So here we are… it’s the FINAL chapter of “Nacka’s Yard”.
For the past eight months or so, I have been managing Nacka FC – a young but ambitious part-time team from the suburbs of Stockholm – on Football Manager 2024. Starting from the 4th tier of Swedish football, I led them all the way to the top (and into Europe) over the course of 15 in-game seasons.
I will now recap my time at Nacka, before taking one final look at the squad who brought us so much success in the 2038 season. If you want to relive the full experience, you can find links to every chapter of this story right here.
A 15-YEAR JOURNEY
My adventure with Nacka FC began in Division 2 Södra Svealand in 2024. Despite some encouraging results sending us top of the xG table in the first season, we only finished 3rd in the actual table. Indeed, we missed out on a play-off spot in agonising fashion – FC Gute scoring an injury-time equaliser at Enskede to leapfrog us into 2nd.
I rejigged the squad before the 2025 season, giving the number 7 shirt to mercurial goalkeeper Christos Ronaldo Liantas and the number 9 to hirsute hotshot Albin Rickborg. With some help from explosive winger Yusupha Jammeh, Rickborg fired in 13 goals as we stormed to the Division 2 title – losing only a single match against Mjölby.
In 2026, we continued our march through the Ettan Norra, where we had the chance to win back-to-back automatic promotions… but blew it against IFK Stocksund on the final day. Instead, we had to go through a promotion/relegation playoff versus Superettan strugglers Öster.
Following a goalless home leg, it looked like the dream was dead when we trailed 3-1 away from home. But then midfielder Ismael Lindqvist pulled one goal back, before popular left-back Elias Ziani levelled late on to make it 3-3. Incredibly, we were promoted to the Superettan on the away goals rule!
Nacka turned professional ahead of their first Superettan season in 2027. Although our defence struggled in the second tier, our attack (now with assist machine Zakariya Enow tearing it up on the right wing) took to the new league like a duck to water. We continued to defy the odds and finished 4th – only missing the play-offs by a point.
Unfortunately, we then stagnated over the next three seasons – finishing 9th, 6th and 8th. Injuries, inexperience, and an inability to find a decent goalkeeper left me wondering when that final promotion would come. As prolific as Rickborg had been in the lower leagues, he was perhaps not the right man to lead us into the Allsvenskan.
Major changes were afoot in 2031. Rickborg was replaced by former AIK striker Noel Sergel, while versatile midfielder Hazem Reda and skilful inside-forward Ahmed Fouad were imported from an Egyptian youth academy. The goals began to flow again, with Fouad and Sergel netting 39 between them as we finished 2nd. After five seasons in the Superettan, we were finally on our way to the top flight!
Before making our Allsvenskan debut in 2032, we bade farewell to my last original player – midfield runner Tim Hauzenberger – as well as legendary winger Enow. Ziani stayed on for one more year, though he rarely featured as Nacka surpassed expectations once again. After a mediocre start, we kicked on in the second half of the season and finished 4th to qualify for the Conference League.
We had made some quality signings in the Allsvenskan, including new captain Daniel Ulvestaf, but the best of them was undoubtedly Nasser Mutambe. The 18-year-old Mozambican was a revelation on the right wing and was quickly poached by FC København. It’s fair to say that Nasser has developed into quite a decent player since then.
After Fouad’s and Mutambe’s success stories, I would sign many more young overseas talents (particularly from Africa) over the coming years. Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulzadeh became our newest right-wing superstar, albeit a superstar who couldn’t stay fit for very long.
Despite a couple of middling league campaigns, we enjoyed our first major success in 2034. Ulvestaf scored the second goal in a 2-0 win at Halmstad that won us the Svenska Cupen – a trophy that we would lift twice more in 2037 and 2038.
On the continental front, we enjoyed a couple of deep runs in the Conference League. We reached the Quarter Finals in 2034/2035 before being knocked out by bloody Craiova, and then got all the way to the Semi Finals in 2036/2037. Unfortunately, we were then stopped by Fulham, who also eliminated us in the last 16 of the Europa League a season later.
We eventually cracked the top three of the Allsvenskan in 2035, before (eventually) moving into our new stadium at Gröna Dalen early in the 2036 campaign. It was at this point that our conveyor belt of youthful imports went into overdrive.
Although we had to sell the brilliant Chilean centre-back Patricio Cisternas for big money, 19-year-old David Koné quickly emerged as his replacement, while 20-year-old Vladimir Lazarevski broke through in goal. After an excellent finish to the 2036 season, we fell just short of the title – finishing a single point behind champions Elfsborg.
Having raked in another £22.5million through København selling Mutambe to Benfica, I believed we were ready to take the Allsvenskan by storm and win our first championship in 2037. We were not. Record scorer Fouad’s golden touch had deserted him – especially from the penalty spot – and a lack of penetration from midfield also cost us dear as we limped home in 7th.
I decided to have one last crack at winning the title in 2038, but major changes were needed in midfield. Ulvestaf and Reda were forced out as the big Serbian anchor Dragan Ljubenović took on the captaincy, and 19-year-old wonderkid Joel Pérez became our new playmaker. With some more reinforcements in defence, we now had a squad truly worthy of champions.
After another unconvincing start, a subtle tactical tweak unlocked Pérez’s creative talents… and transformed a wasteful group of players into a ruthless attacking unit. Even after powerful frontman Mamadou Diop suffered a season-ending knee injury, we still produced an incredible run of 19 wins from 22 league matches – and secured the title with three games to spare!
For the first time in their history, Nacka FC were the league champions of Swedish football!
CHAMPIONS: THE CLASS OF 2038
After trying MANY different goalkeepers, Vladimir Lazarevski was our first real success story. The young North Macedonian has been our number 1 for nearly three years, making many vital saves with his impressive agility and reflexes. Vlad can’t jump or catch, and he once went AWOL from training, but I still love him.
His understudy is pretty decent too. The tall Rwandan Jean Mujene was ever-present during our run to our third Svenska Cupen win and often delivered when he needed to.
João Pereira was a revelation, as the Benfica loanee’s crossing ability delivered us 12 assists. The hard-working Portugal starlet will surely develop into a world-class left-back, so I’d love to sign him permanently if his wage demands were more reasonable. If we can’t, then the pacey if inconsistent Héctor Pinto looks like he can take over as a regular starter.
There’s no question that Hassan Msengi is a key man at right-back. Skilful, resolute and determined, Hassan has improved year-on-year since arriving four years ago and is now coveted by the big leagues. 33-year-old Massien Ghaddari was rather less impressive but still lent us invaluable experience as he added another league title to his growing collection.
David Koné first arrived in Sweden aged just 17, and he has now blossomed into a powerful 21-year-old centre-half. Dave’s ball-playing skills are a bit suspect, but he is defensively well-rounded, comfortable on either foot, and provides a major threat from set-pieces. Rumours of a big-money move will surely grow over the coming months.
19-year-old Miroslav Veljković perhaps has the potential to become even better than Koné. Brave in the tackle and dangerous in the air, Miro is the big, meaty Serbian defender that us FMers dream of… at least when we’re not fantasising about Freddy Adu or 5* youth intakes.
Mohammad Alipour has been with us for six years, though he is no longer a regular starter. The prize-fighting Iranian defender makes up for his limited aerial ability with some sharp decision-making. Željko Živković is a fearless and reliable stopper who particularly thrives in important matches.
Defensive midfielder Dragan Ljubenović took the captaincy at the start of this year. The tough-tackling Serb is a stable presence in front of the backline and a terrific leader… at least when he isn’t two-footing someone and getting sent off.
Dragan’s raw but hungry young understudy Hamdi Aslan is one of two Nacka youth graduates currently playing in the first-team. Aleksa Markićević is also 20 years old and has enjoyed a breakout season – racking up 19 goal contributions as a ball-running midfield mezzala. I’m sure Aleksa will one day become Nacka’s club captain or an established Sweden international… perhaps even both.
Joel Pérez has been a real game-changer since moving to Gröna Dalen last winter. The precocious playmaker’s killer passes have added vital penetration to our attacking play, but he also has the endeavour to do vital defensive work. We now face a major battle to keep hold of the Uruguayan wonderkid who’s coveted by Juventus.
Joel’s arrival ousted the experienced midfield metronome Denis Fleckner, who had a disappointing year and could soon be on his way out. There is also uncertainty around Ulrich Nkolo, who definitely has the talent to thrive but not the consistency. Despite being a decent finisher, he is also too easily outmuscled.
Vice-captain Ahmed Fouad is a true Nacka icon, having scored 119 goals in 302 matches over the past eight seasons. Though the Egyptian prince’s consistency has declined in recent years, he is still able to produce the goods on big occasions. Just don’t ask him to take any penalties.
Fouad recently lost his starting place at left wing to Gustavo Venditti. The explosive Argentine hit double figures on both goals and assists, proving that he can be a very effective inside-forward.
Every successful Nacka team has been built around a creative right-winger, and Samuel Koné is no exception. After a difficult end to his debut campaign in Sweden, Sam caught fire in 2038 – providing 15 assists and being named Nacka Fans’ Player of the Year. His backup Rudy Priego is not quite as pacey or talented, but the Guatemalan still has a rather impressive goalscoring record for a converted right-back.
Big Mamadou Diop is a powerful and creative deep-lying forward who can not only score goals, but also play an important role in our build-up play. The Senegalese youngster was on track for a potential Golden Boot when he tore his ACL in July, but I expect him to come back even stronger next year.
Mama’s injury prompted me to raid the loan market, taking Dino Mulahasanovic from Dinamo Zagreb. The underrated Bosnian proved he could be potent with his feet and his head, notching 10 goals in only 17 matches. Dino won’t be at Nacka for a long time, but he’s definitely had a good time.
Ronnie Paulsson is much more of a creator than a finisher, but he was still our top scorer this year with 14 goals. He’s the kind of centre-forward who performs better than his attributes suggest he should. And finally, Croatian teenager Goran Matijasevic – who can play anywhere across the frontline – bagged some important goals during a late-summer injury crisis.
SERIES REVIEW
This save was only supposed to run for between 8 and 10 seasons – tiding me over while I waited for a Football Manager 25 that never came. It lasted for 15 seasons, making this the longest-running save I have ever covered on Fuller FM. It has been one heck of a ride.
My favourite type of FM save is when I take a small semi-professional club in a lower league, and build them up into a team that can compete at the top level. I’ve certainly been more successful here than the last time I tried this on FM19 with Lyn.
But just like when I was managing Lyn, I was buoyed on by supportive messages from people at the club. Nacka’s real-life sporting director (and co-founder) Salih Shala posted a lovely little comment after I won promotion to the Superettan at the end of Season 3. That really spurred me on to take the club even further.
Admittedly, it was sometimes very frustrating trying to take Nacka up to the next level – whether that was securing promotion to the Allsvenskan, or winning the Allsvenskan. It felt at times that I’d hit a brick wall, or that FM was playing tricks with me by turning my talented 4* goalkeeper into the next Robert Sánchez.
My biggest flaw as a Football Manager is that I tweak my tactics far too often. I tend to break a potential winning formula while trying to fix a particular issue. On a few occasions, I even had to go to the Sports Interactive forums for some tactical advice to get me back on track.
I could maybe have been more successful more quickly if I’d just switched to that broken 4-2-3-1 Indonesian gegenpress that everyone else uses, but that’s not my style at all. I’m a stubborn mule, and I was determined to make my 4-3-3 tactic work, come what may… or July, in this case.
I also learnt from the mistakes I made in my previous FM24 saves with Millwall and Wieczysta Kraków. I was more measured in my transfer dealings instead of pointlessly replacing half my squad between seasons, and I tried to build up strong relationships with my best players as quickly as possible. I even stopped throwing water bottles and started giving more inspirational team talks when I realised most of my squad struggled under pressure.
FM24 hasn’t always provided the smoothest playing experience. This post would be twice as long if I listed every single bug I encountered. I would not have persisted through them all if I wasn’t still enjoying the thrill of taking Nacka to the top, which is testament to how addictive this wonderfully infuriating game is.
I could maybe play on for one more season, just to see if I can lead Nacka into the main stages of the Champions League. But I’ve now reached the point where my team is much stronger than everyone else in Sweden, and it’s likely that we will win the Allsvenskan even more comfortably next year. I’ve never wanted to stay at a dominant team for very long – and frankly, I don’t think that would be very interesting to write about.
So I’m stopping the save before the fun stops… or at least I’m putting it on hold. I will now take a break from Football Manager for the next two or three months, until the next FM is eventually released.
And perhaps one day, if it’s possible, I will import this save into the new FM and continue the adventure over there. Maybe I will keep things interesting and force myself to develop more Nacka youth products like Aslan and Markićević into first-team players. Our last few youth intakes have produced some very exciting talents that I’ve never even mentioned on here, and I’d love to see them realise their potential.
But for now, it’s time to say “farväl, adjö… och tack, Nacka”.
And that’s all, folks. This has been a very long journey, but I hope you have enjoyed following my Swedish adventure as much as I’ve enjoyed writing about it.
I also want to wish Salih and his Nacka team the very best of luck as they chase promotion in real-life. As I write this, they currently sit 4th in Division 2 Norra Svealand – four points off a play-off place.
I will be back soon with a blog update, where I will reveal more details about my future plans for Football Manager content. In the meantime, you can always find me on BlueSky and Threads.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
Fuller FM 