A Storyteller's Return - My FM Beta save with VfB Stuttgart

[Venator77]

It's been a while since I done any FM storytelling, huh? Well, now that FM24 is around the corner, it's time to prepare for this year's set of stories. But before I can start on my main saves, I have to wait until FM fully releases so that the database wizards can make the various extra content I like to play with, as well as get used to the new FM, as I had skipped the last two FMs.

So, VfB Stuttgart....

The recent years for the club haven't been great, seeing them yo-yo between divisions in the late 2010s. The last couple of years saw the club struggling to stay in the division, so now it's up to the Liechtensteiner-Luxembourger manager Felix Moritz to guide Stutttgart as high as possible. So, let's see what happened in the transfer market.

In addition to the three players that had already been signed prior to my arrival, five more players were signed to increase quality and depth to the first team. Three fringe players were sent out on loan for playing time, while two youngsters as well as another reserve get sold for decent sums.

The first signing of the window was for 27 year old Turkish goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir from the Turkish side Trabzonspor for €11.75 million. A quality goalkeeper was much needed for the side, so I hope to count on him to stop the shots while also allowing Bredlow and young prospect Dennis Seimen rotation game time.

Next up on new arrivals is 28-year-old Belgian winger Adnan Januzaj, signed from Sevilla for €5 million. The front three in this team's 4-3-3 formation required both depth and improvment and Januzaj provided both, as shown in his debut in the DFB Pokal. While he has yet to impress in the Bundesliga, it is early days and I hope he gets his feet on the ground soon.

Next to arrive is the first of the three transfer deadline day signings, with the famous Spanish midfielder Isco coming in on a free transfer. I could not pass up the opportunity to acquire a quality player for free, especially since he bolsters the midfield options with Wataru Endo and Atakan Karazor.

Say hello to our new backup striker in Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, signed from Chelsea for a meager €1.4 million. He's another option for the front three, able to play both up front and on the left just in case something goes wrong with our starters.

Last but not least, we welcome 23-year-old Spanish attacking midfielder Rodrigo Riquelme from Atletico Madrid on loan with an optional €8 million future transfer fee. With his arrival, the first team squad has ample depth for the long season ahead.

And now, for the results.

DFB-Pokal 1st Round

My managerial debut brings us to Hamburg, where we faced off against 4th tier side FC Teutonia Ottensen. New signing Adnan Januzaj had an excellent debut here with a brace as we cruised to a 5-0 victory.

Bundesliga Matchday 1

My Bundesliga debut started off excellently as we blew out VfL Bochum away from home. It was a bit of a slow start in the beginning, but once half time passed, the floodgates released with an unfortunate own goal from Bochum's Bosnian defender.

Bundesliga Matchday 2

The first home game of the season sees our side challenged by rivals SC Freiburg. Unfortunately, our general lack of care this match left us with a 2-2 draw. The next home game is against Eintracht Frankfurt, so I'll be doing what I can to ensure our first victory at home this season.

And now for the league table...

Not much to report here. Leipzig had two massive victories to start the season and sit ahead of Bayern on goal difference.

That's it for today. Next time on VfB Stuttgart, we will be going over September fixures. See you soon!

 

[Venator77]

Hello everyone, welcome back to the beta save with VfB Stuttgart. Today, I will be covering the September fixtures, so let's take a look at what's going on this month.

Bundesliga Matchday 3

The first game of the month sees our side visiting Werder Bremen away from home. We eke out a narrow 1-0 win thanks to a strike from Silas.

Bundesliga Matchday 4

We welcomed Eintracht Frankfurt for our second home game of the season and this was another disappointing result for the fans. We quickly fell 2-0 down in the first 25 minutes of the match before Zagadou pulled one back just before half time. A strike from Chris Führich in the second half helped us rescue a point, a victory at home still yet to be achieved.

Bundesliga Matchday 5

Our first difficult challenge sees us travel to the BayArena to face off against high-flying Bayer Leverkusen, who were pulling ahead of both Bayern and Leipzig thanks to Leverkusen beating Bayern in Matchday 3 and Leipzig somehow losing to Darmstadt 4-1.

Unfortunately, we were blown out 4-1 for our first loss of the season, unable to cope with the quality and good form of Bayer's squad.

Bundesliga Matchday 6

Thankfully, the final game of the month was our home fixture against FC Heidenheim. We bounced back from the previous week's loss by getting our first home victory of the season, a comfortable 2-0 win.

Now the league table...

We are currently in sixth place tied with Mainz and Borussia Dortmund on points. Bayer Leverkusen hold a one point lead at the top of the table as the only undefeated side so far.

Next on the Stuttgart Beta save, we'll take a look at October fixtures.

 

[Venator77]

Welcome back to the VfB Stuttgart save. Today's post will cover October fixtures. So let's take a look...

Bundesliga Matchday 7

October got off to a good start with a 2-0 victory away at FSV Mainz thanks to a brace from midfielder Wataru Endo.

Bundesliga Matchday 8

We hosted RB Leipzig in our next difficult Bundesliga test and this time, we stood up to the Bulls by snatching a last minute 2-2 draw thanks to Zagadou's last minute equalizer.

Bundesliga Matchday 9

The final Bundesliga match of the month saw us at the RheinEnergieStadion, where we faced FC Köln, who returned from an 8-0 spanking at the Allianz Arena in last week's fixture against Bayern. We squeezed out a 2-1 victory thanks to a comedy of defensive errors by the Billy Goats.

DFB-Pokal 2nd Round

Our Halloween cup match sees us host recently relegated Hertha Berlin, who are currently leading the 2.Bundesliga. It was a scary night for Hertha as we easily won 3-1 to advance into the 3rd round.

The league table...

An excellent month of October sees us sitting in 5th place, 6 points ahead of 8th place Eintracht Frankfurt to firmly secure ourselves to the European spots for the time being. RB Leipzig currently lead the Bundesliga with a one point gap over Bayern as Leverkusen slip to 3rd place thanks to their failure to win their two most recent league matches.

That's it for the Stuttgart save. Coming up next, the November fixtures.

 

[Venator77]

Welcome back to the VfB Stuttgart save, where November has passed. Just three games this month, so let's take a look.

Bundesliga Matchday 10

We welcomed Borussia Dortmund to the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, where we played out an entertaining 2-2 draw to keep our unbeaten streak going.

Bundesliga Matchday 11

A trip to Berlin sees us face off against Union Berlin, fighting for survival at the bottom of the league table. This is arguably our finest performance to date as we crushed the hosts 8-1, including a hattrick from reserve strike Kastanaras.

Bundesliga Matchday 12

We returned from the final international break of the year by hosting VfL Wolfsburg in the final game of the month. A brace from Guirassy as well as a curious performance from leftback Borna Sosa ensured a 3-1 victory to continue our great run of form.

The league table.

We enter the Champions League spots tied with Bayern, who had a bad month thanks to a loss to Union Berlin and a draw against Wolfsburg. RB Leipzig cements their hold by extending their lead to 3 points against 2nd placed Borussia Mönchengladbach and 6 points ahead of Bayern (and us).

That's it for today's post. Next time, December fixtures, including a unexpected derby day!

 

[Venator77]

Welcome back to the VfB Stuttgart save, where the end of the year has arrived and 2024 is upon us. Now let's take a look, there are some interesting results.

Bundesliga Matchday 13

A visit to Augsburg sees us walk away with all three points thanks to a goal from Isco in a quiet 1-0 victory.

DFB-Pokal 3rd Round

The draw for the 3rd round gave us a big derby clash against our bitter rivals Karlsruher SC away from home, who are currently mid-table in the 2.Bundesliga. Unfortunately for the Badeners, we won all the bragging rights by sweeping them away 4-1.

Bundesliga Matchday 14

Guirassy scores a brace in our routine 3-1 victory against Darmstadt, who are exceeding everyone's expectations by sitting mid-table.

Bundesliga Matchday 15

A trip to Sinsheim see us face off against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, who defeated us 1-0 in a miserable Friday evening match. Disappointed to see our side struggle with creativity this match as well as lose to our close neighbors.

Bundesliga Matchday 16

The final match of the year see us host Bayern Munich, who have been struggling to get going all season and are lying in the Europa league spots. To my delight, we scored two late goals to claim a nice 2-0 against the Bundesliga giants, further adding to their woes in the league.

The league table...

We remain in the Champions League spots tied with Mainz and M'Gladbach, four points behind RB Leipzig and five points ahead of 5th placed Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga is gonna be very exciting this year and perhaps Bayern's title streak could finally come to an end!

That's it for December fixtures. Next time on the Stuttgart save, January fixtures and the winter transfer window.

 

[Venator77]

Hello everyone, welcome back to the VfB Stuttgart save. Before we take a look at January fixtures, let's review the winter transfer window.

Two players join us, with midfielder Nadiem Amiri joining us from Bayer Leverkusen for €1 million and Malo Gusto arriving on loan from Chelsea. Five reserve players leave on loan and one, Gil Dias, leaves for Augsburg for €1.1 million. Anyway, now for the fixtures.

Bundesliga Matchday 17

We did not start the year well, as our trip to Mönchengladbach ends up being a 3-1 loss. I can't be too surprised, we are in comparable positions in the Champions League spots and their team has a bit more quality than ours.

Bundesliga Matchday 18

We enter the second half of the season with a trip to Freiburg, who we drew on Matchday 1. This time, we were able to hold on to a 3-2 victory thanks to a brace from Silas.

Bundesliga Matchday 19

The final game of the month sees us host VfL Bochum, bottom of the table five points from safety. We added to their troubles with a routine 3-0 victory.

League table

We currently sit in 3rd place behind Borussia Mönchengladbach and RB Leipzig, who are fiercely competing for the top with only a point separating them. Dortmund and Bayern are not far behind, as both clubs started the year with three wins from three.

That's it for the Stuttgart save. Next time, February fixtures.

 

[Venator77]

Welcome back to the VfB Stuttgart save, where we will look at the February fixtures. So let's get started.

Bundesliga Matchday 20

We hosted Werder Bremen in the first game of the month and got off to a horrible start by going 2-0 down within the first thirty minutes of the match. However, the lads rallied to score three goals to secure a 3-2 victory against our northern opponents.

DFB-Pokal Quarter Final

We hosted Bayern Munich in our quarter final cup tie. I'd did not expect to get anything from this match, but to my delight, we record an impressive 3-0 victory to advance to the semi-finals. With most of the big boys out, we stand a real chance at actually winning silverware our first season!

Bundesliga Matchday 21

We slip to a dour 1-0 defeat away from home against Eintracht Frankfurt thanks to a second half strike from French striker Kolo Muani. I suspect we still were riding the high of our good performance against a giant like Bayern Munich and thus weren't at our best today.

Bundesliga Matchday 22

In what would be one of our finest victories of the season, we welcomed Bayer Leverkusen and thrashed them 5-1, a perfect revenge for the beating we took in the reverse fixture.

Bundesliga Matchday 23

Guirassy continues his excellent run of form as his goal in the 9th minute ensures a quiet 1-0 victory against relegation battlers FC Heidenheim away from home.

League table

We are now getting into the business end of the season and it's looking increasingly likely that Bayern is not going to win the Bundesliga this year, as they're struggling to break into the top four thanks to slip ups to Frankfurt and Mainz. We are now definitively in the running for the title race, as we are three points behind RB Leipzig, who still hold the top spot, but only just at this point. With a difficult March ahead of us, with games against Leipzig and Dortmund drawing near, results against both is going to be very important on deciding who will win the Bundesliga this year.

That's it for today. Next time, March fixtures.

 

[Venator77]

Welcome back the VfB Stuttgart save, where March has passed and in it, some difficult tests and our first youth intake! So let's take a look at the newcomers.

That's a pretty decent first intake, if I do say so myself. Mahir Jukic and Pascal Alfus look like potential quality.

Anyway, let's move on to results...

Bundesliga Matchday 24

We start off strong with a routine 3-0 victory against Mainz at home.

Bundesliga Matchday 25

This was our first of two difficult tests as we travel to the RedBullArena to face off against league leaders RB Leipzig. We got away with a hard-fought 2-2 draw thanks to my team's resilience against Germany's most hated football club. Another side-effect this match had was blowing the title race wide open, as Dortmund's victory the day prior enabled them to jump over us to second place.

Bundesliga Matchday 26

We hosted Köln next and easily brushed them aside 3-1 thanks to Guirassy continuing his excellent goal-scoring form.

Bundesliga Matchday 27

The final game of the month was the second difficult task of the month, trying to seek a result against Borussia Dortmund as Signal Iduna Park. It was a tight game all around, but we eventually slip to a 1-0 loss thanks to a goal from Julian Brandt. With that, we are now four points behind Dortmund and six points behind RB Leipzig for the title.

The league table...

Seven games left to go and it's looking certain that we will be in Europe next season. We are comfortably in the Champions League spots but any slipups from now until the end of the season could cost us this.

That's it for March. Next time, we will be looking over April fixtures.

 

[Venator77]

Good evening everyone, welcome back to the Stuttgart save. As new databases are coming out for FM24, this save will be coming to an end. Stay tuned to the new series coming up very soon. Anyway, let's review the results.

DFB-Pokal Semi-Final

We got an excellent match up against Hamburg in the semi final of the DFB Pokal. An easy 4-0 win booked our place in the Final next month in Berlin.

Bundesliga Matchday 28

The hunt for Champions League football continues with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Union Berlin thanks to a brace from Wataru Endo.

Bundesliga Matchday 29

We slip to a dour 0-0 draw against Wolfsburg away from home, which means our slim hopes for a Bundesliga title is now probably over now.

Bundesliga Matchday 30

Four different players score in our nice 4-1 win against Augsburg.

Bundesliga Matchday 31

The last game of the month was a comfortable 3-0 victory against Darmstadt.

League Table

There are three games left in the season with RB Leipzig holding a four point lead over Borussia Dortmund. It's looking more likely that Leipzig will win the Bundesliga this season. Was dethroning Bayern worth letting a hated club like Leipzig win the Bundesliga? Who knows? On the other end of the table, VfL Bochum has been relegated to the Bundesliga 2 after a terrible season and will remain in 18th place from now on.

That's it for the April fixtures. Next time, May fixtures and the end of season review before calling time on this save.

 

[Venator77]

Good evening everyone, welcome to the last entry of my VfB Stuttgart save. The end of the season has arrived, so before we take a look at the German competitions and the European ties, let's look at the last few fixtures we've played.

Bundesliga Matchday 32

A masterclass brace from striker Guirassy ensures a 2-0 victory against Hoffenheim to secure our place in the Champions League.

Bundesliga Matchday 33-34

With the Champions League secure, we had nothing left to play for, rendering our last two games nearly meaningless. Thank God, because it was two nasty fixtures against Bayern Munich, who beat us 2-1, and M'Gladbach, who we drew 2-2.

DFB-Pokal Final

YES! Victory is mine! We faced Borussia Dortmund in the final and a comfortable 3-1 win sees us win the DFB-Pokal and earn our first piece of top-tier silverware in seventeen years.

And now, let's look at the final league table for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.

Unfortunately, RB Leipzig clinched the title on Matchday 33, becoming the first different Bundesliga side to win the league since the early 2010s. We finish in a very respectable 3rd place behind Borussia Dortmund and ahead of Bayern, who strung a series of results to overtake the bottlers above them.

Joining Bochum in relegation is FC Heidenheim and relegation playoff loser Darmstadt.

The Bundesliga 2 was won by Hertha Berlin, who are going straight back up, joined by Hamburg and Hannover 96, who beat Darmstadt to get promoted.

Osnabruck and Paderborn ended up getting relegated to the 3 Liga, while Hansa Rostock won the relegation playoff to stay in the Bundesliga 2.

With the German competitions out of the way, let's take a look at Europe's three continental competitions.

A fascinating result in the UEFA Champions League Final as FC Porto ended up winning the title after beating Barcelona 2-1 after extra time. Absolutely brilliant!

Liverpool won the Europa League by beating Atletico Madrid on penalties after drawing 1-1.

Last but not least, the Europa Conference League was won by the Belgain side Club Brugge, who beat LOSC Lille on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

That's it for the VfB Stuttgart save! I'm moving on to other things in FM24, so if you would like to continue this journey, PM me and I'll send you the save.

Thanks for reading!