in the 104th minute. The joy was short lived, Furst's players assaulted the opposition goal and where stopped by a foul that lead to a penalty. Rossi didn't fumble with the goal this time and managed to bring them level with a great execution in the last minute of the First Half of Extra Time.  

Henning Berg's nasty tackle from the 107th minute gave away another penalty that Rossi managed to turn into another goal with a hard shot from the spot. It was the first time that Furst had the lead in this semifinal. O´Malley the freekick specialist defender, that was kept on the pitch (despite having the same performance as Nilsson Lindelöf who made way for the Green Monster in the 105th minute),  failed a tackle on Kevin de Bruyne in the 112th minute, which lead to yet another equalizing goal. Furst took the lead for the second time in this game, in the 117th minute after collective defensive mistake, with Henning Berg, failing to block Viking's cross and  Nicki Minaj failing to prevent Lindh to take the shot that lead to his second goal of the game and the fifth goal that Real Vikings scored in this semifinal.  

In a match that looked like a roller coaster ride, the deadly precision, that H Berg's players had in front of the goal, scoring 4 out their 6 shots on target together with the stellar performance from the field expert, Bobby Mims who stopped 7 out of Furst's 12 shots on target was not good enough to deny Furst, his team, and the Swedish League, their second consecutive ML Champions League Final. 

 
Werder Bremen Walle vs Dyringarna 1-2

Albin managed to restrict Jack's players to only two shots on target, one of them even turning into a goal. It wasn't as spectacular as the other semifinal, but it was a tactical battle, a battle from which Albin came out on top and prevent Jacks from reaching the Final for the second season in a row.

ML Champions League Final - Preview

 Real Vikings vs Dyringarna 

This is the first ever ML Champions League entirely Swedish Final. What lead to it? Some says Ratty needed to retire and make room for other Swedish managers to take turn at the ML Roulette. Other say this is a consequence of the Swedish League finally receiving what was rightfully theirs, and that this the additional International Competitions Spots. I personally think it might have something to do with Ratty's already changing his headquarters and setting up shop in the heart of the ML hardware cabinet from where he pulls the strings of the game. 

The above are just rumors anyway, what we know for sure, is that Albin's and Furst's history look well charged. Albin is undefeated in friendlies by Furst. While Furst has a clear lead on Albin in The League and The League Cup, Albin leads in Player Cups wins. This is how their history looks like:

Competition                     Furst wins         Even       Albins wins
Friendlies                              0                      0               3
The League                          26                   10             10
The League Cup                   4                      0               2
Player Cups                          6                      0             10

This Final, is not only the First Swedish ML Champions League Final, it is also the first International Competition match between Albin and Furst. Will Furst manage to win his second consecutive ML Champions League Final or will Albin manage his first ever ML International Competition Final win?

Less than 24 hours left to find out the answer to that question!  

ML Super Cup Semifinals - Results

IFK Stockholm vs Giarra Djinns 2-4 

We had another roller coaster ride involving a Swedish team, only this time, Advent, came out of it on top. There are a lot of tactical lessons to be learned from this game, make sure not to miss it.

Stuck in the 90’s vs Vigorous Vikings 1-4

Herian and his Vigorous Vikings proved me how wrong I was for calling his team lucky in the semifinal against Muxy. He completely dominated "The bold" greek manager, Johan Cruyff in another spectacular ML Super Cup Semifinal.

ML Super Cup Final - Preview

Vigorous Vikings vs Giarra Djinns

After what happened in the ML Champions League, with Swedes taking over, we thought that Ratty's magic will help Elliot reach his second consecutive ML Super Cup Final. But the magic and experience of Advent, "The Returning Prodigal Son", was never a match for Ratty, not even when he used to play the game. 

After changing both team's history, I found out that they only met in four friendly games and never managed to meet in an official game before. The long awaited battle between two previous English League Title Winners will hapen in the ML CL Super Cup Final, as Advent returned to the game shortly after Herian was already moved to the Norway League.  This is a a game changing final where we'll have the chance to witness and compares some of ManagerLeague very different approaches. Which approach will be the most succesfull one and who will come on top? Will it be Advent, the veteran manager or does Herian's more recent approach to the game be more succesfull on this ocassion? Less than 24 hours left to find out!

ML Cup Winners Cup Quarter Finals - Results

BK Bollhav vs Phalanx  2-3

A nice 10 mean win for Manskills and his team, Phalanx thanks to the stellar performance of João Rosa a player that he picked up from the free transfer market when he was 17 years old and at Q69.

HMM III vs Funatactics 5-4

A nice match decided by penalties, a match in which Rion proves that having a 4.5 stars penalty team stats eventually pays off.

Galatasaray vs Restricted United 1-4

After the impressive comeback from the First Knockout Stage, Imperatore looked like he might make another comeback, but Cosmin's experience saw he trough at the end.

Fort Knox vs Real Stortford 1-2

Skot, the tactical mastermind behind Fort Knox and fan favorite to win the ML Cup Winners Cup started the game with an unlucky injury and saw his lead evaporated after a second yellow card on Legasov, the freekick specialist defender that lead to a penalty for SuperGarth. The 10 man Fort Knox squad had a hard time without their sharpshooter and SuperGarth secured a spot in the semifinals.

ML Cup Winners Cup Semifinals - Preview

Real Stortford vs Phalanx

Can Manskill and his Phalanx manage another upset?  He's the clear underdog in his semifinal match against SuperGarth, but ManagerLeague proved on more than one ocassion, that the team with the highst quality doesn't always win.  

Restricted United vs HMM III

The Romanian League has a duel to watch between Rion and Cosmin and the certainty that one Romanian Team will play in this season's ML Cup Winners Cup Final.  Which of the Romanian Managers do you favor to play in the Final?

ManagerLeague International Competitions - Interview with the winners

I know we promised you an interview with this season's winner and we are still working towards delivering one. I wish I could make a firm announcement about the interview on twtich, but we are still working towards securing it for late Friday evening. Thank you for your patience and I'll make sure to let you know how things progress.