Some of the best stories are told in trilogies, and ours seems to follow the same pattern.
When I took control of Jaes on April 9th 2010, I was far from imagining the rollercoaster that would expect me and all the records, challenges, high and lows I would be facing down the line. But, 13 years, 6 months and 1 day later, we became triple champions of the Xpert League, playing from the bottom division up until the very best only with our academy lads, and still we were able to do what nobody else would dare or even could do.
Against all odds, for the past 4 seasons, we have been improving our performance.
At first, we achieved championship points (28) but were second placed due to goal-difference in our comeback to the main league. In the second, we conquered the Xpert League for the first time, in the last match, to make once again 28 points. In the third, an impressive record of 10 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat to make (perhaps, I can't be sure) one of the best campaigns points-wise of this league (33 points). And, on the fourth, with an aged team and with some key players already sold to collect some econs to survive the ridiculous price on trainings (should be at max 80/90k) and match prizes, we were able not only to win it for a third consecutive time but as well to compete in XCL and go through the group stage with a squad of zero (0!) investment.
But, although this is not a mere fluke (as mentioned before), we can see that we are not taken seriously. In the previous matchday (13) pools, when we faced Giant Pandas (1st) at their ground, 4 people bet on Giant Pandas to win, 5 bet on a draw and none bet on us. And we were, by that time, the double champions. How come nobody even, in a leap of faith, believed we could beat them? Well, if they were paying attention, they would know that it is on these harsh environments where my team thrives and performs at its very best. And not only we did a performance of a lifetime, but we also got back to the first place to secure it one fixture later.
We had to play 3 times a week with a short and aged squad and, overall, I think we were competent on all fronts.
Of course we had some luck on our rival's unfortune, but we were always there next to them to compete and to be a contender for this title. At times we didn't believe it could be possible, but we took every chance to mitigate previous disappointments and we made it!
Once upon a time we were one of the wealthiest teams in this league with finances over 100M econs, but we wasted all our econs on trainings and prizes in hopes of building the best team possible with the randomness we would get from the academy through the years and to ensure some motivation when we needed it the most. Yesterday, after the match against Qawaadfa, we had a mere 12k on the bank, very low to even start the season with decent forms and much less to be a contender next campaign.
We did more than we or anybody else could expect from us. We challenged the best rivals, we climbed our way through the hierarchy, we cried when we were runners-up (at least twice that I can remember), we were over the moon when we did the "impossible" for the first time and we were proud to defend our title the next two times. I know the prestige is on the Xpert Champions League but, if you ask me, this path we walked kinda feels like winning the World Cup.
Now we will do our very best to recover our finances, there is no room for anything else at this moment. We won't be able to compete from now on, and we kinda embrace it. It drains all your energy to be consistently fighting for the biggest prize, specially when you're a natural competitor like myself. Only I know how hard emotionally this last season was, and I can gladly take some time off from it to properly rebuild my team and, next time around, be a decent challenger to the Xpert Champions League.
"You're absolutely crazy" many might say, but wasn't I as well when I said the same about winning the Xpert League with an "academy players only" policy? And guess what, I won it not once but three times (in a row).
Last words are for my players that I have shared all this glory with, and for all the great opponents we had faced through these years. I learned a lot, I have beautiful memories to cherish, records to be proud of and achieved what so many only could tell tales about.
We deserved some proper closure to our story. And we got it.
It was one hell of a ride, wasn't it?
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