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Interview Series - Cramenic

Автор Renan_Freitas

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OPH (Official Hattrick Press) Year I - Article 002, by Renan Freitas.
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TODAY'S INTERVIEW: Cramenic(314198)

*Directly from Rio Grande do Sul, Cramenic – manager of the amazing Forgoten - reveals us a little of his great experience in management of competitive teams.

* We will also take a look at the last Brazilian Cup champion’s expectations for the Hattrick Masters.

Fun Fact:

Recently the Brazilian Revenue Service investigated Forgoten because of an apparent illicit enrichment: players' sales exceeded 1 Billion reais (U$ 500 million) and net income exceeded 90 million (U$ 45 million).

Despite the fact that investigations did not lead to any decisive proof of criminal activity by Forgoten, many agree that there must be something wrong, considering Cramenic’s real life background.

Check it out:

OPH: You joined Hattrick in 2003 and saw many changes during these years. Do you consider that today the game itself is easier than before?

Cramenic:"Despite having joined in 2003, I was out (training for the Brazilian NT and logging in once a month) from the middle of 2006 until the end of 2009 and also almost the whole year in 2011.

So I didn't follow many of the changes, formerly there was less explicit information about the game. It was more difficult to understand how things worked, and regarding the ease of the game, I think today it is much more difficult, it is much harder to make money than it was before too."

OPH: How long did it take you to learn to make money out of the transfer market?

Cramenic: " Well, during my first season me and a friend started discussing some aspects of the game and thinking about how to build a winning team. Around the third season I started to make a systematic evaluation of my team’s value each season. That is when I realised the importance of having an objective evaluation in order to have good profit.

I have never made money out of daytrading, but I did some skilltrading and I think it was quite effective. But the most important, beyond any doubt, is being able to evaluate your team’s worth objectively.

Many people ask me for help and I say that to all of them, because I believe more than half the users who get stuck in series V to III are in this situation because they are losing money with training – because their non-training players depreciate, or the team wages are too high, etc – or simply fail to improve their rosters."

OPH: How do you see your progress in the game? (Explain your steps to the “Campeonato Brasileiro” and evaluate the process).

Cramenic:" From 2003 to 2006 I had a quick progress. I think I could see things many people could not – i.e. the importance of midfield, benefits of skilltrading etc – after that I kind of quit the game.

I kept on training, always focused on midfield and always evaluating if my team was growing at the end of each season. I honestly think I could have reached the CB and fought for titles.

Then I remained 3 years as a semi-bot training for the Brazilian NT. At that time the players could reach divine+++ and had ludicrous wages. You could only do it as a farm team. I trained the player who played the most matches for Brazil in World Cups (amongst others, all with extreme salaries).

When I got back to playing seriously in 2009 most of my resources had dried out, so I went back to my plan of doing skilltrading on the reserve team slots and training the starters.

I had some series promotions and was playing division VI with a half-baked team, making some money until the moment I needed to be more competitive. That happened when I got promoted to IV, which is when I started to assemble the team I thought would take me to the CB.

I took players to train in the long term, some NT prospects (which are great for performance), and started to train for the team, regardless of reducing team value.

In fact my team has been losing value since that time. Every season the money I could make by selling my players is less and less, but my team planning was a good one. I made many simulations on HO and knew I would have a team that could reach 450 hatstats, which would have been more than enough to win the CB at the time."

OPH: Could you tell us the secret to get to the “Campeonato Brasileiro”?

Cramenic:" From IV to the CB was a fun journey. My team was very strong and I managed to win divisions IV, III and II. I do not think I did much to win those titles, the merit was in being able to put together such a great team.

An important point is that – on the contrary to what many people preached – I bet on defence+midfield rather than attack+midfield.

As I had some previous knowledge of statistics and probability, I knew that teams build on midfield+attack were more vulnerable to random results (for a reasonably complex mathematical cause) and also subject to MOTS in the Cup."

OPH: Why do you consider the Cup to be so important?

Cramenic:"I know that leaving the Cup early is terrible in the upper divisions, because it is fundamental in keeping a good performance. Besides, having a strong team, I wanted to be able to fight for the title of the Cup even playing in the highest division.

In that sense it was very enlightening to look at Gustavo Guerra’s team. The man had the best team in the country for 8 seasons and won the Cup only once (but 7 CBs). In each Cup loss he had I could see either randomness or a weaker opponent playing MOTS.

If you look at it, I played the last 2 Cup finals and that is no accident. My team is well prepared to play this competition. Even when I lose midfield I can be competitive because I have a good defence. Furthermore, I am less vulnerable to random than I would be if I played more offensively. As I had one of the strongest teams in the country, the good campaigns were just a consequence.

OPH: Everybody says it is difficult to make money out of training in the highest divisions and that it is very expensive to be in the CB. What is your plan to remain on top?

Cramenic:"My plan is to really go bankrupt! I took as an example a 4-time Hungarian champion, talked to the user and got many ideas from him.

That is what made me realise a team can be competitive even with older players. The peak of a player’s performance comes between 30 and 33 years old and a team with an average of 34 years can still be VERY strong.

So I planned my team to get to the CB with an average 30-31 years old and decided to keep this same team until the players are 34-35. That means another 3 seasons with a very strong performance, fighting for the CB title and maybe the Cup too. After that the team will be worthless and it will be time to sell every one cheap and start again."

OPH: No doubt winning the Cup is a great accomplishment, however we look forward to a Masters title. Do you believe you can get this trophy one day?

Cramenic:"I do not believe so. I think there were about 20 teams stronger than mine this season, 7 of them considerably stronger.

Even if my team had the best of forms I would be behind these 6 or 7 strongest teams and I do not see how to change this situation.

Objectively thinking, it would be great to be able to play the Masters one more time. My team will have a short life (as I said before) and this season the CB is practically decided in favour of Olinda. My option is the Cup, but this one is more difficult than the previous two.

Summing up, the chance of getting there is low. To be able to win the Masters I would have to be VERY, VERY lucky."

Fun Fact:

After this terrible excuse, the Brazilian company Lucky Wheat Flour made a sponsorship offer to Forgoten. We all hope Cramenic will be able to win the Masters after signing the contract.

OPH: Do you see yourself as a good manager?

Cramenic:" Yes, I do. I think I have many skills that make me a good manager – I am organized, quite determined, have good knowledge of probability and statistics and I am experienced in the game. I also know the engine reasonably well.

I think I have many skills above average, like the ability to make money and analyse my opponent. And it is the addition of these skills that makes me a good manager.

I am not as good in making money as Gustavo Guerra, I do not know as much about the engine as Parra or Red and I am not an expert analyst as Pedro, but I am good enough in all three aspects.

Besides that, I have friends and acquaintances that know a lot about the game and that helps a lot. Being able to rely on someone like Brunossauro, Parra or all of Eneas to help you analyse your opponent and decide on you team roster is very helpful."

OPH: Do you intend to lead the NT or the U-20 one day?

Cramenic:" Surely not while I have a competitive team, because I think focusing on too many things harms the quality. But I am getting closer to the NT again and do not rule out trying to manage one of our teams in the future.

I think it is essential to have some experience around the NT and know the details of the position, things that go beyond the experience of the common manager. Las week I found out that home matches in the WC qualifying stage do not count as home matches, but rather as away derbies. This is the kind of detail that you only know when you are involved."

OPH: What motivates you to continue in Hattrick after so many years?

Cramenic:" First, I really like this kind of game. I love strategy games, especially turn-based. I am a fan of chess and other similar games.

I think HT’s long term design is great, but the simple fact that I like this kind of game is not enough, me leaving twice is a proof of that. Some things that keep me on the game today are the people and the feds I take part in."

OPH: If possible, what two things would you change in hattrick?

Cramenic:" The first change would be restraining the amount of money for lower division teams. Nowadays the strategy of hoarding in lower divisions is too strong.

There is strong incentive for people to leave all else and simply play monopoly while the ones who are trying to have fun playing competitively cannot find a way to move ahead in the game.

I would do something like limiting the maximum amount of money for teams below 3rd division to 25 million dollars. That would be more realistic, because it is absolutely unthinkable for a 6th division team to have 150 million in cash and be able to hire the best team of the world.

The second thing would be a series of minor adjustments in the engine, too many things to mention, which I believe would make the game more balanced, less randomic in higher levels and mainly with more tactical possibilities. Whether you like it or not, in higher levels (i.e. HT Masters) all the top teams have very similar tactics; 3-5-2 or 2-5-3 with 2-3 DFs and normal or offensive wingers."

OPH: In a recent interview to OPH, Gustavo Guerra (3639334) stated that as soon as he has 250 million reais (125 million USD) he will start playing competitively again and try for the Masters (17176). Have you ever done something like this? Would you?

Cramenic:"I never did anything like that. When I stopped playing competitively it was not to earn money. I think I might do that, but not in such intense manner.

I would more probably organise a long term training plan. But I think today this is the only way to try and win the HT-Masters."

OPH: What are your plans for the next 2 seasons?

Cramenic:" Keep my team and try to win another national title (CB or Cup). Next season my team should be a little stronger than this one. It will be nice."

OPH: We thank you and wish you good luck, especially now with the new sponsorship.