Millossobek's Master League Written Stories!

[millossobek]

Welcome to the First Ever AFRO-ASIAN CUP OF NATIONS!! (PES 2017)
⭐ ⭐Held in Bangkok, Thailand!!⭐⭐

​

For my second Cup Story, I've decided to go International!! Throughout Football History, two continents have dominated international play: Europe and South America. UEFA and the CONMEBOL. Winning every single World Cup, countries from these two continents have been at the forefront of the sport, capturing the imagination of the entire world and producing almost all legendary players and the most remembered teams.. In addition, the Eurocup and the Copa América have always been the continental National Team tournaments which have had the most exposure and fame. For example, many Europeans have said that the Eurocup is like the World Cup without Brazil and Argentina.. It can easily be said that countries from these regions have always had the most important competitions.

But here's an interesting point. Football is a Global Sport, encompassing teams far beyond the reaches of these two continents. It is a fact that the globe's two most populous continents are ASIA and AFRICA, both continents encompassing 5.8 Billion people (out of 7.8 Billion worldwide)! This is an absolutely massive amount of humanity. Football, as the world's sport, is hugely popular in both continents.. There's no question that it is the most played and watched sport in almost all African countries, and it is really growing in Asia, thanks in no small part to emerging stars in the international stage and their ever-improving performance in the World Cup, many of which have shocked the footballing world!



In terms of regional National Team tournaments, both the AFC Cup and the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) have captured the imagination of millions of fans in their respective continents.. Many regional rivalries have emerged throughout the years (Morocco vs Tunisia, Ghana vs Nigeria, Korea vs Japan, Thailand vs Vietnam, Iran vs Saudi Arabia only being a few!), as the fans from these regions of the world have turned out in droves to support their national teams! It is quite imporant to note, also, that the first two World Cups in Asia and Africa, 2002 and 2010, helped increase the visibility of football in the regions and, proportionately speaking, have also increased the fame and exposure of the national teams worldwide.

But let's be honest here. Beyond the continents, the fate of the AFC Cup and the AFCON is not as well known as their European and South American counterparts. Ask any casual football fan outside of these regions, and chances are that most of them won't be able to name you the winners of both of these cups, while they will easily remember the winner of the latest Eurocup and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Copa América. Even if the African and Asian tournaments are very important to the local populations, they still have not achieved worldwide fame beyond their supporters.

But this is about to change.

​

The AFC and CAF have decided to join forces for the first time in 2019. The first ever AFRO-ASIAN CUP OF NATIONS has been organized. After some years of negotiations, both confederations decided that an excellent way forward would be to unite and create a joint tournament. Even though the AFC Cup and AFCON have deservedly rich histories and traditions, now it is time to combine the passions of these huge populations and create a new cup, the Champions of which can truly be called the Afro-Asian strongest team and gain well-deserved glory and fame. A truly trans-continental Champion awaits in the wings of the tournament!

After several years of negotiations, two candidates to hold the Cup remained: Cairo and Bangkok, with the Thai capital finally emerging as the host of the very first Afro-Asian Cup! This idea has really drawn the attention of the entire football world. A beautiful show of fireworks, traditional dances and other festivities have surrounded Bangkok, as delegates from 32 countries, 16 Africans and 16 Asians, as well as hundreds of thousands of fans, have travelled all the way to Southeast Asia to join the festivities! This is an entirely momentous occassion, a historical event. In the opening ceremonies, dancers and singers from each of the 32 representatives have joined in traditional performances, and it's really been a beautiful show of culture!

​

It is important to note the following point: There has been an Afro-Asian football competition in the past, an earlier edition of the Afro-Asian Cup which was usually contested between representative nations from these confederations, usually the winners of the AFCON and the winners of the Asian Cup, or the Asian games. There were eight editions of this cup (1978, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2007). However, this edition only had two teams, and even though it was an important competition, it did not have the breadth and magnitude of this edition. 32 teams have joined the Cup, and we can truly say that in a sense, the 2019 edition can be seen as an Afro-Asian World Cup!!

​

Here's the Cup format. The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations features 32 teams, 16 teams from Africa and 16 from Asia, divided into 8 groups. Each group has 2 African and 2 Asian teams! The tournament has an identical format to the World Cup: Each team plays each other once, and go to a single match knockout stage until a winner is crowned (including a third place match)! There are several strong teams that can be counted on as candidates, including Japan, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, South Korea (who I will be playing with!!), Morocco, Cameroon and others! It is important to note that Thailand, as tournament hosts, will be heading Group 7. The draw has been made and there are many interesting matchups! Is there a "group of death"? What surprises will be in store?

Football is the world's game. It is such a simple and beautiful sport precisely because anyone can understand and relate to it! It is time to expand the game and bring it to a much wider audience. Africans and Asians have been waiting for this opportunity to showcase their talents for a long time, and with the inauguration of the first-ever Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, we are ready to show the world that African and Asian football has come a long way. As all of you have seen, football from these continents has grown in leaps and bounds, both in terms of passion, support, quality, and worldwide relevance. Who knows? Maybe we will see an African or an Asian World Cup winner in the not too distant future! But right now that is not the priority.. The priority is this beautiful Cup, an important and epic first step in showcasing footballing talents from the regions, and bring all of these countries together in a Peaceful yet fiercely competitive Cup full of good will, passion, sowing the seeds of footballing future!!!! Who will emerge victorious?? We will soon find out!!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Cup Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

 

[Holland]

OMG Bro......................you are amazing!!!!
The passion you transmit is beautiful!!!!
We hope this new adventure brings you a trophy because you really deserve it, it's certainly not easy, but I trust in a tough Korea to face.
Good luck mate

 

[Werdllitrah]

View attachment 196393

Welcome to the First Ever AFRO-ASIAN CUP OF NATIONS!! (PES 2017)
⭐ ⭐Held in Bangkok, Thailand!!⭐⭐

​

For my second Cup Story, I've decided to go International!! Throughout Football History, two continents have dominated international play: Europe and South America. UEFA and the CONMEBOL. Winning every single World Cup, countries from these two continents have been at the forefront of the sport, capturing the imagination of the entire world and producing almost all legendary players and the most remembered teams.. In addition, the Eurocup and the Copa América have always been the continental National Team tournaments which have had the most exposure and fame. For example, many Europeans have said that the Eurocup is like the World Cup without Brazil and Argentina.. It can easily be said that countries from these regions have always had the most important competitions.

But here's an interesting point. Football is a Global Sport, encompassing teams far beyond the reaches of these two continents. It is a fact that the globe's two most populous continents are ASIA and AFRICA, both continents encompassing 5.8 Billion people (out of 7.8 Billion worldwide)! This is an absolutely massive amount of humanity. Football, as the world's sport, is hugely popular in both continents.. There's no question that it is the most played and watched sport in almost all African countries, and it is really growing in Asia, thanks in no small part to emerging stars in the international stage and their ever-improving performance in the World Cup, many of which have shocked the footballing world!

View attachment 196402

In terms of regional National Team tournaments, both the AFC Cup and the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) have captured the imagination of millions of fans in their respective continents.. Many regional rivalries have emerged throughout the years (Morocco vs Tunisia, Ghana vs Nigeria, Korea vs Japan, Thailand vs Vietnam, Iran vs Saudi Arabia only being a few!), as the fans from these regions of the world have turned out in droves to support their national teams! It is quite imporant to note, also, that the first two World Cups in Asia and Africa, 2002 and 2010, helped increase the visibility of football in the regions and, proportionately speaking, have also increased the fame and exposure of the national teams worldwide.

But let's be honest here. Beyond the continents, the fate of the AFC Cup and the AFCON is not as well known as their European and South American counterparts. Ask any casual football fan outside of these regions, and chances are that most of them won't be able to name you the winners of both of these cups, while they will easily remember the winner of the latest Eurocup and perhaps to a lesser extent, the Copa América. Even if the African and Asian tournaments are very important to the local populations, they still have not achieved worldwide fame beyond their supporters.

But this is about to change.

View attachment 196397​

The AFC and CAF have decided to join forces for the first time in 2019. The first ever AFRO-ASIAN CUP OF NATIONS has been organized. After some years of negotiations, both confederations decided that an excellent way forward would be to unite and create a joint tournament. Even though the AFC Cup and AFCON have deservedly rich histories and traditions, now it is time to combine the passions of these huge populations and create a new cup, the Champions of which can truly be called the Afro-Asian strongest team and gain well-deserved glory and fame. A truly trans-continental Champion awaits in the wings of the tournament!

After several years of negotiations, two candidates to hold the Cup remained: Cairo and Bangkok, with the Thai capital finally emerging as the host of the very first Afro-Asian Cup! This idea has really drawn the attention of the entire football world. A beautiful show of fireworks, traditional dances and other festivities have surrounded Bangkok, as delegates from 32 countries, 16 Africans and 16 Asians, as well as hundreds of thousands of fans, have travelled all the way to Southeast Asia to join the festivities! This is an entirely momentous occassion, a historical event. In the opening ceremonies, dancers and singers from each of the 32 representatives have joined in traditional performances, and it's really been a beautiful show of culture!

View attachment 196403View attachment 196404​

It is important to note the following point: There has been an Afro-Asian football competition in the past, an earlier edition of the Afro-Asian Cup which was usually contested between representative nations from these confederations, usually the winners of the AFCON and the winners of the Asian Cup, or the Asian games. There were eight editions of this cup (1978, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2007). However, this edition only had two teams, and even though it was an important competition, it did not have the breadth and magnitude of this edition. 32 teams have joined the Cup, and we can truly say that in a sense, the 2019 edition can be seen as an Afro-Asian World Cup!!

View attachment 196396​

Here's the Cup format. The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations features 32 teams, 16 teams from Africa and 16 from Asia, divided into 8 groups. Each group has 2 African and 2 Asian teams! The tournament has an identical format to the World Cup: Each team plays each other once, and go to a single match knockout stage until a winner is crowned (including a third place match)! There are several strong teams that can be counted on as candidates, including Japan, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, South Korea (who I will be playing with!!), Morocco, Cameroon and others! It is important to note that Thailand, as tournament hosts, will be heading Group 7. The draw has been made and there are many interesting matchups! Is there a "group of death"? What surprises will be in store?

Football is the world's game. It is such a simple and beautiful sport precisely because anyone can understand and relate to it! It is time to expand the game and bring it to a much wider audience. Africans and Asians have been waiting for this opportunity to showcase their talents for a long time, and with the inauguration of the first-ever Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, we are ready to show the world that African and Asian football has come a long way. As all of you have seen, football from these continents has grown in leaps and bounds, both in terms of passion, support, quality, and worldwide relevance. Who knows? Maybe we will see an African or an Asian World Cup winner in the not too distant future! But right now that is not the priority.. The priority is this beautiful Cup, an important and epic first step in showcasing footballing talents from the regions, and bring all of these countries together in a Peaceful yet fiercely competitive Cup full of good will, passion, sowing the seeds of footballing future!!!! Who will emerge victorious?? We will soon find out!!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Cup Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

Hi guys, my Dad passed away on the 3rd of Jan. Just to say this and other posts/pages are helping big-time!

 

[millossobek]

@Werdllitrah I'm sorry to hear about your Dad. May he rest in peace. Best of wishes to you and your family, and I'm glad that my cup story and other posts have helped you in these times. Sending you lots of strength and good will!

@Holland Thanks for your kind words bro! I really try to inject emotion into the stories. Will continue it soon!

 

[The Moroccan]

This is really entertaining bro! Love the idea of an bi-continental competition that is not only exclusive to European/South American teams. It's beautiful to see some unfamiliar combinations such as Japan/Cape Verde or North Korea/Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan/Burkina Faso. Well of course there is a visible difference between those teams but it's lovely to see them in real life, be it in a friendly or a Afro-Asian Cup.

I am rooting for Algeria though so no one would think that the cup is rigged or I bribed @millossobek to make Morocco champions. 1 2 3 .... viva .... l .. l .. l'Algérie

 

[The Moroccan]

Hi guys, my Dad passed away on the 3rd of Jan. Just to say this and other posts/pages are helping big-time!

Hey man, I'm sorry to hear about it. My condolences to you 🙏

 

[millossobek]

⭐⭐Africa Runs Away With It!!⭐⭐
African teams dominate in the first ever Afro-Asian Cup!!
​

After all the hoopla and the excitement regarding the first ever Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, the 32 teams were ready to start their group stage. Every match had a magnitude and importance that could not be understated, as, following a true Nations Cup format, the teams would only face each other once in the group stage, as well as in the knockout round!

South Korea was undoubtedly the favorite in group 6, matched up against South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Afhganistan. However, the Koreans weren't taking anything for granted! The first match was against South Africa, and Kwon Chang-Hoon almost immediately scored in minute 4, wrong footing the South African keeper with a clinical finish! A great start of South Korea. Soon after, Koo Ja-Cheol would add to the score, with another beautiful goal by Koo Ja Cheol in minute 17, and things were looking up for the Koreans! However, this joy would be short lived, as in the very next play, Manyama would score for South Africa (min 18), as the score stood at 2-1! A barrage of three goals early in the match would set up an intense rest of the match, one that South Korea played better, as we were able to score the third goal with only a few minutes left in the game, courtesy of a Son Heung Min rebound! Final score, South Korea 3, South Africa 1, and we had started off on the right foot.

​

The next match against Burkina Faso was more difficult, as we could definitely sense that this was a more talented team than South Africa. A testy first half would produce no goals for either side, but finally in minute 48 Koo Ja Cheol was able to calmly tap in a well placed shot after a Son Heung Min corner, as we opened the score! We tried to hang on for the win, but Burkina Faso kept coming and were relentless in attack until in minute 80, Pitroipa was able to equalize off a Bance assist, finding the whole in the Korean defense and the late reaction by our keeper was not enough.. Final score, South Korea 1, Burkina Faso 1, in a game that could've gone either way. The intensity was ratcheting up.



The third and deciding match in our group stage was against upstarts Afghanistan, which on paper looked like an easy win for the Koreans. But there was nothing easy about this match, as it they really played us well The Afghanis, even though they had nothing to gain with a win since they were already eliminated, came out with a lot of pride! They were playing well and moving the ball dangerously in the first minutes and almost scored, looking like the more dangerous side in the first 20 minutes until Kim Tae-Hwan scored off a beautiful long-range shot to give us the 1-0 lead! However, the Afghanis would almost immediately get one back as Adam Najem scored in minute 23 after a nicely timed run and angled shot! It was an intense match, and qualification was not guaranteed,




Many chances ensued, and we came out on the offensive the second half, wanting to leave nothing to chance until finally in minute 86, Son Heung-Min, the Tottenham star was able to put the seal on the game and score a game winner off a Ki Sung-Yeung assist! It was definitely a dangerous match, but one that we managed to prevail, final score: South Korea 2, Afghanistan 1, and we were off to the next round to face Indonesia! A quallification dedicated to @Werdllitrah and the memory of his Dad,





In our round of 16 match, I believe we were in a way a bit lucky to face Indonesia. Even though we finished second in our group (after Burkina Faso), the luck of the draw ensued that we had to face perhaps the least strong first place team. It was a tough round of 16 match, but one that we definitely played better than the Indonesians. Even though they had their chances, goals by Son Heung-Min in minute 38 and Hwang Ui-Jo in extra time (90+4) were enough to pull us through to the quarterfinals! Aside from a few timely saves by our keeper, it was a pretty dominating performance by the Koreans, one where we could've scored more! Final score, South Korea 2, Indonesia 0, and we were through to the quarterfinals!!



However, it was not meant to be. We faced off against the tough Mali, and in an inspired performance by the Africans, they beat us 4-0 in a lopsided match. It just seemed like we were never able to get off the ground in this quarterfinal matchup, and even though we didn't play badly, nothing seemed to work in the final third for us, while they seemed to score almost every time they brought the ball up the pitch.. Just one of those matches were everything they touched turned to gold. After trailing 2-0 in the first half, we came out very aggressively in the second trying to equalize but we weren't able to score. Also, having moved our lines up exposed our defense and they were able to score 2 more to make it even more lopsided.. A match that left a bit of a bitter taste in the South Koreans, as we were ousted from the Cup in pretty convincing fashion!



As you can see, the inaugural Afro-Asian Cup was dominated by the African teams. Out of the 16 qualified to the second round, 12 were African and only 4 Asian teams made it (South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Indonesia!), and the semifinal was an All-African affair, with Mali beating Nigeria and Senegal beating Morocco. @The Moroccan you guys were able to get third place though! The two Asian giants, Japan and South Korea, were both ousted in the quarterfinals and the hosts Thailand were not even able to add a single point in their group phase. When it was all said and done, it was Senegal who emerged champions of the first Afro-Asian Cup after emerging from a field of 4 African Semifinalists.. Congratulations to SENEGAL!! It looks like Asian football has still a ways away to catch up to the African Powerhouses, at least taking this tournament into account! But not to worry friends, South Korea will be back in a second edition for sure, sooner rather than later!!

But for now, I will go back to my Bolton and Reggina stories.

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

 

[The Moroccan]

Viva Africa, and very proud of my Senegalese brothers ❤️. Although I didn't pay you for a third place and 4 nil loss in the semis but we're good 😂. It's always nice to see Algeria not making it through the group stages 😂.

Looking at the knockouts it definitely looks realistic on paper, but Indonesia making it in favor of Doctor Congo is that surprise element you's love to see often

In fact I didn't play PES 2017 thaaat much compared to the earlier and later releases and I always underestimated it, but based on that highlights video it's definitely feel quite balanced in terms of playing speed, I think it has the same collision mechanics as in PES 2016 but I really like a physical game

 

[Madmac79]

Surprised Mali eliminated you with that margin! But it can happen, especially when CPU decides to bring the challenge a notch higher. I also thought it was a kind of wea team but, now that I searched about them, I see they have some good players playing in Europe top leagues.

Well, good job all the same South Korea, in reaching the quarter finals! I'm sure this defeat will bring the necessary experience to the guys for the next tournament!

 

[millossobek]

@The Moroccan Yeah man, the payment didn't go through.. something to do with the suitcase not arriving from Morocco to South America, I dunno.. So you'd have to settle for third place. I was wondering about Algeria as well.. When you said "Viva .... l .. l .. l'Algérie". Hey, I was thinking maybe Zidane should go coach them sometime..... hmmm idea for a future ML story......

You should definitely check out PES 2017 bro, completely patched with smoke patch it is really hard to beat in terms of fun factor.

@Madmac79 It was a surprising finish that left a bittersweet taste! Bitter because of the way we were ousted from the Cup, but Sweet because I know that I'll be back for an eventual second edition! It seems pretty fitting that the second edition would probably be in PES 2018, since one year has passed. Funny that in both cups, the 3-Stars Cup and the Afro-Asian Cup, I was beaten by the eventual second place team! A pretty cool coincidence. South Korea will return, and with something to prove!!

Midseason Bolton (and Europa League) information coming later on!! Stay tuned my friends.

 

[Madmac79]

@Madmac79 It was a surprising finish that left a bittersweet taste! Bitter because of the way we were ousted from the Cup, but Sweet because I know that I'll be back for an eventual second edition! It seems pretty fitting that the second edition would probably be in PES 2018, since one year has passed. Funny that in both cups, the 3-Stars Cup and the Afro-Asian Cup, I was beaten by the eventual second place team! A pretty cool coincidence. South Korea will return, and with something to prove!!

Midseason Bolton (and Europa League) information coming later on!! Stay tuned my friends.

To play an edition of the Afro-Asian Cup for any sequent chapters sounds like a great idea! It could become some kind of format, maybe for the 3 stars cup as well.. you could always jump back in time too !

 

[millossobek]

@Madmac79 Definitely bro! I think I'll go back first to the 3-Stars Cup. I will for sure play again with Millos, and probably vary the teams up a bit.. But with exactly the same format. Aston Villa as defending champions will be back, but every single team will have maximum 3 stars and also the same format of 16 Europeans, 8 South Americans and 8 Asians! I really really enjoyed playing both Cups.

That will definitely come up soon. Still deciding what version I'd like to play it in. Going back in time sounds like a great idea, I'd like to try it on PES 2015 since I've never had a story in that edition but the Cups have that unrealistic sim score issue (too high).. There's still time to decide which one though! Could also be my favorite PES 2017.

 

[millossobek]

A Quite Different Werder Bremen!!
A PES 2009 Adventure!
​

Hey guys! As you've probably noticed, I like playing 3 Master Leagues at once.. Two main stories, and an adventure which I do not go in with as much "storytelling depth" but it's more of a "Play and Update" kind of deal, kind of posting the most important information about the save! For this edition, I decided to try an edition I've never tried before in an ML or a long format: PES 2009! (15 minutes, Top Player, Speeder 0.87)

Even though I'm aware that it is far from the most popular or well-regarded PES titles, I still wanted to try it, and after playing a couple of exhibitions, I decided it was pretty fun! As you guys remember, I already played a full season in PES 10 and 13, so I decided to give 2009 a chance! So far, so good. It might not be one of the most well known PES titles, but I think it has several good points.

For this story, I wanted to try a nice variation of my "4 Musketeers" Bolton theme, but with a difference. Let's call it, a "Young Midfielder Revolution!" I changed about 90 percent of the team, trading away a lot of my squad for other players, mainly in the Bundesliga, and I came about a team I'm pretty satisfied with. A New Werder Bremen is all set to go!!

What is the premise? I want to have a pretty low-ranked team, one of the weakest in the Bundesliga, with a bunch of aging and low-skilled players, but led by a "Midfielder Revolution" of 3 of my favorite all time players!: a very young: Mesut Ozil (20), Stephen Appiah (22), and Shinji Ono (22). As you can see I changed Appiah's and Ono's ages so that they are young with Werder Bremen.

I also held out/traded for a few interesting players: Werder Bremen historical goalscorer, Peruvian Claudio Pizarro (30), Gerald Asamoah (30), the long-standing Schalke Ghanaian/German striker, Per Metesacker (24) manning the back four, and one of my favorites, Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón (39) from Koln, at the tail end of his incredibly long and durable career! The rest of the players, while dependable, are pretty below average in terms of Bundesliga talent.

I also decided to organize the leagues in the following manner:
- Liga Ibérica (Iberian League): 17 Spanish Teams + the 3 Portuguese Giants (Benfica, Sporting, Porto)
- British Premier League: 18 English Teams + the 2 Scottish Giants (Rangers and Celtic)
- Lega Mediterranea: 13 Italian Teams + 4 Greek Teams + 3 Turkish Teams (Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, AEK, PAOK, Besiktas, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray).
- Euro League D1 and D2: A mix of Bundesliga, Ligue 1 France, Belgian, Denmark, Swiss, and Dutch teams! (with a heavier presence of German and French teams!)

Werder Bremen will be starting in D2 as one of the overall weaker Bundesliga teams! Will my young midfielders be able to mesh well with my experienced veterans and with the rest of my aging squad of below-average players? Let's see what happens!

 

[millossobek]

Following up on the above post, I really liked this score by Ozil in my second league match!

 

[millossobek]

Werder Bremen are on track for Promotion at Midseason!! (PES 2009)
Die Grün-Weißen are giving back hope to their faithful fans!

​

It's been a pretty momentous first half of the season for Werder Bremen! After being relegated to the Euro League D2, the Green and Whites are slowly but surely clawing their way back to contention! It is important to remember that the Euro Leagues, as I organized it, are multi-nation leagues primarily made up of German, French, Belgian, Denmark, Swiss, and Dutch teams (with a greater proportion of German and French squads), a Central European Federation, and only the best in the region will rise to the top!

​

My current second division league is really multi-national, it has: 4 German teams, 3 French, 2 Belgian, 1 Swiss, 1 Danish, and 1 Dutch team! This has given the league quite a multi-cultural flavor yet retaining its European roots! Die Grün-Weißen have had an exciting first half, wht 5 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, propelling them to second place in the standings in a 12-team league in which the top 3 are promoted to first division! Werder Bremen wants to get back to its rightful place in the region!

​

Led by the veteran leadership of their captain, Claudio Pizarro, the 30-year old Peruvian International striker, also known as "El Bombardero de los Andes", as well as the trio of talented midfielders Mesut Ozil, Shinji Ono, and Stephen Appiah, (ages 20, 22, and 22), the team looks like it could have a bright future in the Federation! Even though Pizarro is my current leader, I am really counting on the "Midfielder Revolution" of my big midfielder three, full of magic and charisma, to be the base for future success! But first things first. Even though the first half of the season has gone well (albeit a quarterfinal loss to FC Zurich in the Division 2 Cup), things are far from being decided!

​

The midseason transfer window was an eventful one, and even though signings were difficult and many players rejected our offers, we were able to secure the services of three important players!
- Junior Diaz (25): The Costa Rican side back brings some much needed speed at Side Back, which was a glaring weakness in our squad (we only had 2 SB's in the entire team!) Signed from Wisla Cracovia, Junior Diaz looks to bring Latin flavor and personality to the team, as well as his talent!
- Christian Dorda (20): The German side back complements Diaz at the position, now we have 4 Side Backs which was our most pressing need. A good all around player with a lot of future, he is a great local signing from the academy of Borussia Monchengladbach.
- Distel Zola (29); Another position where we needed reinforcements was at Defensive Midfielder, given that we only had one pure DMF on the team (with Shinji Ono more of a pure CMF). Zola comes from the youth academy of Monaco, the Frenchman is looking to make his mark on the Federation!

Three crucial signings, building on the base of my talented midfield! I like the fact that they are quite young players whidh haven't reached their potential yet, still they are better than most of my supporting cast! I haven't gotten rid of any of my older, lower-rated players just yet, but this will probably come in time as I keep revamping my roster while keeping my leaders! Here is a goal by my captain, Claudio Pizarro, I really liked this goal even though I ended up losing the Cup quarterfinal. A great individual play!

​

In all honesty though, my priority is quite straightfroward: I want to achieve promotion in this first season and start playing with the big teams of Central Europe! Halfway through the season, it looks like I am on track, although as you can see, the table is very very tight. With only 12 teams participating in D2, every match is going to be really important, as points will be golden as each fixture passes by! I've been really enjoying PES 2009 with my customized settings, the game feels quite deep in terms of the importance of stats and with the lowered game speed, it's really feeling a lot like a good combination of real football and classic PES action! Stay tuned to the second half of the season, the exciting conclusion of Werder Bremen's first season in my newest ML adventure! Auf geht's Die Grün-Weißen!

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Werder Bremen's first season!!!! ​

 

[millossobek]

Werder Bremen Return to First Division!!
Pizarro, Ozil, Ono, and Appiah Lead Die Grün-Weißen to Promotion and The 2nd Division Title!!
​

A very competitive season has ended, Werder Bremen have finally returned to their rightful place in Europe! The Midfielder Revolution that was introduced before the season started, coupled with solid veteran leadership and timely goalscoring has propelled Die Grün-Weißen back to the first division, where they will be facing the cream of the crop of Central Europe, made up of Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, and other big Dutch, Belgian, Denmark, and Swiss Teams! The Big Bad Central Federation awaits!

​

When we left off at midseason, Werder Bremen was sitting in second at the halfway mark. A good position, that's for sure, but nothing was said or determined yet. Only 5 points separated #2 and #7, and the field was wide open for several teams. In this second division, the top 3 got promoted, so it was going to be a tough scrabble in the second half of the season! Thankfully, the leadership of our veteran striker, Peruvian Claudio Pizarro, our Colombian Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón, and the huge contributions of our young midfield of Ono, Appiah, and a 20-year old Mesut Ozil were enough to not only get promoted, but also to win the league!

But first was ensuring promotion. We were sitting in third palce with two matches to go, and had to face Hannover 96 in the second to last game of the season, Fixture 21! Given how tight the table was, drawing or losing this match would've really decreased our chances to get promoted going into the final match! Fortunately, we were able to scrape a very hard-fought 1-0 match (PIZARRO!!!!!) and by winning it, ensured our place in the first division of the Central European Federation! I include the full match here, in case you guys want to have a look!!

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There was one more order of business though, and that was to win the title! Even though the main objective of the season was to get promoted, winning the title would be a really nice cherry on top, not to mention extra Master League points! The last match was against LOSC Lille Metropole, and even though we started losing 1-0 due to an early goal by the French side, our Bombardero, Claudio Pizarro really woke up in the second half and scored two goals in less than 3 minutes to give us the victory and the title! 2-1 the final score, and Die Grün-Weißen finish in first place! Here are the last minutes of the match, along with our title celebration!!

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It was a really nice and fun season overall! Hard fought and intense, with a lot of close matches. I feel like we really depended on the talents of our leaders Pizarro (who finished second in the overall scorers table, with 13 goals!) and Mondragón (who had some really nice clean sheets). But equally important were also the contributions of our young dynamic 3, Ono, Ozil, and Appiah who are really young and have a very bright future ahead of them! Even though most of the rest of the team was below average in skill they were inspired by the performances of our best players and were really able to give it their best given their more limited talent!

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Now, the First Dvision of the Central European Federation beckons. We will be facing much better teams and our offseason signings will be crucial. It'll be very important to keep complementing our team with good signings so that we can compete and have a good performance in our first season back! But for now, it is time to celebrate a win that, even if it is not a first division one and might not get a lot of place, rightfully puts Werder Bremen back in our proper place and give us a shot at further glory!! Stay tuned for more updates!!

One of my favorite goals of the season!

Stay tuned for Werder Bremen's adventure in First Division!! ​

 

[millossobek]

WERDER BREMEN'S SUMMER TRANSFERS TO FACE DIVISION 1!!
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Even though Werder Bremen were crowned champions of division 2, we know that resting on our laurels would only make things difficult in the First Divison of the Central European Federation!! For this reason, it was imperative that we reinforced ourselves to be able to aspire for more and have greater ambitions! With this in mind, we went into the summer transfer window with several priorities. Get rid of some of our aging players, and pick up youth and talent in the transfer market! I believe we did a really good job, and now I'm feeling much more confident going into First Division! Here are our summer pickups:

- Dennis Diekmeier - (Side Back, 20) - Needing some reinforcements at side back, we decided to re-acquire Dennis Diekmeier from FC Nurnberg. Originally from our academy, Diekmeier is probably the starting Right Back of the present and future! The youngster will bring us all around play and speed on the wing, and looks like a player with a lot of upside! He has also played for the Germany U-19 team, so he has impressive credentials in his young resume!

- Manuel Schmiedebach - (Side Back, 21) - A good pickup from Hannover 96 (one of our old division 2 rivals), Schmiedebach also has a good future ahead of him. Perhaps not as talented as Diekmeier, but since right back was our most pressing need in the offseason, Manuel fits in the backup role really well! He is half Colombian (with Moroccan Blood), so he adds to the already international flavor of the team!

- Andreas Ottl - (Defensive Midfielder, 25) - Ottl is solid as a rock Defensive Midfielder who was not getting too much playing time at Bayern Munich. Unhappy with his role on the bench, Andreas readily signed with us to provide us instant defense and a strong presence in our midfield. Andreas knows that he will be getting plenty of time at Werder, so he's a happy camper right now, seeing this as a marked improvement over his Bayern role!

- Jonatas - (Defensive Midfielder, 27) - A Product of the mighty Flamengo Youth Academy in the Brasileirao, Jonatas comes in to reinforce the defensive midfielder position along with Ottl, which was another weakness. Even though only 27, he can be considered a veteran presence on this young team, and will be competing with Ottl and Distel Zola for the spot. Our first Brazilian on the team, he will surely bring flavor to the locker room!

- Fredheim Holm - (Attacking Midfielder, 25) - the son of former player Paal Fredheim, the talented Norwegian has joined our squad from Aalborg BK with a very straightforward role: to back up Ozil and give our midfield more flexibility and rotation! A great dribbler with good playmaking skills himself, Fredheim Holm will not be lacking in playing opportunities in the tough Central European Federation!

- Mame Diouf - (Secondary Striker, 22) - And finally, the star signing of our offseason, Senegalese Mame Diouf comes in to revitalize our secondary striker role! Even though Gerald Asamoah did a great job for us in the position while in D2, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to sign Diouf. A star player already at 22, Diouf has blinding speed, great dribbling skills and an eye for goal. Expectations are high for him and he is excited to be parterning up with Pizarro on the frontline!! I'm expecting great performances from the Senegalese star.

Here are the teams that make up the Central European Federation: FC Girondins de Bordeaux, PSV Eindhoven, Hamburger, Olympique Lyonnais, Eintracht Frankurt, VFB Stuttgart, VFL Wolfsburg, Ajax, Standard de Liege, Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Olympique de Marseille, Schalke 04, Toulouse FC, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Leverkusen, PSG, FC Copenhagen, and WERDER BREMEN!!

Here we go!!!! Die Grün-Weißen!! We are ready for our return to First Division, our rightful place in Central Europe!!!!

 

[Madmac79]

Seems like a very rich and productive market session. Unfortunately I remember just a small number of those players (probably only Ottl, who I'm sure I picked in some past ML as well, and Mame Diouf), but I'm sure they'll eventually give you the depth required to fight for Europe or even higher.

Central European Federation league looks dope. I bet it will be a lot of fun to face all those teams!

 

[The Moroccan]

What a way to make a fully fantasy Master League!

Central European Federation league looks dope. I bet it will be a lot of fun to face all those teams!

Yes definitely! What a challenge!

I have some good memories with Mame Biram Diouf, I remember he used to be my savior in a PES 2013 Bordeaux ML, I bought him as a replacement to Cheikh Diabaté and quickly turned out to be the team's top scorer in the first season, and Ligue 1's top scorer in the next season as we went to claim the league title.

 

[millossobek]

@Madmac79 A lot of those players are relative unknowns. I wanted to find some good youth promises from Germany (I wanted to retain German players even though a lot of my stars are international) so I went ahead and searched by nationality. Hopefully they will contribute in a major way in my first campaign in first division!

@The Moroccan Diouf looks like a really good player. I usually like to have a very speedy SS (playing a diamond 4-4-2 formation in order to take advantage of Ozil's playmaking). I think he's gonna make a really good partnership with Pizarro!

I was thinking of updating my Reggina story but since you guys are following my Werder Bremen story, I think I will play out their return season in first division and then move on to my Italian tale! (no way I've forgotten about it, it is my main save! just that updating it takes a lot of time..) As for Bolton, I was taking a look at the standings and I finished 8th, which means I just missed out on the Europa League (thought I had qualified) but no matter.. I will try once more!

So taking a look at how my stories will develop, I will continue with Werder Bremen, then probably Reggina and Bolton!

 

[millossobek]

Hey bros! Before I resume my other stories, I've decided to make a second edition of the epic..



Details (including which PES edition I'll be playing with, teams and format) coming soon!

​

 

[millossobek]

⭐⭐⭐ Welcome to the Second Edition of the 3-Stars Cup!! ⭐⭐⭐
A PES 2021 Millossobek Cup Story!!​

Once again, the stars have aligned. 3 years have passed and the first 3 Stars Cup was a resounding success. A brainchild of MFE (Millossobek Football Enterprises), the Cup featured teams from 3 different continents and federations (Europe, South America, and Asia), and the motto was a catchy and important message: "From Our Stadiums to The World!"

If you are not familiar with the format of the 3-stars Cup, here is a quick rundown: The Cup is a chance to showcase so-called "middle teams". Teams that might not be worldwide household names but are not dwelling in obscurity either. Some are dominant teams in their countries (although not famous internationally), some others are mid to low table teams in the bigger European leagues, and others are up and comers. But one thing that all these teams have in common is: they are not featured in International cable sports coverage or champions leagues. Yet all of these teams have rich histories and fanbases. This is the backbone of football.

What does this mean in PES terms?

⭐⭐⭐ Here's the format: ⭐⭐⭐
- Every group has 4 teams, 2 from Europe, 1 from South America, and 1 from Asia. Home and Away. The top two teams move on to a two-legged knockout stage. The final will be a single match, to be played at an already decided venue.
- Every single team in the tournament has a global rating of 2 and a half - 3 stars with ONE exception. Aston Villa, which has 3 and a half stars. Will Aston Villa be able to repeat as Champions?
- Countries represented: England, Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Sweden, Belgum, France, Turkey, Netherlands, Serbia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Japan, Korea, UAE, Iraq, Iran, China.
- I chose PES 2021 for this edition. (It's been a long time since I've played it!)

An interesting note: Every single team in this second edition of the Cup is different from the first one, except for Aston Villa (who as defending champions repeat their appearance), and of course, my dear MILLONARIOS, who I'll be playing with again. We will be looking to repeat or why not.. improve upon last edition's quarterfinal performance! In the first tournament, we finished second in our group, beat Slavia Praha in the round of 16 only to bow out to Uruguayan Peñarol in the quarters, Let's see how we do in the second edition of the 3-Stars Cup!! Vamos Millos!!

After the resounding success of the first edition, MFE wanted to switch things up. Like I mentioned, this is a whole new batch of teams except for the defending champs and Millos , and all of these new additions are very interesting. Instead of Peñarol, we now feature their eternal rivals, Nacional de Uruguay! We have Santos, the historical Brazilian team who unfortunately have not won titles in a while but retain their passionate fanbase, Greek giant Panathinaikos looking to win an international cup, two German historical and proud squads (Schalke and Stuttgart), the always mercurial Brescia Calcio, former AFC Champion League winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Persian Gulf Pro League historicals Persepolis (who have won 5 leagues in a row) and many, many more. We are excited to bring you the second edition of the 3-Stars Cup, played in three continents, supported by hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe, every single one of them adding their voice to one passionate, resounding unifying chant, that resounds from the inner-city neighborhoods of Sao Paulo to the Ruins in Greece to the Bright Lights of Tokyo. This beautiful sport is much more than just its most famous teams, much more than the bright lights and the multi-million dollar contracts, and we are here to prove that every team has its beauty, its identity, its pride, and most importantly, its story. From Our Stadiums To The World.. Welcome to a truly inter-contintental competition, the Second Edition of the 3-Stars Cup!!!!!!!!!! ⭐⭐⭐

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Cup Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

 

[millossobek]

⭐⭐⭐ Once Again in the Knockout Stage!! ⭐⭐⭐
Millos qualifies in a tension-filled group!
​

Young Boys, Partizan Belgrade, Beijing FC, Millos. Group 7 of the 3-Stars Cup is underway and the nerves and excitement are at a fever pitch throughout the teams' supporters and the media. The expectation is building! As is the case with all of the Cup's groups, this is an evenly matched set of teams, and even if some of them have a higher worldly profile than others, none of them can be taken for granted, as each and every one will fight to the end for a place in the second round. A lot of pride is at stake here, as every single one of these matches has supreme importance in terms of qualification. Let's quickly review each one of the teams. ⭐
- Young Boys: One of the most successful Swiss teams, the Bonn squad have won their league 15 times (including the last 4, they have dominated as of late), and has some international pedigree, reaching the semifinals of the European Cup in the 1958-59 season.
- Partizan Belgrade: The Serbian giants have won a whopping 44 domestic competitions, including 27 leagues 16 Cups and 1 SuperCup (Yugoslavia/Serbia combined history), and have also reached the final of the European Cup (1965-66 season). They have a huge rivalry with Red Star Belgrade, in what is aptly called the Derby of Serbia.
- Beijing FC: Even though the Chinese side is not as well known as their compatriots Guangzhou Evergrande or Shanghai SIPG, the Beijing club have the second most valuable team in the country and one of the most valuable in all of Asia. Winners of 6 league clubs (but only once in this century), Beijing looks to further their name as the team of the capital city.
- Millonarios FC: You all know Millos. Winners of 15 leagues and 24 overall titles, Millos is one of the biggest and most popular teams in Colombia. Even though we have won some international titles (Merconorte), the biggest prizes in the continent (Libertadores and Sudamericana) have eluded us. We are looking to add to our international prestige. Why not? We are here in the 3-Stars Cup to win!! More details about Millos can be found here.

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Group 7 kicked off in China, where several tens of thousands of Beijing fans packed their highly technological stadium! (as you can see, several thousand Millos fans made the trek all the way to the Far East!) The match was a cagey one during the first half, and we were surprised early on at the intensity of their attack and how tightly they defended. Beijing was quite relentless in the first half, getting off 7 shots to only 2 for Millos, although they were not too fine in front of goal. After 45 minutes had passed, we were quite shocked at what was supposedly the weaker team in the group, as they were outplaying us and their fans were noisy and rowdy. However, in minute 62, Diego Herazo was able to score with a tip in.. Yet we couldn't hold on for the win. At minute 87, Beijing equalized and 3 very valuable points escaped us. However, manager Gamero saw this match more of a point gained, given how strong the Chinese squad played at home, and we were ultimately satisfied with the 1-1 draw.

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Now came the supposed European favorites. Back in Bogotá, in a very intense and high scoring affair, we matched up against the Swiss giants and 4 time local league defending champions, Young Boys. And things started looking really nice for us, as in only minute 2, Daniel Ruiz, our young #10 was able to score off a beautiful free kick to give us the lead! A back and forth affair would ensue in the rest of the first half.. As a flurry of goals occurred in only 15 minutes! We were up 2-0, then YB scored for 2-1, and we were up 3-1 after a very nice combination play by Ayron Del Valle! As the second half started, it seemed we were in command of the match. But then Young Boys went into overdrive, and due to some costly defensive mistakes, we ended up conceding two goals in the second half! Final score, Millos 3, Young Boys 3, and the tournament was not off to the best start as we only managed 2 points in our first 2 matches.

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For our next cup matchday, we traveled to a cold and foggy day in Serbia to face none other than Partizan Belgrade. The atmosphere was absolutely elecric, as the Serbian fans came out in full force with banners, smoke, and chants. The Balkan spirit was definitely alive in this one as it wsa one of the most charged and emotional crowds in the Three Stars Cup. And Partizan played well, imposing their strong will and seemingly superior strength over Millos, and scoring an early goal to go up 1-0. A loss would've been quite a negative influence for our qualifying chances, and it really seemed like their lockdown defense and superior physicality was going to get the best of us.. Until in minute 90.. Márquez!! The young Cartagena product was able to equalize with a desperation move and we ended up stealing a point! A "smash and grab" draw if I ever saw one. Final score, 1-1.

Amazingly though, even though we had only been able to salvage 3 points in the first 3 games.. We were sitting in second place at the midway point of the group stage! Partizan had 5, Beijing had 3, and Young Boys, perhaps the group favorites, lingered with 2 points! It was a fortunate twist that despite our less-than-stellar performance in the first 3 matches, Millos was sitting in second place and in good shape to qualify (albeit by the narrowest of margins).

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Things would quite change in the second half of the group stage, however! Our next match was at home, against Beijing, and we knew that we had to impose our quality at our stadium. I posted the entire match above, as you can see it was a close match but one that we ended up playing quite better than the Chinese side (although they did have their chances as well!). Marquez solidified his role as main team goalscorer with two goals, an easy tip in after a scramble in the box and a Ruiz pass close to minute 24, and a very nice goal which I'll let you watch in the match video! (close to minute 73)! Final score, Millos 2, Beijing 0, our first win of the Cup and a much needed 3 points which gave us some breathing space!

But as is usually the case in these tournaments, especially in the 3-Stars Cup where literally anything can happen, we could not maintain our good streak for the next match. Travelling to Bonn, Switzerland and facing Young Boys in unfamiliar territory, Millos couldn't realy get anything going in the Swiss stadium, and our offense really didn't quite click the way we expected, while they took their chance. After 90 minutes had passed, the final score was YB 1 Millos 0, as we couldn't carry on the momentum from the last game.

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And now things got really interesting with only one match left to go against the Serbs in our stadium. As you can see, the group was completely tied up, ALL OF THE TEAMS HAD 6 POINTS, with only goal diference separating us! This was remarkable. After thinking we had some breathing room after beating Beijing, our loss against Young Boys but us in basically a must-win situation. We had to win our last match in order not to depend on other results. What's really amazing about this is that I can't seemingly recall any other recent situation like this, all 4 teams with exactly the same number of points in a home and away group stage! I really couldn't ask for a more exciting finish! ⭐

And man, was it exciting or what!! Facing Partizan back in our friendly confines, it was the moment of truth. Take a look at the last minutes of the match (and match highlights) here..

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And Millos advances to the Final 16!! In the end, we left absolutely nothing to chance, and defnitely played our best when we needed it most. We knew going into the match that we needed the 3 points in order not to depend on anyone else, and we accomplished our goal! After a nervy first half of the group stage in which we only managed 3 points in 3 matches, we did well in the second half of the stage, grabbing 6 out of a possible 9 points, definitely coming through in the clutch.. Going into the nerve-wrecking final game absolutely nothing was decided, and we passed the test while under intense pressure! ⭐⭐⭐

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When it was all said and done, Group 7 was quite a surprise! Even though, due to the nature of the competition, all groups are well matched, I assure you none of the pundits or football observers would've predicted that the South American and the Asian team would be the ones advancing! (In the final deciding match, Beijing pulled off a huge upset, beating Young Boys 0-4 in Switzerland!) Millos finished first place by virtue of winning our matchup against Beijing and more goals scored, but it was a very tight group with one of the most exciting final stage games in my campaigns! All in all, when taken as a whole, the group stage of this second edition of the 3-Stars Cup has been quite different from the first one. If you guys remember, the round of 16 in the first edition featured: 10 Europeans, 5 South Americans and only 1 Asian team. This edition is much more evenly matched: 7 Europeans, 5 South Americans, and 4 Asians! A much more international flavor to this one! Defending Champions Aston Villa won their group and will be facing Sporting Cristal, Panathinaikos and Estudiantes might be playing the matchup of the tournament so far, the field is full of surprises, and as for Millos, we will be up against our second Chinese opponent: Shenzhen Kaisa! We will not underestimate them! If this second edition of the 3-Stars Cup has proven anything, is that it is more unpredictable than ever, and bigger, better-regarded teams may fall to so-called obscure teams at any given moment. This is what makes football a theater of the unexpected.. Every team, and every story is not told until the final whistle blows, the roar of thousands of fans echoing on into the star-filled horizon. You know what, I'm really liking how this is turning out. These are really exciting times here in millossobek's stories!! ⭐⭐⭐

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Cup Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

 

[millossobek]

Bitter Disappointment!!
Millos bows out in the Round of 16 against an inspired Shenzhen Kaisa!
​

Not much to say about these two couple of games! A quite disappointing result for Millos as they drew what most pundits considered a lesser talented team in Shenzhen Kaisa! Even though we had more chances in both matches (especially in the second match), football is not won with chances, it is won with goals, and after a home and away where we couldn't score even once, Millos bows out from the 3-Stars Cup with their heads hanging low and with a fanbase which expected much, much more after their quarterfinal run in the first edition of the Cup!

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The first match was in Millonarios stadium, and despite our best efforts, the only time the ball ever touched a goalnet was an incredible unlucky Own Goal by our defender Murillo. coming quite early in the match in minute 15! Even though Shenzhen Kaisa did not generate many chances (despite the talent of their playmaker, ironically JuanFer Quintero from Colombia), they defended very well. We could not generate many chances as the Chinese side went on full gridlock mode, especially in the first half. In the second half, being a goal up, they withdrew their lines and even though we did have more shots than they did, when it was all said and done they held on for the win. A very valuable victory for the Chinese in our grounds! Millos 0, Shenzhen 1.

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Back in Shenzhen, their fans were really pumped, sensing that they had a good chance to advance to the quarterfinals. Despite the fact that once again, thousands of our fans travelled thousands of miles to support us, Millos couldn't take advantage of this. Even though we tried many different tactics, counterattack, possession, switching wingers, frontline pressure, you name it, we simply could not solve the Chinese puzzle. We had more possession and more shots on target, but Shenzhen quite predictably played the entire match on their backheels, while taking advantage of one of the only chances they had, a sly counterattack after we had pushed forward and left some holes in our defense, for their only goal of the game courtesy of Frank Acheampong. Final result, Shenzhen 1, Millos 0, as we simply couldn't find the net after 180 minutes of play! A disappointing ending to our second 3-Stars Cup, especially after the epic group stage!

However, it is important to note that this Story is not only about Millos. It's about the momentous 3-Stars Cup, which went on with or without us and ultimately crowned Panathinaikos as Champions!! Let's take a look at how the rest of the tournament went. (IMPORTANT NOTE: The scores before the final are aggregate scores, while the final was a single match, played at the predetermined venue of Estádio Municipal de Braga, Portugal.

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Examining the draw, Kasimpasa beat the mercurial Brescia as they prevailed in a penalty shootout! 9-Time K-League Champions and 2-Time AFC Champions League Winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors pulled off the upset against Schalke in the same manner while Sporting Braga handily took care of Bolivians The Strongest on a 5-0 aggregate score (looks like the altitude of La Paz did nothing to help the South American side!) Looking at the other side of the draw, Valladolid prevailed in an ultra-tight matchup against Beijing, with an aggregate score of only 1-0, while Universidad Católica of Chile was the only winning South American side as they beat Sharjah (the only team from the continent to make the quarterfinals, going only 1 of 8!). Panathinaikos and Estudiantes of Argentina seemed to be an exciting matchup as I predicted with the Greeks going through and defending Champs Aston Villa easily dispatched Sporting Cristal of Peru.

Quarterfinals: Kasimpasa took a measure of revenge for us as the Turkish side retained their favorite status against Shenzhen by beating them 3-1. While the surprise of the tournament, Jeonbuk beat Sporting Braga 5-3 aggregate score! Looks like it was a very inspired performance by the Koreans! On the other side, Católica continued to defend South American pride as they beat Valladolid, and in a huge confidence booster, Panathinaikos upset the defending Champs and favorites to win it all, Aston Villa! Looks like it was a great pair of matches with a 6-4 aggregate!

In the semis, the Koreans continued their torrid and unexpected run to beat Kasimpasa to keep shocking the world and move on to the final! What a display from the Asian team! While on the other side, Panathinaikos seemingly had little trouble dispatching Universidad Católica, effectively ending the dream of an Asian-South American final! And ultimately, in the single final played in Portugal, as the Greek squad were able to prevail 2-0 against Jeonbuk in an inter-continental match of green-colored squads! Despite a valiant and epic run by the Koreans, in the end,..CONGRATULATIONS TO PANATHINAIKOS IN THEIR 3-STAR CUP ODYSSEY AND TITLE!!

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To wrap it up, even though it was ultimately a disappointing tournament for Millos, I have to say that all in all I am really enjoying this 3-Star Cup setup and story, one which I will definitely re-visit in the future, keeping the same spirit and overall format! The first two editions have been won by European teams, Aston Villa and Panathinaikos, and I'm looking forward to a third installment. Will an Asian or South American team be able to lift the trophy the third time around? We will eventually re-visit this competition, a truly global arena where really anything can happen and the passion of 3 continents stands constant and unchanging in an unpredictable footballing saga!

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!
​

 

[Madmac79]

Man it's so frustrating to go out against an all out defending, weaker team.. but I guess that's also football (and in particular Pes ). Also fun to see Quintero there, I remember him in his stint at Pescara in Italy and at River when they won the famous Boca final, looked really talented although maybe a bit incostant.. had no idea he also played in China. By the way, you did a great group and I agree the 3 stars cup is a really nice setup. Looking forward to the next one, I guess in another Pes edition, right?

 

[millossobek]

@Madmac79 Definitely, it was a disappointing way to end an otherwise awesome and exciting tournament, especially since I enjoyed the group stage so much! (All teams with 6 points with 1 match to go.. That was one of the most nerve-wrecking and fun games I ever played, against Partizan Belgrade for qualification)! But hey, like you say, that's football and part of the magic of the ML stories is to take your losses as well as really savor your wins!

Yeah Quintero played in China for a couple of years before returning to River. It was interesting to see Gallardo use him in stints, as he is very talented but inconsistent and also with low stamina, which didn't quite fit "El Muñeco's" high pressing style for 90 minutes. An interesting player for sure. Brilliant at times, but often couldn't sustain it for a full match especially in the tough Argentinean league and the Libertadores.

I most definitely want to play another edition of the 3-Stars Cup, get good comeback for Millos! Although I'm still thinking how to proceed, my latest story was in the 2021 season, so either I go back in time or set it in 2023 (will have to find an updated option file). Any suggestions on how to make the story make sense (either chronologically or taking into account the previous stories) is much welcome, bro!

One more thing I gotta add is that I loved coming back to PES 2021 after almost a year of not playing it seriously! It felt fresh and a rewarding experience, especially with all the new mods that have come out this year.

 

[Madmac79]

I think in the end you should follow your heart! There are a lot of great past editions in which the 3 stars cup would look awesome, maybe you could set it to be a prequel of some sort for example. But I also think that if you really liked 21, no one forbids you to do another one here, maybe with updated rosters.. or not. It's up to you and what's funnier in your opinion!

 

[millossobek]

REGGINA, OH REGGINA!! (Season 3)
Passione! Cuore! The Amaranth Qualify for the Europa League!!
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Season 3, PES 2017:
38 Matches Played (+3 Italia TIM Cup matches)
19 wins, 7 draws, 12 losses.
7th in Italian Serie A
Qualified for Season 4 Europa League!

Nobody expected this. After only 3 seasons, Roberto Baggio's dear Amaranth have climbed from the depths of Serie B all the way to European qualification! Going back to before our story started, it had been a rough couple of seasons for the Southern Italian Side before we started off our journey with the team's acquisition by Millossobek's Football Enterprises (MFE), intent on turning their fortunes around. A stint in third division (in which the team almost went bankrupt in 2019 and a possible threat of de-affiliation due to non-payment of player salaries in 2019), led to the hiring of the legendary Roberto Baggio (in his managerial debut), and the veteran striker Gianluca Lapadula (from Benevento Calcio)! And we can finally say that 3 years later.. The transformation is complete and Reggina has come full circle. Not only are we back in Serie A, but we have shrewdly played the transfer market and created a team full of chemistry and heart which is now contending for European Spots!

To recap a bit. Our first season under the managerial leadership of "Il Divin Codino" was an interesting one, which ultimately ended in heartbreak. Even though we played well given our limited budget, we ended up in 5th place in Serie B, (just missing the playoffs for promotion due to Monza having 10 more points than us, following the Serie B rules). However, we reinforced ourselves in our second season and achieved promotion to Serie A, not only winning the league but doing so in dominating, spectacular fashion, with 84 points, 8 points clear of second-place Spezia!

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Now we come back to the present. Our first season back in Serie A and our third overall under the tutelage of Baggio. The first half of our season was a really positive one, beating Napoli and Atalanta, drawing with Juventus and going on a nice winning streak! After the halfway point, we were sitting in 5th place, and even though it was too early to talk about Europe or any other aspirations, we really made our presence felt. The midseason transfers wre made, and the second half of the season was about to start. This beginning would be less than auspicious, though, as we drew 1-1 against Sassuolo at home in fixture 19, and then were ousted from the Cup against Udinese (2-1 even though we did reach the third round, improving from our previous two showings). A poor fun of form would see us lose the next match at home as well, 2-4 against our old rivals Spezia, in a match in which we were tied 2-2 with 10 minutes go go and Spezia was able to score two late goals.. A worrying sign for Reggina. Two straight losses at home, and ousted from the Cup. Not the best of beginnings.

Our next match was an important one, as we were looking to make a statement against Empoli, and it really looked like we were not going to be able to secure much needed 3 points. The match was a back and forth affair which was 2-2 with only seconds left to go in extra time. Roberto Baggio was quite concerned, given that we had not been able to add any points ever since the second half of the season started, and as the clock ticked, it really looked like we weren't going to be able to find a way to win, until in extra time..

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Yousself El-Sherif finds the last minute goal in literally the last play of the match.. The Reggina crowd exploded in unison as the referee blew the whistle for the final 90.. And we win 3-2!! A much needed win to stabilize the ship, as it were. Would this be the start of a streak? The good part at least is that we had reversed the negative trend. Yet, things would not look any easier as we traveled to the mythical Giussepe Meazza stadium to face Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo in an epic encounter! (If you guys remember, in the first half of the season we were able to draw 3-3 after leading the match, we were looking to capitalize!) Amazingly, once again we were able to get the best out of the Turin side, and this time hold on for the win, prevailing 2-3 in their stadium with a brace from Gianluca Lapadula (who has really been in form despite his advancing age)! A really nice performance and a surprising win against the ultra-talented Northern Italian giants!

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Our next match would not get any easier, as we travelled to Rome to face none other than Lazio, a match in which we were able to secure a valuable 2-2 draw against the tough Laziale crowd! Even though we had not started the second leg of the season in an ideal fashion, good rebound performances against Empoli and Juventus, and a valuable away point vs Lazio showed our spirit. Although we lost our next match against always tough Atalanta at home, 2-3 (man, are we destined to have epic encounters against Atalanta or what!) we then went on a very good streak, winning 5 out our next 6 matches! (4-3 against SPAL, 0-1 vs Parma, 3-1 vs Udinese, 2-2 vs Fiorentina, 2-4 vs Sampdoria and 0-4 vs Genoa!). The Amaranth were finding their form, as the team was definitely looking together and our midseason acquisitions were looking sharp and integrating well with the rest of the team! A really positive run: 16 out of a possible 18 points and, coming into Fixture 32 with only 6 to go, we were firmly in European Zone (4th place), and even threatening for a Champions League spot!! An amazing turn of events, that's for sure!!

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The Reggio Calabria newspapers started to speculate: Could we be contend for a Champions League Spot? Not so fast.. The "Trial By Fire" part of the season would start.. The most difficult stretch, with upcoming games against the cream of the crop of Serie A: INTER, MILAN, NAPOLI, ROMA! Our first match was at home, facing Inter and even though things looked up at the beginning with an early goal, we could not withstand the Inter firepower, losing 2-4 coming under assault by their ultra-talented strikers. (Inter definitely looks like the best team in Serie A, as we have not been able to even make it competitive in either one of our matches!) Things wouldn't improve in our next two matchdays as well, as we lost 2-0 against Milan at the San Siro and then a tough tough loss against our Southern rivals Napoli after an unfortunate own goal by one of our defenders in minute 87, Final score 2-1 in favor of the Napolitanos in a match that we could've very well had won. This meant that we went on a very tough 3-game losing streak against the highest, most quality Serie A competition. Even though we seemed to be doing very well against Juventus, this was a resounding call back to earth, reminding Reggina that these teams were on a different level. In a more hopeful light, however, we were able to stop the rot and beat Roma 3-2 which was a very good result. 3 losses and 1 win in this brutal stretch of the season was not ideal, but at least we secured the 3 points against the historic Giallorossi.

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Our goal was clear.. Even though the our second half of the season had been really really streaky, we were in good position to qualify for Europa League, despite our recent losing streak against the giants, our rebounding win against Roma gave us some much needed stability. In fixture 36, we were able to beat Bologna 4-1 in a great show of offensive firepower, win which propelled us back again to European contention after our recent tough patch! Even though we were not able to finish the season in an ideal manner, losing 3-2 to Cagliari and drawing 3-3 against Torino in our final match, it was enough to keep us in 7th place, which was an impressive finish given the strength of our opposition, and propelling us into the Europa League. Looking back at the second half of the season, it was definitely an interesting one. An insane winning streak and a couple of tough losses against top competition, yet punctuated by very impressive wins against Roma and Juve. An overall record of 9 wins, 4 draws, and 6 losses in the second leg, an overall good showing, even though a bit more streaky than Baggio would've liked! What matters however, is that we over-performed our expectations against much more talented teams, and we can proudly say that after our first season back in Serie A.. We will be playing in the Europa League next season!! These are definitely exciting times for the Amaranth!!

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Roberto Baggio: "When it was all said and done. I think we can say that our first season back in the highest level of Calcio has been a success. We have competed with dignity and with pride, have brought happiness to our fans, and have proven to ourselves that we belong. Our decision to retain most of our players that brought us here in the first place has brought forth good results. I intend to stay with this core, as we have a really good mix of veterans and young talent, and there is definitely something to be said about staying together and fighting as a group.. I'm incredibly excited to face whatever the Europa League presents to us. It is really amazing to be facing these teams, some of which are probably in a similar position to us, others that are looking to restore their glory and position.. It will be a test for our players, for our organization, and one that we hadn't thought of back when we first started three years ago. If you were to tell me that in only 3 short years, we would be disputing a European Competition, I probably would've thought that was overly hopeful.. But now that we are here.. And what a beautiful place it is. We want to make the spirit of the competition proud and will be fully focused on having a good performance. All we need now is to focus, have humility and not forget our roots.. Not overthink things and let the game flow to us.. And joyful occasions will come."



Gianluca Lapadula: "Experience. What is experience? I can't really answer that question simply. It's a combination of many things, knowing where to stand, knowing when to press and when to wait.. I am not a young player anymore, and my legs might not be the same as they were back when I was in my mid 20's. Yes, I am not afraid to say it. But I think my strength is in my mind and in my spirit now.. And as Captain of the Amaranth, my role is to lead not only with goals and assists, but also by guiding my team mentally, following the teachings of our manager Baggio. One thing we have all learned from Roberto: There is no ego here. If we leave our egos at the door, forget about statistics and individual accomplishments, we can go far. It's all about Reggina, not about Gianluca Lapadula or any of our individual accolades. Not about who starts and who plays more minutes. And if we remember that, fight with PASSION AND HEART, open our arms to our fans for a full hearted embrace, if we follow the leadership of our leader Roberto Baggio and follow our instincts, then I don't see why we can't do well in the Europa League, and why not? Even Win it!"

Stay tuned to the next edition of Millossobek's Master League Stories!
Comments are welcome!​

 

[Madmac79]

Great job man! There is always time for the CL, for now a first step in the EL is exactly what Reggina needs, to further cement the experience and the spirit captain Lapadula is talking about.

Looking forward to see the guys adventure continue in Europe

 

[Holland]

WWOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW BRO!!!!

Reggina in EL???????????
Really amazing, curious to see how the amaranto play in such an important European competition