This is the fourth part of the Soccerverse Review Series.
Read all the parts of the Soccerverse Review Series.
- Soccerverse Review Part 1 – Gameplay Overview, Influence Packs & First Impressions
- Soccerverse Review Part 2 – Team Management, Transfers, Tactics & First Match
- Soccerverse Review Part 3 – More Transfers, Failed Tactics & Preparing for Olympiacos
After missing the deadline to set up my tactic, I now have the match results.
It seems the God of football has heard my prayers, and my team has done the unbelievable. I won 6-3 against Piraeus (Olympiacos) with a 3-5-2 formation.
It appears that the 3-5-2 formation is my new favorite; perhaps I should build my team around it.
Not only did my team win, but I also dominated the game, holding 66% possession and taking 44 shots, 21 of which were on target.
At the 3rd minute, Emil Bergstrom opened the score, resulting in an impressive 6-3 win.
Piraeus’ main goalkeeper was injured, so Paschalakis was playing in his place. This definitely played a role, but a win is a win.
Current Leaderboard
Out of 3 games, I won 2 and lost 1, bringing home 6 points.
My team is currently in 13th place. When I took over, it was in the 14th out of 15. Remember that the goal is to stay in Greece’s top division and accumulate as many points as possible.
As you can see in the image below, before me, Serres had two losses and one draw out of their latest three matches. Much better now, right?
Only 2 points between me and Athens Blue, which looks to be in bad shape the past few games, with three losses in a row.
Getting outbid in transfers.
It appears that transferring players is proving to be much more difficult than I had expected. I’ve been outbid on all my attempts, often by two or three times the amount of my original offer. For example, Samuel Almagro Evor’s bid has skyrocketed to 1 million, while mine was only 350,535. I’ve decided to place another bid since the countdown ends at midnight for me, and I’ll be sleeping anyway.
I have been outbid on all my bids, sometimes by 2 or 3 times more than my original bid.
Samuel Almagro Evor’s bid has skyrocketed to 1 million, while mine was 350,535. I decided to go ahead and bid; the countdown finishes at midnight for me, so I’ll be sleeping anyway.
Apparently, I need significantly more money than I initially expected.
Same thing is happening with Ruan Finnigan where i had to bid for a 3rd time for 242,401.
Tomas Sarzynski’s bid went to 345,785 so far from 289,313.
First Transfer in
In my previous articles, you have seen that I pursued a variety of players, and despite high competition, I managed to secure Almani Ture (68) at the age of only 19. I only spent 375k, so I believe this was a value-for-money transfer.
Therefore, I’m putting up for sale my third GK Panagiotis Katsikas (62), who is 26 years old.
Communicating With Agents.
While I was exploring the game and looking for other transfer options, I received a message from “Pope”, Fabrice Kah Nkowh’s agent, asking me to consider a loan.
This is the first time I’ve spoken with someone playing the game, and instantly I felt much better, as I wasn’t alone anymore.
Fabrice Kah Nkwoh is officially on the load list.
The Soccerver player Pope said to me about the game: ” Very interesting so far with the mix of emotions now and then.“
Next Game
The next game is scheduled for Wednesday, 24th, 8 PM local time.
I’m facing Athens Yellow (AEK), a challenging team with significantly better quality players than mine. Athens Yellow is currently in 4th place in the league standings, so it’s expected to be the most challenging game I’ve encountered so far.
As usual, let’s see the formation and tactics of Athens Yellow so that I can plan accordingly for my team.
As shown in the picture above, even the extra players of Athens Yellow (AEK Athens) are much, much better than my main ones.
They are playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation, utilizing long balls, and assuming DMCs are passing the ball to FC and AML/AMR.
Strong areas:
- Top quality GK (Ter Stegen 84).
- Powerful CBs (López 88, Vida 82)
- Dangerous wingers: Alvarado (86) & García (83)
- Balanced midfield: Szymański, Galanopoulos, and Baleba provide both creativity and ball-winning ability.
Weaknesses:
- Their fullbacks (Ljubičić 79, Rota 81) are weaker compared to CBs. Vulnerable to pressure on flanks.
- Playing a 4-2-3-1 means they can be overloaded in central midfield if I use three players in that position.
My Tactical Plan to Beat Athens Yellow.
This is not ideal for several reasons. First, I don’t have central midfielders, and I’m missing a quality CB, which I hope to acquire through transfers. So it’s a risky formation, but I might be able to get a point here.
I’m going for a 3-5-2 formation.
Team Instructions
- Play Style: Attacking
- I overloaded my midfielders, even though I don’t have any, so I can dominate, if possible, the center. Sitting back will only invite pressure, and with a weak GK, that’s risky.
- Tempo: Fast
- Move the ball quickly in midfield, then switch to flanks where their fullbacks are weakest. That’s what I would say if I were actually managing a team. Here, I can only set the tempo to fast.
- Tackling Style: Hard (Risky, I know)
- Key Focus:
- Midfield Domination: Perruzzi, Gelin, Staikos, to outnumber their double pivot.
- Exploit the Flanks: Hinestroza & Borges should target Ljubičić and Rota aggressively.
- Two Forward: Keeping their CBs busy with Sánchez & Finningan constantly pressing and making runs.
I’m not going to create any situations for the game; it is what it is, so we’ll just have to wait for match day.
Match Results
Under normal circumstances, a manager after a defeat like this would resign; thankfully, it’s a game, and there are not many board members to force me.
It appears that my tactics were ineffective; we lost 11-2 against Athens Yellow. A huge defeat that i’m willing to forget.
The debut of my new GoalKeeper wasn’t ideal, as it seems.
As you can see in the information tab, my team did perform, but not as well as Athens Yellow.
Next Match
My next match is against Agrinio, the best team in the league, currently in first place with 44 points.
It’s going to be a difficult match, and I would be happy to get a draw. Thinking that I received 11 goals from Athens Yellow, sitting in 4th place, my expectations for the game are low.
I’m not going to overthink a plan here; last time it didn’t work well for me, so i’ll line up my team in a way i think it can be manageable.
Agrinio has its tactics hidden; from what I saw in the last match, they played a 4-1-3-2 formation and won 5-2 against Lamia.
Defensive and attacking have no meaning, so I’m going to play a counterattack with fast tempo, hoping we can score a goal or two while receiving the same amount.
And while i was writting these words, I noticed that my league has 3 new managers since yesterday.
Team Balance
It’s no secret that I manage a small team. The finances are not great, and the budget is insufficient to attract top players who can make a significant impact.
The notable cash flows are the following per season (6 months).
Income: The most notable, as shown in the image above.
| Gate Receipts | 1.78M |
| TV Revenue | 4.04M |
| Sponsors | 667K |
| Merchandise | 222K |
| Total | 6.71M |
As you can see from the above numbers, Gate Receipts is a significant amount for teams with large fan bases and stadiums, unlike mine, and the majority of the revenue comes from broadcasting rights.
Expenses: The most notable, as shown in the image above.
| Player Wages | 3.42M |
| Ground Maintenance | 445K |
| Player Transfers | 618K |
| Total | 4.49M |
The table above includes my transfers so far, but that’s still an expense. You can always inject cash into a team, as long as you have the funds available.
Buying More Packs
My budget is insufficient to make a significant impact on the team, so let’s hit the market and purchase some packs.
First, Watford has a pack for 6.65$ USD, which also includes another six teams.
I have purchased the pack, and I now own 40 Influence from Watford and 10 from the remaining images, which will generate tokens each time they are played.
Next, I’m buying two packs from my team, Serres, to acquire some more shares from them.
The third pack will be a silver one for the Cardiff team, consisting of five packs for a total price of $5.53, which will grant me 160 influence for Cardiff and 40 influence for the other teams shown in the image below.
My Influence
So far, I have acquired some influence on a handful of teams, not much, around 30$ worth of USDC. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any on players.
As you can see from the images below, I own 600 Influence from my team, Serres, 400 from my favorite team, Heraklion, 160 from Cardiff, and several other smaller teams. In total, I own shares (or influence) in 32 teams.
My Earnings
After each game, you get paid in the in-game currency.
In total, and after playing for around 15+ days, I have earned 28 SVC. Of course, how much you earn depends on the team you manage and the influence you have over your own teams and players.
As seen in the right corner of the image below, I expect to receive 21 SVC in the next few days, totaling 1,117 through the next 365 days.
As you can understand, it’s similar to the stock market and real football. Teams and players might increase in value so that you can sell your Influence to the market for a profit. This is a real-life football simulation mode.
Recap in my Mail
Every week, Soccerverse sends a recap to my email, providing a concise overview of the key events related to my team, matches, and upcoming fixtures.
Installing the Pack
It took me a while, but I decided to join the Soccerver Discord server and install a community pack with club names, logos, and player pictures.
It appears that the pack I chose is excellent, and it contains almost everything inside.
As you can see from the image below, my team from Serres was renamed to its official name, “Panserraikos,” while Athens Yellow became AEK Athens FC, and Agrinio became Panetolikos.
The patch is super realistic and has everything you need to enhance your experience.
The same applies to other leagues; everything is there as it should be.
Match Results Are In
With a bit of luck and some tactical moves, my team won against Panetolikos (Agrinio) before the community pack installation, 1-0.
Going through the commentary, it was a challenging game that Panetolikos could easily have won, but luck was with me this time.
As a reminder, Panetolikos is in first place in the league, and now I’m 3 points ahead and a step closer to saving the team.
My next match is against Lamia, who is positioned right below me in the standings, and I expect to have an easy win.
This is the end of my Soccerverse Review, and while I’m going to stop writing these lines, I will continue playing the game.
I hope you enjoyed it and learned something.
