FM24: Esquadrão de Aço — Voltaço

How to choose an FM save… it’s an interesting conundrum. I couldn’t decide whether to stay in Europe or venture further afield. In the end, I went with the latter, time to experience something new. So, for this save, I find myself in South America’s largest country and the home of my favourite ever footballer, Ronaldo — Brazil.

Volta Redonda is a municipality in the Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil. Its name which is Portuguese for Round Turn, is due to the round shape of a curve in the Paraíba do Sul river around which the city was built as shown in the image below.

Volta Redonda earned the nickname “The Steel City” due to its historical association with the steel industry. The city is home to one of the most prominent steel mills in Brazil, which has played a pivotal role in the region's economic development.

The Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), or National Steel Company, was founded in 1941 and operated in the city. The company played a crucial role in the industrialisation of Brazil, particularly during the mid-20th century. The steel mill in Volta Redonda became a major centre for the production of steel and related products, contributing significantly to the country’s economic growth.

Today, although the city has diversified its economic activities, the historical connection with the steel industry remains a defining characteristic of Volta Redonda.

Volta Redonda Futebol Clube was established on February 9, 1976 and is known as the ‘esquadrão de aço’ or steel squadron in English. The club participates in the Campeonato Carioca, which represents the top-tier football competition in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Other clubs hailing for the state include current Copa Libertadores champions Fluminense, Flamengo, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama. The state championship then, is full of tough competition.

On the national stage, the team currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of the Brazilian football league system. The club has played at this level since 2017, the previous year Voltaço won promotion from Série D with one of the most impressive campaigns in the Série D which saw them finish undefeated, thus stepping up the ladder.

Additionally, after winning the Copa Rio in 2022, the following year Volta Redonda FC could enter the Copa do Brasil, essentially a domestic cup competition featuring teams from across Brazil.

For its home matches, Volta Redonda FC plays at the Estádio Raulino de Oliveira, a significant venue located in the downtown area of the city.

Although the club hasn’t had much success in real life, football manager provides me with the opportunity to change this. Here are the aims for this save game:

The plan is to focus heavily on youth development since Brazil has one of the best youth ratings in the game. This is something I didn’t have the opportunity to do in my previous save in Ireland as our youth intakes were consistently awful. I want to focus heavily on training to develop the young players into future stars for Brazil.

So that is the plan, next time I’ll introduce the players and discuss a game model. Thanks for reading!