A failed player lands a dream gig!

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2. Bundesliga, Week 2: St. Pauli @ 1860

Match day had arrived, and the players were set.

"OK, boys - our home opener! Let's give the fans something to remember," I started. "St. Pauli are going to try to play keep away today - run it down their $@%!ing throats, boys."

GK: Kiraly
DL: Herner, DC: Bulow, DC: Schindler, DR: Steinhofer
DM: Wannenwetsch, MC: Stahl, MC: Stark, AM: Stoppelkamp
ST: Osako, ST: Lauth

We strolled out to the pitch, and the fans greeted us with thunderous applause. I didn't have a feel for Allianz crowds just yet, but I estimated 20k fans in attendance, most wearing blue. Some 500 or so sorry saps wearing a rather ugly shade of brown.

The ref got the match underway, and we began our home opener.

After back-and-forth football for 15 minutes, we won a corner. Stoppelkamp put the ball down, stepped back, paused, then sprinted forward and launched the ball toward the mass of players. Slowly, it tracked to the near post. Bulow judged it best and ran toward it, managing to get a foot on it, but it was a weak shot, and easily blocked and cleared by St. Pauli's defense.

A fairly boring half followed - we had them dominated on the stat sheet, except for the one that mattered, the score stood 0-0 at halftime. We had our chances, but couldn't convert, preferring instead to weakly knock the ball directly into their keeper, Tschauner.

In the locker room at half time, I encouraged the team to keep going. They looked motivated. St. Pauli started off the action in the second half, and 3 minutes later we generated our first chance of the half. Hertner had the ball at midfield, and spotted Osako clear of his defender and with a lane to the goal. He lofted a pass, which was too short. Osako had to run back to meet it. St. Pauli midfielder Trybull also had a read on it, running toward Osako. The two found the ball at the same time and collided into each other. Osako took the worst of it, falling to the ground - the chance was lost.

"David," I heard Markus say, pointing to Osako: our new striker was writhing on the ground, in severe pain. The crowd went silent, and we cleared the ball across the touch line. I could hear Osako's screams from the sideline. I'm certain that the fans on the far end of the arena could hear them, too. Our physios rushed out to him. Several minutes later, they called for a stetcher, and carried him off. I glanced at Stefan Wolters, my Head Physio, before they took him off: he ran his hand across his chest, then made a snapping motion like he was breaking a stick. Ugh. Broken rib.

"Hain, get in there for Osako. Bobby, releive Lauth. Get a goal, gentlemen."

After that, the only real highlight came in the 56th minute, when a Tschauner free kick was intercepted by Schindler. He passed over to Steinhofer, who started the advance. Over to Wannerwetsch, then Stark - we were sticking to our game plan of short passes and possession. Stark fed it to Stoppelkamp, who passed backwards to Steinhofer. To Stoppelkamp....Stark...Stoppelkamp...Steinhofer...Stark...Stahl.... Stahl at last played the ball forward to our strikers, pushing a 15 yard pass to Hain which settled right at his feet. Hain pivoted, still 30 yards out with two defenders closing down, and pushed the ball to Wood. 25 yards out. Bobby collected the ball and sensed Steinhofer tearing down the right side. He made the pass, and Steinhofer had a clear shot from 18 yards, but he thought better of it. He crossed it, passed it, really, to the far left side of the field where Stahl caught up to it. Their defenders were scrambling now - could we take advantage?

Stahl's pass found Hernter on the left side, now 25 yards out again. Hertner found Stark unmarked. I braced myself - somehow Steinhofer had lost the St. Pauli defenders. With all eyes on Stark, a quck pass would leave another clear shot for Steinhofer. Stark sensed it, too, and made the pass. Steinhofer collected the ball, dribbled 4 yards to the 18 yard line and unleashed a shot. It zinged past Halstenberg, and every one in the stadium thought that Tschauner had a read on it. As Tschauner stepped forward to cut the shot off, though, Steinhoer's curl set it, the ball arched quickly left, and Tschauner was beaten he jumped up and back in desparation, but he had misplayed it - a brilliant shot found the top left corner and settled in the net! The arena exploded. 1-0!

We had 3 more great chances to find the scoreboard again, inlcluding a Stahl shot from 10 yards directly in front of the left post. Nobody between him and the keeper - yet he somehow managed to push it wide to the right. No matter - full time came, and we were the victors.

I checked the stats on my iPad as I walked into the locker room - domination!

"Defenders," I said, "they had 1 shot all night, and 0 on target. Absolutely amazing performance. Gabor - I'm sure you'd have risen to the occasion had they let one through."

"Midfield," I continued, "we had 62% possession on the day, 40% of it at midfield. Our pass completion rate was amazing - good job grinding them down today."

"Strikers," I said, glancing at the stats (18 shots, 12 on target), "your shots were remarkably precise tonight..."

The injured Osako looked up, confused. Lauth, Hain, and Wood (who all saw time), though, knew what was coming.

"... unfortunately, I don't remember teaching you to kick the ball directly into the keeper's chest! THESE GUYS CAN'T CARRY YOU EVERY GAME! GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, GENTLEMEN."

I found Coach Scherz, who was presumably responsible for this, and thrusted a finger in his direction: "FIX IT!", I bellowed.

I stormed out of the locker room into my office, and slammed the door for effect.

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30 minutes later, and the locker room was like a ghost town. The players must have left the roundabout way, since none of them strode past my office on the way out. I was digging through the transfer list, hoping against hope that I could find a left defender that was available for a measly 200k transfer fee, who would sign for under 100k/year, and who could play second-division football. It still seemed hopeless: Ott still had to move first.

I was interrupted by a knock at my door. "Sir?" a female voice called out.

"Come in, please," I replied.

Sigrid opened the door "Is this a good time, sir?" she asked.

"Certainly, Sigrid - and call me David."

"OK David," she said, sitting down. "About Yuya..."

"Ribs?" I winced.

"Unfortunately, yes. We've given him some pain killers. Under no circumstance can he do anything even resembling training."

"Understood...how long?"

"Four weeks, I think, maybe five."

"Thank you, Sigrid. Anything else from today?" I asked.

"No other injuries that stick out. Bumps and bruises, really. Thank you, David, I'll leave you to your work.", she stood up as if to leave.

"Actually, do you have a few minutes?"

"Sure," she said, sitting back down.

"I don't know if you know this," I started, "but you were my first hire here. I signed you even before Stefan came on board."

She did not reply.

I continued "Stefan tells me you've done a great job with the physio duties for our youth team. I wanted to let you know that I appreciate that. He says that you put the kids at ease. That's a trait that I need in anyone working with our youth team, and one that can't be taught."

She smiled, "Thank you, David, that's nice to hear. I try to let them know I'm here to help.."

I continued "How long were you at Salzburg?"

"Just two years."

"And before that?"

"Not in the business, Salzburg was my first job in football...."

"Have you ever considered other roles in football?" I asked.

She looked puzzled, "Not really. I graduated med school at the age of 35, and had my first job in the sport at 37. That type of background lends itself to little else in the game, I'm afraid."

"I disagree," I said, "you're a natural with the kids, like I said - from what I can tell, much more so than our previous Head of Youth Development. I think you'd make a good coach some day, but it has to be something that you're interested in enough to work hard for it."

"I do love the game," she responded, "but obviously I've never played it at any sort of competitive level - that's sort of a prerequisite for coaching, no?"

I shook my head, "I burned out before playing a single first team minute in Europe - but you're right, I am more of the exception in that regard. More to the point, the times are changing. The DFB, in fact, is launching a new initiative just this season: they want women on the sidelines, and they want clubs to advance names of candidates that could join a pilot training program. Five years from now, hopefully - ten at most - our sidelines are going to look refreshingly different than they do today: wouldn't it be nice to be on the forefront of that movement?"

She hesitated, "Sounds like a pipe dream.."

"Perhaps, we've certainly heard that before. Here's the thing: I think they're serious this time."

"It does sound intriguing," she admitted.

"Think it over, and let me know - soon if you can: they'll be starting up the program in September. We'd need to travel to Berlin for a week over winter break."

"We?"

"All the candidates, and all their sponsor Managers. Think of the networking potential from that alone..."

"I'll do it!" she said.

"Sigrid, coaching trees in this sport are critical - I wouldn't advance a coach's name for a Manager position if I didn't think they could do it. Similarly, I won't put your name forward for this program unless you're genuinely interested and willing to work hard - Gerhard says the training commitment alone would be 10-15 hours a week, on top of your responsibilities here, which I expect to not suffer."

"David, I am interested - and I made it through medical school for goodness sake, nothing they can throw at me can top that. I won't disappoint."

"Great!" I said, "I'll let Gerhard know."

"Thank you. Anything else?" she asked.

"No, that's all. I'll see you tomorrow."

She stood up and glanced at her watch "Dinner plans?"

I wasn't sure what that offer meant, but in any event I was inclined to side step it "Watching game film and eating leftovers. The life of a Manager..."

"Suit yourself," she said as she left, "see you tomorrow."

I e-mailed Gerhard

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Diversify the Pitch

Gerhard,

Spoke with Sigrid, she's in. Please let the DFB know, and ask them to send her the details.

Thanks,
David
 
Before I left for the day, I got one last incoming e-mail.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Loan offer

David,

Is Bobby Shou Wood available for loan? We want him through the end of the season. We will pay 100% of his wages, but can not send money your way. He'll be a valuable first team member, and can be recalled. We'll rest him against 1860.

Let me know,
Olaf

The #$^# is this, I thought. I replied:

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Loan offer

Olaf:

I'm not sure if this is a joke, but Bobby is already an important first-team member, or do you not remember last week?

Listen, Olaf, I respect you, but here's the thing: send me another nonsense offer like that, and we'll never do business in this League.

Confused,
David
 
German Cup Round 1, week preparation

I convened the Monday morning meeting as soon as all of the staff were there.

David Williams, Manager: OK, let's get started. Good effort against St. Pauli , and we got the result. We can't rely on the defense to bail us out every time, though - we need to work on our shot discipline this week.

Next up is Aue in the German Cup - what can you tell me, Markus?

Markus von Ahlen, Assistant Manger: Predicted to be relegation fodder this season, though I think they're underrated. They were shut out at home in the opener, 0-2, against Cottbus, squeaked by Sandhausen away last week, 2-1. Zlato Janjic and Ronny Koenig - not to be confused with Frank Loening - scored the goals.

Their two biggest threats are Janjic and Loening, and we should try to shut them down.

I'm confident that Moritz and our strikers can break their back line. Their keeper, Maennel, is a bit of a liability for them.

David Williams, Manager: Right then. Let's run out Bobby in Osako's place. Shut down Janjic and Loening with some tight marking and friendly treatment, and play our game plan: be patient, possess the ball, manufacture the chances.

Also, I'll be clear: I want to win this game - we could use the money for the Round 2 match - but no League game this week and that remains our primary focus. I don't want injuries in training this week, so dial back the intensity to perhaps 80% of normal. Uwe, your fitness program remains unchanged. Everyone else, take it easy.

I think we can get on with it, unless anyone has anything else?

Klaus Fischer, Chief Scout: David, if I may: we've thrown a ton of reports at you, and we're still the same squad we were when we all started in preseason. We'll keep digging, but I have to ask if you want us to switch our assignments around.

David Williams, Manager: The reports have been great, Klaus - I have some targets in mind for next season already. Our budgets are limited, and until we move a player, I can't act on much just yet for this season - maybe not until the winter window. I'm quite satisfied with the assignments, at least given the Board's limitations. Keep it up.

Well then if there's nothing else, let's get out there and prepare for Aue.
 
Wednesday morning, 2 e-mails:

---------------

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thank you!

David,

Thank you so much for the jerseys! The boys love them! We won't let them run around in them due to the autographs, but we've gotten them matching t-shirts and they love it!

In his match last week, Dieter stood still on the sidelines - hands behind his back - and didn't move until the referee started the match: just like Gabor! It was a riot.

Give me a buzz next week - I'd love to plan to get lunch and catch up - it's been too long!

Thanks again,
Aimee

-----------

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Diversify the Pitch

David -

The DFB sent me the info yesterday on DtP. Looks great! One of the first assignments is to interview our sponsor Manager: can we do lunch next week?

Let me know,
Sigrid

--------------

A married mother of two, and a subordinate: I wished that datable women were asking me to lunch.

I look back at that thought now, and laugh.
 
Really well written mate and very interesting! Keep up the good work! :)
 
Aue: the aftermath

I sat in my office, discouraged.

Before the game, I had instructed my players to shut down Janjic and Loening to basically neutralize Aue's threat. They responded well - at halftime, Gabor's clean sheet was still in play. I encouraged them to press on, and they did - another full 45 minutes, and Aue couldn't find the back of the net.

Unfortunately, neither could we. For that matter, neither team scored in the ensuing 30 minutes of extra time.

Penalties are always a coin toss, unless of course you're England in the World Cup: that's rather like a kick in the groin. Still, Aue was perfect and we missed our 4th try. Bouncing out of the Cup in Round 1 - on penalties, no less, would hurt our budgets. I could survive the talk with Gerhard, but it was one I'd rather not have had.

I wasn't too tough on the players after the match - for the most part, we played well. Even the staff was fearing some anger after my antics last week, but I couldn't blame them, either. In the end, I could only blame myself. No team's going to win when only training at 80%.

I could curse the difficult draw, and rationalize the Cup as a sideshow, but in the end I had failed: we were a Second Division squad that needed all the funds we could get, and I hadn't done my job.

On my way out, I found Sigrid in the training room.

"No worries?" I asked.

"None - we're keeping an eye on Osako, and will know more in a few hours. We'll let you know tomorrow."

"Lunch on Wednesday?"

"Sure thing, boss: see you tomorrow."
 
Staff Meeting

I called the meeting to order 30 minutes late: we were getting some interest in Ott, but so far the offers were insulting. I spent some time renegotiating and sending counter offers back.

David Williams, Manager: Well, not the result that we were looking for, but you guys delivered on our game plan. Good work. I probably shouldn't have backed off of the training, so that's on me. Now, we have to move on. Huge challenge this week, team: Kaiserslautern on the road.

Markus, what have you found out?

Markus von Ahlen, Assistant Manager: Predicted to place 5th. A bit pessimistic considering they made noise in the Bundesliga two seasons ago. Teed off on SC Victoria in the Cup yesterday, 6-0. A lot of pent up anger after getting 0 points in the first two League matches: a 0-1 home loss against Dusseldorf, and a 2-4 loss on the road against Aalen.

They can really spread the scoring around, but I suppose their single biggest threat is Mohammadou Idrissou. I'd be hesitant to mark him too closely, though, and free up someone else.

Their defense isn't great - if we can withstand the pressure, we should find some success.

Play a counter attack on the road, then?

David Williams, Manager: You're probably right, but I don't want to send that message to the team just yet. It's important that they believe that we can beat anyone if we stick to our plan. We'll adjust things if we concede first.

Sigrid, you mentioned an update on Osako?

Sigrid Pilcher, Physio: We had thought 4 or 5 weeks before he could train at full speed. It's looking a bit better than we first thought. We're thinking he can be match fit 4 weeks from now, 5 weeks total: and back for the Dusseldorf game if you need him. Before that, we were targeting Union Berlin or even Inglostadt.

David Williams, Manager: Great to hear, thank you. Back to the regular training regiments this week, folks - let's focus a bit more on finishing for our strikers, though. We've had too many chances in the past two games to only have found the net once.

Let me know if you have questions, and thanks.
 
Lunch with Sigrid

I arranged to meet Sigrid at Seehaus Beergarden, just a short drive from the Arena. I arrived first and found a table outside by the lake. I ordered a beer and an appetizer, and waited for Sigrid.

I spotted her a few minutes later. She waived when she saw me, then joined me at the table. As she sat down, I looked across at her.

I guess I'd never really noticed her until just then: this was our first encounter outside of work. She had light blonde hair, flecked ever so slightly with hints of brown. It looked positively radiant in the sunlight. Her blue eyes bore a striking resemblance to 1860 light blue. Moreover, she was just a strikingly pretty woman, and a little bit shorter than average, but with a build that might suggest a fitness coach. I was momentarily stunned.

"So, how are you? What have you found out about DtP?" I offered.

"Just a bunch of introductory reading right now, but it looks really interesting: a remarkable blend of psychology, football history, tactics, leadership, negotiation, and - of all things - acting. Not what I expected."

"Sounds about right," I replied.

We sat there for two hours talking about our lives, our families, our youth, our careers - with a little bit of football mixed in.

I learned that she had lived in Austria her whole life: Vienna and then Salzburg. After college, she had pursued a career in marketing, and had done well enough: but at some point, she realized she hated it. She quit, and enrolled in medical school. She'd made that decision a little bit later in life than most, so the traditional career path would have found her in her early forties before settling down into a stable and well-paying job. She had found her role at FC Red Bull Salzburg quite by accident: through a friend of a friend and some half-hearted follow-through, and the next thing she knew she was just kind of there. Through it all, she had never married, and had no kids of her own.

I shared my youthful journey across the globe, my University soccer days, failing as a player and finding out that I wanted to coach instead - and how I was more likely to be found on Saturday watching game film than at a beer hall.

It was a nice afternoon, and I kept wondering when the interview would begin. It wasn't until halfway through that I realized that was weaving her questions in to our casual conversation, another mark of a good coach.

We parted ways, and I returned to the Arena to handle the afternoon training and watch the transfer list: still no news.
 
2. Bundesliga, Week 3: 1860 @ Kaiserslautern

View attachment 389126

Markus and I sat together in the tiny Manager's office within the visiting dressing room at Fritz-Walter Stadion.

"Amazing to think they played World Cup matches here," Markus observed.

"Yes, the U.S. got their only point of the tournament here, somehow finding a way to draw Italy 1-1. The Italians of course won every other match that year."

"That was a great tournament."

"Yes, it was. Markus - do you think we stand a chance today?"

"I don't know, David - it's a good side at home. It's going to be tough. You're sure you don't want to open on the counter-attack?"

"No, but my gut tells me not to. Like I said, we'll switch it up if we concede a goal."

"Let's go talk to the team."

We opened the door and walked into the locker room. Nervousness clung to the air. My players looked up at me expectantly.

"I won't lie, boys - this is a good team we're playing here today, and on the road to top it off. They're going to be fast: be faster. They're going to be strong: be stronger. They'll close on the ball in no time: get there first. This is the kind of team that we need to beat - in their own backyard - if we want to play with the big boys this season. Gerhard phoned me today to let me know we'd have 3,000 traveling fans here today - you play this match for them. I have faith in you, boys, let's go!"

The nerves showed on the pitch. For the first 20 minutes, we were out-possessed, out-hussled, and Kaiserslautern seemed to be biding their time, just waiting for the moment to strike. They got their first chance in the 28th minute when Bugera lofted a corner kick goalward: a beautiful high-arching kick that dropped nearly straight down, right into the 6 yard box. Karl and Torrejon were both there, and our defenders were flat-footed. The ball dropped down, and a blue shirt somehow found it - Schindler headed it away, but right at Oliver Occean (on loan, for some silly reason, from Frankfurt). My heart skipped a beat as Occean lept and headed the ball toward our net, but Gabor saw it and was in perfect position, easily making the save.

At halftime, it was still 0-0. We had done a bit better on possession, but were still losing. Another half like that, and we'd be done.

"Alright, gentlemen: we've proven that we can play with them. Let's get back to our game in this half, shall we? Settle down with the ball, find your teammates, be patient.

In the 50th minute, it was our turn for a near-miss. Stahl and Wood worked the ball from midfield into the box, and Stahl saw Stoppelkamp on a run: the ball started forward in the nick of time - the flag was still down. Moritz collected the ball, basically from penalty shot range, and had an unobstructed shot on goal. His left foot made the strike, and the ball beat their Keeper Sippel. My eyes widened and the crowd gasped - but Stoppelkamp had hit the post!

Minute 64 saw Bulow make an interception and play the ball forward to Bobby Shou Wood. Marc Torrejon tripped him from behind at midfield, and he landed awkwardly. The ref blew the whistle for a foul, but Bobby was not getting up.

"Hain! Get over here. Get ready," I said as our physios were tending to Bobby. He walked off under his own power, but was clearly done for the day.

Before Hain went in, I pulled him aside "You've been wanting some first team football and here's your chance - they don't come much bigger than this: on the road against fellow promotion favorites, in a scoreless match with 25 minutes left. Make me a believer!"

He did.

Minute 78 saw Stahl with the ball from 25 yards out. His diagonal pass threaded two defenders to find Stoppelkamp in the penalty area. Moritz passed it sideways to move it away from the defenders - he found Lauth in perfect position. Lauth wound up and launched a rocket at the keeper, but Sippel blocked it with a diving save. The shot was too hard to hold on to, though, and it bounced off of his arms and slowly rolled to the right. Hain saw it, put on a burst of speed, and met the ball at the left hand corner of the 6 yard box. With Sippel still on the ground, Hain tapped it in for the score! 1-0 1860!

Our fans went wild.

Kaiserslautern were deflated, and defeated. They wouldn't threaten again. Determined to leave no doubt, though, Hain found the net again in stoppage time - this time, Stahl fed him a pass which found him standing 10 yards out. With the keeper on his feet this time, Hain fired a wicked shot that slid past the outstretched fingers and into the net. 2-0 1860, another goal for Hain, right at the final minute.

From a 0-0 draw to a 2-0 win in 15 minutes: how tremendous was that?

After the whistle blew, I caught up to Hain walking off the pitch.

"Message received. Outstanding job today, Stephan."

View attachment 389121
 
Post Match Press Conference, Week 3: 1860 @ Kaiserslautern

Benjamin Otto, The German Football Review: Stephan Hain picked up the Man of the Match award with his two goals as a late substitute, what did you say to him as he came on?

David Williams: Actually, I was asking him if he'd seen my cell phone. I can't seem to find it at the moment.

Sebastian Gutzeit, The German Football Express: Gabor Kiraly has gone 390 minutes of competitive football with a clean sheet, what do you make of his performances?

.... I paused - I guess I hadn't realized it until just then.... 4 games played, no goals conceded except on penalties against Aue.

David Williams: Gabor's been brilliant, and the team have followed his lead. That said, this is a team effort. In four games we've allowed only 10 shots on target - our offense today had 9 on target. The defense has been solid, and everyone from the keeper to the strikers have contributed in keeping our opponents off the board.

Benjamin Otto, The German Football Review: How big is this win for you today?

David Williams: Any time you win on the road it's huge - but today was especially great because it came against such a strong side. I think this is a critical confidence boost for us.

Thank you, gentlemen.


I walked out and found the trainers' room.

"How's Bobby?"

"We'll know more when we're back in Munich," replied Sigrid, "but we're hopeful that it's just a sprained wrist. If so, with the offweek, he should be OK to go against Aalen."
 
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The Offweek

Our match against Bochum wasn't until Monday, so I gave the players the weekend and then Monday and Tuesday.

On Sunday afternoon, I rang Aimee:

"Hello?"

"Aimee? It's David, how are you?"

"David! I'm great - we were all so thrilled with the match this week. 2-0 against Kaiserslautern, who would have thought it? The team is coming together nicely."

"It's early", I said.

"You'll see this squad promoted, David, I know you will."

"Let's hope so," I replied. "Listen, we're off next weekend before the Monday match - how would you, Mark, and the boys like to come to the Arena on Sunday for an insider's tour of the venue? I can make sure Gabor and Moritz are there."

"Don't upset your players on our account, David. Mark's out of town on business, but I'd love to stop by, and the boys will be delighted!"

"Great - let's say noon? Give me a call if things change."

"Noon is great, David. We'll see you then."
 
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The Tour

I was pleased with our training during the week - I had asked the staff to focus a bit more on playing attacking football. Our possession game had worked thus far, but it didn't lend itself well to playing from behind - we needed to show another face to keep from becoming too predictable.

I had arranged for Gabor and Mortiz to meet me at Allianz on Sunday, and a few minutes before noon, Aimee arrived with her children. With Gabor and Moritz safely hidden in our locker room, I gave the group the VIP tour - the luxury seating area (that they already knew), the press box, the trainers room, the visiting locker room. I relayed the brief history of the Arena, and the much longer history of 1860 and football in Munich. We strode out to the pitch, and the boys were delighted to see the scoreboard, which read "Welcome to Allianz Arena, Hans and Dieter."

While we were standing on the sideline, as I had arranged, Head of Youth Development Volker Piekarski strode out to meet us.

"David! Are these the prospects you were telling me about?"

"Yes, Volker - Hans is an attacking midfielder, and Dieter is a keeper."

"Outstanding! Let's get them geared up for their tryout!"

The boys were ecstatic!

We strode in to the locker room where Gabor and Moritz were ready.

"Gabor! Moritz! We have some prospects visiting. You two go stretch while they gear up - we need you to play a scrimmage so Volker can get a proper look at them!"

The kids hurriedly threw on t-shirts and shin guards, and ran out after the players.

"Volker - report back to me in an hour!"

"You got it, boss," he replied, and left Aimee and I alone in the locker room.

"David," she gushed, "that's amazing, thank you so very much. They'll be so happy. How did you get them to come in on a Sunday?"

"The benefits of being Manager. But really, the squad has training this afternoon - Aalen tomorrow as you know. Shall we head to my office?"

"Lead the way," she said.

I led her in to my office and I poured drinks as we sat down.

"It's been too long, David," she sighed.

"It has, yes. How have you been?"

For the next hour, it was like old times: we talked about the past decade of our lives - her career, her kids, my days struggling as a coach in the Regional leagues, my time with Union Berlin, my unexpected interview with 1860. We reminisced about our college days - the matches, the training sessions, the late night parties, the friends with whom we've parted ways. Two old friends, reunited - it was the first meaningful connection I had made since returning to Munich.

Volker strode in "They're all done, Aimee" he said.

"Well, David, thank you again! I should be going," she said as she stood up. "It was great to see you," she continued, "call me when you have some time - we should get dinner!"

"Will do. I'll look forward to it.", I replied.
 
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2. Bundesliga, Week 4: Aalen @ 1860

"OK, boys, we're facing a lower-half team this time out, but they'll be gunning for us. Don't take it easy on them. We've been working on attacking all week, and I want you to go out and bring it to them. I still want you to watch your passes, but pass forward instead of sideways - keep the pressure on and get an early goal - they'll buckle."

If only it were that simple...

I watched from the sidelines, fuming, as my team played an uninspired first half. Another opening half, another 0-0 score at halftime. I exploded in the locker room

"What the **** is going on out there, guys? We've generated zero offense - if this team had any class at all, we'd be down 0-3. Whatever it was that you did that half, show me something ELSE next half. You're making me regret giving days off after a win, gentlemen: get it together!"

They did.

3 minutes in to the half, Lauth maintained possession from 24 yards out on the right side. With his back turned the other way, he sensed Bobby Shou Wood tearing down the other side of the pitch. Lauth lofted a beauty toward him that was perfectly placed: far enough to beat the defense, but not too far that the keeper could play it. Wood darted forward at just the right time - the result was a textbook goal. The ball and Wood seemed like they were thinking as one, and he met it with a header from 7 yards out - the keeper was frozen as the perfect play put us up 1-0.

Aalen battled back to win a corner a mere two minutes later. Our defenders must have still been dreaming about Bobby's goal, because they certainly weren't playing defense: Jonas Acquistapace made a sloppy play on the ball, but it took an odd bounce and Gabor was beaten, his scoreless streak snapped at 440 minutes.

"#@%@!" I screamed from the sideline. "You come out like that, then fall asleep and give them an equalizer? GET TO WORK!"

They did.

Wood scored again in the 62nd minute, after Stahl's pass hit him perfectly: Bobby had no one between him and the keeper, with 40 yards to run at him. He dribbled quickly to outpace the defense, and let the shot rip at the 18 yard line - the poor keeper never had a chance.

Bobby would add an assist in the 83rd minute, when he found transfer-listed Ott alone in the penalty area for an easy goal.

Final score, 3-1 1860!

"Great reaction in the second half, boys," I assured them at half time, "we can be happy with that result. 4 matches in the League - 4 wins. Keep it up."
 
"Markus, tell us about Dusseldorf," I opened the meeting.

"12 points in 4 games, just like us. The media has them slotted for the promotion playoff spot. As you know, they were promoted two seasons ago, but finished 17th in the Bundesliga last season. To try to get back up, they've loaned a striker named Charlison Benscho from Stade Brestois 29 in the French Lige 2. As Benscho goes, so goes Dusseldorf. Take care of him, and the rest of their squad isn't much of a threat to us."

"Okay, Christian, prep the back line this week - Charlison is only 24, but he'll be better than anything we've seen to date. Stefan, how are we on injuries?"

"Clean list, Bobby's back again, so we should be good to go."

"Does anyone have anything else?" I asked.

"David," said Uwe, my fitness coach, "our recent success has seen our first team stay pretty much in tact. Our backups haven't seen the match time either in the starting lineup or as reservists. I know you don't want to mess with things, but we should probably schedule a midweek friendly against our reserve team to get our backups their game legs."

"Great idea, Uwe," I said. "Markus, please set it up. That's all, everyone, let's get it done this week."
 
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