In the Shadow of Titans - FM22 challenge

Here’s another interesting FM22 challenge that could get you hooked on the game again.

Here’s another interesting FM22 challenge that could get you hooked on the game again.

If the Rural Manager Challenge was not to your liking and you prefer the buzz of big cities, here’s another FM22 challenge with a twist: taking over the smallest playable clubs in 5 European cities and taking them out of the shadow of their more prestigious neighbours. The ultimate goal is to make these small clubs the biggest in their respective cities.

1. Istanbulspor, Turkish First League

Based in a city which boasts no less than six Süper Lig clubs, Istanbulspor was for many decades the fourth most famous and well-developed professional football club from Istanbul, coming after Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, and Fenerbahçe, but the promotions of upstart clubs such as Başakşehir, Kasımpaşa, or Fatih Karagümrük, means that the club is now the seventh biggest of the Turkish metropolis. Istanbulspor’s greatest success is the Turkish championship title won in 1932. In 2004–05 they were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig (Super League) to TFF 1. Lig, where you will find them at the start of your new FM22 save. The challenge here is quite difficult; to become the biggest club in Istanbul, you will have to first gain promotion to the Super Lig and then build a team capable of stealing the title from the likes of Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, and Başakşehir, the only clubs to win the title in the past 11 years.

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2. FC Veles Moscow, Russian Football National League

With a cool name and logo, making Veles the biggest club in Moscow should be an interesting challenge. The club was founded in 2016 and entered amateur competitions, receiving the license for the third-tier Russian Professional Football League in the 2017–18 season. Veles became a Russian Football National League club in 2020, finishing eighth in their inaugural season in the second tier of Russian football. To become the biggest club in Moscow, you will have to gain promotion to the Premier League, where fellow city rivals CSKA, Dynamo, Lokomotiv, and Spartak are waiting. Torpedo, a fifth Moscow club, will be your rival for promotion early in the game.

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3. Sutton United F.C., English League Two

London is probably the city with the most professional football clubs in Europe. Sutton United is the latest club from the UK capital to gain Football League status, having been crowned National League champions in 2020–21. Sutton plays its home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton, about 10 miles south-southwest of central London. This challenge will probably take several seasons, but seeing Sutton United in the Premier League, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, or West Ham, will place you among the great managers of English football.

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4. FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin, German 3. Liga

While Berlin is home to two Bundesliga clubs, Hertha and Union, a third lesser-known club dwells in the depths of the 3. Liga. Founded in 1889, Viktoria is actually 3 years older than Hertha and is one of the oldest football clubs in Germany. It was also the dominant club in Berlin in the early 1900s and won the German championship in 1908 and 1911. The club is newly promoted in the 3. Liga after a very successful 2020–21 season. You will have to climb up two more divisions just to get to the Bundesliga, but once there, you should do whatever it takes to become the biggest club in Berlin. You won’t have to win the title right away to achieve this. Just finish ahead of Hertha and Union.

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5. Internacional de Madrid, Spanish Primera División RFEF

Founded in 2002 by a group of entrepreneurs, Internacional de Madrid plays in Primera División RFEF – Group 1 (third tier), hosting home games at the Campos Municipales de Villaviciosa de Odón, in the Community of Madrid. Another club with a cool name and badge, Inter de Madrid, is co-owned by DUX Gaming, a Spanish eSports club, which is quite fitting. Getting into La Liga will be hard, but once there, the real challenge begins: building a team capable of stealing the spotlight from the likes of Real Madrid or Atletico. Other inter-city rivals include Segunda Division sides Alcorcón, Fuenlabrada, and Leganés and La Liga sides Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.

Other interesting small clubs from big European cities:

· FC Obolon Kyiv. Rivals to beat – Dynamo Kyiv.
· Metaloglobus Bucharest. Rivals to beat – FCSB, Dinamo, Rapid, and CSA Steaua.
· Red Star Paris. Rivals to beat – Créteil, Paris FC, PSG.
· Floridsdorfer AC. Rivals to beat – Austria and Rapid Wien.
· Vasas SC. Rivals to beat – Honvéd, Ferencváros, MTK, Újpest.
· FK Rad. Rivals to beat – Čukaricki, Partizan, Red Star, Voždovac.
· FK Viktoria Žižkov. Rivals to beat – Bohemians 1905, Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague, Dukla Prague
· PFC Septemvri Sofia. Rivals to beat – Lokomotiv, Levski, CSKA 1948, CSKA, Slavia, Tsarsko Selo.
· RWDM47. Rivals to beat – Anderlecht, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.