AC Milan Career Mode 2016/2017
2015/2016 Recap!
Objectives:
Notable Players:
2016/2017 Objectives
Pre-Season Tournament!
European International Cup featuring Schalke 04, FC Porto, CSKA Moscow, Valencia CF, Athletic Bilbao, Villarreal and Zenit St Petersburg.
Group Stage: Milan 3-1 Schalke 04; CSKA Moscow 0-3 Milan Milan 3-1 FC Porto
Semi Final: Milan 2-0 Zenit St Petersburg
Final: Milan 3-0 CSKA Moscow
Excellent wins all round - Bacca with 6 goals in the group stage, Luiz Adriano with 2 goals in the final, Özyakup and Teixeira collecting 2 goals each too.
2016 Summer Transfers!
Transfers Out:
Giacomo Bonaventura 82, LM £29,000,000 to Sevilla CF
Diego López 82, GK £9,000,000 to Valencia CF
Keisuke Honda 77, RW £4,800,000 to FC Lorient
Juraj Kucka 77, CM £4,500,000 to Sassuolo
Alessandro Matri 76, ST £3,000,000 to QPR
Luca Antonelli 75, LB £3,300,000 to Bologna
M’Baye Niang 81, ST Short-term loan to Tottenham Hotspur
Felicioli, Piccinocchi, Simic, Petagna, Calabria, Vergara and Mauri all on One-year loans.
2016 Summer Transfers!
Transfers In:
Dzhamaldin Khodzhaniyazov 73, LB £4,000,000 from Aarhus FF
Douglas Costa 83, RM £33,000,000 from Bayern Munich
Yuriy Lodygin 79, GK £9,000,000 from Zenit St Petersburg
Marco Verratti 85, CM £48,000,000 from Paris St. Germain
Using last year’s attained budget as well as this summer’s pre-season trophy win, I was able to secure a world class midfielder in Marco Verratti. I used the leftovers combined with Bonaventura’s departure fee to replace him with Douglas Costa. Used López’ £9M fee to purchase a replacement keeper for £9M too, so that was a decent trade.
STARTING XI
August 2016
Milan 1 - 1 Fiorentina Serie A MOM: Bacca Bacca 67’ Iličić 77’
Sampdoria 0 - 1 Milan Serie A MOM: Teixeira Teixeira 18’ Rulli Medial Collateral Ligament 2 Months
Good job I bought Lodygin! Our Number 1 is out for a good few months, including Champions League games.
September 2016
Milan 0 - 0 Juventus Serie A MOM: Özyakup
Milan 2 - 0 Marseille UCL Group MOM: Teixeira Costa 53’ (dribbled from halfway line and fired into top left) El Shaarawy 75’ (35 yard rocket)
Perugia 0 - 3 Milan Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano 25’, 61’, 92’
Milan 3 - 0 Atalanta Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano El Shaarawy 28’ Suagher 2nd Yellow 59’ Luiz Adriano 55’, 82’
Celtic 0 - 0 Milan UCL Group MOM: Cáceres
October 2016
Hellas 0 - 4 Milan Serie A MOM: Costa Feghouli 22’ El Shaarawy 67’ Costa 82’, 91’
Milan 1 - 2 Palermo Serie A MOM: Teixeira Teixeira 5’ Rossi 13’, 24’
Milan 2 - 1 Everton UCL Group MOM: El Shaarawy Feghouli 6’ Mirallas 45’ El Shaarawy 51’
Bari 1 - 1 Milan Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Delgado 76’ Luiz Adriano 50’
October 2016 continued
Milan 2 - 0 Napoli Serie A MOM: Costa Costa FK 76’ Koulibaly OFF 79’ Bacca 85’
We finish October in 5th on 18 points, one point behind second, third and fourth. Unbeaten Lazio sit on top with 21 points out of a possible 27.
My new signing of Costa has played superb - Verratti on the other hand keeps dropping hints that he’s homesick, after only 2 months. Really Marco pls.
November 2016
Roma 0 - 0 Milan Serie A MOM: Rulli
Milan 0 - 0 Celtic UCL Group MOM: Lodygin
Milan 3 - 0 Genoa Serie A MOM: Teixeira Bacca 26’ Teixeira 59’, 85’
Milan 1 - 0 Inter Serie A MOM: Rulli Bacca 9’
Marseille 1 - 0 Milan UCL Group MOM: Boateng Lemina 51’
Torino 2 - 1 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca Belotti 40, 57’ Bacca 6’
December 2016
Milan 4 - 0 Udinese Serie A MOM: Bacca Bacca 13’, 63’ Piris OFF 36 Abate 38’ Costa 71’
Everton 0 - 0 Milan UCL Group MOM: Rulli
Chievo 0 - 4 Milan Serie A MOM: Costa Costa 22’, 76’, 82’ Khodzhaniyazov 53
Milan 0 - 1 Cagliari Serie A MOM: De Sciglio Bacca Torn Calf Di Gennaro 62’ Muscle 6 Weeks
January 2017
Lazio 2 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: Costa Djordjević 12’ Cáceres OFF 9’ Felipe Anderson 59’ Costa 39’ Teixeira 82’
Milan 3 - 1 Bologna Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano PEN 8’, 73’ Krafth OFF 41’ El Shaarawy 55’ Tonelli 45’
Milan 4 - 1 Sampdoria TIM Cup Last 16 MOM: El Shaarawy El Shaarawy 2’, 55’ Rizzo 72’ Luiz Adriano 26’, 83’
Sassuolo 1 - 0 Milan Serie A MOM: De Jong Berardi 57’
2017 Winter Transfers!
Transfers Out:
Christian Zapata 74, RB £2,100,000 to Chievo Verona
Douglas Costa 75, CB £2,500,000 to Hellas Verona
Marco Verratti 85, CM £55,000,000 to Bayern Munich
There was nothing I could do to stop Verratti leaving! Peak times for Milan.
Transfers In:
Paul Pogba 86, CM £50,000,000, £165K/W from Juventus
Oh well at least I got Pogba for him!
Özyakup over 10 offers but he’s not leaving, Rulli has had 5 £40M+ offers and staying too!
January 2017 continued
Milan 2 - 0 Atalanta TIM Cup QF MOM: El Shaarawy Luiz Adriano 34’ El Shaarawy 56’
Fiorentina 1 - 3 Milan Serie A MOM: El Shaarawy Gomez 25’ Luiz Adriano 4’ Teixeira 55’ El Shaarawy 66’
Milan 3 - 0 Hellas Verona Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano 23’, 60’ ( Got a 10 match Cáceres 56’ rating! )
Fantastic games throughout the transfer window, El Shaarawy is incredible.
Half-Season Gameplay Analysis
The biggest difference when compared to last year is we have a lot more effectiveness on the wings. Last season we were all over the CAM/ST partnership to run onto effective through balls from the central midfield positions and the occasional cross - pretty much how Özyakup and Teixeira tallied so many assists with Teixeira and Bacca banging in so many goals.
This season however, our wingers have been playing out of their minds - El Shaarawy and Costa, and we’ve been spreading the goals and assists around our attacking 5.
In the next two slides I’ll analyse our attacking play when going down each side of the pitch.
Attacking Down The Right
When attacking down the right, Costa will always attempt to cut in, this leads a lineup of Bacca, Teixeira and El Shaarawy ready to break the opposition’s defensive line. Costa will either shoot, through ball to the other 3, overlap with Abate and allow him to cross, or slot it in the centre for Özyakup or De Sciglio to hit/distribute.
Should we be attacking down this flank via Abate, he will usually look forward and attempt to get the ball to Costa and follow the above, or he will fire a through ball to Bacca, or continue to bomb it down the line and thread in a cross.
Sometimes we’re attacking down here through Özyakup, in which cases he will have many options. It’s not rare to see him stop and turn around to keep possession, ping a ball to Bacca or even fly it over to the left for El Shaarawy.
Attacking Down The Left
When attacking down the left, El Shaarawy will always attempt to cut in and shoot. This leaves Bacca and Teixeira ready to penetrate the opposition’s defensive line and pick up a rebound or surprise through ball. Pogba and Özyakup await on the edge of the box for a shot, with Costa waiting (mostly unmarked) on the far right, for goalkeeper parries and play-switches. De Sciglio usually waits behind, as we sometimes realise the left is too difficult to penetrate and ping the ball back around the defense to set up an attack on the right.
Our right seems to be more effective due to having more right-footed players in our team - including the appropriate side wingback, which is always good. (De Sciglio is right footed). Against weak teams, our left tears them apart, but better teams require last season’s central work and more right sided attacks.
February 2017
Atalanta 1 - 0 Milan Serie A MOM: Rugani Ardemaghi 58’
Milan 3 - 0 Sassuolo Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Luiz Adriano 21’, 34’ Kovalenko 69’
Inter 3 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: Pogba Jovetić 10’, 17’ Teixeira 70’ Guarín 92’ El Shaarawy PEN 78’ Luiz Adriano Broken Ankle 3 Months
Milan 1 - 4 Barcelona UCL Ro16 MOM: Costa Costa 45’ Busquets 4’ Iniesta 10’ Suárez 62’ Alves 91’
February 2017 continued
Genoa 0 - 4 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca De Maio 2nd Yellow 45’ Bacca 15’, 92’ Pogba PEN 45’ Costa 58’ Rugani Broken Ankle 3 Months
Bologna 1 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: El Shaarawy Destro 69’ El Shaarawy 29’ Pogba 54’
A weird month. A hard month. Losing in the last minute away to Inter and getting annihilated 4-1 at home to Barcelona were huge obstacles on the way to success. Luiz Adriano’s injury was greatly timed - just as Bacca was returning.
March 2017
Milan 2 - 1 Inter TIM Cup SF MOM: Costa Cáceres 35’ Jovetić 10’ Costa 87’
Milan 1 - 0 Lazio Serie A MOM: Cáceres Cáceres 36’
Barcelona 3 - 1 Milan (7-2 Agg) UCL Ro16 MOM: Feghouli Suárez 21’ De Sciglio 66’ Neymar 37’, 81’
Udinese 1 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca Altidore 2’ El Shaarawy 13’ Bacca 61’
March 2017 continued
Milan 2 - 1 Torino Serie A MOM: Cáceres Cáceres 30’ Belotti 2’ Alex 83’ Rulli Broken Collarbone 8 Weeks
Barcelona are impossible to play against, they form no threat and next thing you know the ball is in the back of your net. No idea what Cáceres has been having for breakfast but his goals from corners are coming quick and fast - some proving quite crucial. I got revenge on Inter in the TIM Semi, as long as I can hold them off away (which is still technically home) I should be cushty for the final.
April 2017
Milan 3 - 1 Perugia Serie A MOM: Costa Costa 4’ Bianchi 34’ De Sciglio OFF 38’ Cáceres 43’ El Shaarawy 68’
Juventus 2 - 1 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca Dybala 17’, 61’ Bacca 8’
Milan 1 - 0 Bari Serie A MOM: Teixeira Feghouli 79’ Mantalos OFF 39’
Inter 2 - 2 Milan (3-4 Agg) TIM Cup SF MOM: El Shaarawy Perišić 36’ El Shaarawy 40’, 74’ Laxalt 62’
April 2017 continued
Palermo 0 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca Boateng 14’ Bacca 69’
Milan 3 - 0 Roma Serie A MOM: Costa Costa 14’, 81’ Teixeira 48’
A good month, through to the final of the TIM Cup, and looking for a comfortable European Spot next year.
May 2017
Napoli 1 - 1 Milan Serie A MOM: Bacca
Cagliari 2 - 2 Milan Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Sau 11’ Adriano 9’, 64’ Dessena 53’
Milan 3 - 1 Chievo Serie A MOM: Luiz Adriano Teixeira 9’ Birsa 52’ Costa 39’ Khodzhaniyazov 84’
Roma 3 - 3 Milan TIM Cup Final MOM: Costa Doumbia 62’ Costa 32’ Džeko 70’, 93’ Pogba 41’ Bacca 102’
TIM CUP CHAMPIONS!
After an absurd comeback from Roma, Milan were able to score all 5 of their penalties - making them Coppa Italia winners!
2016/2017 Objective Review
SEASON REVIEW
Still finishing second to Juventus, however the gap is significantly closer than last year!
Udinese fell from 5th last season, and Lazio rose from 7th.
Bari and Perugia finished in 19th and 20th respectively.
Arsenal somehow won the Champions League!
Goalkeeper Review
Rulli was again the man in form this year, averaging one clean sheet every two games. Unfortunately he did sustain an injury, leading to Lodygin grabbing some game time. Yuriy was great between the sticks in Serie A, however for some Champions League games we needed Rulli back. When Rulli returned I looked forward to a cup run but then got thumped 7-2 on aggregate by Barcelona! I think these two keepers will be staying here, I can’t see myself purchasing a better No. 1 , or finding a cheap enough replacement for Lodygin who has quality too.
Defender Review
Can’t complain with my defence this year - they’ve been excellent! Rugani and Romagnoli keep getting better and better, even with injuries slowing progress. Martín has been made of concrete the entire season, pretty much untouchable and his headers from corners are starting to be quite a force to be reckoned with. Despite his age, he is still making good progress, and I hope to have at least 2 more excellent seasons with him before his decline. De Sciglio is still playing well, and Khodzhaniyazov is making wonderful progress. Abate is starting to decline, so I may look to move him on in the Summer, and find my “new Cafu”. Alex is retiring at the end of the season, meaning I may have to keep one of my loanees on the bench in case of injuries.
Midfielder Review
Oosh. This attack force this year, CBE is the new MSN/BBC! Costa has probably been my player of the season, with 10 MOM awards and 17 goals! El Shaarawy has been growing fast, and will become one of the best LW/LM’s in the next few seasons. Özyakup has done even better than last year - 15 assists! I think having Verratti and later Pogba behind him has allowed him to be riskier, more creative and more attacking. Teixeira has lower stats than last season, however this is mainly due to the rest of the team being better, rather than him being worse! Feghouli was a decent super sub, when pacier times were required. Pogba is world class - he’s almost a link between the defence and the attacking part of midfield for me. I prefer him staying back on corners etc so if the ball comes out and we have possession, it’s still with a creative player and not a centre back! In summer I think De Jong/Boateng may have to leave, so I’ll probably grab a few replacements for them. I’m happy with the current midfield - just need ratings higher really!
Striker Review
Not many other teams can boast both strikers getting 20 goals in a season! Luiz Adriano’s strike rate is way more impressive, and in many ways has been the better player. The only issue with this attack is the lack of progress on their stats, and their ever-increasing age: of which both are now 30. I’m very torn between keeping these two proven prolific scorers, or upgrading to younger talent.
Loan Reviews!
Most of my loan players I may try and sell, not many really seem to be going anywhere. Niang and Mastour I will definitely be holding on to - they have great futures. I think Mastour could easily be 80 rated by the time he is 21. Hopefully may be able to initiate some player swaps amongst lesser known teams for some up and coming players.
THANK YOU FOR WATCHING SEASON 2!
I’LL BE BACK WITH SEASON 3 IN DUE COURSE!