Guide
PES 2013 Master League: The Complete Beginner's Guide
Start your PES 2013 Master League the right way: choosing your team, the default squad, budgets, staff, and surviving your first season in charge.
Contents On this page
Master League is where PES 2013 becomes a way of life. You inherit a club, a budget that never stretches far enough, and a squad that must be dragged through seasons of league and cup football. This guide walks a new manager from the first menu to the end of a survivable first season.
Choosing how to start
You can begin with a real club's actual squad or with the legendary default team of fictional players such as Castolo and Minanda. The real squad start is gentler. The default start is the true Master League experience: a weak but lovable team, tiny wages, and the slow joy of building something from almost nothing.
Your first week in the job
Before a ball is kicked, set your formation, assign set piece takers, and look at contracts expiring this season. Renew the two or three players you cannot replace cheaply, because losing a starter for free in January hurts far more than the small wage rise costs you in September. For the complete picture of the game, start from the PES 2013 guide home page and work outwards from there.
How money actually works
Master League money comes from prize funds, sponsorship style income tied to results and popularity, and player sales. Wages are the silent killer: a squad of twenty five on rising contracts will eat a winning team's income. Sell before you buy, keep a wage ceiling for all but genuine stars, and never let one signing consume the whole budget.
Staff and training basics
Your coaching and support staff shape how fast players grow and recover. Early on, modest staff used well beat expensive staff you cannot afford. Keep training balanced for young squads, and rest players carrying fatigue into big matches, because tired legs in this engine mean heavy touches and late tackles.
The transfer windows
Scout with a shopping list written before the window opens: the positions your system needs, the attributes that fit it, nothing else. Players whose contracts are running down are the market's gift to poor clubs. Bidding late in the window for listed players regularly beats the asking price by a wide margin. We go deeper on the connected topic in our PES 2013 skill moves guide, which pairs well with this one.
Playing the season
Rotate for cup matches against weaker sides and protect your best eleven for the league run. Form in Master League is a real tide: a side that wins three in a row plays visibly sharper. Use friendlies and easier fixtures to restart a stalled season rather than changing formation in a panic.
The youth team is your future
Check the youth squad every month. Promoted youngsters cost almost nothing, grow quickly with minutes, and occasionally turn out to be genuinely special. A beginner who raids the youth team each season builds a dynasty; one who ignores it buys other people's dynasties at full price. We go deeper on the connected topic in our manual passing and shooting deep dive, which pairs well with this one.
End of season one checklist
Before the season rolls over: renew expiring contracts you want to keep, list the dead wood, note your three weakest positions, and save your game. Season two is where Master League opens up, with better players willing to join a club that is clearly going somewhere.
Quick Answers
Should I start Master League with the default team or a real squad?
A real squad is easier for a first campaign. The default team of Castolo, Minanda and company is the classic challenge and the most rewarding long term start.
How do you make money in PES 2013 Master League?
Through prize money, income tied to results and club popularity, and player sales. Controlling the wage bill matters as much as income, so sell before you buy and cap wages for non stars.
What should a beginner do first in Master League?
Set your formation and set piece takers, check expiring contracts, renew the players you cannot replace, and write a short transfer list before the first window opens.