Rabona Immersion

Sometimes I look at my matches in Rabona as if they were real ones. I don't know if you've ever tried it, but some matches are really surprising when you consider the whole context. My last match of the last season is a great example.

My team (Galo Doido) was tied with the second place in points, but with a huge advantage in goal difference, so all I needed was to win and thus become champion of the League 1. However, I was going to face away from home the second bottom team (Chalkida F.C.) that still had a mathematical chance of avoiding relegation and despite their position they was not a weak team.

At the beggining of the match, one of my opponent's players was sent off with a red card, but even with one player fewer they opened the score. My team scored the equalizer in the 27th minute and the winning goal only in the 89th minute. The match itself was exciting, and it would be even more exciting knowing the "live score" of the other matches.

While my match was still tied, the runner-up was already beating their opponent and with the title in the bag. Also, those in the relegation fight with Chalkida were losing, which meant that if Chalkida scored a goal they would not be relegated. I was losing the title and my opponent still had a chance to avoid relegation until almost the end of the match. Surprisingly the race was wide open for both teams.

I have played other football management games and one of the things I always liked was the "real time" view, with some dynamism and excitement of a football match. For those unfamiliar, it looks something like this: