The UEFA Champions League Challenge

[callumw180]

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Do you use any player instructions? Looks like a nice tactic mate

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER/JANUARY

Lineup - Ulreich, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen (Heyer), Kitolano, Onana, Kinsombi, Xande (Dembele), Gomez, Jatta, Wintzheimer*

******* ****!!!!!

As far as first games go this one can't be beaten!!! We trounce Bochum 8-0 and we were ruthless in front of goal. I arrived at the club the day before so I basically had to look at my players and chuck them in the team and see how they got on. Wintzheimer scored a hat-trick - he had only started 2 games before this match - while Kitolano scored and this was his first start of the season.

This game is our only game to be played in December so I will tie it in with the January fixtures.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Kitolano, Onana (Cavar), Brescianini, Xande, Gomez (Opoku), Jatta, Kean (Wintzheimer)

Meh. Our battles arent with Bayern Munich so defeat here was never going to be an issue. As it was we played very well and could have got a point but Bayern are several levels above us.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Kitolano (Araujo), Onana (Cavar), Brescianini, Dembele, Gomez (Dudziak), Jatta, Xande

A superb result. Hoffenheim have some decent players and played well but we sneaked a goal late on when Xande broke free and although he hit the post with his first effort he converted the rebound.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Heyer, Willems (Araujo), Onana, Brescianini, Xande, Gomez, Jatta (Dembele), Kean (Wintzheimer)

A decent point. We played ok but Wolfsburg probably deserved a point in truth plus they had a goal disallowed.

--

SUMMARY

I have had an interesting first month and a bit charge of Hamburg. I straight away realised I made a mistake when taking the job when I promised the board I wouldnt make any backroom changes which was a bit of a nuisance. Also what has been troublesome is that for some reason the promises from the old boss has moved over onto me which is a pain in the ****. For instance Ambrosius came to me on my 2nd day angry at not having a contract offered that was promised!

Results wise we got off to a flyer by thumping Bochum 8-0 in my first game in charge which was pretty incredible. We followed that up by losing to Bayern Munich however a smash and grab away win over Hoffenheim before drawing against Wolfsburg so it has been a decent start.

Regarding transfers I sold Gideon Jung for £1.8m and other than that it was minor deals in the out department. Incoming though I paid £11.9m for 3 players and also brought 2 in on loan to strengthen the side.

On loan comes Moise Kean from Everton and Marco Brescianini from AC Milan. Kean will be my striker and hopefully will fire in the goals to propel us up the table and to safety. As for Brescianini - I was impressed with him in my Bari save so when he was available on loan I snapped him up.

On deadline day I paid £4.5m to Atlas for Luciano Acosta. The Argentinian playmaker will be my AMC and his value rocketed up to £15.5m straight away. He is quick and technically good so will be a fine addition to the team.

I gave Borussia Monchengladbach £5.25m for Jetro Willems to be our new left back. The Dutch international has impressed me in previous years games and the fact he has played in Germany for several years now means he should have no trouble in fitting in.

My new keeper is Kristoffer Klaesson who joined from Valarenga for £2.2m. He should go onto become a firm fixture in the side and at 21y/o should have a huge future in the game.

With my 3 permanent signings I am hoping that if and when I move on then the club will have decent players in the squad to build upon. Honestly I am hoping to move on again in the summer but who knows?

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
XANDE

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Do you use any player instructions? Looks like a nice tactic mate

Cheers - none at all! I just play players in there preferred position and role however I do prefer to sign ball playing centre backs and advanced forwards

 

[Klippybo]

KEVIN KEEGAN AT HAMBURG

FEBRUARY

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Araujo), Onana (Kinsombi), Brescianini, Xande, Acosta*, Jatta, Kean (Wintzheimer)

This was a dream debut for Acosta as he scored 2 goals to give us the victory and move ourselves up to 12th place. We played really well and fully deserved our win. Moise Kean was very poor however.

In 5 games we have managed to score more goals in the league than in the previous 16 and bear in mind it is a 34 game season!

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius (Heyer), Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini, Xande (Wintzheimer), Acosta (Dembele), Jatta, Kean

WHAT A THRILLER!!!

Leverkusen came into this match 9pts behind Bayern in first place and 9pts ahead of 3rd place so for us to give them a game is encouraging. From 2-0 down we drew level and fought back again at 3-2 down but it wasnt to be as they scored with 11min to go. Encouraging signs though.

Pleasing to see Moise Kean get his first goals for the club.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana (Kinsombi), Brescianini, Xande (Dembele), Acosta, Jatta (Gomez), Kean

A good result but I am gutted that we conceded a last minute equaliser. We played quite well and more than matched the big spending side of Hertha (they have signed Camavinga for £55m!!!!) but alas a victory was not to be.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini*, Xande, Acosta (Dudziak), Jatta, Kean

If it wasnt for the late goal conceded I would have said this is the expected performance and result from one of my sides. We were excellent and had nearly 30 shots while limiting them to only 6 but unfortunately they pulled a goal back late on. We also had a goal disallowed through Jatta but I cant complain - a win is a win.

Acosta got injured here and is out for a month which is a big blow.

--

SUMMARY

I am beginning to find my feet with Hamburg! We had a decent month with 2 wins, a draw and a defeat which is not too bad considering where we are in the table but we are now 6pts clear of a relegation spot so I am looking upwards rather than downwards. We are playing quite well and the players have taken to the change of tactics well however the press have been asking questions and my players arent 100% familiar with it but that will come with time.

In news regarding myself I saw the AC Milan job was available and I immediately jumped at the chance to manage them but unfortunately I didnt make the shortlist although they said I fit the bill in what they are looking for in the future which was quite annoying.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MOISE KEAN

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius (Heyer), Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana*, Brescianini, Xande, Dudziak (Dembele), Jatta, Kean

Back to back wins for the first time this season moves us up to 9th place in the table albeit probably temporarily. Kean and Jatta got the goals while Moise Kean has now scored in his last 4 games for us so he is in top form.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Kitolano (Araujo), Onana, Brescianini, Xande, Dudziak (Dembele), Jatta, Kean

We win the Nord derby here and that makes it 3 wins in a row which is very nice! Onana put us in front before we were pegged back before half time however Moise Kean put us in front and he has now scored in his last 5 games and Brescianini sealed it. They pulled a goal back to no avail.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Gyamerah), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Kitolano, Onana, Brescianini, Xande (Dembele), Dudziak (Gomez), Jatta*, Kean

4 wins in a row and Moise Kean gets on the scoresheet again. Borussia MGB are without a manager and are having a poor season so it isnt such a miraculous result as it may seem.

--

SUMMARY

Only 3 games this month but it brought 3 wins and plenty of goals for Moise Kean and that has propelled us up the table and whisper it - we have a small cahnce of qualifying for Europe next season!!!!! We are not looking over our shoulders anymore and we are hunting down 7th place to qualify for the Conference League but it will still be a tough ask.

That being said though - we are playing well and have only lost 2 of the 11 games that I have been in charge of!!!!

The youth intake was pretty good tbh and I signed up 7 or 8 players with a goalkeeper being particularly good but there was no superstar in the making.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MOISE KEAN

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Raphael Van Der Vaart played for Hamburg

APRIL

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini (Kinsombi), Xande, Gomez, Jatta (Araujo), Kean (Wintzheimer)

Although we matched Leipzig here we were made to pay that we didnt manage a single shot on target and the fact my keeper, Klaesson, fumbled their winner. Disappointing but I will take it on the chin.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Kitolano), Onana, Brescianini (Kinsombi), Xande*, Gomez, Jatta, Kean (Terodde)

We get back to winning ways against a poor Paderborn side. Xande got us off to a great start with a 1st minute goal and he added another before the break. Van Drongelen then made it 3 and although we conceded late on we won with ease really.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini (Dudziak), Xande (Dembele), Gomez (Acosta), Jatta, Kean*

We move up to a European spot with victory here over Koln who were the team above us. Moise Kean struck twice but only after Gomez had a penalty saved.

This win secures our position in the Bundesliga for next season so the board are happy that I have achieved that goal.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini, Xande*, Gomez, Jatta (Araujo), Kean (Terodde)

Union Berlin are doomed and we piled on the misery here as Xande struck a superb hat-trick and he moves onto 10 goals for the season in all competitions for the season and he is our top scorer.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Araujo), Onana, Dudziak, Xande, Acosta (Gomez), Jatta, Kean (Wintzheimer)

Ouch!!!!!

This result was 100% undeserved as we more than matched Dortmund and believe it or not actually deserved a draw on the basis of play except they have a couple of world class players and in Haaland they have a striker who can score for fun. ****** off but not downhearted.

--

SUMMARY

We amazingly have moved ourselves into a European spot this month as 3 victories were bookended by 2 defeats to Leipzig and Dortmund and even then we were unfortunate to lose. We started the month with a narrow loss to Leipzig but we then comfortably beat Paderborn, Koln and Union Berlin before on seeing it we were thumped by Dortmund but we actually matched them in the game but **** happens.

We are a working progress and I am naturally delighted how things are going but we are a long, long, long way to being where we need to be for this save.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
XANDE

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY - END OF SEASON POST

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Heyer), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana, Brescianini, Xande, Acosta (Gomez), Jatta*, Kean

We overcame adversity here as not only did we lose Acosta to injury in the 1st minute, we also fell behind early doors too. Fortunately we came back to win thanks to goals from Jatta and Gomez and if we avoid defeat in our last match we will secure a European spot depending on the German Cup final result.

Acosta is out for 4-5 months which is a bitter pill to swallow.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems*, Onana, Brescianini, Xande, Gomez, Jatta (Opoku), Kean (Wintzheimer)

We end the season with an easy victory thanks to goals from Gomez, Brescianini and Wintzheimer. In my 18 games in charge we have now won 12 games which is pretty good going.

Now we have to pray that Leipzig win the German Cup against Borussia Monchengladbach to secure a European spot for us.

--

END OF SEASON POST

In 5 short months I feel I have turned this sleeping giant of a club around and injected a bit of pride in them. Having taken over with the club in the bottom 3 I have managed to propel Hamburg up the table and into 7th place thus securing European football for next season. The club needs to kick on again this summer however and a full review of the players needs to be done.

--

BUNDESLIGA

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Not going to do a full review as I have only been here a matter of months!​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

Well I am still at Hamburg!!!! There were 2 jobs that interested me during the summer and that was of Borussia Dortmund and my beloved Newcastle United. Newcastle was never really an option though in this save although it would have been different if I had won the Champions League with Hamburg while I was interviewed for the Dortmund job but they appointed Matias Almeyda instead and he duly sold Sancho and Haaland and has not signed a single player yet!!!!!!

I have not finished moulding my squad but at the time of writing (1st Aug 2022) I have brought in 7 players at a cost of £22m and sold 2 for £3.6m while my loan players from last season also left so I needed to change things.

I noticed at the end of the season that I barely had any German players in my squad that I use 5 plus a backup keeper so I made a concerted attempt to bring in a few more German players this summer.

I got the chance to completely overhaul my backroom staff too so if the new players gel quickly and my backroom staff do their job I am quite confident of a strong season and I am hoping for a Europa League spot at least!!

--

PLAYERS OUT

Just the 2 apart from Kean, Brescianini, Araujo and Dembele whose loans were ended. Marijan Cavar joined Spezia for £2.5m while my veteran backup keeper Sven Ulreich joined Augsburg for £1.1m - thats it!!!

--

PLAYERS IN

Firstly one of my loan players from last season has been brought back and it maybe be no surprise to see that it is Marco Brescianini who arrives from AC Milan for £5.75m. He did very well in his loan spell last season and I hope that he can kick on this season.

To partner him in midfield I brokered a loan deal with Bayern Munich to bring in Marc Roca who is valued at £50m!!!! We have an optional fee of £45m to bring him in but that aint going to happen but he walks straight into my first XI.

I needed to replace Moise Kean so I ended up plumping for Kaio Jorge who I paid £11.25m from Santos for. He was languishing in their reserves but I think the 20y/o Brazilian looks like a decent player and can develop into a top notch striker except there is going to be a lot of pressure on him this season.

I went in for several players that were released - Bernardeschi, Rolan, Heinz and Zivkovic come to mind but they all decided to move elsewhere however Jeremy Toljan did not. He was released by Borussia Dortmund and considering I brought him in to compete for a full back spot and he is valued at nearly £20m shows how good he is!

I paid Manchester City £3m to bring in Felix Nmecha. He can play at MC or AMC and I like the look of him and he is still pretty young so he can still develop further. A shrewd signing I think.

Finally I signed a new backup keeper from Dortmund, Luca Unbehaun, for £450,000 and a regen from Romania for £2m - Marius Iordache.

--

SQUAD

Regarding my first XI there is a few changes. Toljan will be competing for a full back spot while Roca and Brescianini will be my new midfield partnership. Kaio Jorge will be my new striker but the rest stays the same really.

I still have about £4m to spend and I need to bring in a right winger and maybe even a CB and a striker whether permanently or on loan. I have however called up 16y/o prospect Stanislav Chernyshev up to the first team squad as he looks like a top player in the future and with European games he will get his chance.

 

[Klippybo]

Uli Stein

Stein was the goalkeeper for Hamburg in the 1983 European Cup final. He had 2 spells with Hamburg 1980-87 and 1994-95. With Hamburg he won 2 league titles, 1 German Cup and of course the European Cup. He made 222 appearances for the club.

AUGUST

DFB-Pokal 1st Round

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Heyer, Van Drongelen, Kitolano, Onana (Kinsombi), Dudziak, Gomez*, Nmecha (Iordache), Opoku, Wintzheimer

I played my backups here against the non league minnows and we despatched them with ease by scoring 7 goals.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan (Heyer), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Onana (Kinsombi), Xande, Gomez*, Jatta (Opoku), Kaio Jorge

Things didnt get off to a good start here as in the first 20min we had a goal disallowed and 2 players taken off injured however in the 2nd half we won the match thanks to a Gomez penalty and an Ambrosius header at the back post late on.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Heyer), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Kinsombi, Xande, Gomez (Nmecha), Jatta (Opoku), Wintzheimer*

A great result and performance. We fell behind early doors but Vagnoman had us level at the break and then in the 2nd half Wintzheimer scored twice to give us the 3pts.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Kitolano), Roca, Kinsombi (Dudziak), Xande, Gomez (Nmecha), Opoku, Wintzheimer

Our first half performance was not good enough here as we didnt even muster a shot on goal and we were 2-0 down and the game was all but over. We were better in the 2nd half though and got a goal back thanks to a Wintzheimer penalty but we couldnt level things and they scored a 3rd.

--

UEFA Conference League League Path 4th Qualifying Round 1st Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius*, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Dudziak), Onana, Xande (Opoku), Gomez, Jatta, Kaio Jorge

A fine return to European football as we thrash LASK. Ambrosius got a double as did Kaio Jorge (his first goals for the club) and we also had a goal disallowed through Vagnoman.

--

UEFA Conference League League Path 4th Qualifying Round 2nd Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius (Heyer), Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Brescianini), Onana, Opoku, Gomez*, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

The hard work was done in the first leg so my players took their foot off the gas here but they still managed to win.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Brescianini), Onana, Opoku, Gomez (Nmecha), Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

Meh. Even after this game we have played 3 games less than everyone else in the table. A decent point though.

--

SUMMARY

We have made a decent start to the season although we have played a few games less than everyone else due to our involvement in the UEFA Conference League. We kicked off the season by winning 7-1 in the cup before winning our first 2 league matches before losing out to Dortmund. We then had back to back matches against LASK which we won and we ended the month drawing 0-0 with Borussia MGB so it hasnt been too bad a start.

Our draw in the Conference League has seen us been put in a group alongside Everton, FC Honka and Desna (who I have never heard of before).

I brought in 3 more players at the end of the transfer window. In on loan from Bayern Munich is defender Jamie Lawrence and forward Fiete Arp. Lawrence will act as cover at CB while Arp will be a backup striker and he started his career with Hamburg and supports the club so its a good move.

Then on deadline day I was searching for another RW and somehow managed to get in Pablo Sarabia from PSG. He is valued at over £40m so to bring him in for just a 3rd of his wages is a major coup and he will be a star player for us and really strengthen the side.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
SERGIO GOMEZ

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Holger Hieronymus

Hieronymous played as sweeper for Hamburg in the 1983 European Cup final. He played for Hamburg between 1979-84 before his career was cut short due to injury. He played 121 times for Hamburg, scoring 7 goals and got 3 caps for West Germany.

--

SEPTEMBER

DFB-Pokal 2nd Round

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini (Onana), Sarabia (Xande), Gomez (Acosta), Jatta, Kaio Jorge

This was an entertaining cup tie and tbh we should have scored a lot more. As it was we had 2 goals disallowed in the first half and Kaio Jorge missed a penalty to deny him his hat-trick. Sarabia had a poor debut but Acosta returned from injury which was a plus.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Gomez (Acosta), Jatta, Kaio Jorge*

Another entertaining game even if it did end up as a draw. Thats 3 league games without a win though so we need to get a victory soon.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Heyer, Lawrence, Kitolano, Dudziak, Onana (Kinsombi), Xande, Nmecha, Opoku (Arp), Wintzheimer*

A great victory as I fielded my backups for this European tie. The Finnish side couldnt cope with us. Wintzheimer scored a hat-trick while Felix Nmecha scored twice to get his first goals for the club.

--

Lineup - Klaesson*, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta, Kaio Jorge

A huge result!!!!

Make no mistake we were absolutely battered here and the fact that my keeper got the MOM award says it all but we got the goal with a wonderful counter attack which ended up with Brescianini sweeping the ball into the top corner from just inside the box.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Vagnoman), Roca, Brescianini (Nmecha), Sarabia, Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

A thrilling encounter as we share 6 goals with Everton. Our 1st goal was a thing of beauty as Acosta fired in from 20 yards to finish off a great team move. Defensively we were very poor however as they didnt have to work too hard for their goals.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini, Sarabia, Acosta (Xande), Jatta* (Arp), Kaio Jorge

We surged into a 2 goal lead early on here through Jatta and Kaio Jorge and although they pulled a goal back we were always comfortable. Onana sealed it in stoppage time with a wonderful solo goal.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan*, Heyer, Lawrence, Kitolano, Dudziak (Kinsombi), Onana, Xande, Nmecha, Gomez, Wintzheimer (Arp)

Desna are a side from the Ukraine apparently and they were very generous to us as they had a man sent-off, scored an own goal and gave us two penalties!!!

--

SUMMARY

7 games were played this month and we went the month unbeaten and picked up some valuable victories to boot so it was a good month. In the league we drew with Wolfsburg before getting a great smash and grab win over Leipzig and then comfortably beating Schalke. We have still played 3 or 4 games less than everyone else in the league so we are in a false league position I would like to think.

We progressed in the DFB-Pokal while in the Conference League we have been scoring goals aplenty as we put 7 past Honka, 3 past Everton and 4 past Desna and we are all but through in the group.

I forgot to mention in my last post that Newcastle appointed Dragan Stojkovic as their new manager which opened up a future destination in Red Star Belgrade but obviously I wasnt interested in that.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KAIO JORGE

--

BUNDESLIGA

 

[Klippybo]

Manny Kaltz

Kaltz is a Hamburg legend and played at RB in the 1983 European Cup final. He won 3 league titles and 2 German Cups domestically and as well as the European Cup he also won a Cup-Winners Cup. He played 568 times and scored 76 goals in his first spell with Hamburg (1971-89) before playing 13 times in his 2nd spell (1990-91). For West Germany he won 69 caps and scored 8 goals.

--

OCTOBER

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia, Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta (Gomez), Arp (Wintzheimer)

We battle back from 2-0 down to rescue a draw here and it was Vagnoman who was the hero with both of our goals in the game which marks his 100th appearance for the club.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini (Onana), Sarabia, Acosta*, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

Another strong performance and another victory. Acosta struck twice while Sarabia netted a penalty as he scored his first goal for the club.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Lawrence, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Nmecha), Brescianini, Sarabia, Acosta (Dudziak), Jatta, Kaio Jorge*

A late winner from Kaio Jorge gave us the win here as we battled back from behind to get a win and it is 4 wins out of 5 in the league now. Roca got injured here and is out for nearly 2 months which is a big blow.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Heyer, Lawrence, Kitolano (Kinsombi), Dudziak, Onana, Sarabia*, Nmecha, Opoku, Wintzheimer (Arp)

This win secures our place in the knockout rounds. Sarabia got a double and starred while Fiete Arp also scored twice after coming off the bench. In 4 group games we have scored 20 goals!

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen (Heyer), Willems, Onana, Brescianini, Sarabia (Opoku), Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Arp)

A terrific away victory with 4 goalscorers that you wouldnt expect although having said that Vagnoman and Ambrosius are up to 4 for the season, Onana 5 and Opoku 3 lol.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan*, Heyer, Lawrence, Kitolano, Onana (Kinsombi), Dudziak, Gomez (Arp), Nmecha, Opoku, Wintzheimer

Nothing much to say here. Wintzheimer has 11 goals in all competitions this season and is my top scorer just now but 6 of the goals have come against **** in this competition and another 2 against a non league side in the DFB-Pokal.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana*, Brescianini, Sarabia (Opoku), Acosta (Gomez), Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Arp)

WHAT A VICTORY!!!!!!

We were magnificent here for 75min as we somehow surged into a 4 goal lead and we were playing some magnificent stuff. A couple of our goals came from outside the area which helped and put us in such a strong position which was needed as we shat ourselves in the last 15min and conceded 3 goals.

This is Bayern's first defeat of the season.

--

UEFA Conference League Group F

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Onana (Nmecha), Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

We top the group but we really should have won the match. We were 2-0 up after 20min and had a goal disallowed also but we didnt look in any danger however we conceded 2 late goals to draw the game but fortunately we still finish top of the group on goal difference.

This game was played at the beginning of November as we stop for over a month for the 2022 World Cup.

--

SUMMARY

Another month where we have gone unbeaten and we are playing some magnificent stuff. In the league we drew with Koln after being 2-0 down but then won our next 4 matches including a 4-3 victory over Bayern Munich which leaves us in 6pts, having lost only one league game this season but we have up to 5 games in hand over some clubs which shows how well we are doing.

In Europe we topped our group in the Conference League and progress into the next round and I am really hoping that we can win the competition and honestly thats my main aim this season. The league will take care of itself as I feel confident of finishing in a European spot.

My players are playing brilliantly and the fact that I have been able to rotate my players in the Conference League has benefited us no end!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOSHA VAGNOMAN

--

BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Ditmar Jakobs

Jakobs played CB in the 1983 European Cup final and played for the club for 10 years from 1979-89. His career ended in a shocking accident when he cleared the ball off the line but the hooks in the goal were imbedded in his flesh and they cut his nerves in his back, narrowly missing his spinal cord. He played 20 games for West Germany and scored once while for Hamburg he played 323 matches and scored 37 goals.

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JANUARY

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen*, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge

We scored early doors here and that was enough for us to win the game and we have now won our last 5 league games.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius (Heyer), Van Drongelen, Willems (Kitolano), Roca (Nmecha), Onana, Sarabia, Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge*

We move up to 2nd in the table with this win however Dusseldorf, who are bottom of the table, made things difficult for us as we came from behind twice to win the game. We are 1pt behind top spot with 3 games in hand but more tellingly we are 1pt ahead of Bayern with a game in hand.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Onana, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta, Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

We win the Nord derby and make it 7 wins in a row thanks to a goal from Jatta. We are just grinding out results game by game.

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DFB-Pokal 3rd Round

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Heyer, Lawrence (Chernyshev), Kitolano*, Onana, Nmecha, Xande, Gomez (Kinsombi), Opoku (Iordache), Wintzheimer

Out came my backups and they did what was required of them as we beat Union Berlin 2-0 thanks to goals from Xande and Wintzheimer. We march on.

With so many games to be played this month it was great to have an opportunity to play my backups.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini*, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta, Jatta (Gomez), Kaio Jorge (Arp)

After 7 wins in a row I am disappointed that our win streak in the Bundesliga has come to an end but I am happy that we avoided defeat. It was a tight, narrow game and neither side can really complain about only getting a draw.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta (Gomez), Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

Hertha Berlin have recently changed managers and they proved to be stiff opposition for us here. We werent at our best tbh and Xande spared our blushes with the equaliser.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Gomez), Brescianini (Nmecha), Sarabia, Acosta, Xande (Opoku), Kaio Jorge

Leverkusen are top of the league and they inflicted our 2nd defeat of the season here. We took the lead through Sarabia and just needed to hold on but unfortunately Diaby struck twice and we were defeated.

-

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius, Lawrence (Heyer), Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia (Gomez), Acosta, Xande (0poku), Kaio Jorge*

This is the first of 2 back to back games against Eintracht Frankfurt and we can count ourselves as very fortunate to win this one. Kaio Jorge was the hero with 2 goals and the MOM award but credit also goes to Klaesson who was superb in goal.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Heyer, Willems, Roca (Kinsombi), Brescianini (Opoku), Sarabia, Acosta (Nmecha), Xande, Kaio Jorge

Now this was much more comfortable!! We battered Frankfurt here and we played terrificly. Krasimir Balakov - the Eintracht Frankfurt manager - got sacked immediately after this game.

--

SUMMARY

Typically, January was a busy month as we crammed in 8 games during this period and whisper it quietly but it seems that we are in a title race!!! We started the month off brilliantly with 3 wins but 2 draws and then a loss to the top side Leverkusen set us back again however we responded by beating Eintracht Frankfurt twice and at the very least we are looking like a good bet for the Champions League which is of course the holy grail.

In the DFB=Pokal we knocked out Union Berlin to reach the quarter-finals but we still await our draw in that competition as well as our draw in the UEFA Conference League - I still havent worked out this tournament yet!!!

Regarding transfers I sold one 1st team squad member as Jeremy Dudziak joined Strasbourg for £2.5m but he wont be a big miss.

As for incoming transfers I signed 3 regens on deadline day but I did make 1 signing for the first team at the beginning of January but he hasnt played yet due to injury! Viktor Fischer came in from FC Kobenhavn on a pre-contract and his value immediately shot up to beyond £20m so that seems to be a bargain!!!!

As for the youth intake, apparently a golden generation is on its way and in the 2022 World Cup, Mexico beat England 3-1 in the final and I actually got offered that job after the tournament along with a couple of others but I didnt accept any (Ivory Coast, Chile and Uruguay are 3 that I can remember lol)

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KAIO JORGE

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BUNDESLIGA

 

[Klippybo]

Bernd Wehmeyer

Wehmeyer played left back in the 1983 final and spent 8 years at Hamburg between 1978-86. He made 183 appearances, scored 10 goals and won 3 Bundesliga titles to go along with his European Cup medal.

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FEBRUARY

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Sarabia (Jatta), Acosta (Gomez), Xande (Opoku*), Kaio Jorge

We werent at our best here but managed to sneak a win with Opoku's late goal. 3 wins in a row now.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Heyer, Toljan, Roca (Kinsombi), Brescianini, Sarabia (Xande), Acosta, Jatta*, Wintzheimer (Arp)

Bakery Jatta returned to the starting eleven here and responded by firing in a hat-trick as we trounce the bottom side, Fortuna Dusseldorf. Unfortunately for us Pablo Sarabia got injured and will miss the rest of the season which is a big blow although admittedly he has been disappointing.

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DFB-Pokal Quarter-Final

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini, Xande, Acosta, Jatta (Gomez), Wintzheimer (Kaio Jorge)

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

We knock Bayern out of the DFB-Pokal and we fully deserved to win the game to boot. Brescianini scored an early goal but we more than held our own to take our place in the semi-finals.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini, Xande*, Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta, Kaio Jorge (Arp)

WE GO TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!!

We have had many more convincing scorelines but as performances go this is hard to beat. We won 2-0 and were never troubled to the extent that they only had 2 shots on goal! This result takes us top of the league and now it will be interesting to see how my side copes with the pressure.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan*, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini, Xande, Acosta, Jatta (Opoku), Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

This makes it 6 wins in a row now as the Hamburg steamroller keeps on rolling. Acosta got the goal and we could have scored a couple more but defensively we were solid and its our 5th clean sheet in 6 games in all competitions.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan (Vagnoman), Ambrosius*, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Xande, Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta (Opoku), Kaio Jorge

Leverkusen do the double over us and move within 3pts of us with their victory here and I dont have too many complaints tbh. We still top the league by 2pts though and nobody has games in hand so we are still in an extremely strong position.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems (Toljan), Onana, Brescianini (Kinsombi), Xande (Opoku), Nmecha, Jatta, Kaio Jorge

I am over the moon with this victory as Wolfsburg probably deserved a point in truth. We took the lead early doors through Kaio Jorge and thereafter the game was even and when Nmecha scored in the last minute it was all over although they still had time to pull one back.

--

SUMMARY

We strengthened our position in the Bundesliga this month with 5 wins out of 6 and that, amazingly, sees us top of the league by 5pts!!!! We are pulling up trees at the moment and we are going into every game thinking we can win. Can we win the league? Possibly but for some reason I think a dip in form is not too far around the corner. Our next league game is against 2nd placed Leipzig so we have an opportunity to move 8pts clear.

In the DFB-Pokal we beat Bayern Munich 1-0 to secure a place in the semi-finals and tbh I think we are favourites for that competition now as all the big names have been knocked out while in the UEFA Conference League we have been drawn against Bordeaux.

Now for a possible future decision - Bayern Munich sacked Hanse Flick and have offered me an interview. I have attended the interview but I said that I would only take it at the end of the season so whether or not that plays against me I dont know. If they were in the Champions League knockouts I would go for it straight away but they are not and it is touch and go whether or not they will qualify for the Champions League for next season which is a huge worry - I would rather have a year in it with Hamburg than a year in the Europa League with Bayern.

Somehow in a year and a half the Hamburg job is more attractive than the Bayern job!!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JOSHA VAGNOMAN

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BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[callumw180]

Absolutely loving this save idea, going to start one myself and see if I can match this - don't think I'll be able to match your successes with Hamburg right now tho

 

[Klippybo]

Wolfgang Rolff

Rolff played for Hamburg between 1982-86 and was a central midfielder in the 1983 European Cup final. After 129 games he scored 24 goals and for West Germany he won 37 caps. The European Cup was the only trophy he won while at Hamburg.

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MARCH

UEFA Conference League 2nd Round

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini (Onana), Xande*, Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta (Gomez), Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

I dont know how this Conference League works. It seems that because we won our group we skip a round as Everton played in the last round while we didnt. In the end we came up against Bordeaux and we just edged it after extra-time thanks to 2 goals from Xande.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini (Onana), Xande*, Acosta (Nmecha), Jatta (Gomez), Kaio Jorge

A good result this as Leipzig are one of the sides that are chasing us. We fell behind and were struggling tbh but Xande levelled against the run of play and we held on even after Onana got sent-off late on.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Lawrence, Van Drongelen, Willems (Kitolano), Nmecha, Brescianini, Xande*, Acosta, Jatta (Fischer), Kaio Jorge (Arp)

A tremendous result and an amazing performance as we rock up at Schalke and trounce them. Vagnoman netted his 7th of the season and then Xande put on a show with 2 goals and 1 being an amazing individual effort while Brescianini powered in a header for the 4th. Viktor Fischer finally made his debut here.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini (Onana), Xande (Fischer), Acosta, Jatta*, Kaio Jorge

Another stunning performance and back-to-back 4-0 wins as we eaily beat Koln. Jatta banged in a hat-trick after Acosta put us in front and we are looking so strong at the moment.

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SUMMARY

We enjoyed ourselves this month and unbelievably we are in such a strong position that we are on course to win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Conference League!!!! We have 5 games to go and are 4pts clear and are playing some unbelievable football with the last 2 results in the league being two 4-0 victories. Quite astonishing!!!!!

We knocked out Bordeaux in the Conference League and have a two legged quarter-final against Slavia Prague to look forward to and that is very winnable.

Regarding the youth intake there was a decent looking CB coming in but all the rest werent anything to shout out about.

Bayern Munich didnt appoint me as manager in the end - Ernesto Valverde was their man!

As for other jobs - Red Star Belgrade are after a new manager once again but their old manager, Dragan Stojkovic, has just been sacked as Newcastle manager!!!!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
XANDE

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BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Absolutely loving this save idea, going to start one myself and see if I can match this - don't think I'll be able to match your successes with Hamburg right now tho

Great stuff! Make sure you post any successes so I can put you on the leaderboard!!!

 

[Klippybo]

Jurgen Milewski

During his 5 year spell with Hamburg (19880-85), Milewski won 2 Bundesliga titles and the European Cup where he played on the left of midfield. In 130 apps he scored 46 goals for Hamburg and he also won 3 caps for West Germany.

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APRIL

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Onana), Brescianini*, Xande (Fischer), Acosta, Jatta, Wintzheimer (Arp)

Another great performance and we are a step closer to somehow winning the league title. We just fell a goal short to make it 3 4-0 victories in a row but I cant be too fussy!!!!

This win secures our place in next seasons Champions League and I have been given an initial transfer budget of £38m for this summer.

--

UEFA Conference League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Jatta*, Acosta, Fischer (Gomez), Kaio Jorge (Arp)

Slavia Prague proved to be a tough nut to crack here as it took a free-kick to break the deadlock when Brescianini fired in. They then went down to 10 men but inexplicably they managed to equalise but fortunately we were awarded a penalty which Acosta converted and then Jatta nodded in the winner.

--

UEFA Conference League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Heyer, Van Drongelen, Kitolano, Nmecha (Kinsombi*), Onana, Xande, Gomez, Fischer (Opoku), Wintzheimer (Arp)

I played my backups here and they did Ok and saw us through to the semis where we will play Dutch side FC Groningen. We fell behind and Wintzheimer missed a penalty but David Kinsombi came off the bench to equalise with a stunning long range effort.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Heyer, Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Xande, Acosta (Gomez), Jatta (Fischer), Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

Our lead at the top of the table is reduced to 2pts here but I will take that as we were completely outplayed here. Hertha battered us and fully deserved the win and when they went ahead with 3min to go it was seemingly game over but Wintzheimer popped up with an equaliser for us to salvage a point.

--

DFB-Pokal Semi-Final

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman (Toljan), Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Kinsombi), Brescianini (Onana), Jatta, Acosta, Fischer (Gomez), Kaio Jorge*

We reach the DFB-Pokal final but we did it the hard way as we had the game won twice but let our lead slip twice so we went to penalties and we edged them out 7-6. Our first goal was a screamer as Kaio Jorge turned on the ball and fired in from 25 yards.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen (Heyer), Toljan, Roca, Brescianini, Jatta, Acosta (Nmecha), Fischer (Opoku), Kaio Jorge

Oh oh. 2 more dropped points and we are ahead of Leverkusen on goal difference and it is only by 2 goals. There are 2 games to go and on the last day we face Bayern Munich. I have to say that Viktor Fischer has been an absolute joke but not in a good way. Seriously considering selling him in the summer.

--

UEFA Conference League Semi-Final 1st Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman*, Ambrosius, Heyer (Kinsombi), Willems, Roca, Brescianini, Jatta, Acosta (Gomez), Fischer, Kaio Jorge

This should be good enough to see us through into the final!!! We easily beat Groningen here and I will play my backups in the 2nd leg to rest my players for the big games ahead.

--

SUMMARY

We are on the precipice of doing great things this season as our results this month means an unlikely treble is still possible. In the league we are top of the league with 2 games to play but only on goal difference as we have drawn our last 2 matches which prevented us from sealing the title early and our 4pt lead that we had previously has now gone. We have games against Mainz and Bayern Munich to negotiate so we are not the favourites.

In the DFB-Pokal we will play Wolfsburg in the final after beating Koln on penalties while it seems a UEFA Conference League final is also on the horizon as we demolished Groningen 4-0 away in the first leg.

As for manager moves - Aston Villa, a future destination, became available while Pep Guardiola has been sacked as manager of Man City so a manager of a future destination might go there. Question is? Do I dare leave Hamburg?????

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BAKERY JATTA

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BUNDESLIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

Jurgen Groh

Signed from Kaiserslautern, Groh had a 5 year spell between 1980-85 and he won 2 Bundesliga titles, a European Cup and 2 caps for West Germany. He only scored 4 goals in 154 games for Hamburg and although he was a defender he played in midfield in the European Cup final.

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MAY

UEFA Conference League Semi-Final 2nd Leg

Lineup - Klaesson, Toljan, Ambrosius, Heyer, Kitolano, Nmecha (Kinsombi), Onana, Jatta, Gomez, Fischer, Wintzheimer

The final scoreline doesnt do justice to how good we were. We were excellent going forward and could have scored a lot more but defensively we were very poor and allowed their striker, Postema, to score 4 goals. We will face PSV Eindhoven in the final.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Heyer, Willems (Toljan), Roca, Brescianini, Jatta (Gomez), Acosta, Fischer, Kaio Jorge (Arp)

We go 2pts clear at the top with a game to play after Leverkusen drew 4-4 with Wolfsburg so we go into our final match knowing a win or a draw (if Leverkusen dont win by 3 goals or more) will be enough to secure the title. I am extremely ****** off that we conceded the late goal as that could cost us the title.

--

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Heyer, Toljan*, Roca (Nmecha), Brescianini (Onana), Jatta, Acosta, Fischer, Kaio Jorge (Arp)

WE WIN THE BUNDESLIGA TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

And what a way to do it!!! We rock up at Bayern Munich who needed to win to clinch a Champions League spot and we battered them 3-0. Acosta opened the scoring with a fine finish before Viktor Fischer chipped the keeper to have us 2-0 up and Bakery Jatta headed home to seal the win and the title!!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!!

Leverkusen won 3-1 so they kept us honest.

--

DFB-Pokal Final

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen (Heyer), Toljan, Roca, Brescianini, Jatta (Xande), Acosta*, Fischer, Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

MAKE MINE A DOUBLE!!!!!!!!

We win the DFB-Pokal here by edging out Wolfsburg. We were slow out of the blocks however as Wolfsburg had a few chances but we took the lead against the run of play when Brescianini latched onto a chipped through ball from Acosta to finish low into the bottom corner. It stayed that way until just after the hour mark when Viktor Fischer scored with a glancing header to make it 2-0 and the cup was ours.

--

UEFA Conference League Final

Lineup - Klaesson, Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems, Roca (Nmecha), Brescianini*, Jatta, Acosta, Fischer (Xande), Kaio Jorge (Wintzheimer)

WE COMPLETE THE TREBLE!!!!!!

Fantastic. This time we were the ones who started brightly and Viktor Fischer had a 2nd minute goal disallowed but despite dominating we were behind at half time thanks to a Mario Gotze strike. Things werent going our way and so I made a triple substitution and within minutes we wer elevel when Van Drongelen headed in his 1st goal of the season. 8min later we got the winner when Brescianini thundered a shot home from 25 yards.

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SUMMARY

We ended the season in perfect fashion as all 5 games were won and that therefor means that all 3 trophies were won which is unbelievable. In the league we had 2 matches to see out with our final day match with Bayern looming in the distance. In the end we defeated Mainz 3-2 and we neednt have worried about Bayern Munich as we trounced them 3-0 to seal the title and our 3rd victory over them this season.

In the DFB-Pokal final we beat Wolfsburg 2-0 to secure the domestic double while in the UEFA Conference League we beat FC Groningen 5-4 to get to the final before we came from behind to defeat a future destination, PSV Eindhoven, 2-1.

A stupendous month.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARCO BRESCIANINI

​

 

[Klippybo]

Felix Magath

Goalscorer of the only goal in the 1983 European Cup final, Magath played as an attacking midfielder in the final.He played for Hamburg for 10 years (1976-86) and made 306 apps and scored 46 goals. He also started his managerial career with Hamburg. He played for West Germany 43 times (3 goals) and as for trophies won he won the European Cup, European Cup-Winners Cup, 3 Bundesliga titles and for West Germany the 1980 European Championship final.

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END OF SEASON POST

What a season that was!!!! Going into the season I was hoping for a top 6 or 7 finish and to win the UEFA Conference League but in the end we won the title by 2pts, smashed the Conference League and picked up the DFB-Pokal to boot!!!!

Now lets get things straight. We were excellent and obviously over-performed but tbh the German league is quite poor tbh. Borussia Dortmund have sold most of their talents and not really replaced them while Bayern Munich are on a severe downward spiral so we have taken advantage of that. RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen seem to be on the rise with us.

We only lost 3 league games in the league (and in all competitions as it goes) but drew a fair few hence why the title race was so close. Due to the World Cup we spent half the season in midtable as we had so many fixtures postponed to fit in our European matches and when we caught up it was obvious we were right in the mix of a title race. We were 6pts clear at one stage but with 3 games to go it was level and we managed to see it out.

The DFB-Pokal was won fairly comfortably with a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals being the highlight and we edged out Wolfsburg in the final 2-0.

In the UEFA Conference League we were amazing. We scored 48 goals in this weird competition against opponents from varied nations. Bordeaux, Slavia Prague and FC Groningen were dispatched in the knock-out stages and then we beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the final.

I must say that the squad that I have built is by no means world class - far from it - but I am loving it! Their overachievement is so endearing from my excellent back 4 (Vagnoman, Ambrosius, Van Drongelen, Willems) to my new love child Brescianini and then the surprises of Xande and Jatta. Most of these players I have never managed before and it is really pleasing to see some of these players rise to the top. Take Wintzheimer for example - never heard of him - but he is my backup striker and a ****** good one at that but he is not at the level that we aspire to but who the **** knows the way we are going!!!!

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BUNDESLIGA

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Goalkeepers - Time for the love in to start! Kristoffer Klaesson played all 54 matches and was superb and my young keeper is developing very nicely. At just £2.2m it would take at least 10 times that amount for me to sell him now.

Defenders - I love my back 4 and goalkeeper lol. At right back is the wonderful Josha Vagnoman and he was immense and got back into the German national team such was the strength of his performances. He netted 7 goals all season and just pips Brescianini into being my player of the year. Jermey Toljan came in on a free in the summer and he was excellent too as his backup. At left back Jetro Willems did very well and got 10 assists while my CB pairing of Ambrosius and Van Drongelen is just excellent. They may not be the biggest names in world football but by god do they do a job for me. There were a few other defenders but these were my main ones.

Midfielders - Marc Roca was my big signing in the summer on loan from Bayern Munich and I have to be honest - he was ****. The lad alongside him however, Marco Brescianini, was absolutely superb and scored 10 goals - usually worldies and scored in both of our cup finals. At £5.5m he is an absolute bargain. Onana was my backup CM and the young lad did very well while Nmecha was mainly used as a sub.

At AMC Acosta really came onto his game in the 2nd half of the season and he did well while Sergio Gomez started the season well but faded away. On the RW I thought I pulled off a coup in bringing in Pablo Sarabia on loan but like Roca he was **** and in the 2nd half of the season he was injured which gave Xande his place back and he did well.

Bakarey Jatta was my left winger and he was brilliant and ended up being my level top scorer in all competitions with 18 goals. He also played on the RW and the pacey winger has been really impressive. Viktor Fischer came in in January and missed the first couple of months after joining but then came into the side and was horseshit but he eventually came onto a game.

Forwards - I paid £11.25m to bring in Kaio Jorge who was languishing in Santos reserves and he came into the side and did well. He scored 18 goals and impressed and more crucially improved as a player during the season. Manuel Wintzheimer was his backup and he rattled in 16 goals from just 13 starts although it has to be said that most of his goals were against the weaklings in the Conference League and DFB-Pokal. Fiete Arp came in on loan to offer a backup option but didnt shine.

My Player of the Season - Josha Vagnoman
My Young Player of the Season - Kaio Jorge
Must Do Better - Viktor Fischer
Donkey of the Year - Marc Roca

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SUMMER PLANS

I think I will be staying where I am. Ajax and Steaua Bucharest are available but they dont interest me just now as we have something good here although as each season passes there are other managers winning the Champions League!!!!!

Regarding transfers I need to replace Sarabia and Roca - they wont be coming back - and other than that it is all about strengthening the squad but also getting value for money as at just under £40m I cant splash the cash ***** nilly.​

 

[Hampus Silverholt]

Ridiculously good season! I'm loving managing some players I've never had before or even heard of too - it makes me start searching for how they got on at the weekend in real life!