Treble base 2
I had a bad start to season 11, but there’s nothing like going on a great run to make up for things. I enjoyed 6 straight wins in the league. It was an impressive sequence that was only ended by a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Manchester United—a right mauling it was too. Regardless, the run has lifted me up to 7th place in the table.
In the D1 Cup (I’m still not calling it the ‘England Cup’), I was on the brink of elimination after a home defeat by Boca Juniors in the first leg of the second round. They beat me 1-2, and those two away goals meant I’d have to score at least twice at their place to have any chance of progressing. I felt confident, but as ever in this Master League the game had other ideas.
In the second leg, they were 2-0 up after 40 minutes. Disaster. Now 4-1 down on aggregate, I needed to score 3 goals without reply. A few seasons ago I’d certainly have wilted and gone out of the Cup, but I’m made of sterner stuff these days. I really fancied myself to do it. Master League adventures revolve around matches like this one. Before half-time I’d pulled one back, and went on to win the match 3-2 in what was just a good old-fashioned PES opera.
That ‘box score’ doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the match. In years to come, whenever I think of PES2010 (and whatever happens from now on, in the future I will think of PES2010 with fondness—I’ll remember this match among many other highlights. All three of my goals were put away by my top striker, Zaki, who has now pushed Sazi out of the first team. (How times have changed.) Zaki’s hat-trick goal, the killer third away goal, was simple enough. But, oh, what weight it carried…
In my Champions League group I’m still in contention, but I still haven’t won at home. It’s frustrating because I really want to see how much cold hard cash I’ll get for it. It’s sheer greed.
Aberdeen beat me at home with a stupid goal in the last minute. After mopping up a rare attack by them, I was anxious to get on with it. I tapped X to make my keeper toss the ball a few yards to a nearby defender. Instead, my keeper hurled the ball some 30+ yards to another player near the half-way line. The ball bounced off my player’s chest straight into an Aberdeen striker’s path, leading to a soft goal. I fumed.
Game 4 was at their place, and I won it 4-1, with ease. It looks as if Juventus have the first place in the bag and it’s between me and Aberdeen for second. I’ve got two fixtures left: Man City at home, and Juventus away.
The Treble is still alive, by the skin of its figurative teeth. Things are dodgy on all three fronts. I could have done without that Man Utd defeat in the league, and the Cups are currently something of a lottery with my relatively weak squad. But at least I’ve got a solid base to build on, if I can get a good few players in during the mid-season transfer window.
I need that transfer window to come along as soon as it can. I’ve got some good transfers lined up in all areas of the team. I’ll get to them next time.








