Seventy years ago, 38-year-old fledgling Roberto Nascimento da Silva Lazaró departed his hometown Medellín to begin his quest to become a Football Manager. Most of the kids he grew up with on the streets scoffed and mocked, but Robinho Lazaró very much had the last laugh.
Now at the ripe old age of 108, Lazaró was very much alive and kicking every ball as he watched coverage of the 27 clubs he managed during his illustrious career. Lazaró not only completed his mission to go from a badgeless wannabe to finding an actual job as a Football Manager, he also went on to win every top-tier title in North and South America. He also headed to Europe and enjoyed ridiculous success, then returned to the Américas for even more – managing well into his 11th decade of life.
He eventually racked up 2,708 matches, winning 46 cup competitions and 43 league titles en route to becoming the Greatest Football Manager of all Time.
But how does the footballing world look in 2091, three years since Lazaró brought his career to a close at his final team Club América?
The State of Football in the Américas
The Américas tend to be a little more volatile than the European leagues, largely due to the lack of dominance from big sides and having less financial power. But we’ll take a look at who’s on top of the leagues across the Américas:
Argentina: Boca have taken full control, winning 14 of the last 15 titles – with the only anomaly being a random title for Talleres in 2090. That takes Boca to a record 74 total Argentinian titles.
Brazil: Lazaró’s former side Vasco da Gama have become the best side in Brazil, winning 12 of the last 20 Série A titles – taking them to a record 20 league successes. But Flamengo won it in 2089 before Avaí won their fourth title in 2090.
Canada: Forge FC dominated Canada with 15 titles through the 2060s and 70s. They’ve won three more since but the title has been shared by York United, Cavalry FC and Valour FC in the last three years.
Chile: Lazaró’s two-time former club Católica are the reigning champions but the title has been shared between Colo Colo and Union Espanola in the last few years. Colo Colo now have a record 50 Chilean titles.
Colombia: Another former Lazaró side América de Cali won the most recent Finalizacion stage but the league has been shared around quite massively. Junior have won a few titles as have Independiente Santa Fe and Millionarios. But América are the record-holding 54-time Colombian champions.
Mexico: Cruz Azul won both Apertura and Clausura in 2090 and Apertura in 2089, but Monterrey are the most successful side with 47 Liga MX titles. Lazaró’s young América side got quickly obliterated as Salvador Álvarez went to RB Salzburg, Mário Alberto Téllez joined Burnley, Luis Martínez was sold to Benfica and they’ve dropped back into mid-table as a result.
Peru: Lazaró’s work at Universitario paid off as they remain the best side in Peru, winning five of the last eight titles. And his other former club Alianza have won three of the last 10 to move to a record 39 titles.
United States: MLS is the league where the title’s been most shared around by teams. A different team has won the title for the last seven years and Real Salt Lake are the current holders. Lazaró’s old team New York Red Bulls haven’t added to the first-ever MLS Cup that he won them. Bizarrely, LA Galaxy have the most titles with just seven – 70 years into the save!
Uruguay: Penarol continue to dominate in Uruguay, winning all but five titles since 2054. They now have a record 94 Uruguayan titles. River Plate haven’t added to the sole title Lazaró won them in 2028.
Copa Libertadores: Avaí backed up their Série A title by winning their second Libertadores in 2090. Vasco won it the year before after Flamengo won it back-to-back, but Vasco won it five times during the 2080s. Boca have the all-time most wins with 11 but their last success was in 2066.
Copa Sudamericana: América Mineiro just won Sudamericana following Internacional in 2089. Random winners were Colombian sides Deportivo Pereira in 2088 and Junior in 2085 and Alianza Lima in 2084, but Brazilian sides have dominated.
Copa América: Peru were shock winners of the most recent Copa América in 2088 after Brazil won the previous two and Mexico, whose youth development power has made them a real force, won the previous three. Argentina has the all-time most wins with 17 despite not winning it since 2056.
The State of Football in Europe
Over in Europe, some things have definitely changed over 70 years but there’s also the old familiar names dominating.
England: The dominant force in the 2090s, just like the 1990s, is Man UFC. They’re the current holders and won 14 titles between 2074 and 2086. Spurs popped up with two titles in 2087 and 88 and won six in a row from 2067 to 72. Newcastle added a second title in 2063, Chelsea and Liverpool have one title each since 2074 and Man City haven’t won it since 2055 and just finished eighth in 2091.
France: Lyon have become the best side in France, winning 13 of the last 14 titles with Lille the only anomaly in 2085. Lille were the best side through the 2060s before PSG took over in the 2070s. And PSG are still the record holders with 42 French titles but last won it in 2077.
Germany: Bayern are back to being the best team in Germany, winning the last three titles. Lazaró’s time in Wolfsburg set them up for more success, including five titles in the 2070s and four in the 2080s. Hertha Berlin won two in 2077 and 2082 and Stuttgart won it in 2072, but Dortmund haven’t won Bundesliga since 2044 – 47 years ago!
Italy: Inter are the best side in Italy, winning the last two titles and six in a row in the 2080s. Juventus are the only other team to win a Serie A since 2081. Lazaró’s efforts at AC Milan saw them remain the dominant side for a long time, winning all but five titles between 2058 and 2077. No team other than that trio have won Serie A since Roma’s success in 2044 and only those four clubs have won the league during this save.
Portugal: Lazaró’s former club Sporting have dominated Portugal ever since he led them to success. They’ve won all 44 of the last 48 titles and the last 16 in a row! As a result, they now hold the record with 54 Portuguese titles.
Spain: The dominant force in Spain isn’t who you’d expect. Atlético just won the title in 2091 but Valencia took control for a long time before that, winning 22 titles between 2065 and 2090. But Real Madrid still lead the way with 53 titles, despite one since 2060 and two since 2049.
Champions League: Man UFC have won back-to-back Champions Leagues, before which Inter won two of the previous three sandwiched by Lille’s first-ever Champions League title. Chelsea won three in the 2080s and UFC won three in the 2070s, while Lyon won three in four years from 2076 to 2080 and Spurs have won it six times since 2063. Real Madrid won two more in the 2020s and 2030s but haven’t won it since 2046, taking them to a record 18.
Europa League: The Europa League is much more random. Spurs won it in 2091 after Wolves won it in 2090, after success for Hertha Berlin, Nice, Bayern, Sporting and Freiburg. Arsenal are the all-time record winners with nine, most recently in 2075.
Europa Conference League: Speaking of competitions being shared around, Sassuolo won this in 2091, following successes for Nurnberg, Arsenal, Stuttgart, Cagliari, Burnley, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Lazio, Utrecht, Hoffenheim, Real Madrid, Everton, Dynamo Kyiv, Lorient, Wolfsberger, Sheffield United, Atalanta and Watford. No team has ever won the competition more than three times over 70 years!
European Championships: Spain won the most recent Euros in 2088, following wins by Belgium, England, Germany and England in 2072. Spain are the record winners with seven.
World Cup: Brazil are the reigning World Champions, winning the World Cup in 2090. Prior to that, there were three consecutive first-time winners in Holland, Mexico and Colombia. And Brazil are the record winners with nine.
The Best Players in the World in 2091
Unsurprisingly, the list of world’s best players doesn’t include too many that Lazaró recognised. The most reputable players list is dominated by three Lyon players in one he did recognise in Serafim Assuncao, who recently won his sixth Ballon d’Or, plus Alen Vidovic and Loric Tshibamba and two Chelsea players Weverton Pagliarin and Dennis Dittmar. While the current Goal 50 winner is Bayern’s incredible-looking Brahim Khayat.
The End of Aventuras Américas
That finally brings this epic adventure to a close. I’ve really enjoyed seeing Lazaró’s teams plunder 5,684 goals en route to winning 89 trophies. And I doubt I’ll ever get anywhere near that ridiculous tally ever again on any version of Football Manager!
It’s been a blast to play and create, and a massive thank you to anyone that took the time to check out any of these 100 blog posts.
Keep your eyes peeled for our FM23 content – which has already kicked off with the start of our Giallorossi Beta save before we try to bring success to East Germany in our upcoming OstDeutsche Sieg story.
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