Rapidly improving youngsters led Santos a first top-5 finish under Robinho Lazaró and the Copa Libertadores semis in 2027. They also dominated the awards for best young players, which proved the serious amount of potential at the club.
Atalanta BC mixed it with the big boys of Serie A and finished just outside the top half in their first season in the top flight. And the club's board backed manager Roberto Lombardi by agreeing to his requests for improved training and youth facilities, youth recruitment and junior coaching over the summer of 1996 (2025).
After 103 years at their historic home, Valencia Club de Fútbol bid farewell to La Mestalla as they ushered in a new era at the 55,000-capacity Nuevo Mestalla, but they would do so without their inspirational homegrown captain.
Robinho Lazaró was pretty happy with the progress that Santos CF was making. They were also progressing off the field as infrastructure improvements saw Santos complete perfect 20 youth recruitment, junior coaching and training facilities with 18 youth facilities.
Atalanta secured an immediate return to the best league in the world by blowing away Serie B with over 100 goals and points. But they faced a big step up in quality if they were to meet the board's objective of surviving in Serie A - which wasn't helped by a poor financial situation.
A strong second season in Valencia saw Roberto Lazaró lead Los Che to 4th place and Champions League football for the final campaign at their legendary La Mestalla home. But Lazaró was keen to impress a sense of realism at the club, especially given how far clear the big three remained.
Heading back 30 years in time, Atalanta have just been relegated from the greatest league in the world, Italy's Serie A, and are red-hot favourites to be promoted at the first time of asking. To achieve that aim, the club took a massive gamble by turning to a rookie local football lover to deliver a change in fortunes - Bergamo-born coach Roberto Lombardi.
Impressive performances in their first season back in Série A saw Santos FC finish in the top eight and, unexpectedly, qualify for Copa Libertadores. But rising expectations could present a problem for an inexperienced team that would have to endure massive fixture congestion.
Growing up in the early 1990s, some of my earliest memories of "getting into" football news and watching football were formed by Channel 4's Football Italia. We'll celebrate that with new series in the 1994/95 database for FM24.
A promising first season in Valencia saw Roberto Lazaró secure European qualification despite form dramatically tailing off in the last few matches. Lazaró's success convinced owner Peter Lim to agree to youth recruitment and facilities improvements over the summer.
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