01. Meet Sassuolo Calcio
U.S. Sassuolo overview in Football Manager 2019
It’s finally time to share some information about U.S. Sassuolo in Football Manager 2019, back in 2006 they were playing in the fourth tier of Italian football, in 2016 they were playing in the Europa League vs. Bilbao, Genk and Rapid Vienna.
In spite of that impressive record, the club’s owner opted for a step by step growth process, Squinzi and his smart boardroom spent money wisely during these years, building the foundation of a modern club, maybe they miss tradition and history but are ready for the big leap.
Quick facts about Sassuolo in Football Manager 19
- 15.1 M euro bank balance
- They can spend up to 41.8 M on wages per year (spending 40.6 now)
- Transfer budget 2018–19: 8 M
- Media prediction: 11th place
The club is small but financially sound, probably I should try to reduce our wage budget if possible, as we’re currently spending more than 35 M.
The plan regarding the squad would be quite conservative, I’m not going to change too many players, mainly for realism reasons but overall I’m quite happy with the players, I’d love to add more depth to some positions but I’m firmly convinced these boys could grow up well together.
The squad
Tactically I’m torn between 4–3–3, 4–2–4 and maybe 3-4-3, three tactics that suit my squad well, I’ll probably train my players to use all of them to have more options during the season, more about this in my next blog posts.
Key players
We have three “team leaders” as you see: Andrea Consigli, Domenico Berardi and Francesco Magnanelli, our captain.
Kevin Prince-Boateng, who will be used as a striker, talented right back Pol Lirola and hard-working midfielder Alfred Duncan are probably the best players at my disposal, I’ll rely on them heavily.
Boateng had a strange career so far, I remember him making waves under Allegri at Milan playing as an assaulting trequartista, after that is career suddenly declined, mainly for his unprofessional behavior, recently he’s trying to come back to his former glory with two good seasons played with Las Palmas and Eintracht, then the move to Sassuolo.
Our average age is 25, ideally, I’d love to lower it a bit if the right occasion had to happen, for example, Matri (forward) and Peluso (left back) could leave, they’re 33 years old and both past their prime.
I promoted Jens Odgaard from u-20 team, this powerful Danish striker is only 19 years old but is highly rated by my coaches, I could give him some playing time soon.
Enrico Brignola is another hot prospect, a skilled winger capable to play on both flanks, one with a bright future ahead of him.
Staff & facilities
This is the area I’m less satisfied with, I’m going to improve my backroom staff cause we lack a chief scout, some coaches and even my assistant manager, Davide Possanzini, is not the greatest, an upgrade is needed.
Training changes in this last edition make your assistant role even more critical, notably if you decide to leave your training schedules to him.
We play our home games at Mapei stadium (21.584 all-seater), no improvement needed right now, on the other hand, training facilities are only average and the board already know what is needed.
Before the end, let me share a quick link to Cleon’s blog, check his new career with Brazilian side Paysandu, he’s trying something original over there, simply playing Football Manager without any known attributes.
He rates all the players using scout reports and checking their in-game stats only, a dauntless approach that could highlight some common mistakes many people do while they play the game: overrating wrong players attributes.
If you enjoyed this read keep in touch, more content will come…
Thomas Paine
