FM 2005 Virtual Simulation (via EURO-League Patch)

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Carling Euro Challenge

The Carling Euro Challenge is a competition contested between Silver, Gold and some Platinum teams. Premier League clubs do not play in this one. It will be interesting to see who can come out on top of the smaller clubs.

1st Round

Well, the first round had some surprises in it. First off, Deportivo La Coruna managed to beat FC Schalke 04 2-1 to advance to the next round. Also, an even bigger upset in terms of divisions, Leverkusen beat Benfica 2-1 in ET to go through to the next round. Brugge, another Silver club managed to beat a Platinum team, in this case Werder Bremen, IN Bremen. Tottenham defeated Marseille 2-1 and Sevilla took care of Platinum side Monaco 3-2. Dortmund were stunned by same division club Villareal, who managed to get away with a 3-0 away victory in Dortmund. In another entertaining match, Celtic and Roma faced off. These were the two Inter-Toto Cup starters in 2004. The game went Celtic's way, 2-1 after ET. Olympiakos' 3-2 win against Ajax can count as another upset as a Silver side beat a Platinum side once again. Also, Real Betis seemed to have no problems against a weak Rangers side as they knocked them out 3-1.

2nd Round

Leverkusen continues their run with a 1-0 victory over Sevilla. Deportivo also continue to impress as they knock out Liverpool 2-1 after ET. Fenerbahce, who joined in the 2nd round, defeat Silver side Lazio 2-1 and advance to the Quarter Finals. In yet another upset though, Tottenham managed to beat Galatasaray in Istanbul 3-2. CSKA Moscow found themselves going home unhappy as they lost a home game against division-lower Club Brugge.

Quarter Finals

The biggest upset here is probably Deportivo's victory in Glasgow against Celtic. 1-0 was the final score there as Deportivo continue dreaming of that Euro Challenge trophy. Leverkusen's run however, ends here as Feyenoord have no problem of knocking them out 2-0. Tottenham also continue to dream with a bare 1-0 victory over Club Brugge. And Anderlecht, in a small upset, knocked out Fenerbahce 3-2 after ET. The Semi-Finals are set, and not one Platinum team is in it.

Semi Finals

The Semi Final draws pitched Tottenham at home against Feyenoord and Deportivo at home against Anderlecht. Deportivo's victory didn't come to much of a surprise, as home advantage took over between two equaly good teams. However, Tottenham Hotspurs manage to win once more, 1-0 as well and get a place in the Euro Challenge Final. Feyenoord, to much of disapointment, leave and hope that next year they can achieve more.

Final

And it's happened! Tottenham Hotspurs defeat Deportivo La Coruna to win the Carling Euro Challenge trophy. A Silver division side managed to beat all the odds and claim the throne as Euro Challenge champions. The Spurs have surely achieved something special here with this 2-1 final victory against Depor.

2004/05 Carling Euro Challenge Winners:
Tottenham Hotspurs (SILVER)

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Amstel Euro League Cup

1st Round

Ajax, even in this competition get knocked out early by a far smaller club. Olympiakos manage to win 2-1 in Amsterdam. Lazio defeats Gold side Rangers 2-1 as well. Leverkusen make a good start to the League Cup with a 3-1 away win to Feyenoord. Liverpool need a penalty shoot-out to beat Anderlecht. Sparta Prague pulled the biggest upset yet. A 1-0 victory over Premier side Inter Milan. Sparta Prague plays in the lowest division, Silver. Also, Fenerbahce lose to Silver side Club Brugge at home 3-2 after ET. In a close match between Benfica and Schalke (both Platinum sides), Benfica managed to come out on top after a penalty shoot-out. Tottenham defeated Real Betis 2-1, while Galatasaray had absolutely no problems against Villareal as they won 3-0. Deportivo knocked out Dortmund 3-1 and Newcastle beat Rosenborg 1-0 to advance. Premier side Juventus took on Gold side Marseille and gave them no chance as they advanced with a 2-1 victory. In a very entertaining match, two Premier sides faced off. Real Madrid vs. Manchester United. The game itself ended 2-2, but Man Utd kept it cool during the shoot-out and won. Platinum club Bremen defeated Sevilla to avoid yet another upset in a league where upsets flourish. There was finally a match where one side took total control and that was between Monaco and PSV Eindhoven. PSV took care of business with a 4-0 win away! And lastly, CSKA Moscow advance to the next round with their 2-1 win against Sporting.

2nd Round

Galatasaray continue their run after winning 2-1 against Lazio Rome. PSV also won 2-1 against Benfica and secure a spot in the next round. Depor had no problems against Olympiakos (2-1) and Premier side Valencia beat Newcastle United 2-1. Juventus ended Tottenham's dreams with a 3-0 victory. Manchester United keep it going after beating Club Brugge 2-0 away as Arsenal find themselves very unfortunate after losing at home to Platinum side Werder Bremen, 2-1. Sparta Prague continue their ambitious run after knocking out Inter last round and now Leverkusen with a score of 2-0. Celtic come away with a 3-0 victory against lower division CSKA Moscow and Roma defeat Liverpool in a closely contested match.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Amstel Euro League Cup continued...

3rd Round

Werder Bremen continues their fantastic run by beating Celtic 2-1. Chelsea have no problems in beating PSV away 2-0. Neither do Barcelona, as they overcome Deportivo 4-1 at home. Roma just barely manage a 1-0 win over Premier side Lyon. Juventus gets two goals and wins 2-0 against Bayern. A very big upset happened in Istanbul however. Galatasaray beat AC Milan 3-0!! AC Milan were given no chance in this match as a Gold league side clearly played better than a Premier side. Valencia went to the next round as well after beating Manchester United 2-0 at home. And to finish it off, another huge upset was pulled as Premier League side FC Porto lost in penalties at home to Silver League side Sparta Prague. It will be interesting to see which of these 8 teams can achieve the most come the Quarter Finals and on.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Amstel Euro League Cup continued...

Quarter Finals

Finally, Sparta Prague's fantastic run comes to an end, as Werder Bremen continue their with a 3-0 victory. Chelsea barely beat Juventus 1-0 to advance to the Semis. Galatasaray needs a penalty shoot-out to defeat Platinum side Roma after a 1-1 draw. And Barcelona loses out to Valencia 2-0 at the Nou Camp.

Semi Finals

There was to be no more upsets here anymore as Valencia defeated Werder 2-1 in Bremen. Also, Chelsea gave Galatasaray no chance, coming out with a 2-0 home victory against the Gold side. The final would pitch Chelsea and Valencia!

Final

In the final, Chelsea managed to overcome Valencia 2-1 in a very closely contested match.

2004/05 Amster Euro League Cup Winners:
Chelsea FC (PRM)

 

[PSVFOREVER]

Yay, PSV still with the biggest win youve shown so far

I have a question, this league replaces the scottish league right? Has the rep of the league been increased, otherwise it will be hard for those teams to attract players from Spain for example.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Toyota Cup

1st Round

Deportivo exists early, as Leverkusen trash them 3-0 at home. Besides that, the only other small upset was Real Betis defeating Galatasaray 1-0. Otherwise, Sparta Prague, Marseille, Rangers, Dortmund, Club Brugge and Sevilla also advance to the 2nd round.

2nd Round

In a tightly contested match between Club Brugge and CSKA Moscow, a penalty shoot-out was needed for a winner to be decided. CSKA kept it cool and advanced on. Marseille, Newcastle, Leverkusen, Real Betis, Sparta Prague and Dortmund all have absolutely no problem of advancing as they faced off against non-division opposition. Lazio, a silver team, beat Sevilla, a gold team 3-1. The match between Feyenoord and Anderlecht was very even, but Anderlecht took over in the most important phase and scored the decisive goal. And finally, Rangers are knocked out by Sporting, 1-0.

3rd Round

There was only one upset on this day. Real Betis defeated Benfica 2-1 to advance. Otherwise, every other match finished the way most people would have predicted anyways. The most noticable win was AC Milan's 4-0 victory against Schalke. Bayern Munich managed to defeat FC Barcelona 3-1 away at the Nou Camp.

4th Round

With almost all Premier teams, and some Platinum teams left, this was going to be a very interesting race to the cup. Real Betis, the only Silver team left, was beaten by Porto 2-0. In a big match, AC Milan faced off against Chelsea. One big team was going to be knocked out by the Quarter Finals. It was home advantage that paid off in the end as AC Milan took it to them 2-0. Bayern were somewhat surprised as Liverpool beat them 1-0 in Munich. As far as Newcastle is concerned, they were knocked out by Arsenal 2-1. And finally, it should be mentioned that Platinum side PSV scored 3 goals and conceding only 2 against Premier side Lyon.

Quarter Finals

Two Platinum sides remain and two will still remain after the round. Both Platinum sides advanced to the Semi Finals, one, Liverpool, beating Manchester United 2-0 and the other PSV Eindhoven defeating Juventus 1-0. Real Madrid and Arsenal are the other two to advance, Arsenal after beating AC Milan 2-1 in Milan.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Toyota Cup continued...

Semi Finals

Arsenal needed a replay against PSV Eindhoven after drawing 1-1 at Highbury. They managed to beat them in Eindhoven however, 2-1 and therefore advance to the final. Liverpool upset giants Real Madrid 3-1 in Madrid, therefore placing themselves in the final as a Platinum club!

 

[KLINSMANN]

Yay, PSV still with the biggest win youve shown so far

I have a question, this league replaces the scottish league right? Has the rep of the league been increased, otherwise it will be hard for those teams to attract players from Spain for example.

Yeah, the rep HAS increased.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 Toyota Cup Final continued...

Final

Liverpool made it! They've won the Toyota Cup, as a Platinum team. It took a penalty shootout against Arsenal and boy-oh-boy was it some shootout. See for yourself below...

2004/05 Toyota Cup Final Winners:
Liverpool FC (PLA)

 

[Tom]

quite an interesting penalty shootout there, good to see pool coming through!

TROD.

 

[Stotty]

looking at that first transfer shot...Kompany for €1.1m I normally have to pay up into the £6-7 million, so thats about....€9-10 million?

 

[crazyrussin]

Very nice job man, and thats only preseason. Keep it up, I read almost all of it, good stuff

 

[crazyrussin]

looking at that first transfer shot...Kompany for €1.1m I normally have to pay up into the £6-7 million, so thats about....€9-10 million?

Yeah and Olic from CSKA was sold for 1.9 mill)))) How did that happened? Even AI in my games ususally has to pay at least 5-7 mill to get him

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Cup

1st Round

None of the Euro League teams had any problems, except for Barcelona in their first leg. They lost that leg 2-1 to Partizani from Albania but managed to come back to a 5-0 victory in the return leg. Arsenal advance against Austria Vienna, 3-1 on aggregate. Valencia also advance with two wins against Queen's Park, 3-1 and 2-1. And finally, Chelsea have no problems as they easily defeat their opponents Rapid Vienna 2-1 in the return leg after a goal-less draw in the opening fixture.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Champions League

1st Qualifying Round

2nd Qualifying Round

3rd Qualifying Round

AC Milan managed to beat Braga 3-0 in their second leg to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Cup continued...

Group Stage

Barcelona had some trouble in group B. After winning and drawing their first two games, they lost 2-0 at home to Sochaux. They managed to win their last match against GAK, 1-0 to place third in the group.

Arsenal, in group C, had no problem of advancing. Three wins and 1 draw says it all. Their wins were in margins of 3-1, 4-0 and 4-2. They drew 1-1 away to Torino.

Valencia got off to a very good start in Group F. They won their opener 4-0 against Legia and went off to their second match. This was away to Spanish side Valladolid. Valladolid made sure that Valencia's trip home was to be a depressing one, as they defeated them 1-0. Valencia then, upset again, draw 0-0 at home against a mediocre Israeli side in the name of Bnei Sakhnin. Their fourth and final match was played in Leicester. 3-1 was the final score, and no, not for Valencia, but for Leicester! There was one more matchday left, but Valencia already finished their 4 games. Legia was last with 1 point and a goal difference of -6. Therefore they were no threat to Valencia, however, Leicester was. The last game would be Legia vs Leicester. All Leicester needed was a draw and Valencia would be knocked out and they would be through. Legia battled very hard though and managed to beat Leicester 2-1. Valencia finished tied with 4 points but a better goal difference by two goals. Lucky, lucky Valencia!

Chelsea got off to 3 wins in their first 3 matches. Their last one, however, they lost 2-0 to German side Eintracht Frankfurt.

In other groups, Aston Villa and VfL Wolfsburg were able to impress.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Champions League continued...

Group Stage

AC Milan had a very easy run, winning their first 4 games without conceding a goal before drawing 1-1 in Panathinaikos and 0-0 at home against Djurgarden.

Lyon, in Group C, had a weird run. It was a run without losing once, but only winning once. 5 draws was the conclusion as Lyon finished 2nd in their group.

Very impressive on the other hand were FC Bayern Munich. They won all of their games in their group finishing with a goal difference of 12-2 (+10).

Finally, the last Euro League club was FC Porto who were drawn into group G. Porto managed to concede zero (0) goals!! Well done to them!

In other groups, Belgium side Standard impressed, finishing with 13 points in their group. Red Star Belgrade also did well, finishing first in their group, with 13 points as well.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Cup continued...

First Knockout Round

Arsenal have no problem going through against FC Basel from Sqitzerland. 2-0 at home and 4-2 in Basel gives Arsenal the 6-2 aggregate win. Valencia on the other hand, were upset as Bnei Sakhnin beat them in penalties after a 1-1 aggregate scoreline. In another match, Aston Villa managed to draw 1-1 in Barcelona and win 3-2 on the away leg, thereby knocking out giants and favourites FC Barcelona!! Chelsea had no problem, defeating Banik Ostrava 6-0 on aggregate, 1-0 at home though.

Second Knockout Round

A few surprises here, first off to mention that Arsenal and Chelsea were drawn against each other, meaning that there would only be one Euro League team remaining come Quarter Final time. Slovakian side Zilina upset German side Frankfurt 3-0 in the away leg and therefore knocked the Germans out. Bnei Sakhnin's impressive run finally came to and end when they faced "the giant killers" Aston Villa. 3-1 was the final aggregate score for Villa, who are having a fantastic season. Dinamo from Croatia faced off against Dinamo Kiev from the Ukraine. 1-0 was the final aggregate side for the Croatian Dinamo. And finally, the biggest match, Arsenal vs Chelsea. After winning the home-tie 2-1, Arsenal were still not quite through. However, they kept it cool, even at Stanford Bridge and came out with a 4-2 victory, totalling an aggregate score of 6-3 for Arsenal.

Quarter Finals

Aston Villa keep going as they will now enter the Semi Finals after this 5-3 agg win against Zilina. Arsenal had no problems against Torino, beating them 2-0 in the second leg. In a very even match-up, Udinese managed to defeat Real Sociedad 3-2 on aggregate. And finally, Dinamo's run had to come to an end as well, as Boavista beat them 3-1 on aggregate.

Semi Finals

Both Arsenal and Aston Villa had no problem advancing to the final, here. Arsenal's opponent was defenseless in both legs and Villa's opponent had no chance in the second leg which was played at Villa Park as Aston Villa took it to Boavista 4-1.

Therefore, the final of the UEFA Cup 2004/05 will be between ARSENAL and ASTON VILLA.

Let's see what these two have in store...

 

[PSVFOREVER]

looking at that first transfer shot...Kompany for €1.1m I normally have to pay up into the £6-7 million, so thats about....€9-10 million?

I think it has something to do with the fact they are in other leagues now, and not in the highest anymore.

 

[KLINSMANN]

2004/05 UEFA Cup continued...

Final
So here is the final, between Arsenal and Aston Villa.

And it's an upset! Aston Villa win the UEFA Cup. See screenshot below for game information.

It was a very even game, but Juan Pablo Angel scored twice more than any other Arsenal player and therefore brings home the UEFA Cup trophy for the first time in the clubs history!

2004/05 UEFA Cup Winners:
Aston Villa