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- SUPERLEGA MODE:
The SuperLega mode allows you to create the team of your dreams and to play in a championship composed of dream teams made up of great footballers, led by the strongest managers in the world.
By pressing the PLAYERS EDITOR icon you can even create a new player and add him to your team. Having selected the characteristics that you want, press the ACCEPT key. This player will be entered in the file of the game and will always be available.
However by pressing the AUTOMATIC SELECTION icon an optimum team will be generated.
The button can still be used even after you have selected any player.
In the SUPERLEGA mode it is also possible for 8 users to play in MULTIPLAYER at the same time.
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- FRIENDLY MULTIPLAYER
You will be able to decide whether to play a friendly using two already existing teams with the EXISTING TEAMS mode, or by creating two fantasy teams with the FANTASY TEAMS mode.
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- STANDARD MODE:
You will have to manage a team from one of so many clubs present in the game and compete in an actual championship (from A to C2 for Italy or one of the principal European championships). The choice of the team can be made in 3 different ways: Career, Free, and Random.
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- NAVIGATOR:
The SQUAD MANAGER 2005 Navigator constitutes the principal menu of the game and you can reach any page simply by clicking the right button of the mouse. The left hand keys of the console represent the groups of arguments. Every group is sub-divided into specific sections that are detailed in the centre of the console. Again from Navigator it is possible to decide how to proceed. By pressing the PROCEED key the simulation advances. The PROCEED key will change in the MATCH icon if the team's next game is imminent. From the Navigator it is possible to access all the management pages available within the game.
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- ECONOMY:
Grouped here are all the sections that allow the economy of the club to be managed. Balance-sheet - Shows the balance-sheet of the club. Summarised here are all the items relating to INCOME and to OUTGOINGS. From this page it is possible to reach those that relate to the funds for the purchase of any players.
Funds for Purchases - it is possible to ask the Board for more funds for the purchase of players. Select the percentage increase in the funds for purchases that you need and press the REQUEST icon. The request will be sent to the board of directors and their decision will be communicated to you in the NEWS section of the game. Tickets - The fans are very important for your club; they can help the team to improve the results of your matches with their support and provide a good source of revenue.
Subscriptions - this is very similar to the Tickets section, you can in fact set the price according to the layout of the places in the stadium. Make sure that you set the right ticket price for your fans. A price that is too low will lose revenue for your club, while a price that is too high will keep a lot of your fans away.
Team Contracts - shows all the members of your current team and the basic contractual information such as Transfer Value and Basic Salary. You can modify a contractual status value by using the arrows positioned in the appropriate space and decide whether or not to put the player on the transfer list.
Player Contract - At the bottom of the Contract page of the player, you can see the comments of the player on his current position in the club. Pay careful attention to this information, because an unhappy player is a negative factor for the morale of the team and you could risk losing it.
Sponsor - Money plays a fundamental role in this sport and the sponsors help many clubs to survive. You will soon discover that the sponsors can be very selective with regard to the clubs with which they want their names to be associated, so it is important to make a good impression with good results and a good position in the championship.
Maintenance and security - Good maintenance of the stadium and an efficient organisation of the security are fundamentals to avoid the fines from the Federation. Take care of the playing field: its condition will be obvious in the matches. A pitch in bad condition, as well as influencing the course of the matches, can run the risk of getting a fine from the Federation and will look terrible on the monitor!
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- TEAM:
This is the most important section of the game. Here you can manage the players in your team. You can train them, decide on tactics, keep an eye on the statistics of the last match, and study the files on each player (enriched with the Panini data) or for the whole team. You can also display the members of the staff and check on their contracts. Formation - enables you to change the line-up of the team and to establish the tactics for the next match. The role of every player is shown by a series of icons or by letters (according to which option you have chosen in the options page):
- Goal-keeper = P
- Left hand defender = Ds
- Right hand defender = Dd
- Right hand attacking defender = Ddo
- Left hand attaching defender = Dso
- Central defender = Dc
- Free defender = Dl
- Central mid-fielder = Cc
- Backward mid-fielder = Ca
- Attacking mid-fielder = Co
- Right hand mid-fielder = Cd
- Left hand mid-fielder = Cs
- Right hand attacking mid-fielder = Cdo
- Left hand attacking mid-fielder= Cso
- Forward = A
- Striker = B
These icons will help you choose the formation to go onto the field with and to put the players into positions suited to their roles.
Training - the training is a fundamental factor in obtaining the best possible performances from your players. On the other hand you should take care when using the training function as the players will get tired if subjected to too much exercise.
The training has been completely reviewed for SQUAD MANAGER 2005.
Thanks to the new set-ups available, it is now possible to adjust the work-loads of the team and the individual players, also making use of the priceless assistance of the staff provided, who you will be able to consult when making your choices.
Now you can have greater control over the work-loads of the players and on their weekly and monthly training schedules; you can train the players who are recovering from an accident and read the report of the assistant on the progress of the training itself.
Within the main training page it is possible to decide on the training schedule for your team starting from the current week and for the next three weeks.
Using the arrows it is possible to run through the various types of training, that include:
- Physical training
- Technical training
- Tactical training
- Practice games
- Muscle relaxing
- Rest
The page will be updated in real time and will show you any commitments of the team.
Any type of training/rest has different effects on the player both from the Technical, Physical, and Tactical points of view and from Morale and general Physical Fitness. Remember that the players will react differently to your training, according to their age, their role, their athletic condition, their morale, and all their characteristics.
You can select the training schedule that you want paying attention to the time of the year and the number of matches that the team has to play. Alternatively you can delegate all the management of the training to your athletics coach by selecting the appropriate icon (if the Club has one).
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- PURCHASE OF PLAYERS:
To make sure that your team is the best in the world it is imperative that it is made up of a number of great players from all over the world. In your capacity as manager, one of your main tasks will be to look for these players and for emerging players. This section allows players to be sought out in five different ways.
Other Teams - By means of this page you can display all the teams in all the simulated championships within SQUAD MANAGER 2005 and of the two principal countries in South America, Argentina and Brazil. Maps of Europe and South America will lead you to a list of the teams in the various countries.
How to buy/exchange a player - To make an offer to a player, you need to enter the contract page of any player and press the icon TRY TO BUY. This accesses the negotiation page for the contract between player and team in which you will be able to offer a specific contract to the player and to the club.
How to sell a player - To sell a player who is part of your team, just enter the page of the player and select the CONTRACT icon. By putting a player on the transfer list, other clubs will get in touch with you by means of the NEWS section to try to buy him. When a club gets in touch with your player, you will receive a message in the News section of the game. You will be able to respond to the messages from the clubs and decide whether or not to accept the offer.
How to renew the existing contract of a player - As manager you will have to pay attention to the existing contracts of your players. It is always possible for a player to be unhappy with his current contract, or for the contract to expire and the player be put up for a free transfer.
Search - Do you want to find a specific player? Do you need a new forward or an expert defender? Do you need a player with a specific ability? All these problems are resolved by the Player Search function. Information on negotiations - This section provides a list of all the transfer currently in progress that affect your team.
You can also make use of your scout, if you have employed one, and send him round the world in search of new talent. Periodically he will send you a report identifying the interesting players that you could follow and even offer a contract.
Transfer list - This shows all the players that have been placed on the Transfer List by the clubs, and the players that are available for free transfer. This is an ideal place to look for players that are much cheaper and easier to buy, which is fundamental if you are the manager of a club in a lower division.
Memorandum - This is a list summarising all the players that you are interested in buying.
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- MANAGER:
Here you can see the basic details of your performance as manager and look for new opportunities for work in the future.
Manager Profile - Here you can see the basic details of your activity as a manager. The information includes:
Personal Contract - Information on the salary and the current contract.
Judgement of the club - Expectations for the season and the opinion up to now.
Frame-work of the Season - This shows the results and information about the current season.
If your are unhappy with your operation, press the RESIGNATION icon to leave club and carry on with the game, but without a team. When you are ready to accept another job, go to the Work Opportunities page.
Job Opportunities - On this page all the offers are displayed that you will receive from the teams who are interested in having you as their manager.
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- NEWS:
The NEWS page can be reached from any page in the management section.
It contains information on your club and must be checked regularly to keep yourself up to date with the world. Every time that you carry on with the game, the News page will give you the latest news. Important information on the team, the club, the members of the staff, the economy, the transfer market, the suspensions, and the injuries will be at your disposal.
Read a message - To read an article in the news, select the title of the message and the text of the message will appear at the bottom of the page. Reply to a message - Some messages will require a reply. To reply select the message and click on the REPLY icon. If the message refers to the transfer of a player, you will be led to the summary of the details of the transfer and you will be able to negotiate with the other team.
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- INFORMATION VIEWER:
The bar situated at the bottom left of the page shows you the basic information that you need as the manager of a club. To see the information just click on the keys located under the bar itself.
- AVAILABLE FUNDS - Shows the balance-sheet of the club and the money available for transfers.
- LAST MATCH - Shows the result of the last match.
- INFORMATION ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP - Shows the point-score and the position in the championship.
- NEXT MATCH - Shows the next opponent.
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- FILES ON THE PLAYERS:
Which of your players is best in defence? Who is the best forward in your team?
You will find the answers in the - Player Profile - page. Knowing the characteristics of every player in the team or of those that you want to buy is fundamental to management tactics. The file on the player offers you this information. To enter the file on the player, just double click on the name of any player in the game.
Panini Data - This shows the history of the player. On this page you have all the information on the career of the footballer: date and place of birth, the date of the start and a lot of other priceless information on the ACTUAL career of the player. Moreover (where available) there will be the PHOTO of the footballer in question and an editorial file that describes his principal technical characteristics.
Density of Play Graphic - The graphic shows the area of the field in which the player has taken possession of the ball. The intensity of the colour is directly proportional to the balls played in the area concerned.
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- MATCH:
The match is the stage where your hard work as a manager comes to fruition and all the decisions taken materialise. You must prove the validity of your tactics and the quality of your instincts as a football manager, because even the best players in the world cannot win a match on their own. Careful planning, your technical competence, and your personal style can make the difference between losers and champions.
In the match stage, you operate exclusively as the manager of your team. You have the sensation of being inside the stadium, at the edge of the pitch where all the action is taking place.
When you access the match, you will be presented with the page of the tactics of your team, where you can apply changes to the tactics at the last minute (see "Team Set-up" for further information) and mark the opposing players.
To mark a player, click on the blank space to the right and you will see the formation of the opponents. Select a player of the other side and press the SELECT PLAYER icon.
Once you are satisfied with your settings, click the right key of the mouse to start the match true and proper.
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- THE GAME
Two displays of the game are available in Squad Manager 2005, one in 3D and one in 2D. They have some characteristics in common and others that are peculiar to each display.
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- STADIUM ENVIRONMENT (3D):
The game starts with a view of the stadium. The team playing at home always attacks from the bottom to the top. At the end of the first half, the camera will rotate through 180° so the team that is playing at home is still attacking from the bottom to the top.
The actions of the game are shown in three ways: text comment at the bottom of the page, sound comment, and Pop Up.
These icons (the Pop Ups) show fundamental information on the game such as:
- The number of the player
- The name of the player
- The role of the player
- The type of action in which the player is currently involved (only 3D display)
- Movement arrows of the ball (only 2D display)
The position of the icon also shows the part of the field where the action is taking place, in order to make it easier to understand how the match is evolving.
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- STATISTICAL SIMULATOR (2D):
This mode gives priority to information of a statistical nature. You always have four statistics available on the principal page updated in real time: number of balls played, percentage of successful passes, percentage of tackles won, and physical shape. A graphic shows the formation of each team and on the side of the pitch the significant actions of the game are repeated in 2D (naturally always accompanied by the commentary).
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- The attitude of the Manager
Using this bar it is possible to impose various states of mind of the manager during the match, and as a result you can give encouragement to your team at critical moments.
There are five "states of mind" that can be selected by pressing the "+" and "-" keys;
- Calm
- Attentive
- Nervous
- Very nervous
- Frenetic
To set the state of mind of the manager, it is necessary to act on the bars. When you select a mood during the game, this will influence the players and will encourage them to commit themselves more, but at the same time will increase the possibility that they will sustain an injury or receive a booking.
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- Speed of the play
Thanks to a group of "tempo icons" it is possible to adjust the speed at which the play takes place. These icons are found at the bottom left of the page and provide the following choices:
- Proceed / Pause - Clicking on this icon activates/deactivates the pause.
- Normal Speed - You see the game at normal speed
- Speed 2X - You see the game at twice normal speed.
- Speed 4X - You see the game at four times normal speed.
- Speed 8X - You see the game at eight times normal speed.
- To increase these multipliers it is necessary to click the "2X" key more than once; the default setting is normal speed, so clicking three times sets the speed of play at 8X.
End of Half - The game proceeds at 16X and only stops at the end of each half or in the event of injuries.
End of the match - The game is ended immediately by the computer, which will take all the decisions needed to get to the end of the match.
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- Tactics Field and Graphics Term Field
Tactics Field (Orange)
Shows the strategies of the other side. One key has the function of showing the attacking and defensive formations of the opponents. It can be used to help you take tactical decisions on your formation and attacking strategy.
Graphics Term Field (Blue) The Graphics Term Field shows the area where the ball is played for most of the time by each team. By holding the mouse above any area, the percentage of balls played in this area of the pitch will appear. One key has the function of showing alternately the areas in which the ball is played most of the time for each of the teams or the graphic showing the sum of both of these.
