A New FM Challenge: The Win-saw Pact

The Eastern Bloc Challenge

Before the never-ending money of the Champions League, there was a time when clubs from many parts of Europe had a chance in the European Cup.¹ With Eastern European clubs such as Red Star Belgrade and FC Steaua Bucuresti winning the European Cup, it was a time when any club that entered the competition could emerge victoriously. The disparity today makes it seem impossible to imagine a team from Eastern Europe ever competing with the financial giants of the West. Well…. Not for you! 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bring Eastern Europe back to its former glories as regular challengers for European titles. You will become a traveling magician, taking jobs in each of the former Eastern Bloc nations and bringing them to European glory once again. For former nations that have broken up into various parts, you will be able to choose one - see below for the rules.

Rules:

1. Win the Champions League with a team from each of the former Eastern Bloc nations:

   1. The Soviet Union 

      1. Russia or Ukraine - easy mode 

      2. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova - hard mode (CHOOSE 1)

   2. Poland

   3. East Germany

   4. Albania

   5. Bulgaria

   6. Romania 

   7. Czechoslovakia (Czechia or Slovakia)

   8. Hungary

   9. Yugoslavia (Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia) CHOOSE 1

2. For Germany, you must choose a team that played in the former GDR League.

   1. For example, Hansa Rostock would be okay, but RB Leipzig would NOT be allowed as it was formed after the fall of the GDR.²

3. You can start in whichever nation you want.

4. Start in the lowest league available in the starting nation.

5. When you win the Champions League, resign and move to a bordering nation.

1. Soccerphile: As UEFA and the EU Abolish Equality, Only Memories Remain of the Big Eastern Clubs https://www.soccerphile.com/soccerphile/news/balkans-soccer/eastern-giants.html

2. DW: German reunification: What happened to East Germany's top football clubs? https://www.dw.com/en/german-reunification-what-happened-to-east-germanys-top-football-clubs/a-55134253