Locke, Stock & Two Smoking Bulls.

Chapter 6
Intensity

RB Leipzig vs Saundhausen

We had 7 unavailable for this one. 4 injuries, with Frahn joining the list and 3 still traveling back from international duty: Poulsen, Reyna and George Williams. That means I was without all 3 of my natural strikers which means it was time to give a debut to youngster Endres who I had called up to first team in the preseason.
We went 1-0 up through a Kaiser freekick. Well struck! 2 minutes before halftime we doubled our lead through nice passing a nice strike from Forsberg. The game ended 2-0 with a few more half chances in the second half and me having to yell at the lads to stay switched on from the touchline.

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Though it was still early days, it was well worth noting that we’ve been unbeaten in the league so far from our first 5 games. Not a bad start to my management career.
I took the time to invite Rebic to my office after the last game. In truth, that was the best game I’ve seen him play for us so far this season but that wasn’t saying much as his previous games were just not up to standard.

“You haven’t been good enough in the first games of the season Ante. I have every faith in you that you can improve but you have to start working hard and showing my faith is warranted.” I was sure to be assertive as I could be so he could understand. I wasn’t about to get myself in the business of treating any of these lads like babies.

He took it as well as I thought he would saying, “I’ll prove to you I have what it takes for the first team coach.” He looked sure of himself. It’s the type of reaction I expected from him.

“Alright Ante, be gone then. Enjoy your evening.”

Ingolstadt vs RB Leipzig

I had my strikers back for this one and I expected a win. I gave Williams and Poulsen a start in this one replacing Rebic - who would be on the bench and Endres.
After telling the boys to pick up where they left off they did just that with some quick play that left Kimmich to play a great ball for Forsberg who was in acres of space. He was never going to waste that chance. 1-0.
After telling them I needed more from them at halftime, they provided just that 7 minutes later. Poulsen created a chance entirely on his own running through the defense and finishing his rebound after his initital shot was saved. 2-0. It was 3-0 next when Khedira and Kimmich played a great one-two at the edge of the box with the former rifling a shot home.
3-0. Well done!

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RB Leipzig vs Furth

Up next was Furth. They were lying in fourth; it took me all week to get Cesare to stop making jokes about that. Idiot. Thankfully by the time the game came, they dropped down to fifth. It was important to get a win here to distance ourselves from the rest. The message was the clear - more of the same!
Forsberg and Poulsen linked up well with a one-two with Poulsen taking it past a couple defenders on his way into the box with a fierce shot.
The match ended 1-0 with 3 players picking up knocks.

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Kaiserslautern vs RB Leipzig

We went into this with 6 injuries. The latest being to Rebic and Dahne, my first choice keeper. A win here could put us on top of the table for the first time.
We were 1-0 down in the 24th due to some sloppy defending. Come onn boys!
Down at halftime I decided to switch our style and lay into the lads. I needed an improvement.
A strong reaction as always. 1-1! Through fine link up play from my front three. Reyna snuck in at the far post and smashed home a volley from Forsberg’s cross. We then took the lead in the 63rd minute when Forsberg laid a pass for Kaiser at the edge of the box who smashed it in off the post. It only got better 13 minutes later when Poulsen played Reyna through who took his chance well. 3-1. Put on a show lads! It was 4-1 when Vincente struck home a volley for a fourth and his debut goal.
A comeback fitting of a team now on top. 4-1.

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October 1st.

Another month had swept by and things were still going well. We were on an eight game unbeaten run and on top of the table. The players were in great spirits as well and were responding to me well with Hohender going as far as publicly praising my team talk after the last game.

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There was one player who didn’t seem so pleased though and he had asked to meet with me today so I invited him to my office and sat waiting. I preferred the quiet this time around keeping the tele off. Instead I checked how the top four leagues were shaping up so far. In La Liga 1st and 6th were only separated by 2 points.

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In the Premier League Chelsea topped the table by a single point. Mother would be proud of that.

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In Serie A, Udinese lead the table over reigning champions Juventus by 2 points while the likes of Roma and Milan toiled in the bottom half of the table.

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Finally, the Bundesliga was being led by Bayern and HSV both on 15 points with only 5 points separating them from 6th placed Schalke.

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Still early days in the league but if I were still a betting man, I’d bet it on Bayern, Juventus, Barcelona and Chelsea - of course, or mother would surely fly here, to win their leagues. I continued to browse around and check on leagues discovering Jose Mourinho was recently named Manager of the Month in the Premier League and that Barcelona had beaten Sporting in their Champions League game. Then there was a knock on my door.

“Come on in!” I shouted as I closed down my laptop and sat upright on my chair. The door opened slowly and in came Diego Demme. He was only 22 and had only made 1 starting appearance so far. I had already anticipated what he wanted to talk about.

“Ah, Diego. Take a seat. What’s on your mind then?”

“Evening gaffer, I wanted to talk about my playing time. I don’t believe I’ve gotten enough.”
In truth, he hadn’t gotten a lot. He had the quality to screen our defense but at the moment Khedira had made that spot his own. He’s been in fine form. Next to Kimmich and Kaiser, who themselves are in great form, there was no place for him currently.

“I understand your concern Diego but it’s still early days in the season. Just have a bit more patience and your chance will come.” I tried to reason as best I could with him. After all, we had only played 8 games of 36. He would get his chance eventually.

“Sorry boss. I don’t believe the waiting on a promise of playing time will do me any good right now. My career is stagnating, not yours. I need assurances or I may have to seek to play elsewhere.”

“Diego, get your head down lad and wait for the chance. I can’t guarantee you starts right now but I don’t want to lose you.”
In truth, I could probably find a replacement for him and I may have to but I still considered him part of my plans. I needed to convince him to stay.

“I mean no disrespect by saying this boss, but I believe I’ve earned my chance to play here. If this is something we disagree on then moving on may surely be for the best of both of us.”
Poor lad sounded defeated and I felt it for him but I wasn’t going to let his discontent come in the way of what’s been working for us so far. So if he was ready to jump ship, so be it.

I pleaded with him one last time however, “You really need to ask yourself if you want to go Diego and this isn’t in the heat of the moment. I have no intention to keep unhappy players here so if you are indeed asking to leave. Say it now.” I leaned forward onto my desk, elbows on the top with my chin on my hands and looked directly at him. He needed to be sure.

“I really thought I could force my way into the side here boss but you seem sure that cannot happen right now so it is best I leave.” He sat back into his chair sighing. You could almost see his eyes getting teary but he was a professional. I knew he would lift himself up from this.

“I’m sorry Diego. I can’t see you displacing anyone right away in our current midfield three. So I will look to sell you come the next window for the good of your career. I’m glad you chose to come talk to me about this. Let me pour you a drink.”

“Thanks boss. I just really think it’s for the best of my career right now and I appreciate you understanding. I’ll have to take a raincheck on the drink however.” He got up and shook my hand.

“No problem Diego,” We both walked towards the door slowly. “I trust you will still carry on training and playing professionally. I’ll see you in training tomorrow.” I opened the door for him and shook his hand again. It wasn’t a bad chat but it’s never a good chat when you tell a player he has to go. I’ve never given the this talk myself but I have been on the receiving end of it in far harsher circumstances. It’s never good.

RB Leipzig vs Union Berlin

It was important to stay up on top here. Injuries were still rife.
10 minutes in that trend continued when Reyna limped off. We were poor today and I yelled at the lads continuously for more. I finally got it in the 73rd minute when a change in formation and the introduction of Tariq brought me a goal. 1-0. They levelled a minute later however. 1-1.
Poor match at home boys where we were outplayed. 1-1.

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October 15th

Ever since the poor display against Union Berlin I’ve been extra hard on the players in training. Training has been focused on their fitness and ability to read and play the game tactically. I need quick and smart plays and I was sure to get it out of them in training.

There was something of a bond forming between me and the lads. Though they complained about the intensity of training sometimes, they still gave it their all. Heidinger did however ask to leave because of lack of game time and this is another player I granted his wish as Jung was playing very well.

After training one day though both Diego Demme and Heidinger came over to me for a chat and both were happy to tell me they no longer wished to leave. I don’t know what gave them the change of heart as neither had started since their requests but I didn’t argue either and I was happy to keep them. More so than ever now that Khedira picked up a back strain that would keep him out for a month - it was time for Diego to step up. Ironically, Jung also picked up an injury that would have him out for 6-8 weeks which means Heidinger would have to step in. Nothing suspicious there...

As always thanks for following and I love the encouraging feedback! Appreciated!
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Chapter 7
£20

I was looking over match notes for my last two matches:

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RB Leipzig vs St. Pauli

This one I expected a marked improvement in. I didn’t get it though as we were 1-0 down in the 13th. Finally we levelled in the 30th minute through Poulsen. In the 43rd we were down again when they hooked the ball out of their defense. Compper misjudged his header and their striker stole a march on our goal. He missed his shot but his teammate got the rebound. Poor! St. Pauli had 10 behind the ball and 1 player up top waiting for a counter. F*ckers. We needed a way through. I sent on Tariq and George to change things for us. I got the change I needed when we got a corner in 78th minute that Compper headed home. You made up for your mistake.
Still not the improvement I needed but we still haven’t lost. 2-2.

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Aue vs RB Leipzig

Next up was Aue. We had drawn our last 2 and had 6 out injured with Frahn rejoining the injury list after straining his knee ligaments. I had to seriously work on how we approached training after this game. We were down in the 12 minute. I vented my frustration clearly from the touchline. It was clear the nerves were getting the best of everyone. 9 mins into the second half we were down 2-0. It was getting from bad to worse here Then we hit “worse” in the 61st minute when we made a mess of defending a corner and they capitalized. 3-0. The lads were nervous in their play, it showed in every touch. Come on! Hold your heads up! They kept the scoreline at 3-0 and that’s the only thing I could be proud of. We needed to make some adjustments in the coming games.

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October 25th

“Maledetto bordo di A.C Milano!” Cesare burst into my office. He was going off into an Italian rant. I swiveled my chair around as I was looking outside the window. He had already poured himself a drink and moved across to the couch searching for the remote to the tele.


“Hello sunshine. Please do come in, make yourself at home,” I said as I got up from my chair smiling at him. Nothing better than poking fun at him when he’s in this mood. I grabbed the remote off my desk and tossed it at him. “Like I said, make yourself at home.”

“Grazie!” He yelled annoyed as he switched the tv on and found the El Clasico game. I completely forgot it was on today. “Can you believe it? Cause I can’t believe it Matteo! How do they expect success if there is no continuity. No focus on one direction.”

“I hardly believe a boy band will help with whatever you’re on about Cesare.” I laughed as I turned my attentions to the lineups of the game. It seems Suarez will make his debut right after his ban. That’ll be interesting.

“Shut up, you ****,” He snarled before chugging what he had poured in his glass. “I’m talking about A.C Milan.” I had picked up on that. My Italian is seriously not as bad as he thinks. “They are considering to sack Pippo just because of a bad run of results.”

“Isn’t he in 15th place right now?” I tried to think back to when I checked the leagues around the world.

“Yes, so? Don’t let me start on your *** too Matteo!”
Oh please don’t.
“He’s only 4 points off 7th and 6 points off 4th! That’s not a big gap to overcome. They’re being too hasty.”
He did have a point.

By this time the game had started and Madrid had been on the front foot. “I see what you’re saying Cesare. Relax though, they may not.” I got up and headed to the bar. “Let me pour you another so you can simmer down.”

“I swear Matteo, if we ever take over there. We’ll bring them the glory they want!” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “Sorry about your first loss by the way.”

“I don’t think those two sentences go together but settle down. One challenge at a time. We’re not there yet.”
Goaaaal! Dani Alves from the penalty spot! I joined him on the couch again returning his now full glass to him with a glare. “You made me miss everything that just happened!”

“Don’t blame me. No one asked you to play waiter and get me another drink,” He chuckled. “And we’ll make it to a top club eventually Matteo. Maybe even Barcelona.” Ambitious lad. If he thought we could though, we could.

“Or we will -”

“Oooh! That’s a nasty blow to Ronaldo’s head and a penalty it looks like!” Cesare had finally tuned into the game and cut me off.

“Must be a nasty blow. Not often you see CR7 coming off. Especially in a game like this.” Chicharito was on as his replacement and surprisingly the man to take the penalty.

“£20 he misses.” Cesare was still in his cynical mood.

“You’re on,” I said as we both watched intently as the ref made sure everything was in order. He started his run up...MISS! Cesare sprung out of his seat celebrating.
GOAL! He put the rebound in.

“Don’t even think about it Matteo! He missed the penalty. That was the bet.” He started to plead his case before I even said anything but I wasn’t about to make him get off easy.

“No you weren’t specific. You just said if he missed!. He scored so I win!”

“You’ll have to pry the money from my cold dead fingers Matteo!” He yelled as he waved £20 around. That was a challenge to me - I tackled him.

We wrestled right through halftime and the second half and we didn’t stop until Real Madrid got another penalty in the 55th minute. The pocket of Cesare’s shirt somehow found itself hanging from the tv while the long sleeves of my shirt were ripped and barely hanging on. Our drinks had spilled and the once white seats of the couch were thrown by the door ripped open.

“He’s going to score this one. I’ll wager this half of the £20 that he does.” Cesare and I nearly jumped out of our skins. Those words didn’t come from either of us!

Standing in the corner of the room was Ralf smiling at the tv. GOAL! Real Madrid are in front!

“W-W-when..when did you get in here Ralfy?” Cesare stuttered out.

“About the time when this shoe hit the door as I was walking by,” He said as he kicked a shoe in front of us. It was mine. I don’t remember it coming off. “I then heard you two argue through chokeholds about who deserved the money. By that time though, I already had half of it - literally.” He laughed before sitting on the arm of the couch. “Barcelona will win this one.”

“Is that a bet Ralf? Cause...you’re on!” Cesare said as he started crawling around looking for his shoes.

“I’m with Ralf on this one!” I said as I sat upright sliding the shoe I had lost. Suarez scored his debut goal just as I said that. 2-2.

“Matteo I heard you made changes to training. Is wrestling now a part of the fitness exercises?” Ralf said poking fun at me and Cesare who were still tired from our battle.

“Aye. I did. I’ve got the lads doing more attacking drills so they can create better chances for themselves in games. I also lessened the amount of fitness work they’ll do. Hopefully that’ll keep injuries down a bit. Come January, I’ll let them focus on something else in general training.”

“My little manager,” Cesare smiled proudly tapping my shoulder. I grimaced in pain. **** you Cesare.

GOAL! Rakitic has put Barcelona in the lead!

“That’s game boys. Madrid won’t come back after that one,” Ralf said quite confidently. I wasn’t going to bet against him.

We watched the game out together and sure enough Barcelona won it.

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Cesare wasn’t entirely pleased about it even though he supported them with me.

“You know where to find me when you’re ready Cesare,” Ralf said smiling pleased as he headed for the door. “Oh and I’ll get someone to come clean in here up and replace that couch. Try not to mess it up again too quickly.”

“Ciao Ralfy.” Both Cesare and I said before collapsing to the floor when he closed the door. We were in pain and did everything to hide it.

“At least I don’t have to be on the training ground tomorrow,” Cesare chuckled with his face to the carpet.

“F*ck you,” I groaned at the thought of having to be out there.​
Thanks for following! Eager to bring out the other updates to you soon!
 
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Chapter 8
Anja

We had another three matches pass:

RB Leipzig vs Heidenheim

We’re coming off 3 games without a win and now we needed a change. I gave Poulsen a new role in attack as a False Nine. Then I made it clear to them that I needed an improvement from the last game. Improvement indeed when Kaiser volleyed a fantastic shot from the edge of the box in the net. “More of the same lads! Keep it up!” I barked from the touchline.
Finally in the 72nd minute we made things more comfortable when Poulsen took a pass down well and slotted it home. Then a penalty in the 84th minute definitely tied things up when Kaiser rifled it home. 3-0.
It was a fantastic effort and a much better performance. Poulsen thrived in his new role and Kaiser put on a great performance.

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Braunschweig vs RB Leipzig

This game would put us back on top by two points if we won. We needed to build momentum here.
Poor defending made us go down in the 23rd minute though when Kimmich missed an interception that allowed the ball to split our defense. My heart leapt out my mouth when Hierlander struck the bar! He was alone on the right of the box a put his foot through the ball. How’d he miss that!
We’ve lost our second one. 1-0. In truth, we weren’t as bad as it seems so I wasn’t so hard on the lads.

1860 Munchen vs RB Leipzig

Poulsen had picked up a knock right from the start. After calling him over to the touchline he said he told me he could play on for now so I didn’t get in his way. We were 1-0 down in the 43rd minute. It wasn’t going well again. We needed to turn this one around.
I decided to take Poulsen off and send Rebic on who 14 mins later leveled things up for us from a fine cross from Reyna. It was heartbreak yet again though when they launched a counter and struck it home with their striker Rodri finishing. 2-1.

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November 15

It was the international break again and some of the boys were off on duty. My dream was to have a squad full of internationals one day and to help these young lads make it to their senior national teams. Poulsen had already made his debut this season as well as Hierlander so it was coming together. Speaking of Poulsen, he didn’t get to join up with his international squad this time around has he’s out injured for 3-4 weeks after twisting his ankle in our last game. So the injuries still persisted though Tim Sebastien and Ledesma were on their way to recovery. In total, we only had 4 players out now.

With only 1 win and 3 losses in our last 5 games though, we needed to shape up and get back on track. We were in third but only 6 points separated the top spot from ninth spot. Anything was possible. So I thought about a new formation to experiment with away from home as all our losses were away games.

It was a Saturday night though and Cesare had made me promise I’d take some time to myself and just enjoy the night away from thinking about games and tactics; I threw my notepad onto the glass of the table in front of me and directed my gaze to the the cackling flames from the fireplace. I haven’t spent a night at home in so long that I forgot I even had a fireplace. I found it interesting how my life had turned around in 5 short months. Before, all I did was stay home and enjoy my time in the confines of the living room but now my living room was boring me to death. Then I remembered - Cesare lived right across the hall! I’d see what he wanted to do tonight. As I got up to go see him though, my phone rang from an unknown number.

“Mateschitz-Locke,” I characteristically answered. Cesare hated that, even though before I just said “Locke.”

“You like my name now huh?” A familiar voice said on the other line.

“Dad?” I responded shocked. I’m not sure how he got my number and it’s been months since I heard from his last but then I remembered - I work for him.

“How are you Matteo?”

“I’m well, sir..father..uh.” I wasn’t sure what to call him. He was my father and my boss basically.

“Don’t be so tongue tied Matteo. I’m your father first more than anything.”

“What do I owe the pleasure then father?” I composed myself best I could.

“I wanted to first congratulate you on your record in the first few months. You haven’t done badly at all and I can only see it getting better. How is everything behind the scenes? Well, I take it?”

“Thank you. We’re in a bit of a slump right now but it shall pass soon. Everything is fine behind the scenes. The staff and everyone are good to work with. Especially Ralf.”

“Ah I know, Ralf keeps me posted about you and Cesare. He quite likes you two. He also told me Cesare owes him £20.”

I laughed at the memory of that day. My office is still out of sorts.

“I arranged for your office to be fixed up a bit. I hope you don’t mind. Is there anything at the club you’d want changed?”

“Well, now that I think about it, the lads have been complaining about the available training equpment. We could improve the facilities a bit. I had mentioned it to Ralf at one point..” I really said it not expecting much. After all, our facilities weren’t so bad.

“I’ll see it done Matteo. Anything else?”

I couldn’t quite believe it really. Just like that and he had granted it.

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There really wasn’t anything else I could think of though. Everything was fine as it was now and unless he could poof entertainment to my living room, there was not much more he could do.

“No that’s all I can think of right now really. How’ve you been?” I promised mom and Cesare I’d try to repair my relationship with him so taking an interest in his life was one way to start.

“I’ve been well Matteo. There’s something I’d like to tell you though.” His tone changed a bit there. Something more of worry or uncertainty.

“What’s that?”

“Well, your mother and I have been discussing this. She thinks it’s a good idea we had a family dinner during the holiday break. You, her, myself and Cesare’s family and of course whoever you’re dating.”

“This was my idea as much as yours Dietrich. Don’t you try it.” Another familiar voice chimed in all snappy.

“Mom!?” I had no idea she was on the line. My heart fluttered at an alarming pace that plenty a man may still experience when his mother raises her usually quiet voice.

“Hi darling. Sorry, I insisted I kept quiet for the first parts of this conversation. I don’t care much for your professional conversations.” She had returned to her normal mousey voice.

“Ha..hello mother. How have you been?” My heart hadn’t returned to it’s normal pace yet.

“I’ve been well, thank you love. Congrats on your season so far. Have you been keeping up with the Premier League? Chelsea are in 6th but it’s been so competitive. Only 3 points separate them from the top. Tottenham sacked Pochettino too honey, can you believe that? No stability at that club. Dietrich you better not be a trigger happy owner! So sweety, dinner in the holidays yes?”
The line was quiet for a moment after she spoke. She took no pauses, no moment to breathe. This lady could talk and talk fast. Both my father and I burst into laughter.

“Oh dear mom. Umm, yes to everything I guess. I’ll do the dinner I suppose. I don’t have anyone to bring at the moment, I’m not dating and I’ll tell Cesare.” Really I knew I had no real say on the dinner, especially with her on the phone so I didn’t try to fight. Suddenly I heard a thump outside in the hall and laughter.

“Not dating anyone dear? It’s time you found a lady friend.” My mother urged. She always wanted grandkids but really since what happened when I was younger, I had no desire to date anyone. Aside from a couple one night stands after my first year out, I have basically been a recluse and a virgin again. Surely I wouldn’t tell my mom that. There was another thump and giggles in the hall. I had to check so I tip-toed around my couch crouching behind the door to peek through the peep hole. I no longer had any interest in the conversation on the phone. I was in full spy mode.

“Matteo??” I could hear my name from the phone but I couldn’t say anything as I was fully against the door creeping up to the hole. Then I looked through. Across the hall I saw a blonde haired girl making out with a guy up against a wall. I couldn’t tell who they were but they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Matteo!” My mother shrieked through the speaker. Oh ****! The coupled in the hall had flinched at her voice and stopped. I slid down the door and put the phone to my ear whispering, “Mom...dad...I’ll be at the dinner. I’ll even try to bring a date but I have to go now. I’ll call you back.”

After I hung up there was a knock at the door. I didn’t know whether to answer or not. After all, I was the pervert watching a couple through a window while admitting to myself that I haven’t gotten any action in a while. The knock pounded again on the door.

“Who is it!?” I shouted all aggressively. I wasn’t about to cower at my door like I was.

“Cesare. Cazzo...”

What? I opened the door and sure enough, it was Cesare standing there with looking at his feet.

“Cesare?? Come on in! There’s something I gotta tell you man!” As I pulled him I realized he wasn’t alone but a girl was hiding behind him - a blonde. Ohhh. Holy ****.

“Matteo...there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” He said as he ushered her beside him holding her hand. “This is-”

“Anja?” I knew her. It was Anja...Anja Strobel. One of the club’s physios. She was at the club before I was, one of the staff I decided to keep.

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“H-Hi sir,” She nervously said as she extended her hand to shake mine.

I looked at it and shook it saying, “Matteo. You can call me, Matteo. Hello Anja.” Cesare then walked by me letting himself in sighing and running his hands through his hair.

“Oh come on in, make yourself at home as always Cesare,” I said sarcastically as I motioned my head telling Anja she could come in and closed the door behind us.

“What the **** were you doing at the door Matteo?” Cesare asked annoyed. Is he really mad that I saw them? How long has this been going on?

“I was on the phone with my parents and I heard a disturbance outside. Turns out it was you with my physio,” I said just as annoyed. Anja stood by the door awkwardly as she watched us. “Please sit down Anja, don’t mind us.”

“Your parents? Oh so they told you about the dinner finally.” Of course Cesare knew about it before I did. I suppose this is why they wanted me to bring a date.

“Well, at least they can’t bear to keep things away from me for too long - unlike some.” I was still annoyed.

“It was my idea si- Matteo. I asked Cesare not to tell you despite him really wanting to. I thought it was unprofessional to be dating the new boss’s best friend and agent,” Anja interjected between our squabble. “Please don’t be mad at either of us.” It wasn't until now I’ve really spoken directly to her.

“He can never be mad at me Anja, but honestly I never meant to keep it from you Matteo.” Cesare walked toward me with a drink in hand giving it to me. Still trying to change the topic with drinks.

“How..how long have you two? Who else knows? Does Ralfy know?” I tried to get all my questions in before I took the drink.

“Shortly after your announcement as the manager. Anja was one of the only staff members left from the old regime before your new members came in. She was assigned to giving me a tour of the facility and since then, it just blossomed I guess.”
Blossomed? Cesare never uses those words. That explains his hair that day too.

“Yes, Ralf found out one night when he saw us walking out of the office together. He promised not to tell you before us,” Anja added. By this time Cesare was sitting next to her with his arms around her shoulder pulling her close. He looked up at me with an almost pout and she seemed to pick up on this and pouted as well. They’re already a ****** team at torturing me.

I sighed and walked across the room. “Okay okay. You two have to promise me three things and I’ll happily accept this.”

“Sure, anything!” They both answered together.

“One. No more secrets,” I paced the floor like a father disciplining his children. “Two. No distractions together when it comes to completing club tasks and three,” I paused and crouched in front of them smiling, “You have to find me a date for my family’s dinner.”

Anja smiled bright and nodded yes. Cesare groaned.

This was going to be fun! ​
Surprise! A quick update. Next one will be a couple days. Few points to make on this update.

As I've been trying to find a balance between writing regular updates, school, family and travels I've found that the story here is catching up to the story I've written ahead. I've reali
zed a reason for this is because I take long to get through matches as I pause them a lot to write about what's happening in the match commentary I post here. So I've decided to change that. So come around the March updates you'll see that I won't have a lot of match commentary like I do now but will instead pick 1 or 2 games a month as "Highlight matches" where I'll do commentary while the others will just be screenshots of results. This will allow me to play through the months faster and have more story content and hopefully make me have faster updates.

Thanks again for following! Appreciated guys.
 
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I do pretty much the same thing, pausing to write what happens during a match, so I'm slow as well. This story is brilliant though, keep it up! Currently doing an excellent job of filling an Alpha Romeo shaped hole in my life :p
 
PatrickLFC said:
I do pretty much the same thing, pausing to write what happens during a match, so I'm slow as well. This story is brilliant though, keep it up! Currently doing an excellent job of filling an Alpha Romeo shaped hole in my life :p
Click to expand...

Oh I've just started reading your story and a couple others, including Alpha Romeo. Got them all bookmarked so I can catch up on when I'm free. Great stuff and thanks a lot man. Much appreciated :D
 
Chapter 9
Batman

RB Leipzig vs Nurnberg

This was a big game for us by all means. We could launch ourselves into second place with a win. With only four injuries in the squad, this was most number of players I’d had to select from in a while. Unfortunately the likes of Ledesma, Jung and Sebastian were still needing match fitness. I wasn’t about to risk such a selection in a game like this. Khedira was back though and we desperately needed his presence in our midfield. Though I developed a new formation for away fixtures I decided to risk it and play it here at home in this match.

View attachment 240736

What’s management without a risk? I told the lads to work for the fans in this one. To play like men who loved the crest they wore, ones full of faith then sent them out.
We started out well, moving the ball around with pace and intent. The chances weren’t carving out though and I stayed on the touchline barking at the guys to be creative.
At halftime I told the boys that we simply weren’t good enough and needed to sharpen up. They responded with a terrific roar of approval. I also got them back to the approach we were used to at home with a tactical switch.
Like they always do, they responded magnificently and Georg Teigl took it upon himself to deliver as he went on a march into the box beating his man and releasing a fierce shot in the net! I couldn’t contain my celebration. Well done lad! We kept exercising dominance as the game wore on but our troubles with set-pieces continued when they scored from a corner in the 72nd. 1-1. In the 81st minute Kaiser played a lovely ball over the top of the Nurnberg defense after intercepting a pass. Forsberg latched onto it and rounded the keeper who had rushed out to meet him at the left edge of the box. I had nearly started celebrating, then the lad lost his composure and hit the side netting. Come on Emil! Golden chance wasted! Kimmich then got his marching orders 6 minutes later for a second bookable offense and by this time I had taken my seat in the dugout. There was no further joy coming in this game. It was clear.
1-1.
A much better display but still not good enough for champions as our attack faltered with only 1 shot on target all game.

View attachment 240738

Darmstadt vs RB Leipzig

4th vs 18th in this one. We had fallen out of the promotion places but a win would see us right back in it. Playing bottom placed Darmstadt? We had to show our credentials here. There was no excuse if we didn’t win. We needed to. I started with our away tactic with a bit of a tweak to it. Let’s see.
We were down after 18 minutes from a set-piece move. F*cking set-pieces are still killing us. We finally leveled in the 54th minute when a ball over the top set Reyna free. He took it down and smashed it home. Finally. Demme let me and the team down in the 70th minute when he got himself sent off for a petty foul. He’s not taking his first team chances at all. Great passing with the ball in the air seemingly not wanting to get down, fell to Reyna who smashed a shot home from the edge of the box. Their keeper could have done better but we’ll take it! It was scrappy but we got the win we needed today. Maybe we can push on from here. 2-1.

View attachment 240737

December 3rd

I decided to go to the office early this morning to go over my match notes. We were almost done with the first half of the season and sitting in 2nd place. It wasn’t a secured position given how close the other teams were though, so we had to remain strong. Ralf tried to keep reminding me that the goal was only promotion and thought I was putting pressure on myself to be champion but I told him, “Objectives are lines to reach Ralfy but who said you had to stop there?” I believed in myself and my team and I set my own standards. If we weren’t reaching those standards, we weren’t playing well.

It was supposed to be the normal routine this morning: wake up, have my coffee, make myself look decent, call my driver, get to the grounds, say hello tot the receptionist and go straight to the office. This morning however, when I got to the grounds and walked through the doors I decided to do something different.

Come on Mattero. You can do this. I had to try convincing myself - my own team talk. As I stepped to the door and pulled it open, I was instantly greeted by her. “Good morning Mr. Mateschitz-Locke,” she said with a warm smile. Her cheeks always gave a light pink blush on her pale skin whenever she smiled. She was Leah Hahn, a 28 year old receptionist who greeted me cheerfully every morning that I never once paid attention to. Now that I needed a date for my family dinner, I had to take whatever chances I had. My heart was pounding. This was far more nerves than I get for games. “Morning Leah,” I responded with my own smile. My palms were sweaty and I could feel a lump in my throat. Good god, I’m a mess. I leaned on the counter and tried clearing my throat, “Any news for me?” I looked down at her as she maintained her smile and checked through envelopes. She brushed her brunette hair behind her ear and looked up at me with her light brown eyes, “I actually do sir. The monthly financial reports are here. Here you go,” she said extending it to me. As I reached for it I noticed a ring on her finger. F*ck. She’s married? “Than-thank you, um..Leah,” I coughed out, then tried to make a quick escape. “Something wrong sir?” she asked taking notice. “Uh, no...no. I just noticed your wedding ring. I didn’t know you were married.” Just as she was about to respond, Cesare walked in through the doors.

“Mr. Vincenzi, good morning,” she said brightly once more.

“Morning Leah! Morning Matteo!” He said loudly walking up behind me putting a hand around my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming in early today amico?”

Dammit Cesare. Not now.

“I...wanted to get an early start, that’s all,” I muttered out.

“Ah well, me too. Let’s get to your office. I see you got the monthly financial report,” Cesare tugged on me. Sucky timing from a wing man. “Ciao Leah. Enjoy your day.”

She chuckled looking at me and then him, “Thank you Mr. Vincenzi. Enjoy your day as well. Bye Mr. Mateschitz-Locke.”

I waved my hand above my head, “Thank you, Leah.”

Cesare and I walked to my office slowly. I was still sulking about his timing and her being married. He was unaware however and just kept talking about whatever it is he was talking about. I know I heard him saying something about Roberto Di Matteo being sacked by Schalke. Unfortunate, that.

“Who do you think will win?” I kept thinking about how the morning played out until I felt a slap from an envelope on the back of my head. “Oi! Are you ignoring me? Who do you think will win?”

“Huh..what? Win what?” I was met with a swift response from the envelope again F*cker hated being ignored.

“The Ballon d’Or. The shortlist was released. Front runners seem to be all from Argentina with Messi, Aguero and Carlos Tevez heavily touted. They’ve all started their season well.”

“Messi or Aguero really. Ronaldo’s injury earlier this season didn’t do him any favors.” I finally turned my attention to him.

We got to my office and I opened the door. To both our surprises it was a bit different inside. The walls were now painted in black and white with the carpet removed and black tiles in full reveal. The couch that suffered in our little wrestle was no longer in the office and now replaced by not one but three smaller white ones with a smaller carpet that centered them. It seems someone had already made use of this as there was a laptop and files on the carpet. My desk was now black and white in an L-shape with a smaller chair behind it and a bookcase to the right. I was glad they kept me by the window that I enjoyed looking out for thought.

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“This is pretty impressive Matteo…” Cesare said quietly. “Isn’t it?” We both flinched at a voice in the room. We got real close to each other and looked around.“You heard that too right?” We said together. Suddenly a surface of the wall slid and created an opening and out came Ralf. He really needs to cut out his batman sh*t. “Ralf! Where are you coming from!?” Cesare exclaimed, still probably started. He walked back to the room he was in and motioned for us to follow him. We obliged and Cesare shoved me in front of him. We both stepped through the opening and entered another room. There was a giant 4k tele to a wall with seemingly tan couches and seats in front of it. Next to the opening was a bar set up.

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“You like it?” Ralf asked with a grin. “**** yes!” Cesare shouted. It was indeed impressive. A little getaway from the office right in the office. “Now you lads can have your fights outside of the office. Better to wreck in here than out there. Cesare you also got a makeover in your office, given that you’ve wrecked it somewhat in your own way” Ralf winked at him. Oh dear God Cesare. Not just the hall!? Cesare started scratching his head and looking around, “Cool tv huh Matteo?” We all started laughing. Nice try.
“Oh Ralf, the financial reports for the month say we made of a loss of roughly 1 million but we’re just on course for ending the season with a sizeable balance of about 50 million,” Cesare said in another obvious attempt to change the subject.

“Ah yes, I saw the report. I’m working on the training camp in January as well. Should know more closer to the time,” Ralf said. I had forgotten about how long the break in this league was. Our last game this year would be in the middle of December and we wouldn’t play again until February. That was quite the break so the players would need to be sharp for the return. I needed a strong finish to the season.

“Thanks for everything Ralfy. Seriously, you’ve been a top sport since we came here,” I said shaking Ralf’s hand. He was truly remarkable with helping us settling into the club and being a great friend along the way.

“Hey Matteo,” Cesare started sounding curious as he took a bottle of water out the mini-fridge. “How come you collected your stuff from Leah this morning?” He opened the bottle and took a sip while Ralf and I took a seat flipping through the channels for soccer news. “I mean...normally, you let me just bring it up. Why’d you stop this time?”

“Don’t you two have that dinner coming up? Aren’t you supposed to bring dates? That’s probably why,” Ralf chuckled deciding to keep the channel on Sky Sports who were talking about the Balon d’Or shortlist. Cesare started chuckling and took a seat as well saying, “That explains it.”

How is Ralf always right? “You coming to dinner Ralf?”

“No, sorry. Dietrich invited me but I’m having stuff with my own family with a trip to the U.S around the time he’s thinking.”

“Huh. Alright Ralfy. So...is Leah really married?” I said surprising Cesare who nearly fell off his chair and caused Ralf to chuckle.

Cesare composed himself and decided to answer the question, “Nope. She actually isn’t despite the ring. She’s friends with Anja and she’s actually on our shortlist. It’s her mother’s ring and she’s hadit since she was fourteen.”

“Oh...is...is her mother...um...dead?” I asked with the best words I could find.

“Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. It’s a funny story actually. Her mother lost that ring in their garden when she was thirteen. They all moved on from it and her father eventually got her mum another ring. Leah ended up finding that one randomly one day when she was out with her puppy or something and since then, she’s gotten to keep it,” Cesare explained before taking another sip of water. “She especially wears it now that she lives in Leipzig and her parents are in Munich.”

“Oh yeah, nice people really. I’ve met her parents. They drove down here one day to surprise her on her birthday. Thinking about asking her out Matteo?”
I could almost feel myself blush. Pathetic. I glanced at the tv and exclaimed, “Oh ****! Crystal Palace are third in the Premier League! and Aston Villa fourth!?”

“Oh yeah, think that’s surprising? Levante are second behind Barcelona over in Spain,” Ralf responded. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you switching the subject by the way.”

“He might Ralfy. She’s best candidate on our own shortlist.” Cesare pointed out. I didn’t even know there was a shortlist.

“Who else is on this shortlist?” I had to know now.

“Leah, one of Anja’s friends named Johanna and...Catherine,” He mumbled out the last name.

“Catherine?” I said quietly. “As in that journalist??” I said a little louder.

“That’s right,” Ralf answered. “I’m working on it for you. I don’t think we’ll get to her before the dinner though so Leah may be a good shout.”

“Once again, thank you Ralfy” I shook his hand almost wanting to hug him. Though it’s been quite some time since I saw her last, her face was still fresh in mind. There was just something about her.

“Enough enough Matteo. It’s time for training. The lads should be out there warming up by now,” Cesare said looking at his watch.

He was right and I needed to speak with the boys today especially to explain the little tweaks I plan on making to our gameplay. I sat up taking a bottle of water for myself and walked through the opening to my office to get my stuff for training.

“Ralf, show Cesare how we open this door or whatever so he can show me. See you lads.”

I waved walking out the door. It was time to get these lads running.

​
Sorry for the delay on this one everyone! Traveling but I should be back to my normal 2-3 days split soon. Enjoy and thanks for following!
 
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Match Notes

Aalen vs RB Leipzig

3rd vs 16th here. A win would put us in top spot by a point. We needed it done. The lads have been working well in training and seemed to have taken to the tactical tweaks. Now it was time for them to show they’re ready. This was the first time I had this many players available to me that selecting them was actually hard. I told the lads to show me what they’ve learned from our training sessions and sent them out there.
It tooks us 40 minutes but we got the lead through Reyna who showed a good bit of skill to beat his man and fire a tame shot that slipped through the keeper’s legs. Keep it up!
It wasn’t by any means a spectacle but it was a solid win and we got the 3 points we needed to be on top again. 1-0.

View attachment 239331

Dusseldorf vs RB Leipzig

It was time for the second round of fixtures now. 9 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses was not a bad record for our first 17 games but we were ready to do even better. Starting with Dusseldorf.
The first half was dominated by us but we didn’t create any clear chances to put away. We were putting pressure on them and that was pleasing. Unfortunately in the 54th minute Khedira picked up an injury and had to go off. He’s crucial to us and our slump started the last time he picked up an injury. We finally took the lead in the 65th when Ledesma smashed a freekick against the post. It fell kindly to Reyna who made no mistake. 3 goals in 3 games! Fine going lad. Kalmar who I had put on in place of the injured Khedira picked up a knock as well and I had to take him off. Our injury problems were circling around again. All the way in the 93rd minute of extra time we put it to bed when fine passing and link up play from Reyna, George and Ledesma led to George finding space between two defenders to get on a pass and finish it.
Fantastic performance in this one, 2-0.

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R.B Leipzig vs FSV Frankfurt

We had a bit of a break before this one. Khedira’s injury in the last match was confirmed to be strained knee ligaments which will keep him out for about 6-8 weeks. Thankfully, the break was on it’s way so he wouldn’t miss many games. I told the lads to pick up where they left off and brought Demme and George into the squad. Reyna kept his place leading the line. He was on good form. The game started heated and many of the players were playing with tempers so I had to get them to calm down and then our link up play started to show. Unfortunately Teagl was last to calm down and lunged in with a rash tackle. He received his marching orders promptly. We fell behind in the 37th minute when we didn’t deal well with a cross in the box. I didn’t even see how it went in,to be honest. I watched the lads create chance after chance, from outside the box and in but they just couldn’t score and we lost this. 1-0 Frankfurt.

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Chapter 10
Explore

December 22

The dinner was fast coming up and now the winter break of the season had started. There was still training however. With a whole month without a game, we needed to make the most of it to stay sharp. I did give them the 24th and 26th off to be with family. After all, I would have to be with my family 2 days from now. I stayed at the office later going over the preparations for the winter break and the transfer window coming up. Our camp would be in Andalucia Occidental, Spain from the 10th of January to the 20th of January with four friendlies lined up against lower league Spanish teams while we were there.

In terms of transfers I had no real plan yet. As it stands some players may actually leave because of lack of game time with Hierlander heading that list. Long-serving Leipzig player Daniel Frahn could possibly follow him out. Whereas he hasn’t asked to leave, he doesn’t fit in any of my tactical plans and he’s missed the first half of the season through injury. Cashing him on wouldn’t be such a bad idea and the money could be used to strengthen other areas. I had been thinking about getting another defensive midfielder to cover for Khedira as Demme hasn’t been providing the level of performances that makes me feel confident in him.

I sighed and leaned back into my chair. “This desk is a mess,” I whispered to myself. I rolled the chair around and looked out the window to the city lights.

View attachment 239322

Still the best thing about this office.

The real reason I stayed late tonight was because Cesare coaxed me into going to some party with him and Anja. “A good way to meet people,” he kept saying. He really meant women. He was supposed to call me and have me know where to meet him and Anja then I’d have the driver come get me.

Suddenly, there was a knock at my door which surprised me. Who could that be? I spun my chair around and shouted, “Come in!” I figured it was Cesare who came to get me instead of calling. Whoever it was, pushed on the door slowly and a small voice spoke “Mr. Mateschitz-Locke?” From behind the door, in stepped Leah smiling with an envelope in her hand. She’s never come to my office before. “Good evening, Leah. Why are you here so late?” I smiled back. politely but I was puzzled really. What made her come up here? “Oh, I stay late on Mondays and plan out my week,” she said as she stood a few feet away from my desk, looking around my office. You could tell it was her first time in here. I watched her, curiously smiling. “Oh, sorry!” she shouted almost embarrassed when she noticed I was just looking at her, “Mr. Vincenzi told me to give you this and ask your thoughts on it,” she handed me the envelope she had came in with.

Cesare didn’t tell me anything about this. Too busy trying to get me to a party. “What is it?” I asked her as I took the envelope and started opening it. She shrugged her shoulders indicating that she didn’t know. “I figure it has something to do with the accommodations for the training camp or something,” she said as she moved over to the bookcase looking at the books that were there. As I opened the envelope a single piece paper slid out that was folded neatly into a square. I unfolded the paper and on it a sentence was written:

Here’s an opportunity. Explore it.

It was signed off as More than just your agent. Cesare.

Clever lad. There was no party. This was always his plan. “So, what was it?” Leah turned her attention to me now that the envelope was open. Cesare had set this up perfectly. The nervousness I felt when I talked to her that day was back and I didn’t know what to tell her. If I chickened out now, I’d never hear the end of it from Cesare. “Uhh...nothing important really,” I said then chuckled nervously while I slid the paper back in the envelope and stashed it into a drawer. She smiled and laughed looking down at her feet, “Mr. Vincenzi told me you’d probably not want to tell me what it is and said I should insist. He said not to leave until you asked me something.”

Goddammit, Mr. Vincenzi.

I opened the drawer, sighed and took the envelope back out then handed it to her. She slid the note out and read it, blushing and laughing looking a little confused. “What does this..what does it mean?” she asked. What it meant was that my heart was about to find an escape through my mouth. I tried to find the words to explain and asked, “Would you like a drink?”
Drinks solve anything. She chuckled again and accepted the offer. So I got up and opened the door to ‘Il Rifugio’ which was the name Cesare gave to the added room of my office. It translated to The Hideaway which is basically what it was. Leah followed me in and I heard her mutter “wow” as she saw the room in full. It was my next favorite place of the office.

“What would you like?” I asked her as I stood by the bar looking at the assortment of alcohol Cesare, Ralf and I had put together.

“Water is fine,” she giggled.

“Water?? Not a drinker?” I asked shocked as I opened the mini-fridge to get her a bottle.

Her cheeks were pink again and she answered me, “I do. Really, I do...but I’m still at work and all and I wouldn’t want you to see me drunk.”

“Ohh. Are you a mess like me?”

“Worse, probably.” We both laughed and sat down together. It wasn’t going badly and I’d soon forgotten I was nervous. Before long, we had been lost in conversation. She told me the story behind the wedding ring and I told her how it initially startled me, I told her about how I met Cesare and how we’ve always been friends and she told me about her move to Leipzig away from her parents. It all flowed naturally and minutes became hours.

“I don’t think I’ve ever drank this much water in this rom,” I teased as I put my bottle on the table.

“Il...Rifugio you called it? The shelter...or...hideaway? It fits.”

“Oh, you know Italian? How’d you know that?”

“I studied foreign languages with my mom as I was growing up. She insisted. I’m fluent in English, French, Russian, Spanish and a bit of Portuguese.”

I was in awe. That was 6 languages to my 3 and a half - because let’s face it, I still sucked at Italian much to Cesare’s chagrin. “Wow, that’s pretty impressive. Don’t tell Cesare you speak Italian or you’ll never hear him stop speaking it,” I said.

She giggled then checked her watch, “Oh my. Where has the time gone? I’m usually home by now.”

“I’d still be here, in this spot probably. I don’t go home much other than to sleep.”

“Oh I’ve heard. What do you do when you’re not focusing on club matters?”

“Nothing,” I answered. It was as true as it got. I had no life outside of RB Leipzig. “I’ve been living here 6 months and I still haven’t seen much of the city apart from where my driver takes me to get to the office or home.”

“Seriously? That needs to change. Come on,” she sprang up saying pulling at my hands. Her palms were soft and warm as she gripped my hands and tugged. I didn’t budge much as her 5ft 4 slender frame didn’t have much power to pull me up.

I laughed and stood up on my own though still holding her hands. “Where are we going?”

“You sir, are going to walk me home. I only live about 10 minutes away from you so you won’t be far from home,” she smiled as she pulled me through the door. “Meet me by the doors in 5 minutes. Call your driver and I’ll make him drop us somewhere where we can walk a bit.”

I did exactly as she asked, packing up my desk and calling Thomas, my driver to get us. He drove us to where she requested and left us there with her assuring him that she’d take good care of me. Then sure enough, we started walking.

View attachment 239311

It was a cold night and being locked in the warmth of the office made me forget it was winter. There was still a few people out though just enjoying their time and gave the indication that Leipzig was far more lively than my living room was.

“So...how do you know where I live?” I asked curiously. She certainly knew a lot more about me than I knew about her before tonight.

“I’m more than just a receptionist Mr. Mateschitz-Locke. I work closely with Mr. Theieri. I’m like his...Mr. Vincenzi.”

“Okay. You seriously can just call me Matteo and ‘Mr. Vincenzi’, Cesare. No need for such formalities now especially after you’ve kidnapped me from the office and took me out for a walk,” I joked. “I seriously didn’t know you worked with Rudolf though. I don’t have much discussions with him or Florian. Most of their stuff is filtered to me through Ralfy.”

“I know. Mr. Rangnick is a nice guy. Helped me settle when I first got the job.”

“What made you want to work at RB Leipzig?”

“I didn’t,” she said as someone rode past us waving. Friendly people. “I studied business in college. I wanted to open a chain of department stores and call it The Hahn Dynasty but then I left college and a little later I heard about this job and just took a gamble and here I am. I enjoy it.”

“Oh I see what you did there...or wanted to do there. You know what I mean,” I said while she chuckled. “So did you like football before you worked here?”

“Loved it and love it even more now!! My dad used to take me to a lot of games back in Munich. He’s a big Bayern fan.”

“Oh, so you’re a Bayern fan as well I take it?”

“Yup and RB Leipzig, of course. I support a team for every language I speak.”

“Yeah? Let me guess…” I stopped walking and looked at her, “Italian - Juventus, Spanish - Barcelona, English - Chelsea, Portuguese - Benfica and French - Marseille. ”

She started laughing and walking again, “You’re so wrong. It’s A.C Milan, Valencia, Liverpool, Porto and Paris Saint Germain.”

Cesare would love her for her Italian affiliation. No wonder she was his top-choice.

“Ah, well...close enough," I said.

She laughed out loud nudging me, “You weren’t close at all!”

“Whatever,” I said laughing with her. “Cesare would love you for A.C Milan. I’m not sure how I feel about that Liverpool choice though.”

“Should I be worried that you’ll try running me over with a car then?” She couldn’t contain her laughter. I was actually holding back my own laughter because she got me there.

“You’re a funny girl, ha. Can’t believe you know about that.”

“Not only do I know about it, I was there that day. I didn’t see though, just heard about it. Unfortunate. Having it on video would be perfect for this moment.”

I bounced into her. “Oops. Who’s your favorite player?”

“Cheap shot and changing the subject? Can’t take the heat in this cold weather Matteo?” She’s relentless with her banter. I like her. “My favorite player? Has to be Ibrahimovic. On and off the field, he’s amazing.”

“Oh I can’t argue there. Great player. I would have loved to manage him but that won’t happen. Who’s your favorite manager?”

“Oh that’s easy. Matteo Mateschitz-Locke. Superb young manager, charming and good looking. He’s going to be a force I imagine,” she said looking at me, smiling as the lights bounced off her brown eyes.

Am I blushing?

As I was about to respond, she stopped walking and turned to me, “Thank you.”
“For what?” I asked as I looked curiously at her. “For walking me home. We’re here,” she said as she stepped to the side showing me the doors that led to a high-rise apartment building that lit the night skies. “I had fun tonight. Never imagined it would turn out likes this,” she continued as she twiddled her thumbs hiding a blush.
Truth be told, I had just as much fun and didn’t take into account just how long we had been walking for.
“I did too Ms. Hahn. Thank you for the tour,” I said with a warm smile before looking up her building once more. “Before I go, what was it you were supposed to ask me? Mr. Vince- Cesare said, you had to ask me something before I left.”

“Oh...well, to be honest, the opportunity the note mentioned was one to talk to you and get to know you so I could ask you to a dinner my family is having. My mom said I needed to bring a date...so you know...but this dinner is in 2 days and I mean it’s so short notice so I’d completely understand if you ca-”

“I’d love to,” She tip-toed kissing me on the cheek stopping me from my rambling.

“Yo-you would?” I asked surprised with a tingling sensation beneath the flesh of my cheeks.

“I would. I don’t leave for Munich until Christmas Day so I’m free and I think if tonight is anything to go by, spending Christmas Eve with you and your family would be quite fun.”

You have no idea.

She kissed my cheek again and hugged me tightly before pointing to the direction my apartment is and going inside hers.
I walked home slowly that night with a permanent smile fixed on my face.

View attachment 239306

I’m so bad at this, I may actually be good.

Thanks for following! I've decided to start splitting the match notes from the story. So it's easier to keep track of how the team has been progressing and of the story. Hope you enjoy!

Edit: My internet messed up during my post so it came out all jumbled. Fixed.​


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Chapter 11
D-Day

December 24th

Dinner day. I was up early and had my morning coffee. It wasn’t until yesterday did I get actual details about this family dinner. We, and by “we” I meant my dad, rented out a restaurant right here in Leipzig and mom and Cesare’s family had flown in to be apart of it. I was expected to get there by 7 p.m with Cesare, Anja and Leah. It was going to be quite the night and I needed to prepare for it. I needed to plan my tactic, my approach to it to get the best result. So, today I decided I’d go to the gym with Cesare in the morning and work up a sweat. He didn’t want to wake up so early since he spent the night getting drunk with Anja and now they both had hangovers. “Healthy body, healthy brain...or whatever it is you say,” I said in convincing him. He rolled his eyes and reluctantly agreed.

I put my club sweats on and tied my hair into a ponytail. It was getting long fast and I was almost certain my mom would tell me to cut it when I saw her later. Then, I went across the hall and pounded on Cesare’s door. I was deliberately loud to annoy him and Anja because they must have been having bad hangovers. I heard a loud groan from behind the door and “Goddammit Matteo!” and laughed to myself amused that my plan had work. I heard the locks on the door unlock and then the door pulled openly slowly.

“Morning sunshine!!” I yelled loudly laughing at his grimaced expression. “Ready for an eventful day?” He barged by me closing the door behind him as I waved to Anja, “Let’s go cazzo..” he mumbled. It was hilarious to me how we had changed roles. I was awake and lively and he was a walking miserable zombie of himself - I was enjoying this. We walked toward his Bentley in the parking lot as I told him how well things were going with Leah. It’s only been two days since my walk with her but we’ve already went on three more walks since then and I’ve really gotten to see more of the city and get to know more about her.

“She’s getting you out of the apartment, that’s good…” Cesare was still a bit groggy. As we got close to the car he headed for the passenger side, “You drive...sunshine.” I paused looking at him and the car.

View attachment 238862

“What?” I asked confused. He opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat. “Come on in Matteo!” He said waving his hand to me. I opened the door hesitantly and sat down behind the wheel, holding it and squeezing it tightly. My palms were sweaty against it and my breathing became heavy while Cesare looked at me curiously before putting his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay. You can do this amico, relax. It’s time for you to forgive yourself and do it.”

Ever since the accident and then incident in Liverpool, I’ve hardly been behind the wheel again. The last time I got behind it was when I had to get my license renewed and I had something near a panic attack. I had to request for Cesare to come along in the driving test with me to keep me calm. The memories of the crash and of the anger I felt in Liverpool flashback to me very often and the feeling was more intense whenever I got behind a wheel or even dreamed of being behind one. It’s why I was driven everywhere I went now. Cesare has never commented on my unwillingness to drive and he’s never tried making me drive until today. We sat in the car for 10 minutes in silence while I stared through the windscreen then I turned the car on taking in a deep breath. Cesare looked at me smiling, without saying anything. I can do this. I put the car in drive and slowly put my foot to the gas and drove off. We drove the entire ride to the club’s gym in silence and nothing was said until we got to the locker rooms.

“Not so bad was it?” Cesare broke the silence, grinning from ear to ear. I was still mentally in a different space. A bit of shock and the memories of those years flowing in. Cesare was in a much livelier mood and ran his hour on the treadmill while I stuck to weight training. Eventually I did start talking to him and was back to my lively mood to go as far as joking around about being his chauffeur. We worked up a sweat and I willingly drove us back home where we decided we’d nap until it was time for dinner.

--

“I’m sorry guys…” I whispered as I looked up to the starry winter sky.

View attachment 238861

We drove out to a hill and decided to just stay there. I loosened my tie and let my hair out from the ponytail and took a sip of my beer. Leah rested her head on my shoulder, sitting close to me while Cesare and Anja sat on the bonnet of the car behind us. “It’s okay,” they said together. They were supportive right through it all. Was it really okay though? What would the fallout be?

Let’s recap the night.

Anja and Cesare came over to the apartment after they got ready. “Aw, what a lovely couple you two are,” I said playfully as I opened the door to them. Anja wore a black sheer sleeve dress that showed her figure while Cesare complimented her well in a black gucci suit with his haircut slightly, resting on his shoulders. Anja or his mom made him cut it. I was just about ready as well, as I wore a grey armani suit and tied my hair in a ponytail. I’d take mom on about my hair. “You really could do with a haircut Matteo,” Cesare said yanking on my ponytail. “Don’t start lovebirds,” Anja said quickly as she realized I was ready to retaliate. “We have to go get Leah remember?” she reminded us. How could I forget? She was the only part I was looking forward to tonight. We left the apartment and Cesare decided to drive instead of having Thomas pick us up. When we got to Leah’s apartment, I got out of the car and waited for her to come out as did Cesare and Anja, who stood next to me. The doors opened and out came the small frame of a girl in a gey flair dress with bouncy brunette hair and a smile that could light up any room. How did it take me so long to notice her?

“Close your mouth Matteo,” Cesare said chuckling with Anja. I ignored them and walked to meet Leah, “You look...wow.” She blushed and responded, “You look wow yourself.” From behind us, you could hear Cesare yelling, “Yes you two are gorgeous, now come on! We’re late.” He was right though, we were late by about twenty minutes. I took Leah’s hand and we all got back into the car and drove to the restaurant.

Once we walked in, a lot of familiar eyes turned to us and the greetings flooded in. Cesare’s family was there in entirety: His mom and dad, Claudia and Paolo Vincenzi, his older brother, Ciro and his younger sister, Celia. It had been so long since I’ve seen them and they were very much my family as they were his. I remember when I would travel back to Italy with Cesare, those were some of my best moments. Ciro, who was 6 years older than Cesare, would take us on roadtrips and sneak us into parties - now he’s married and expecting a son. Celia, eight years younger than Cesare, was the jewel of the family. We all protected her and loved her endlessly and she reveled in this and got her way for everything. They all came surrounding us with greetings. Still a loud bunch. “Cesare, she’s so much prettier in person! and Matteo, what a lovely one you have for yourself as well!” Mrs. Vincenzi said as she greeted Anja and Leah. This was her first time meeting Anja physically but Cesare sent her pictures of them together regularly. Next up was a hug from Mr. Vincenzi who whispered in my ear, “She’s a catch boy.” Mr. Vincenzi somewhat of the father figure in my life. He treated me like one of his sons and never shied away from being stern with me when he needed to.

I finally got through the army Vincenzi after getting in a headlock from Ciro and teasing him about how fat he’s gotten. I also got my customary tackle and hug from Celia. By the time I got to my mother, my hair was a mess and I looked untidy. “Couldn’t cut your hair?” she asked while she fixed my tie shaking her head at me. I felt like I hadn’t seen her in forever. Her small frame and bright green eyes, just like mine, would make you think she was an adorable old lady but really she was “a fiery woman of experience,” as she liked to claim - she was certainly fiery. “I could but I mean, I kinda think I look gorgeous” I said as I hugged her tightly. “My vain boy,” she chuckled as she let me go “Give me a gorgeous grandbaby then.” By this time, I could feel Leah blushing behind me. Mum knew exactly what she was doing. I then introduced the two.

“Hi Ms. Locke, pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of stories about you so far,” Leah pleasantly said shaking her hand. Mom ignored her hand and went straight to hugging her. “Call me Emily love. I hope he’s told you all bad stories so you can see how lovely I really am,” mom responded all smiles examining her. “You’re such a beauty. Keep this one Matty.”

“Good grief mom,” I said as I felt the blush from embarrassment creep on. I need a drink. I looked over towards the table everything was sat up and saw a group of people. “Who else is here mom?” She ignored my question and took Leah’s hand, “come on, let’s get Anja way from the Vincenzi storm and get you girls drinks.”

Well, mom has given her approval it seems. I stood around and looked at the crowd making a commotion in the restaurant and smiled. The Vincenzi’s and Cesare, Anja, mom and now, Leah. They were what family was for me now. Then I remembered why we were all here. My dad. I looked to the table again at the group and decided to walk over there. Not before grabbing a drink from a passing waiter. As I got to the table my smile grew wider as the faces were familiar. It was dad and Ralf. “Ralfy! I thought you weren’t gonna me it!” I said as he got up from his seat and hugged me. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, that’s all.” He said smiling. “I was talking to your mother earlier. I see who you get your looks from.”

“Sorry Ralfy, she’s off the market but I mean, you could probably have a shot with me.” I teased.

“I’m out of your league, thank you very much. Besides, I’d like you to meet my wife” Ralf said before showing me his wife.

“Oh nice to meet you Mrs. Rangnick. I hope I don’t stress him out too much for you,” I said as I greeted his wife. She smiled and assured me that Ralf was stress on his own and we all shared a laugh. Next around the table was a lad I didn’t recognize along with a girl I didn’t know and then my dad. He got up and also gave me a hug, asking me how I am. We went through the pleasantries and everyone had joined us at the dinner table while the food went around. It was actually a good night. We talked about the club and my decent run so far as a manager. We talked about the relationship Cesare, Ralf and I shared and the story of destroying the office came up. Both mom and Mrs. Vincenzi also shared embarrassing stories of us while we were growing up and Ciro decided to help them out with his own stories of us.

Everything was going well and Leah had laughed until he cheeks hurt. I was happy. I looked around the table at everyone enjoying themselves and thought about giving a toast then I remembered I didn’t know the guy or girl that sat between Ralf and dad. I came late so I assumed I missed the introduction and also assumed that they were related to Ralf in some way. So before I decided to give my toast, I had to learn their names, “Hey, I’m sorry. I don’t think we were introduced. Are you two related to Ralfy?” I said politely directing my attention to them. Mom looked up at me and then at them and dad before looking back at me and Ralf kept his head down. There was an unusual shift in the mood of everyone at the table who arrived before my group with Cesare. Even Cesare took notice asking, “What’s wrong? Did we miss something earlier? Told you we were late Matteo!”

“Quiet Cesare.” His mom snapped quickly.

“Thank you Mrs. Vincenzi,” I chuckled ignoring the awkwardness.

“I’m Rosalie” the girl responded with a cheerful smile. “I’m Marc,” the guy responded in a less cheerful tone.

“Rosaalie and Marc. Nice to meet you both!” Cesare said breaking his mother’s wishes. “Ralfy, you didn’t tell me you were bringing your kids.”

Ralf gave a half smile and responded, “I didn’t bring my kids.”

Rosalie chuckled and quickly cleared things up, “Oh no no, I’m Marc’s girlfriend. Not related to anyone here.”

“Oh okay. Still a pleasure to meet you Rosalie. So Marc, we know Rosalie’s connection here. What’s yours? Your Ralfy’s son aren’t you? He’s just messing about.”

Marc didn’t respond and the the silence filled the room that I couldn’t quite ignore this time. The Vincenzi’s turned their attention to their food, Ralf and his wife kept quiet and avoided eye contact, Marc kept his head down while Rosalie tried to smile politely throughout while she held his hand, Anja and Leah were as confused as Cesare and myself and mom and dad kept looking at each other. I’m losing my patience.
“What the **** is going on? Who are you Marc?” I asked in a much stronger tone. I didn’t like being ignored.

“Matteo!” Mom and Mr. Vincenzi were quick to reprimand me. Neither liked me swearing.

“What? Who is he? Why is everyone acting all weird and ignoring me?”

“Now’s not the time Matteo,” my dad joined in.

“Not the time for what?” Cesare responded.

“Stay out of this one Cesare,” Ciro whispered to Cesare while Celia nodded in agreement. It was clear that we were the only ones that didn’t know what was going on.

“Tell him Dietrich,” Mom said nodding at dad. I was losing my patience even more.

“For f*ck’s sake! Tell me what!?” I slammed my fist against the table causing most to flinch. Leah put her hand to my knee and whispered, “Calm down.”

“Come on Matty, keep it together,” Celia pleaded while mom nodded at Dietrich again. Mr. Vincenzi folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Tell him.”

My dad sighed and got up from his chair and nodded at Marc who got up with him. He put his hand around his shoulder and squeezed it. Similar to what calms me down. “Marc...is your brother Matteo. He’s my son.”

What the ****.

The room was filled with silence. Cesare leaned back into his chair and ran his hands through his hair and Anja sat quietly. Leah held my hand and squeezed it as she felt me shaking.

“Your son? You have another son?” I asked him in a deadpan tone. “And you all knew about this?” I asked my mom and the rest of the table. “And you...how old are you?” I turned my attention to Marc.

“Twenty-two,” Marc was first to respond in an almost whisper. Mom quickly followed with, “We all knew about it but none of us knew how to tell you Matteo, so we didn’t.”

“Twenty-two?” I then did the math in my head, “He’s ******* been around since I was twelve and no one thought I should have known?” I had lost all patience by this time.

“He’ll be your heir to Red Bull?” Cesare whispered looking down at his phone. He must have looked him up online. We didn’t think we needed to look for another son or even my dad before.

“Cesare, stay out of this.” Mr. Vincenzi again warned him.

“No. No. Palle! It’s bullshit. You know it is dad. You all know it!” As always Cesare was sticking with me through and through.

“So that’s how it was? I get locked away and you try to be a better father to another son you kept secret. You promise him your empire and give me one of your clubs to feel better?” I started to rant furiously. “You couldn’t even tell anyone I was your son until 6 months ago but you were already telling people about your other ******* taking over for you.”

“Matteo…” he tried to interject.

“No. F*ck you! I don’t want to hear it. No more lies. No more bullshit. I’m tired of it all. I honestly thought this was all going well and something good would come of it - that I actually had a complete family now. One I could trust but that was all a facade wasn’t it? You’re a complete fraud Dietrich. Enjoy your son, your heir. You’ve lost this one.” I got up from the table and started to walk out. He tried getting in front of me, “Matteo, come on...listen to me.” I punched him. Marc then got in the way and shoved me and I hit him too right on the nose. Blood quickly flowed down his nose as he held it and Cesare got the girls up and ushered them around behind me and threw Marc a napkin. “You’ll need this.”

I stormed out and they followed behind me. We all ignored the calls from everyone who asked us to stop and come back.

Fast forward back to now and we’re all sitting here with cases of beer we bought. “You know we are all probably jobless in the morning right?” I said as I took a sip of beer and pulled Leah closer. “What do you mean ‘we’? I didn’t deck anyone!” Cesare said causing us all to laugh. “Honestly though, they’d be ****** mad to sack you now and you know I go anywhere with you,” He reasoned and reassured me. “I’d quit too if they sacked you honestly,” Anja commented as she played in Cesare’s hair. She would go anywhere with Cesare so by extension, she would go anywhere with me too. “What about you little miss?” I teasingly nudged my shoulder against Leah. “With me?” She smiled and sighed wrapping her fingers around mine, “I mean...I guess if I haveee to.”

This right here, was my real family. No matter how long it would last.
Enjoy! What do you think the fallout will be? Will Matteo and the gang be jobless by morning? Should he have taken a different approach? Thanks for following!
​


​
 
Appreciated :) More updates on their way. Having a few annoying service problems with my net provider but that won't stop me too much. Look out!
 
Chapter 12
Professional

January 4th

“When are you coming back? Do you have to go?” Anja asked as she sat up in the middle of the bed and pouted. The training camp in Spain started today and Cesare and I were to meet the team at the airport. "Si amore mio. You knew this was coming up. Don’t pout,” Cesare said leaning in and kissing her forehead. I had already packed and went over to his apartment waiting. “Ew, you two,” I teased. “You’re just jealous because your girlfriend isn’t this sad about you leaving,” Anja jibed while Cesare looked for the shirt she hid under the pillow. “She’s not my girlfriend and she was sad...she just couldn’t come over today” Leah and I haven’t really said what we are at the moment despite spending almost everyday together since our walk. I had learned how much of a football enthusiast she was when on the day of the Balon d’Or gala she pouted all through the day and night when Arjen Robben only came second between first place, Messi and third placed, Aguero. It went further when at dinner that night with Cesare and Anja, she and Cesare got into a long debate over whether Aguero was truly more deserving than the two that finished above him. It got so bad that Anja and I walked ahead of them on the way home and talked about different flavors of ice-cream.

View attachment 237811

“Why couldn’t she come again?” Cesare asked after mumbling and swearing about still not being able to find his shirt.

“It’s under the pillow she’s sitting on,” I snitched about the shirt before quickly poking my tongue out at Anja.

“You ****!” She yelled before Cesare rolled her off and grabbed the shirt.

“I quite prefer the term, cazzo,” I mocked before explaining Leah’s absence, “She has to file all of the paperwork that went on with the contract signings that took place recently.”

“Oh yeah. Did everyone offered sign up their new terms? Players and staff alike?”

“I did. Hmm, I should have asked for more money considering I sleep with the gaffer’s best friend,” Anja chuckled..

“Gross,” I retorted. “Besides you only signed on for an extra year.”

“Well, yeah. That was the plan. Easier to rescind my contract if they sack you two or decide not to renew. You did punch your dad slash boss.”

The fallout of the dinner light was a tense atmosphere at the office. The news of what happened leaked to news outlets the following morning and it’s suspected that one of the waiters provided the leak despite my father’s efforts to pay them to be quiet about it. The club of course, denied everything reported and maintained there was a “professional relationship” between me and my dad. Calls to me and Cesare were swiftly declined or responded with a “No comment.” There was a radio silence between the board and me and Cesare. Ralf was understandably torn between both sides - his loyalty to my father and his friendship to me. He also chose not to discuss his contract situation with me even though it expired at the end of the season. He made no comments about the night and the real “professional relationship” the club described was between me and him. The last real conversation we had was his suggestion to sign a Norwegian center-back called Strandberg who was valued on the cheap because his contract was expiring.

“Think they’re going to renew our contracts Matty?” Cesare asked as he finally closed up his suitcase.

“Mom said that kid’s nose was broken...nope,” I answered as honestly as I could.

“Has she forgiven you?” Anja asked as she got off the bed to respond to a message on her phone.

“After yelling at me for 10 minutes and then commenting on how well I punch - she did.”

“Yeah she called me too and yelled at me right after my own mother did. Pretty sure my dad is going to kick both our ***** when he sees us,” Cesare commented.

“Well,” I said looking at the flight tickets, “Unless he flies to Spain, we can avoid him for 10 days at least.”

“It still sucks that I can’t come,” Anja said as she shoved me aside heading to the door.

“Amore, you volunteered to stay with the injured players who weren’t coming to the camp. I’ll be back before you know it” Cesare tried comforting her.

She opened the door and as we walked up behind her to leave and to my surprise, Leah was standing outside smiling. Anja looked back smiling as well before walking by me and tappng my shoulder “You’re welcome.”

“Anja offered to help me with the filing if I came over and told you bye,” Leah said as she stepped closer and hugged me tightly. “I’ll miss you.”

Thank you Anja.
​
Thanks for following as always! As mentioned I have connection issues at the moment, so even posting this one took me hours but I'll come with a second update as quickly as I can following this one with our training camp matches.
 
Last edited:
Training Camp:

Sevilla Atletico vs RB Leipzig

Our first training camp friendly was underway. These friendlies were all about keeping fitness up right through to February. It was best if we didn’t have any injuries. we took the lead in the 18th minute with fine work from Teigl on the right with a great cross. Endres got his head to it well - 1-0. 3 minutes later Teigl again caused trouble when he beat his man on the right and passed it in the box to Vincente who slotted home well - 2-0. It was the first half I expected and I told the boys to keep it up.
The second off went on well but Vincente picked up a knock. I really want to avoid these. We went on and finished the game strongly. 2-0.

View attachment 237780


Real Betis ‘B’ vs RB Leipzig


Our second camp friendly took off slow. I had to send Vincente back to Germany with Anja set to look up on him. The first half on this one was rather dull with no real highlights and I spent most of the time telling the lads to pick it up on the touchline.
In the 60th minute after putting fresh players on, we got the breakthrough when Reyna released a fierce shot from way outside the box that drifted in the bottom corner. 1-0! Good passing led to a second goal in 76th when Reyna was put through free in the box and he didn’t waste his chance. 2-0.Then we wrapped up the game in the 84th minute when Ledesma did a great job running on the right flank and beating 3 defenders before firing a shot outside the box that the keeper parried. They made a mess of their clearance though and it fell to Williams who tucked it into an empty net.
Great performance. 3-0.

View attachment 237779


Xerez vs RB Leipzig


Time for our third preseason game. We’ve been doing well and the match fitness for the layers were up. We wanted to go back to Germany with all wins and we were on our way early in this one when Rebic cut in from the right in the 3rd minute and released a tame shot at the edge of box. The keeper didn’t deal with it well and it rolled in between his legs. Our passing has been impressive today. 18 minutes in Daniel Frahn gave me something to think about. Good passing work fell to him and he took it past his man and rifled an angled shot in the corner. Impressive. We played well for the remainder of the game keeping it neat and tidy. Well done lads. 2-0

View attachment 237778


Ceuta vs RB Leipzig


The training camp ended but we decided on one final friendly for the first team in Spain.. We could make it 4/4 here. In the 15th Endres fired a great volley in the net after a great cross from Teigl. Endres again showed his potential when he placed a great shot from the edge of the box in the bottom corner after a cross from Heidinger found him. Then in the 30th minute the 17 year old finished his hat-trick when Reyna ran into the box and teed it to Endres who pounced on to it and put it away. **** of a showing kid! We continued our dominance and in the 38th minute we got a freekick. Kaiser went for goal and hit the post! Then Rebic pounced on the rebound! 4-0. What a half.
The blot on our performance came in the second half when Demme got a second yellow card in the 51st minute. Endres didn’t make that bother him though when he got a 4th goal; Reyna once more terrorized the right wing and crossed it into the box and Endres got his head to it. I decided to take him off and a few others after that to avoid injuries. We continued our onslaught when in the 65th when a defensive mistake found it’s way to substitute Forsberg who powered it into the roof of the net past the keeper. 3 minutes later we booted the ball up the field from our defense from a freekick. The ball went over the head of the wingback and Reyna got on the ball and bore down on the keeper and tucked it away. What was that? 7-0? F*ck yeah lads! In the 68th minute we were up 8-0 when another wonderful bit of play from Reyna on the right resulted in him crossing in the box and Frahn finished it off with a powerful header. In the 78th minute we made it 9-0 when Forsberg stormed by his defenders on the left and cut in on his right and rattled the goal with a fierce shot that hit the cross bar first then bounced on the line and in. In the 83rd minute we made it 10 when Frahn picked it up on the halfway line and sped off to their goal; the defenders didn’t know whether to tackle or drop back and by the time they decided, he blasted it into the back of their net. Ledesma made it 11 in the 86th when a cross got to him and he bundled it in.
The referee finally blew an end to the match.

View attachment 237777

Though it was only a friendly, it was a perfect way to return to the season.​
 
Chapter 13
Crumbling

January 30th​

“I bet you can’t guess what I wanted to be when I was fifteen if the football thing didn’t work out,” I said to Leah. It was a Saturday evening and we were on one of our walks. We had just gone to our favorite spot for ice cream where she got her favorite flavor - strawberry. “Hmm...I’m gonna say, model?” she answered chuckling before taking another swipe the scoop on her cone. “Ha-ha. You and Cesare hang out too much now. It’s worse than that thought,” I responded before taking her cone and having my own taste. “Noo,” she said slapping my arm and taking it back, “You specifically said you didn’t want any. Can’t get any of mine.” Then she scurried away in front so I couldn’t get her. She was such a lively little thing that radiated an infectious happiness all the time. “You wanted to be a...teacher!” she shouted while giggling. “No..no, I wanted to be a rapper,” I revealed. She stopped walking backwards and looked at me wide-eyed with a big smile - then she burst into laughter. “A rapper?” She couldn’t contain herself. I rolled my eyes and continued walking behind her while she laughed. “What’s so wrong? I even had a my name picked out. Matty Big Matt!” She only burst into more laughter as I walked by her. “Ma...Matty..Big...Matt!” she squealed. Infectious I said. ​

I chuckled to myself then I heard her stop laughing and say “Oh.” I turned around to see her standing still and looking to the ground. I walked around her to find her ice-cream on the floor and her pouting. I smiled and opened my arms, “Come here you. We can get you another one.” She hugged me and nuzzled her face against my chest whispering “Promise...Matty Big Matt?” then burst into laughter again. “Oh Matteo, excited that I’m so close?” Leah suddenly said smiling up at me. My phone was vibrating in my pocket. I chuckled then took the phone out. It was Cesare.​

“Yeah buddy?” I answered while Leah stayed pressed against me.​

“W-where are you!? Can you access the internet??” Cesare asked sounding frantic.​

“I’m out walking with Leah. What’s wrong?” I asked now slightly worried by his tone.​

“They’re saying they’re going to sack us Matteo! Cause of the fight at he dinner!”​

“Who’s saying? Where did you see this?”​

“Get your *** home Matteo! I’m at your apartment.”​

Was it all already crumbling down?​


There are unconfirmed reports in Germany that RB Leipzig are looking to part company with their manager Matteo Mateschitz-Locke. Mateschitz-Locke, who was revealed to be the son of RB Leipzig owner Dietrich Mateschitz, joined the club in the summer of 2014. In his seven-month stint so far he has guided Leipzig to second in the 2. Bundesliga and is a favorite to promote. Sources close to the club say that Mateschitz-Locke’s relationship with his father has deteriorated after an altercation at their family dinner. It’s reported that after finding out Dietrich Mateschitz had another son, Marc - who he has named as his heir to Red Bull GmBh, Mateschitz-Locke proceeded to storm out. After being confronted by both Dietrich and Marc in an effort to calm him down, Mateschitz-Locke is said to have struck both men and left. This is not the first time Matteo Mateschitz-Locke has been involved in such controversy as the 34 year old manager was also sacked for gross misconduct when working as a scout for Everton in 2011. It’s well worth noting too that Mateschitz-Locke also served time for manslaughter at the age of 17. So far, neither RB Leipzig or Matteo Mateschitz-Locke have responded to the reports.​

IMPORTANT: Hey guys, thanks for following as always. I got news. So while updating my laptop I encountered problems and have had to do a system restore however that didn't fix it and I'm still having problems with it as I type this. The good news is, I saved the story on a drive to avoid problems like this. I also saved the game to the cloud. My only problem is my screenshots as I don't know if Steam keeps them on a cloud as well. I am currently working on fixing my laptop and should have it running by tomorrow and I do hope it will work so as I really want to continue this story for you guys. Will you keep you posted. Thanks for following!
 
Oh god no! My fav story atm mate. Do whatever it takes!
 
Hey guys.

So update:

I've finally seemingly fixed my laptop but I'm afraid I have bad news. So after getting the software to finally update and quickly reinstalling Steam and Football Manager, I went on and checked my saves on the cloud. After checking, I found the Locke Stock save but for some reason, it was the very first save I made when I just started the story. I have no idea why none of the updates were saved. The other save game I had was also there 4 years in with it's 2 rolling autosaves and I have no idea why this was the one saved. So now, I really don't know what to do with both the save and screenshots being gone for this story.

I do still have the rest of what happened written up right to the end of season one and 2 months into the beginning of season 2 so I could release those but again, these would be without any in-game screenshots. Another idea I have is to start an entirely new story for you guys. I already have a few ideas. Please let me know what you think!
 
Start again mate. While I would love for this to continue, I think it would only make it more disappointing when you did run out of material.

Shame. I really did love this story. Look forward to whatever you do next! :)
 
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