<div align="center">Hello one and all, I am playing football manager 15, I have football manager 16 but I'll play that game for club games, for this game I'll play on a national level. Since I've never managed on a national level before because that hasn't really interested me, I figured why not make use of this game still and really get my moneys worth. 

The African Dream: Algeria 


I chose the Algerian Football Club because I wanted a African team and they seemed like an interesting team to take over.

History


The Algerian Football Club was established in 1962 but did not get recognized by FIFA until 1963. From 1963-1979, the Algerians only qualified for 1 African Cup of Nations and that was in 1968 where the made it all the way to the final losing to hosts Nigeria. However their luck would turn around in 1980 when they qualified for a 2nd African Cup of Nations. During this time they also made it to the 1982 World Cup of Soccer which was held in Spain. In the '82 World Cup the Algerians cause one of the biggest upsets in Football history when they beat the defending European Champions in West Germany, 2-1. They didn't make it out of the group stages though. They did however change the World Cup forever after protesting that the crowd was cheering "Feura, Feura" which meant out, out. Algeria protested this because they already had played their last match so it was made that all teams in groups would play the final games on the same day. After another disappointing world cup exit, Algeria hosted the 1990 African Cup of Nations which obviously meant they were in. The host nation was drawn into a pretty tough group with Nigeria, Cote d'Iviore and Egypt. They beat all three which set up a semi final date with Senegal who they beat. In the finals the Algerians played the team they opened up the tourny against in Nigeria. This would be the 1st time in their history that they won the African Cup of Nations and this seemed to secure their place as African Giants.

Then after barely missing out on qualifying for the 1990 World Cup of Soccer, the soccer nation went into what seemed like a never ending dark age. For the '92 ACN they disappointingly finished last and were terrible defending champions. In the '94 version of the Cup, Algeria were disqualified for fielding a player who wasn't registered. In '96 they made it back but were ousted by hosts South Africa in the quarter finals. In the '98 ACoN they qualified but might as well have not even bothered showing up as they lost all 3 group matches. They failed to make it to France World Cup 98 as well. In the new millennium they played in '00 ACoN made it to the quarters again but lost to eventual champions Cameroon. In 2002 they failed to make in out of the group stages of the ACoN and didn't even get a sniff of the Brazil World Cup 02. In 2004 though, things stayed the same in the ACoN, they made it out of the group stages but only made it as far as the quarters but lost to Morocco in extra time. After 04 they never even qualified for the ACoN in 2006 and 2008. They of course didn't make it to Germany World Cup 06. It seemed like they would never regain their early years success and the win over West Germany was fading more and more into the past. 


In 2010 joint qualifying for both the South African World Cup 2010 and Angola African Cup of Nations 2010, Algeria managed to beat group members Zambia, Rwanda and Egypt. Egypt were considered the huge favourites. Algeria though made a group out of it with the games going down to the wire. Egypt needed to win by 3 or more goals to go to South Africa 2010 but they managed a 2-0 win. This meant a 1 off playoff held in Sudan was needed. Algeria shocked their fiercest rivals in Sudan by winning 1-0 sealing their ticket to South Africa. In Angola, they were drawn into a group composed of the hosts, Malawi and Mali. They surprisingly lost to Malawi in the 1st game and sceptics were closing in on them fast but they still managed to Mali and draw with Angola which sent them to the 2nd round, against the arguably the best team in the tournament in Cote d'Iviore. They beat them in extra time and went to the semi's to face, you guessed it, EGYPT! With tension running at an all time high between the two teams from World Cup qualifying, Egypt avenged that loss in another extra time thriller. After 2 hard fought games, Algeria lost 1-0 to Nigeria in the 3rd place game. The 2010 brought more questions than answers after their 24 year absence. They finished dead last in the group but did manage to snag a point in a 0-0 draw against the English. That was the only bright spot on an other wise disappointing showing.


After 2010 the Algerians went back to their disappointing ways. They failed to qualified for the 2012 ACoN. They however did make it to the 2013 ACoN. In 2013 the switched to odd numbered years so it didn't coincide with the World Cup. They were one of the top teams in the 2013 but flamed out in the group stage losing 2 games and drawing against one. After the disappointing showing in the 2013 AcoN, they managed to get into the Brazil World Cup of Soccer 2014. In 2014 they made history by making it out of the group stage in 2nd place behind Belgium. They lost to Belgium 2-1, beat South Korea 4-2 and drew with Russia 1-1 to advance on goal difference. The drew the tall task of playing Germany in the quarter finals. They played them very hard and took them to extra time before losing 2-1. 

Now here we are, about to start our campaign here after the World Cup. Please buckle up and hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.  </div>

<div align="center">Who Am I?

I am Lakhdar Belloumi, the most capped player in Algeria History. He scored probably the biggest goal in Algerian history when he scored against West Germany in 1986. He also scored 28 career international goals. He mostly played his club football in Algeria with GC Mascara. Now he takes over the Algerian National Football Club. Enjoy </div>