Interview with Mittekeegi by clrfatih61

Q: Hey coach, First of all I want to ask that who is “the Coach”. What is he doing in his life besides ManagerZone?

A: Hello, my name is Margus. I work in a cow farm and also practice football refereeing. From this summer, also Beach Soccer. 🙂

Q: You are playing the game since 2008. How did this journey began?
A: Actually it all began much earlier, in 2002-2003, when some friends from football practice told me about this game and I was hooked instantly. This game use to be pretty popular in Estonia at that time, so I never got higher then div5 tho.
Later on in 2007, I found PowerSoccer (Power Football at that time) when MZ was down for maintenance and was redirecting users there. Since then the PS became my new home and I kinda forgot MZ for a while. That period is kinda blank in my mind when it come to MZ. In 2008 I made a new account in MZ and was pretty active till early 2013. Since then I have just kept my team alive by logging in occasionally. New ‘Comeback’ was in christmas 2015 and have I been addicted to the game again ever since!

Q: Do you have any charge in game? Like FA-GA-RA? If so, can you please tell us how did it all start?
A: This is a interesting question, how did it all start? I have been GA in MZ for 2 periods, first one was from 2012 to 2013. Second one is Jan ’16 till present. But before all that, I was MA (incl. LA, FA, CA) for many years in PowerSoccer, until I retired from that game in late 2010, so I guess it all begun in PS? 🙂

Q: What kind of challenges are you facing as a GA?
A: My main duty is to keep eye on transfer market, that there is no foul play! Biggest challenge is finding time for all that. Especially during the football season, when I am on the road pretty much all weekends and occasionally work days aswell. But since its all great fun, I do it every spare moment I got. Some cases might take few hours of investigation, so it can be pretty time consuming. All in all, its a great hobby to have. 🙂

Q: I’m following you in second league of Estonia and wondering that do you have any individual goals?
A: I guess my goal has always been to get into Meistriliiga (top division). I did ‘Top Team Challenge’ to all teams there and got impressive 5-2-5 (W-D-L), so its seems I can finally archive that and even more!
Since I am still in div2, I got one and half season to prepare my team to become title challenger from get go and that is the main goal atm. 🙂

Q: Besides those, have you ever had any opportunity to meet with another coaches face to face from your or foreign countries?
A: I have! Some month ago, we were driving to game with 2 fellow referees and it came out, that one of them is pretty famous user in MZ. 🙂 There is also another referee who is also one of the top managers Estonia.. In fact, I am having a game with one of them tomorrow. 🙂
Estonians are actually having annual meetings aswell, but I havent had the chance to take part any of those, YET!

Q: I know that you are a friend of The coach Samet(Viramakara) for a long time. How did you meet with him?
A: I have never been Turkey, but Samet keep inviting me to there. The pictures he sent me about Ağva, for example, they are working well, it looks like a paradise on earth and I really want to go there!!! So I guess at some point, I have to pick myself up and travel there. 🙂

Q:Have you ever been in Turkey? And what do you know about Turkey(except foods J) or wondering about here?
A: I have never been Turkey, but Samet keep inviting me to there. The pictures he sent me about Ağva, for example, they are working well, it looks like a paradise on earth and I really want to go there!!! So I guess at some point, I have to pick myself up and travel there. 🙂

Q: As you know, the game is always updating. Do you thing managers can keep up with those updates?
A: Since the crew is always asking/listening community’s voice, then the updates have been all welcomed warmly and they have no problem to keep up with them.

Q: As an experienced manager, do you have any tips for the new users?
A: One tip; The more active you are, the better you understand the game and therefore, the better you succeed at it. Never give up! 🙂

Q: Thank you very much for take your time. Is there any last word to Turkish users?
A: No problem at all. Good luck with your goals and İyi günler! See you in the game! 😉

Interview with Scruttino by Gerrad_08

1. Q) Australia NT team has not been able to perform well in the last couple of seasons any reasons as to why the performance has dropped

Well, the U/21 campaign was compromised by a first time NC who was busy with his working life, we couldn’t get in contact with him until a few days before the tournament which hindered our preparation. There were other problems, but in short Troy and I had to run the side from NCA positions and you can’t do much like that. Then we changed NC and the senior campaign was a lot better. Still some minor problems due to another first time national coach’s inexperience, but overall we had time to prepare, with the luck abandoning us in our first two World Cup group games.

1. Q) Are you a firm believer of the Transfer Market ability to find the right price for your players would still be the same if the 6 permit rule was not there.

Good players will always sell and the top talent are regularly selling for more than 10 million AUD. It’s the average player that are selling for much less. Having 9 foreigners means that you can effectively buy a new team, which in a limited market such as Australia is required to be competitive on the world stage. It also means that if your own youth academy doesn’t produce talent during a rebuilding window, you can still build a good team if you have the cash to do so.

1. Q) How many foreigners do u have in your squad and why

I currently have 8 foreigners on my squad, I’m searching for one more reasonably priced players with potential as I rebuild my team.

1. Q) What type of Formation does u prefer?

In season 59 my team will all be 22 years old or younger, so they don’t have the collective aerial passing balls to pull off a wing formation. I run a short passing tactic with a 5-man spine that works out as a 3-5-2 formation. When I need to defend against a wing attack I’ll run a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield and one sided attack. In 1-2 more seasons I’ll try out a wing attack.

1. Q) Which manager you try to replicate

I don’t have a specific manager I try to replicate. Though I admire Jose Mourinho because his team are built on defence first before attack. In Australia our real life NT coach Ange Postecoglou plays in a similar way to Pep Guardiola teams in terms of, hold possession of the ball, stay in your positions and trust your teammates to advance the ball into the final third where you can be creative. If you could combine the two styles that’s what I’d be trying to do.

1. Q) Do u think smaller nations will be able to compete with teams like Argentina, Poland and the rest?

In short no, smaller nations don’t have the collective youth academies to come close. 15-20 people developing players can’t compete with 100-150+ people doing the same thing. The difference is chalk and cheese. Australia has made a couple of U/21 international finals but never won one. We did win a Confed Cup in 2013 when playing wings was found to be the premier tactic, but not all countries used it then. So we got ahead of the game through good planning and capitalized on the advantage, but the campaign also received some luck. In season 57 I coached Australia as they won the Clash of the Legends 2^nd edition, but that was a team of superstars, the best of the best we’ve ever produced so it made the playing field between countries more even. These days our best chances to win a trophy or reach a final are the U/21 tournaments when we produce a good group of players.

1. Q) What do you make of the new sim?

It’s not that different from the last one. Man marking and defensive play is better, penalties for going a man down or having an informal tactic has been reduced, and you can plan who goes back went receiving a red card. Wings remains the dominant tactic for reasons of unrealistic passing accuracy over exorbitant distances.

1. Q) Also what changes would u like to see some changes to improve the sim?

Give aerial passing different difficulty settings for short, medium and long passes. Implementing through balls so players receive the ball on the run. Midfielders using the full width of the pitch allowing for a standard 4-4-2 formation to work. Continuing to reduce strikers back passing the ball when they have a clear shot on goal. Preventing striker from dribbling the ball straight into the goalkeeper as if they are trying to run them over.  Make heading for defenders the equivalent of tackling in the air. I’ve more but those are the most pressing concerns. You can’t fix this sim to incorporate all of them, so I’m one of those more interested in Sim 3 when it arrives.

1. Q) Why have you chosen the team name u had?

When I began this MZ journey 7-8 years ago my team name was the Jokers, for obvious reasons as a Batman Comics fan. Our emblem was the flying J with wings, it stayed that way until about 5 seasons ago when I felt it was time to move on. So I had a think about it and Amputees FC had a good ring to it, plus it allowed me to create a really cool one winged badge symbolizing the loss of a wing (arm). I’m not an Amputee myself, but have always admired how people just get on with life regardless of how few limbs they have.

1. Q) U have not been able to break into the Top league any specific comments

Well I won the A-League Championship/Seniors National Cup Double in season 55, then sold up and dropped back into Division 1 to rebuild with a balance of 55 million AUD. I began competing again in the World Leagues and Youth leagues in season 58. I’ve been promoted twice this season in the U/18 world league and won promotion in all my Youth Leagues. I’m not sure I’ll ever reach the Top Leagues in any them as my intention is to build a senior team, so when the current players are too older for U/xx comps I won’t replace them with players of the same standard.

1. Q) How much time do u hang out in MZ?

Quite a lot, I post regularly in the A-League messageboard and put my bit in here and there in the forum’s.

1. Q) Do you have any rivals within MZ whom you just want to beat (E.g. between Australia and New Zealand)

Not really, Aussies and New Zealanders get along very well. We’re a small community so feuds rarely spike out of control. It’s true some managers are not the best of friends, but I’ve only had to mediate one feud that got out of control. In terms of wanting to beat a specific team, everyone wanted to beat Arrested Developers when they were still around. We don’t have a standout team to hate at the moment, the championship window is so small now that people win 1 or 2 A-League titles and then sell up. If not, you become a team of deteriorating players who are still good, but see their title chances fade with each additional season.

1. Q) How many times have thought about quitting the game and what made you change

I’m a very laid back person, I don’t get angry or frustrated often, so rage quitting has never been an issue. If I did stop playing the game it would be more through a lack of interest, or when circumstances change. For instance, if I took a job in a remote part of the world, which training as an Anthropologist is a possibility, I’d have limited access to the internet. There will come a time when I don’t write the zone and hand those tasks over to another. I’m just waiting for such a person to come along before life circumstances force me to stop writing and the aussiezone disappears from print.

Written by Scruttino and Gerrad_08

Interview with Elsacco by Prednibe

TZ-Sweden’s interview with elsacco (Yampi Sound H.C.), Romanias Icehockey NC.

1. Congratulations on your win in the World Cup!

Thank you very much. It’s a great honor for me to be invited to this interview for the oldest and greatest TZ on the planet.

2. What is your history like on MZ? Most important triumphs?

I started playing MZ with my Football team in the 13th of January 2007 (9 years ago). I liked MZ from the start and 9 months later, on the 14th of October, I began to play hockey as well. On the way, I realized that, even if it was new to me, it turned out to be even more exciting, soon to become a passion.
Currently, I am proud to be in the Top National League in both sports, 3-times hockey National Champion and, most important, I was given the honor to be elected NC for both Football and National Teams.
I am glad that I managed to reward the Community’s trust by winning the U21 Football World Cup 2015 and the Hockey World Cup 2015, the last definitely being the most important triumph for me and the Romanian Community (I couldn’t have done it without them).

3. Where does the WC in hockey rank among those wins?

Winning the World Cup is huge for us. It’s the absolute triumph for the Romanian Community, which I want to thank, especially because we are a small community, but very united. All the members help the National Teams by following a well-established player growth plan and I want to thank each and every one of them.
And last but not least, I want to thank the Romanian NT Staff, some of the most dedicated managers in the world, like @alex_b, @nik2780 and @mihairo.

4. What were your thoughts during the final? Did everything go as planned and which players were most important?

Winning the World Cup Final was a unique moment for us and we enjoyed every moment ☺ We cannot say that we planned this, we started with very small chances, but we did everything in our power to find the best tactic in every match.
In the Final, our best players were Remus Medeleanu (H.C Boca Unidos), with a goal and assist, Ovidiu Poalelungi and Iulian Magheru (both from Shen al Calhar), Robert Răchită (BURNABY JOE), who has played 658 international matches for the Romanian National Team, and the forever-young Iau Ciubuc (479 NT caps, a survivor of the famous generation grown by @alex_b at Phoenix Baia Mare).

5. Which game besides the final was special for you? Any opposition that was especially tough?

We started the road in the World Cup with a defeat, 0-4 vs. Denmark. There was a lot of work to be done. After Denmark losing to the USA, every match became a Final for us. The hardest part was to qualify from the group. We needed a 3 goal win vs. USA and we won 7-1, a very special win for us, indeed. The victories against Germany, Argentina, Turkey and Poland were truly historical for us.

6. How did you choose which tactic to use and how important are tactics to you?

Tactics were key-elements for every opponent. The difficult part for us was to find the right chemistry in each of the 4 lines, most of our players being affected by deteriorations. We studied our opponents to find their strengths and weaknesses. We analyzed hundreds of matches.
In the end, the joy of wining the World Cup trophy exceeded the effort.

7. Do you prefer football or icehockey on MZ? Why?

Both have their fun parts and their special joys. In this moment, the Romanian Hockey National Team is the most important project for me. We will try to defend with honor this 2015 World Title.

8. What is your next goal on MZ?

I put aside personal ambitions for the club team in both sports to help the Football National Team as NCA and the Hockey National Team as NC in our goal to win another trophy for the Romanian Community.

9. Any final thoughts on the WC? Or on MZ in general?

I enjoyed every moment, including your interview!
I hope you all enjoy MZ as much as I do.
I wish you all the best!

Interview with Hackentrixxer by Triumph

1. Hallo Herr Thomas 🙂 Wie geht es dia? Thank you very much for your accepting our offer. You are working as GMA for ManagerZone and you are responsible from Turkish ZenDesk as our Master Assistant. We will talk about MZ but first we would like to know you better in real life. Who is Thomas and what kind of person is he?1) I give you a short description: 39 yrs, married, no kids (yet), working as a consultant for anaesthesia and intensive care medicine with a speciality in cardioanaethesia and paediatric anaesthesia – so I am able to enjoy the “thrilling” moments of MZ as quite relaxing 🙂

   2. You are from Germany as we know. Would you mind talking about Germany?

   2) Germany? It’s a country in the middle of Europe – and I feel more European than German to be honest. Yet Germany is full of surprises: starting from the fantastic football WC2014 in Brazil, where only the craziest had dared to dream of the title including the unforgettable semi final against the host team :).

   Then the miracles of landscapes, towns and buildings – I have been in many places in Germany, but I still get impressed when I see the living history in cities like Berlin, Trier and Dresden.Last but not least I am still quite impressed by the decisions of the government to help so many people, who had to flee from war, hunger and destruction e.g. in Syria – but I am not sure, where this exodus of a people will Europe to?

   Eventually what we call “civilization” is only a small layer on the outside, that can easily be torn off or scratched down – and this can happen everywhere I am afraid – Am I too political for MZ already? ;-))

   3. Germany and Turkey have some common points. Moreover in your nice country there are many Turkish people and I know that you show them your hospitality. And I’m sure that you know Turkish people well. What do you say about Turkey and Turkish people?

   3) I know many Turkish people – in fact some of them are my colleagues as Orthopedic specialists in our hospital: they are very hearty people and like to laugh, to eat and to talk about football – sometimes the secret of understanding amongst nations is just as simple.

   4. As far as I know you like vacation much 🙂 Have ever been in Turkey? Or do you have a plan related with that?

   4) Although I had often thought about travelling to Turkey, I never did in fact – kismet” took me to other places several times, but I would love to visit Istanbul some day soon 🙂

   5. You are crazy about FC Bayern München. And I heard that when Bayern Münchin lost games you can’t sleep. Is that true 🙂

   5) 🙂 That’s true, but who told you? I have a brother in law and a sister in law, who are both strong supporters of BVB Dortmund, so you can imagine the discussions and funny fights about “our” teams, yet they acknowledge, that there is no better player than Thomas Mueller 😉 I am very curious how it will be without Pep Guardiola, who had some great tactical ideas for the team, but the “local” aspect of a team was put in the rear too much in my opinion..

   I hope, that Ancelotti has a better eye for the young Bayern players!

   6. What about Turkish football cups? Do you follow any of them?

   6) I know about the legendary rivalry of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor – and sometimes you hear honking cars drive through the city of Munich, when a favorite team has won, but actually I don’t follow any of them..

   7. You also like skiing, don’t you? Which sports do you like Thomas?

   7) In my youth days I loved to play basketball until I broke my hand twice, but it is still one of my favorite sports. Skiing is great, but this year’s winter doesn’t deserve his name actually, but it’s not over yet – and there is still the chance for a “white weekend” :-))

   I love to explore the landscape on my mountainbike and I go to work by bike most of the days..

   8. Would you mind talking about ManagerZone? We see that you started MZ in 2009. How did you come across ManagerZone?

   8) In some days it’s actually 7 years, that I came back to ManagerZone. I had already a team back in 2005, called “Middelsbur”, but I had to stop it due to lack of time at university. During a short vacation in London I got remembered of MZ in the “Kings Arms” pub in London and I decided to return, but my old team was bankcrupt meanwhile.. Initially I had begun with MZ after a thrilling newspaper article about the famous manager “jscherz” like many “old” users in the German community.

   9. Your user name is hackentrixxer but you prefer hacken shortly and your team name is CSC Lindwωrm. Do they have special meaning for you?

   9) Hackentrixxer is derived from the German word “Hackentrick”: to play the ball with the back heel of the foot. Once I managed to score a goal with it, since then I had this name in my school’s football team.

   Lindwurm is an ancient German word for dragon and I have a special affection for dragons – I thought my players could play furiously like dragons, but sometimes they just play like tired worms :))

   10. What are your “bests” with CSC Lindwωrm Thomas?

   10) My best with my football team? I managed to raise a national player once, he was a strong defender, but few may remember his name “Ulli Knittel”, but I like to look at him sometimes in my staff. As a trainer he is too expensive >)

   I am very happy to play in div 1.3, because it was a tough way with uncounted relegations and of course I would love to play in German Bundesliga!

   My best cup experience was to win the first edition of U18 – National Cup Germany – Season 38 🙂

   But I am a very devoted hockey manager as well, I am currently one of the NCAs of Germany. 3 seasons ago I had the best result with the German National Team at a MZ Worldcup ever: rank 6 – but it was too time consuming, to work as a NC also, so I am happy to assist the current NC ojay79!

   11. You have been working hard for MZ, everyone sees that. When and how did you start your assistant life and you worked on which xA roles?

   11) I started to work as a XA nearly exactly 6 years ago, when I offered my service as a LA to former German MA heimsieg1. After some time I was promoted to FA also.. So I already had some experience when I was asked for a GA position.
   Back then the organisation was completely different – more based specifically on countries – and it was a great time working with some other experienced GAs, that builded the team for “international support”. I think we were very effective in our tasks and discussions.

   On request of HMA silverkhan I returned as MA to WES, that was Western Europe Supportregion together with flipflip, the former French MA.. Since the structures were completely reorganized, I work as a GMA (Game Master Assistant) for ZenDesk support: I love to work with GAs from different countries and to help users in all aspects of the game – and sometimes beyond 😉

   12. And I really wonder what are your “bests” as assistant. I’m sure you have unforgetable memories? Would you please share some of them with us?

   12) Like a good father I never would tell anyone, if I had a favorite child 🙂

   I am very proud of my current assistants and most of my assistants, that I teached and introduced to the “background” aspects of the game. Some dropped out for different reasons, but most of them did and do a great job.

   When the whole group of former Turkish GAs decided to leave support altogether it was a real challenge to help the Turkish users with their requests. But with your, konyali’s and viramakara’s help as ZenDesk GAs it was possible to establish the high standards of support. Your community can be very proud of your excellent work and enthusiasm for the game and your people!

   13. Because of the fact that you lead Turkish ZenDesk team, you know much about Turkish Community. If to be honest we have faced with some hard times it’s a fact and you also helped (and still you help thank you for this) our community much even if our Turkish managers don’t know much about that. But how do you see our community Thomas?

   13) I am very happy to have so much contact with Turkish community, that is famous for its brilliant managers, great teams and devotion to football in general. I don’t want to go into details too much, but e.g. forum netiquette and forum rules are not a “one way” institution and I don’t tolerate, if someone overstretches his powers in a way, that is neither fair nor acceptable against other users, if they simply disagreed with an “opinion”.

   Also we had several cases, where teams were hacked to abuse the transfer market – but I think you and your colleagues found them all and took the appropriate measures against them to avoid further cheating attempts by them.

   Many Turkish users helped to clear up this situation with their reports also, which shows their love for a fair game! Thanks to all of them!!

   14. And do you follow any Turkish manager 🙂 what do you think about Turkish Managers?

   14) I don’t follow any other team, honestly, I have enough to do to motivate and train my lazy players :))

   15. I would like to thank you very much on behalf of Turkish community Thomas. Do you have any thing to add or is there any other subject you want to talk?

   15) I wish all the managers at MZ the very best for their teams and I would like to thank them for their great sportsmanship, that most of them have been showing for many years. I remember great discussions in the forums and thrilling fights in leagues and cups. I dearly hope for a new SIM in football and hockey, that is more plausible concerning the skills and form especially. I know, that Crew puts much effort in this task, so I am quite positive about it.

   Also it is very important for many users and for the future of the game to make it playable via an APP for iPhone AND Androids, so there is still a lot to do.. Let’s hope for the best.

   But besides all that I hope for the best of all your real lifes! May peace and love be with all of us – and if not lets struggle just for them!

 

 

Interview with Birginia

1) Hot comment: how does it feel to have won a European? 😉
its really something amazing my friend!!!! its something that when we start (with my assistants) for this competition the only thing we want its to go to the next round top 16 and then if we are lucky to play in best8…. but every game was an amazing game for our team with big wins against big nations and in the final we play really amazing and we won 4-3! I cannot believe our success yet…its something that we will understand after some seasons because this is happening for first time in our history and its difficult to repeat that success!!! I want to thank my assistants for the 100% amazing cooperation and this is something that we will never forget!!! thanks for the interview and i hope the best for italy in the coming tournaments

2) I recently interviewed for the championships under and we know that you are currently among the best managers of mz, but lately we have seen that you get on very well with the seniors. 😛 Did you think you can get to the end of the competition and bring Greece to victory?
Thanks a lot for your kind words! look its something really really difficult. its something that greece never done before and we need not only good tactical desicions but and luck with us…..we will try our best to go as far as we can and why not if we have that chance to try to win it!!!!

3)it was a good race, too bad for my country. However go on the best and you have been the best of all. I looked at the training and I am surprised as most of your national players have not yet 30 years old. So you have in your hands real champions. Then I look at the tactics and I am even more confused. At high levels the position of a few pixels of a player can affect a lot, so you want to talk a little of this tactic?
Yes it was amazing win for our country….Italy was unlucky with the red card (i hope crew will fix that idiot bug) but i thing you will be back even stronger after this!!! me and my assistants we try to change our national team and get rid players with 6 7 speed 34 years players ( was 8-9 before deterors) and try to make a new team with better ages….it was difficult to do that because we dont have so many players in our nation in high level but our moove went amazing and we win that trophy with lot of new players with amazing age overall. we play lot of tactics and of course i dont open my secret and my cards in public but the only thing i can say is yes the pixels play very important role how the players play into the ground and believe me made lot of challenges to every tactics they play our opponents to try to find which is the best tactic to play against them!!!! we risk some times but thats the game!!! now we are really thrilled about this we archive and we will try to play good (if we are elected again for 3 time in a row) and in coming world cup

4) You are a great manager demonstrated on several fronts. In the final, we find national as Sweden, or China, or Belgium, or Turkey that everyone expected as the favorite;We included Greece and Poland to show what you are really the best around.
Fought final, very funny and with the result in the balance until the last minute. Honestly, what do you think during the match?
Thanks for includes us in the favourites but we are not in the dreamland we know we dont have such talented players like sweden or poland or romania but we have our fighters really the final was something amazing. for me was the best game i ever see in this game! it sounds very amazing but it was the final of european championship the atmosphere was amazing we start talking with our community via national team news starting for 3 o clock in the afternoon and me with my assistants we start the talking from skype the same time… i must told you that the call closed 12 o clock in the night we talk 8 hours in a row we celebrate our win like crazy we see the game with some friends all online in skype we put some songs after the victory was really amazing moments we will never forget!!! but to answer to your question when we start the game and we make quick 1-0 we are very confident for the game (same start against turkey) but poland was very strong and he score 2 quick goals and we loose 1-2 after 25 minutes. that moments we afraid that we will loose with big margin because after that poland loose 2 more big chances but in 5 minutes 36-41 amazing skilas scored 2 more goals and we go in front 3-2 amazing celebrations again in skype and we are screaming to finish the first half with us in front, but in the last minute poland make the score 3-3 and again we where very sad!!! to put in a half time to poland 3 goals and not winning we were very dissapointed!!! second half starts with poland loose many chances and we do the same and we see the game going to overtime BUT the dream comes true after 97 minutes my brother striker who comes into the game after 70 minutes scores for us the winning goal and we cant believe it!!! we scream like crazy, songs, celebrations!!! i hope to put you into our feelings and understand little bit these moments !!! its something really special and i hope lot of managers some time to feel these moments…

5) Honor the winners and I am very happy because I know that you are a great manager;)
Now election time, and I can not say too much. You have done so much for your community and the national and your mandate is confirmed.
Do you want to tell us about some of your staff?
I am glad you make me that question!!!! i am very lucky that i have 2 great managers with me!!! every decision we make in the european championship is after lot of talk with my assistands!!! both dim7 and larrylaffer they know the game and that is more easy for us to find the correct tactic against any opponent and try our best in every game…..we have amazing communication and thats the key for our success, so of course and in the new ellections my assistants will be the same and we will try if we elected again to do the best for our country

6) I think this is the crux of the game: cooperation and confrontation.
It ‘been a great pleasure to re-keen to hear from European champion. What would you like to add something that even I did not ask but you’d like to say?
Thanks a lot my friend for that interview its nice to talk to a community i visit lot of times in my life because i love italy and i am from Corfu (kerkira) amazing island near italy as you all know and because most of users know me as birginia my real name is spiros and i want to tell to your community if anyone comes to my island in the summer dont hesitate to contact with me and to meet and talk from the game there some great managers here in my island (we are all friends fanis-ale , dimitris-psomi….) and we all be ready for a meeting with you dear readers!!!

Written by theking94 and Birginia

Interview with Thunderexpress

1) Hi dear Peter. First of all thank you very much for your courtesy. We know that you are really helpful and kind all the time. You always try to solve problems. So, what kind of person is Peter in real life?
Thank you for having me! That’s very kind words, I try to help as much as possible and if I could, I would have answered all questions from all our users. Unfortunately time is often against me. I try to be pretty much the same in real life as I am in ManagerZone. I am extremely competitive and a bit of a workoholic.

2) In real life, every person faces with difficulties. We all (and still) live in a world of hardness. What is your story, would you please tell us about your past?
I agree that we are facing difficulties in the world, especially in these times. Even though Sweden is blessed in many ways. I come from Sweden, the land of dark winters and bright summers. I started working at the age of 15 and at the same time i studied. I studied software engineering at the university and at the same time I worked as an IT tech guy. I was more or less head hunted to Power Challenge (the owner of ManagerZone) and I never hesitated when I got the question. I have always loved football, hockey and computer games. So this is really a dream job for me.

3) Let’s talk about ManagerZone- World’s Best Online Game. When and how did you join ManagerZone? Do you keen on your team “Laughing Dogs”? And I wonder why your team name is “Laughing Dogs”?

I started working for ManagerZone 5 years ago. I really love working for ManagerZone. I love the game, the Community and the future for ManagerZone. It is difficult to play ManagerZone since I know “too much” about the game so it wouldn’t be fair for everyone else if I tried my best to play. the name Laughing dogs comes from my real life dog. He was a dalmatian and he could laugh like a human, hence the name ‘Laughing dogs’. I am proud of my team of course but I don’t want the Players to be ‘too good’ if you understand what I mean. I don’t want users to think that it is any funny business going on so I try to not rise to high in the divisions.

4) Can you please tell us about ManagerZone’s unknown sides? I mean as users we just play that wonderful game and enjoy. But how do you Crew (and/or other assistants) work to keep this nice organization sustain, how many people is behind this nice organization? And what makes ManagerZone different or special?
We are a small company and a lot of our time goes to maintain the company. We treat ManagerZone as if it was real life. We (crew) take ManagerZone more serious than any other real life sport. For every season break we go through everything manually to make sure that everything looks OK for the new season, every Cup we create is created manually etc. So even though we are not a lot of people we live and breath the game! You guys are the difference between ManagerZone and other games. Our wonderful community is very special. Even though we sometimes disagrees, we get so much valuable input and suggestions from our community who helps us develop the game in a good direction.

5) Have you ever faced with harsh things in ManagerZone? Or did you experience something that you can’t forget? Maybe some good memories also.

The good memories are a lot more than bad memories. I love the passion that I see from Managers, like the ManagerZone meeting in Turkey when Managers brought their families to the meeting. That was really awesome to read about! I have also attended MZ meetings myself and it is always a real treat to meet our passionate Managers. Regardless where in the world I go, it always strikes me how much passion our community has and how much they love the game. It is fantastic to see that ManagerZone brings people together. Since I am a little bit famous in ManagerZone I sometimes become a target for frustated users. It is obviously not fun to be threatened but at the same time I know how much ManagerZone means and I understand that sometimes Managers needs someone to channel the frustration towards. That’s just something that comes with the job.

6) Related with the previous question are there any good or bad memories about our community?

Yes, as I said I really enjoy reading about ManagerZone meetings from Turkey and I hope that I can attend a meeting very soon. Turkey as a community is very passionate and I visit the Turkish forum every day and read about what you like and what you don’t like. I use google translate and usually it gives me an idea of what is the hot topics. I wish I could write more but unfortunately I can’t speak Turkish and I don’t want to disrespect the community by writing in English or Swedish too much.

7) Let me tell you something, recently we have found that there had been ManagerZone World Cup Organizations in some countries in real life (in 2004 in Sweden, in 2005 in Argentina, in 2007 in Brazil for example). Would it be possible again? We would like to host “ManagerZone” in Istanbul.

Yes, that was before my time but I have heard and read about it. It is a great idea and I would love to rewamp this idea. Istanbul would be the perfect place to host a World Cup. With one of the most passionated football fans in the world I can’t imagine anything other than a success.

8) Do you follow any Turkish soccer team in real life? I know that you are a fan of Fenerbahce -do not let them know actually I am a fan of Fenerbahce 🙂 – What do you think about this year’s transfers of Turkish teams?

yes, I follow the Turkish soccer league, but not as much as I used to. We have had a lot of good Swedish football players in Turkey but at the moment Swedish football is not very good (a part from Zlatan). van Persie to Fenerbahce was an interesting transfer but I am afraid the RVP is not the same great footballer that he ones was..

9) And do you follow any Turkish managers/teams in ManagerZone? What do you think about Turkish managers? Personally we think that ManagerZone World League was organized for us –Turkish managers 🙂

Haha yes, you are extremely succesful in ManagerZone, what is your secret? I follow the Turkish top league and the World League. You have some real legends in Turkey like legendaryboy52, unbeatenteam,raikkonen52 etc. I am very impressed by the Turkish dominance at the moment. It proves that the Turkish community is very good at adapting to the improvements to ManagerZone.

10) What is pros and cons of our managers do you think? For example I have to tell you that token price is regarded as expensive for our socciety. 1 euro is nearly 3 Turkish Liras and buying token sometimes can be expensive for all of our managers. I meyself think this is cons for our managers.

Yes, I wish that everything could be of charge in ManagerZone but I promiss you that all the money we make in ManagerZone goes right back into Managers for new servers, new features and maintaining the game.

11) What do you expect from Turkish community as Crew member of ManagerZone? What is your advice for our community and for our managers?

I expect that turkey will be an even larger ManagerZone country and we all know that it is more fun to play ManagerZone the more users we have. So I expect everyone to tell their friends to start playing this wonderful game. You will see a lot of great new features and I can only say that you have just seen the beginning of the ManagerZone era!

12) Is there anything else you want to talk about dear Peter? Do you want to add something?

I just want to thank all of you for playing and supporting the game! You are great and remember that ManagerZone is a place to get away from the hard world outside so please be nice and kind to each other.

13) Thank you very vey much dear Peter. We are really happy to see you in our community. We know that you are too busy but when you have time please visit our Forum pages and at least say “Hi”. Hope to see you again.

I am frequently visiting the Turkish forum but I promiss that I will be better at writing in the forums. Thank you very much for having me in your great magazine. And thanks to all RAs for all the efforts you are putting in to make ManagerZone a better place!

Written by Isk42 and Thunderexpress

Interview with Hogweed

1)In our society Crew members seem different from each other for example we say landlord for patrick777 and industrious for thunderexpess 🙂 how do you describe yourself? Mysterious maybe because we can’t see you so often?

I’d say I’m a controller since I help the crew with things that are related to the assistants. That’s probably why I’m not so visible in the game as Crew…

2)As far as we know you live in Italy. Would you please tell us about yourself and your past?

Yes I live in Italy near Rome. I’m cooperating with Powerchallenge company since 2008 and it has been a great opportunity for me. I started helping out as assistant and then I became Crew. Even if this is not my main job it’s something I really like to do.

3)Italy can be identified as country of football. Do you like football and what is favorite football clup? Italian teams are still very succesful but in around 2000s there was an Italian dominance with Zlatan, Adriano, Cafu, Nedved and Delpiero and lots of legends that I can’t count. I miss them so much. Do you?

Well… I’m 45 years old and I’m a supporter of AC Milan. This team was very strong in the 90s and in 2000s. My favourite players ever are Van Basten, Franco Baresi, Shevchenko and Kakà. Considering that AC Milan is currently not even able to qualify in Europa League you can bet I miss the old glorious years 🙂

4)What do you think about Turkish football and Turkish football teams. Is there any match that you can’t forget towards a Turkish team?

I remember a Turkish coach that came to AC Milan for a short while, Fatih Terim. He didn’t have much luck there but I really liked him as coach and person.If I’m not mistaken he is now training the Turkish NT.

5)Now if you let, it is ManagerZone time- World’s Best Online Game. When and how did you join ManagerZone? And what makes ManagerZone different and special do you think?

I joined MZ in 2006. What makes it special, IMO, is the way you can see players growing up day by day. It’s probably a sort of special balance of things that creates a relationship between the managers and its players 😉

6)What does your username “hogweed” mean? And I see your team name is “Coccodrilli Brilli”. Do they have special meanings for you?

Never heard of the Genesis musical band? They made a song called “The return of the giant Hogweed”. About Coccodrilli Brilli it means drunk crocodile… nothing special but in Italian looks funny.

7)I like asking that question because everyone has a story with ManagerZone: Did you experience something that you can’t forget in ManagerZone? I’m sure there are so many but the most interesting or funny ones if you mind 🙂

The most special moments are when I had the chance to meet in RL people I knew only in MZ. Last year I met Peter in RL and it was really nice. We have been to a meeting with other Italian managers and it was really fun! When you finally can see the face of the person you daily meet in MZ is fantastic.

8)How do you describe Turkish community and Turkish users? What do you offer for Turkish community as a Crew member?

Turkish community is very big in MZ. In these years I had the opportunity to know many Turkish managers and I have to say that many are brilliant guys and loyal assistants. I can say that my role is to try to assure that the Turkish assistants do their best to control the forum and the market, to keep the game translated and to entertain the community with TZ Magazine. And I think that the Turkish assistants are a good team!

9)I asked that question to dear Peter and he was positive. Let me ask to you too: recently we have found that there had been ManagerZone World Cup Organizations in some countries in real life (in 2004 in Sweden, in 2005 in Argentina, in 2007 in Brazil for example). Would it be possible again? We would like to host “ManagerZone” in Istanbul.

I’m only the controller. The decision is up to the “Landlord” 😉

10)Thank you so much dear Alessandro. We are glad to see you in our community. If you have time please visit our Forum pages and please say “Hi”. Hope to see you again 🙂

Thanks to you for the interview. A big “Ciao” from Italy!

Written by Isk42 and Hogweed

Interview with Silverkhan

1) Hi dear Timothy. First of all thank you very much for your accepting our offer. You are known as an objective and active HMA and also you are a good leader for all assistants and for the managers, too. What kind of person is Timothy in real life, what do you do?

In real life I work for the Belgian Government, I’m 33 y old, married, have a daughter and play football on a recreative level.

2) We know that you live in Belgium. Have you ever faced with harsh things in your life? Would you mind talking about your past dear Timothy?

Everybody faces some harsh things in life somewhere but of course it depends on what you mean by harsh. I imagine that growing up in Belgium you are most likely to have a good life, face some things that might bring you down a bit but never as harsh as elsewhere in the world.

3) Belgium National Team is number 1 in FIFA classification. How did Belgium National Team manage this big success do you think? What is the main point? And in 2016 Europian Championship what do you expect?

It’s incredible that we’ve been able to achieve the number 1 spot. We’ve got some talented players for sure and we’ve got a decent enough mix of players but I doubt that the number 1 spot reflects the strength of our national team. All in all there’s a pretty decent youth education in Belgium, you can learn to play on the streets but most definite there’s a good scouting in Belgium as all of our youngsters are playing abroad.
My expectation is that the team is being overrated. I’ve seen a lot of other national teams play and I’m more convinced about Italy’s or Englands youngsters. I was impressed when I saw the Polish national team play and I’m impressed by Austria. It won’t be as easy as most people think and I believe Belgium will survive it’s group but will be eliminated pretty soon afterwards.

4) I’m sure you like football much and you are fond of some Football teams in real life? What is your favorite team?

In Belgium my favourite team is Club Bruges. Worldwide I’m a fan of Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool FC. I dislike everything that’s Spanish football with exception of Atletico Madrid.

5) Do you know any Turkish football teams or any Turkish players in real life? How do you comment on Turkish Football?

We’ve got a pretty large Turkish community in Belgium. Cause of that I do know some Turkish teams yes. The three big Istanbul teams certainly are known well, but I also know Gençlerbirliği, Antalyaspor, Buraspor, Kasimpasa, … and probably some more. Sometimes I know them because of Belgian players of players coming from our league play there. For example Ryan Donk, sometimes because of the more famous players like Wesley Sneijder or Robin Van Persie.
Playerwise the older stars like Hakan Sukur, Emre, Volkan Demirel and so forth ring a bell. But also the newer players like Arda Turan, Hakan Calhanoglu, Burak Yilmaz are worth following. There’s of course also some Turkish players that chose for other countries to play for.

On the competition itself I can’t really say much I’m afraid. I don’t really follow it very active. I think the Turkish league is stronger then Belgian one.
It was with a bit of luck that Bruges eliminated Besiktas last year.

6) We see that you joined ManagerZone in 2003. It’s been a long time, how did you join ManagerZone? Do you have a story?

I joined ManagerZone because of a friend who bumped into it. He told about it to myself and 4 other friends. So I started out with 5 guys playing, discussing,… a healthy rivalry. Only me and 1 other guy kept around. The rest quitted within 6 months.

7) And your username is “silverkhan”. Does it have a special meaning for you dear Timothy?

Not really a special one no. I tend to use the name on various platforms. It means the Silver Conquerer.
Silver because we try to win as much silverware as possible, Khan coming from Genghis Khan.

8) As we said before you have been playing this nice game for 12 years. I’m sure you are full of memories, do you want to share one of them with us?

I did come across some nice things during that period yes. Most people would probably mention their first tittle or cup as one to remember, I actually don’t.
I started playing ManagerZone when it was hugely popular in Belgium. I won division 5 and 4 with great ease but then I ended up in division 3.2. A division that is still famous in Belgium. This because of the fact that nearly all of the topmanagers from Belgium passed through it. Guys like jerdefox, denbasti, kleintje, brillian ants fc, bootleg babies .. Sometimes I think that division was througher then our First Class. I took me 7 seasons to get passed it. And I held on, didnt complain but simply enjoyed to big games.

9) We can’t say you are away from Turkish Society, you are always with us. What do you think about Turkish Society? As an HMA what do you see in Turkish Society?

I wouldn’t say I’m never away. I follow from a distance and through some people I know in the community as well as through the xA’s we’ve got there. I’m happy to have some friends who keep me informed and I’m more then happy to have some very good agents at ZenDesk as well as good people in the FA, RA and LA ranks.
When nothing happens I’m also less informed then when things gets stirred up. It’s then when the bells start ringing at all sides :-).

I think I can say that it’s a very passionate community. Passionate in their discussions, the love for their teams and the love for ManagerZone. A large winners mentality with all of the managers, good friendships between managers but equally passionate rivalries that sometimes evolve a bit to far. But I’m glad we have such a big Turkish community and I hope it can keep growing.

10) Do you follow any Turkish managers in ManagerZone?

I’m afraid that I’m not following any managers no. But rest assure I simply don’t follow any managers specifically in any place.
Don’t have a special love or hate for any team on ManagerZone. When I started ManagerZone I did do that, I followed some English, Danish and German teams but I don’t really do that no more. So many teams are good and the list would be to large to follow.

11) You are leading nearly 50 assistants and ten thousands of users. We know you are not only leading assistants but also help users by yourself. Isn’t it hard to coordinate all these people? Do you have any memory that you can’t forget related with your HMA job?

Lets stop at leading +/- 50 assistants. It’s those assistants that lead the 10.000 and more users. And lets keep in mind that I don’t lead myself but I lead with my fellow HMA’s as well as with the 4 GMA at ZenDesk if you pick my part of the game. Without my colleague HMA/GMA and especially without my agents I would not lead at all. The harder work falls on their shoulder being the spokespeople of ManagerZone.

I’ve helped many people yes, I probably also made some unhappy. Not all of the xA job is fun. I think I was most happy when I could help out crew reform the xA ranks.
The regional way of working, the more structured way of working as xA’s, .. I think and hope the xA’s still like that way of working and I hope it has helped ManagerZone to be more transparant and to be more responsive.

12) Lastly, what do you offer for our community? Do you any advice?

Keep on doing what you do? The Turkish community has become a very important community on ManagerZone. It’s become very large and very active. Like I said already I hope that it keeps growing and I doubt I can give an advice to do that. The only advice I can give is don’t give up, even if the results are not as you’d like them to be don’t give up. Keep looking for something new, keep looking for ways to make your team better and simply enjoy building up rivalries with people in your league.

Written by Isk42 and Silverkhan

Interview with damcio

1)Hi dear Damian. First of all thank you for your help. You work as HMA in ManagerZone as we know. Would you please tell us something about yourself (in real life)?

Hi. My name is Damian. I am married, and have two daughters. I work in a company that supply water. My hobbies are: sailing, running, playing football.

2)You are from Poland as we know. Poland has historic importance and also some sad memories in the past. I have a Turkish friend who has been in Poland for a long time and he always praises your beautiful country. How is Poland now and how is life in Poland do you think?

My country changed a lot during last 20 years. I have visited many countries and can not imagine life abroad. It is a beautiful country with beautiful women 

3.What you think about Turkey dear Damian? And Turkish people?

Unfortunately I do not know any Turkish people and I haven’t been in Turkey yet . As I watch in TV a lot of things happen last years in your country. I can only base on interviews with Turkish managers and xA. We have reliable and hardworking Turkish Xa’s.

4.Do you have any favorite football team? And what do you think about Turkish football and football teams in real life?

Of course my favourite football team is GKS Tychy (the team from my town). I know only four Turkish teams: Fenerbahce,Trabzonspor, Galatasaray and Besiktas. As I remember there were some Polish players in Turkey, unfortunately they couln’t do career. About favourite team abroad – it is Manchester United, no doubts 

5.You have been playing ManagerZone for 12 years. It is more than a decade. What kind of feeling is that? How did you come across ManagerZone?

My friend let me know about the game. After that I registered and play till now. Yes it is a long time but I do not regret. Actually I do not (as it was in the past) wake up at night and buy players on a transfer list but I am further engaged

6.I’m sure you have more and more memories in your ManagerZone life as a manager. What are your “bests” memories as a manager?

Unfortunately I have not got a lot of success in Managerzone. I have played in top division in football and hockey. I won U21 World Cup and one Division Cup in hockey. But I will try to change it 

7.You have been helping our managers for ten years. ManagerZone is like a part of your life. Would you like to tell us something related with your assistant life dear Damian?

At the begining I was GA, after that MA. Now I am HMA and I am in charge of translations, forums and The Zone magazines. It does not mean I am in contact with every LA’s, RA’s, FA’s. I usually deal with FMAs, LMAs and RMAs. It is a great feeling to be a part of the game, the community.

8.Is there similarities between Polish and Turkish communities in ManagerZone do you think?

We both have successful managers and big communities. Polish and Turkish community have similar strength I think. Turkish Community is more active on forum.

9.Your Turkish RA team is working hard lately and I personally appreciate their nice work. Would you like to tell something to your all assistants as HMA?

Please keep on doing great job. It is not only me who appreciate that. This game would be quite different if not for your contribution.

10. And what do you advice for Turkish managers?

Do not give up. It is hard to give any advices. I think everyone can find own way to success. I hope Turkish community will grow all the time. What I can advice is try to attend meetings. I know many people from Managerzone, who I have constant contact. This happened through participation in Meetings. Nowadays after many years we still meet each others with whole families.

11.Is there anything you want to add or you want to talk dear Damian?

Thanks for the interview. I greet the whole Managerzone community.

Written by isk42 and damcio

Interview with Mikelony

1. Hi dear Mike. First of all thank you. We tell you “a rising star” or should we say “already raised” 🙂 You are working as S&I GMA for ManagerZone. Can you please tell something about yourself?

Hi. Thanks for this interview! Well, it’s true that I’m a well known manager due to all this time playing, but I’m here to help MZ out wherever they want. My name is Miguel, although I prefer be called Mike. 30 years old, IT guy, supporter of Real Madrid and my hobbies are technology, music and sports.

2. You are from Spain and I think I have something to tell us about Spain?

Spain is a beautiful country to live. It’s true that our politicians are not our best ambassadors due to corruption, but spanish people is friendly, polite and we treat our visitors very well. Of course you are invited!

3. Spain has many strong football teams. Of course we know much about Spanish Football Teams but I wonder which one is your favorite?

Without any doubt, Real Madrid. Now we have a complicated situation, but this team is the best of the football history, and we will come back to win a lot of titles!

4. What do you think about Turkish football/teams dear Mike? And also Turkish players? Do you know or follow any Turkish team?

From time to time, I read some news from Fenerbahce, Besiktas an Galatasaray, mainly because these team could be potential opponents of Real Madrid in UCL. I know some Turkish players, like Arda Turan, but to be honest Super Lig is not of my followed leagues around the world.

5. And do you have any Turkish friends in real life? What you think or know about Turkey?

Not in real life, but in this outstanding game, ManagerZone :). I know Turkey is a passionated country, where politics and religion are some important. I love his food, and top three teams, Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce, are very competitive.

6. When and how did you start ManagerZone?

I started in MZ on 20th May of 2004, so almost 12 years ago playing. I knew this game for an old friend, Cookies321, who is not currenty playing, but I hope he will come back in a while. He is the guilty of my presence here! 🙂

7. Your username is “mikelony” and your team name is “A.D. Alcorcon”. Do they have any meaning for you?

A bit. My username is the first I registered when I started on Internet (1999), and I continue using it. My team name is for the football team of my city, A.D. Alcorcón, which is currently playing on Second Division.

8. What is your “bests” in ManagerZone? What are the things that you can’t forget?

My bests in the game was winning on Season 9 Cup in Hockey, and runner-up of a couple of official cups in Football and played in First Division. I won’t never forget all friends I’ve known here, and some of them I’ve met personally. In my oppinion the power of this game is the Community, and people you know in your trip.

9. What makes ManagerZone different, do you think? What are advantages of this best game and organization?

As I’ve said, Community, Assistants and regular people who plays are the best assets this company has. The main advantage is be able to organize a talented Assistant group, because if those Assistants love the game, then for sure they will do their tasks very well, because they will put a lot of passion.

10. Do you follow any of our managers? What do you think about Turkish managers?

I’m currently following Senatorkobra and Sodom12, cause they are my virtual friends from Turkey. As in real life, Turkish managers put a lot of passion in all they do, and I like it, because they do their best in the game, and they are quite competitive also.

11. How do you see the future of ManagerZone?

I’ve talked this with my friends, and for me it’s clear. Company has to decide if they want to hook New Managers, or keep happy current. Now, from my point of view, they prefer to keep happy old Managers, like me, but they are not digging a lot seeking New Managers. In countries like Spain, where we have two big sport newspapers like Marca and AS, if they would invest in a big marketing campaign, they could recruit a lot of New Managers. Anyway I think MZ has a long road to drive…

12. Is there anything you want to add dear Mike? Thank you very much and hope to see you in our community/Forum 🙂

Thanks for this nice interview! Long life to ManagerZone!!!

Written by Cankuthan and Mikelony