1. FC Union Berlin - Capital Domination


1. FC Union Berlin
Marz - 2023

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Fixtures:

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Just the 4 games this month due to an international period towards the back end of the month, and we certainly managed to get back to top form. The month kicked off with Torsten Schroder's hatrick giving us a relatively comfortable 3-1 home win over Stuttgart, and we followed it up with a 5-0 win at home to Galatasaray in the 2nd leg of our Champions League tie to send us through 8-1 on aggregate (Brandt x3, Schroder x2). Next up was an away tie against Dresden and our young goalkeeper Krumnow, who has now made over 20 league appearances for them this season. Unfortunately for him we didn't take it easy on him and backup left winger Mladenovic scored a hatrick on the way to a 4-0 victory, a 3rd hatrick in 3 games this month. The final game of the month saw us batter Freiburg 6-0 at home, however we could not make it 4 hatricks in 4 games as Fofana, Brandt and Carrasco all only managed a brace each. Disgraceful!

League Table:

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We've extended our league back to 9 points to Bayern with only 8 games to go, so barring a massive drop off in form we should be retaining our title once again.

Player of the Month - Juliant Brandt

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Only started 2 of the games this month but managed to score 5 goals in them. With Mladenovic scoring a hatrick in one of the games he missed, the left wing position has proved pretty fruitful for us this month...

Player Stats:

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When you take a look at just how many goals our attacking players, both first choice and backup, contribute to the team it's no wonder that we are so strong domestically. New CB Carrasco is even managing to average a goal every 2 games since joining the club!

Other News:

1) We had our youth intake this month and whilst it doesn't look particularly great, the top 3 are all rated by my coaches as having leading Bundesliga potential. Claasen in particular could be a future first teamer, although his attributes are slightly strange and I'm not sure whether he's better at CB or left back. (His mental and physical stats suggest LB but his technical attributes suggest CB)

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2) The Champions League quarter final draw was made and the good news is that we avoided Barcelona! We play Manchester City, and will come up against ex players Joshua Kimmich and Niklas Sule, as well as my French international striker Cardillo!

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Next up will be an April update, can we make it into the Champions League semis for only a 2nd time in our history?​
 
That centre back looks like he could be class, considering his age too

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

1. FC Union Berlin
April - 2023

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Fixtures:

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In stark contrast to the previous month, April was an incredibly busy month for us where we had to play 9 games within 28 days. The month started in the worst possible way, by losing away to Gladbach and allowing Bayern to cut the gap at the top to just 6 points. We did win the following 3 league games in the month against Dortmund, Leverkusen and Augsburg, however we could only draw away to Hamburg on the last day of the month to cut our gap at the top to just 4 points with 3 games to go. Things went perfectly well in both the Champions League and the German Cup this month, beating Hoffenheim in the German Cup quarter final and Hertha Berlin in a Berliner derby semi final to progress into the final of the competition against Hamburg at the end of the month. In the Champions League quarter final we won the first leg against Man City 3-2 in Manchester and followed it up with a 4-1 home win to make it to the semi finals for only the second time in our history, where we will meet PSG.

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League Table:

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4 points clear with 3 games to go, surely we won't throw it away?

Player of the Month - Torsten Schroder

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9 goals this month including consecutive hatricks against Augsburg and Hertha. He broke the record for both the most man of the matches and most goals in a season for the club during the course of the month.

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Player Stats:

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With 6 games in all competitions to go this season (potentially 7 if we get to the CL final), will Schroder be able to get the 8 goals he needs to reach 50 for the season? Both first choice full bakcs got injured and whilst Chambers will only miss the first leg vs PSG, Kurzawa will miss both and maybe the final if we get ther.


Next up will be a May update, can we secure our 5th consecutive Bundesliga title or will Bayern win back the trophy they last won in 2018?​
 

1. FC Union Berlin
Mai - 2023

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Fixtures:

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3 wins from our final 3 league games settled any nerves that we may not retain our Bundesliga title! However, the main story this month was our Champions League semi final tie against PSG. The first leg was in Berlin and was a cagey affair, but we managed to nick the first goal just before half time through Julian Brandt. We looked to be heading towards a tight 1-0 victory and crucially not allowing them an away goal, however a mistake from Leno allowed Sanabria to grab an equalizer 10 minutes from time and the game finished 1-1. Into the second leg in Paris and we had knew we had to score to have the chance of going through. Once again though, we managed to take the lead in the game. Seko Fofana drove through the PSG defence from midfield and drove one into the back of the net in the 57th minute. However our lead didn't last long as Lucas Moura levelled the game just 3 minutes later. From there it was all PSG as they pushed for a winner, a winner they could not get and the game went into extra time. Neither side created much in extra time and so the game went to penalties. In the end it was January signing Carrasco who missed his penalty and allowed PSG to progress into the final 5-4 on penalties, meaning we are still to reach a Champions League final after 6 years in the competition!

League Table:

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A 5th Bundesliga title in a row for Union Berlin! We were 6 points down and 8 goals on the goal difference from last season though. Also, Schalke broke our record for most Bundesliga goals in a season by scoring 105 goals this season, beating the previous record we set last year of 103.

German Cup Final:

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The German Cup final appeared to be quite a straight forward tie on paper, going up against mid-table Hamburg, however it turned out to be a very competitive game. Hamburg took a 1-0 lead intp half time after a goal in the 37th minute from Weiser. It didn't take long for us to get back into it after the break however, with right back Callum Chambers smashing one into the far corner with his left foot after a marauding run forward. Our winner came in the 65th minute when Marvin Muller got onto a rebound from a Schroder effort and put the ball in the back of the net from close range, securing the club's 5th German Cup win.

Player Stats:

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In the end it was a poor May for Schroder as he only got the two goals, so finished with just the 44 goals in his chase for 50! Julian Brandt had his best goalscoring season for the club from the left wing, with 24 goals in 33 starts across all competitions. Marvin Muller becomes the first player in the save to finish a season with an average rating of above 8, showing just how much quality he adds into the side.

Other News:

1) I think we've finally been granted planning permission for expanding our stadium. The capacity will jump from 36,250 to 52,250 and we will spend next season ground sharing with Hertha in the Olympiastadion (72,000 capcity) next season whilst the work is going on. We're also improving the youth and training facilities.

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2) We've already started our transfer business for next season. We've agreed a deal of £35,000,000 to bring Italian international Antonio Volpe into the club from Atalanta, whilst also agreeing to sell club icon Seko Fofana to Arsenal for £40,000,000. It's a shame in one sense as he probably wasn't far off becoming a club legend but I think Volpe is a more well rounded player and at just 22 years of age compared to Fofana who is 28, I think the two deals in conjunction make a lot of sense.

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Next update will be a nations league semi final (and hopefully final) update with France. Can I win my first piece of international silverware?​
 
Noooooo so unlucky in the Champions League mate!!
 
Agree with Sam - heartbreaker against PSG mate! Congrats on the league and cup double though!
 
Aw mate so unlucky! Volpe looks immense but can he fill Fofanas boots? Sad to see him go though!
 
copeyhd said:
Aw mate so unlucky! Volpe looks immense but can he fill Fofanas boots? Sad to see him go though!
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I hope so! Was a tough decision to let Fofana as he was close to being a club legend and probably had the most league appearances of any player at the club, but ultimately I think at 28 years old he was probably at peak value so made sense to move him on when I remove the sentimental attachment XD
 
Safc-mad-scotty said:
I hope so! Was a tough decision to let Fofana as he was close to being a club legend and probably had the most league appearances of any player at the club, but ultimately I think at 28 years old he was probably at peak value so made sense to move him on when I remove the sentimental attachment XD
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Exactly mate, football is a buisness at the end of the day!
 

1. FC Union Berlin
Pre-Season - 2023/2024

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Transfers:

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Not much really to add after the two big deals I already discussed in the last update. We did move on Jean Zimmer to Wolfsburg for £7,500,000 to allow our young wonderkid right back Mariko to become our backup right back. We also sold 4th choice CB Regulski for £2,500,000 + 50% of his next fee to Stuttgart after he really never developed as much as I hoped he would and I have a better young defender in Andrich to promote to the 1st team squad.

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German Super Cup:

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After winning this competition just 1 time in the previous 4 years, it was nice to finally get our 4th Super Cup win under our belts. We rushed into a 3 goal lead early in the second half, however things did get nervy towards the end as Bayern pulled 2 back and had chances for an equalizer. Luckily though, they missed those chances and we held on to bring the trophy back to Berlin.

Squad:

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Only major change in the 1st 11 is Volpe in for Fofana. The other additions to the squad are all young players from our academy in Mariko, Andrich and Krumnow. Andrich and Krumnow will probably only ever be backup players but my coaches think Mariko has the potential to be world class according to my coaches and will hopefully take over as 1st choice in a couple of seasons time.

Other News:

1) I managed to win my first international trophy of the save after beating Ukraine and England with France in the Euro Nations League semi final and final respectively. The highlight of our final win over England at Wembley was the hatrick from Manchester City striker Cardillo.

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Next update will be an August update, where we will have our Champions League group stage drawn and we will begin yet another defence of our Bundesliga title.​
 

1. FC Union Berlin
August - 2023

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Transfers:

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With money to burn I decided to start scouting some of the best young German talent and decided to go after a defensive midfielder from Stuttgart called Norbert Gentner. My scouts believe he has the potential to be world class so I signed him for an initial £12,000,00 and potentially big add ons of £12,000,000 after 50 league appearances and £12,000,000 after 20 international appearances. However, if he reaches he fulfils these conditions then it's likely he has developed into the player we hoped and it will be money well spent! He's gone back to Stuttgart on loan for the next couple of seasons and hopefully he will break into their first team soon and get some first team football under his belt before he joins us when he's 18 years old.

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Fixtures:

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A very nice start to the season as we kick off in regular fashion by a backup side putting a few past a lower league team in the German Cup 1st round in a game where Loris Noto bagged himself 4 goals. We then kicked of the league campaign with a comfortable 5-0 win over Leverkusen at home with a brace from Schroder and a goal on his home debut from Volpe. This game saw us break our attendance record for a league game as we brought in a crowd of 67,567 at our rivals Olympiastadion (around 30,000,000 than they managed for their first 2 home games!). Our biggest test of the month saw us head to Dortmund and a tactical switch to go 4-4-2 for the game seemed to work well as goals from Brandt and Muller gave us a 2-0 win. Another brace from Schroder and a 2nd goals of the season from Volpe gave us a 3-0 win away at Mainz in the final game of the month.

Other News:

1) Our club finances are looking very healthy going into the new season, with over £54,000,000 in the bank. Playing at the Olmpiastadion should allow us to bring in extra income this season due to the big increase in attendances, which can only help our finances further.

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2) Our Champions League group consists of Manchester City, Feyenoord and BATE Borisov. We should qualify with ease, although Cuty should provide decent competition for top spot.

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Next update will be a quick September review...​
 
Looking like you're on some solid financial footing now with the stadium upgrade and short term move paying dividends. Good luck for the season - hopefully you can bring home the Champions League!!
 
Yeti01 said:
Looking like you're on some solid financial footing now with the stadium upgrade and short term move paying dividends. Good luck for the season - hopefully you can bring home the Champions League!!
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Cheers mate. I'm finding our Champions League struggles strangely enjoyable, won it first 3 seasons I was in it with ADO Den Haag on a separate save so it's a big contrast from that one!
 

1. FC Union Berlin
September - 2023

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Fixtures:

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Things were going pretty much perfectly for us this month before we struggled to a 2-2 draw at 16th placed Hannover on the final day. The month started with a convincing 5-2 win at home over Hoffenheim, topped by Schroder's first hatrick of the season. We followed that result up with a 6-0 drubbing of Stuttgart with braces from Brandt, Schroder and Mladenovic. BATE Borisov were next up in the Champions League and we went one better by beating them 7-0, with Rolando Carrasco's goal adding to hatricks from Schroder and Mladenovic. Our good from continued by beating Werder Bremen 5-0 on the following weekend. If we'd won the game against Hannover then it may just have been my best month in charge of the club in terms of performances. 25 goals in 5 games shows just how much fire power we have in the team!

League Table:

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Bayern have started very well and only behind us on goal difference. Maybe they are now in a position to challenge us for the title this season.

Player of the Month - Torsten Schroder

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11 goals in the 5 games this month is just simply outstanding form from our talisman!

Player Stats:

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When you look at the average ratings of most of the players in the squad you get an impression of just how good we have been playing so far. 16 goals in 9 starts from Schroder and 11 assists in 6 starts from Muller are the highlights so far.

Other News:

1) Schroder's fantastic month has meant he is the first player in the save to become a club legend!

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Next up will be an October update...

​
 
ifanythinhehitthattoowell said:
You've inspired me to start a 2. Bundesliga save, I've chosen 1860 Munich, wish me luck! Any good tips before I start?
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Can't offer too much advice but one thing I would say is not to worry too much if your finances go into the red during the season as you get a lot of prize money (more when you get promoted) and sponsorship money at the end of the season which generally pushes you back into the black.

Good luck, keep me updated on how you're getting on!
 
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