FM11: Bayer 04 Leverkusen - the return of Ballack.

A Club History:

Bayer 04 Leverkusen was formed in 1904 (hence the '04' part) when the Bayer pharmaceutical company, led by an employee's initiative, founded a club with a smorgasbord of different teams. 14 years later, gymnastics split off from the club, taking with them the original name of TuS Bayer 04 Leverkusen, leaving the rest of the sports to be named as SV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, but the football team kept its traditional black and red colours.

In 1936, Bayer earned their first season in the second flight of German football through promotion, and they stayed at that level for the next 15 years before gaining promotion again, into the top tier. Leverkusen were then relegated in 1956, but regained their top flight status in 1962, just one year before the 'Bundesliga' was formed, brining together the regional top leagues into one league for all of Germany.

When the Bundesliga was formed, unfortunately Leverkusen were entered into what is now the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier. They nearly made promotion as champions in 1968, but failed to advanced throught the playoffs, and then faced relegation in 1973. However, they bounced back the next season and kept the momentum, four seasons later winning promotion to the 1. Bundesliga for the 1979-80 season.

Throughout the 1980s Leverkusen established themselves as a regular Bundesliga side, usually finishing in the top half, particularly as the decade went on. Towards the end of the decade the club also gained its first major honours, winning the UEFA Cup in 1988, coming back from a 3-0 deficit to Espanyol to win on penalties. It was also in this period, in 1984, that the two halves of the old club were reunited, and the club now went under the name of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.

Bayer captured their next major honours in 1993 with a DFB-Pokal (German Cup) win, beating a then-amateur Hertha Berlin side 1-0 in the final. 1996 brought about a near-disaster when the club were nearly relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga, but they survived the battle and brought in some quality players such as Michael Ballack and Lucio to help them build up again.

Following the relegation scare, until 2002, the team managed four 4th place finishes, on two occasions being desperately unlucky to lose out to Bayern Munich on the last day of the season, having been in a position where they could have won. In fact, 2002 has been dubbed the 'Treble Horror', because not only did the club miss out on the Bundesliga, but also lost 4-2 in the DFB-Pokal final to Schalke. To complete the infamous treble, Leverkusen also lost the Champions League final 2-1 to Real Madrid.

The following seasons were much less high-flying for Leverkusen, losing some of their big stars had a dramatic effect on their next season when they were close to the relegation zone for much of the season, but survived and dragged themselves up for the following season. From that period up until the present has been very mediocre compared, with UEFA Cup football being achieved in most seasons, and some mid-table finishes, but no relegation scares or title battles.

The Stadium: BayArena

The Squad:

1 René Adler

2 Daniel Schwaab

3 Stefan Reinartz

4 Sami Hyypiä

5 Manuel Friedrich

6 Simon Rolfes ©

7 Tranquillo Barnetta

8 Lars Bender

9 Patrick Helmes

10 Renato Augusto

11 Stefan Kießling

13 Michael Ballack

14 Hanno Balitsch

17 Domagoj Vida

18 Sidney Sam

19 Eren Derdiyok

22 Benedikt Fernandez

23 Arturo Vidal

24 Michal Kadlec

27 Gonzalo Castro

28 Burak Kaplan

31 Nicolai Jørgensen

The In-Game Squad:

Goalkeeper:

René Adler, Benedikt Fernandez, Fabian Giefer.

First season:

René Adler is the outstanding first choice, and arguably the best keeper in the league with Manuel Neuer. Benedikt Fernandez and Fabian Giefer are good enough backup, especially Giefer who's only 20 years of age, although the two are very similar in the short term. I would recommend using Adler in a sweeper keeper role, enabling you to push the defensive line up and allowing you to take advantage of Adler's supreme rushing out attribute.

Long term:

Adler has the potential to be one of the best keepers on the game, so do whatever you can to keep him happy. Meanwhile Giefer could grow into a very accomplished backup, so there's no need for any investment in this area.

Key man: René Adler.

Prospect: Fabian Giefer.

Targets: Michael Rensing (free), Emilio Fioranelli.

Rating: 9.5/10

Star keeper René Adler.

Right Back:

Daniel Schwaab, Gonzalo Castro, Domagoj Vida.

First season:

Daniel Schwaab and Gonzalo Castro are rated very similarly in the game. Schwaab is probably the better defensively whilst Castro is better going forward. I personally feel that Schwaab has the edge and should be your first choice, but the assistant manager and coaches feel otherwise. Domagoj Vida provides decent enough backup for a third choice, or you could move back Arturo Vidal.

Long term:

Another area where I don't feel any investment is necessary as Schwaab (21) and Castro (23) are both young and are potentially very good. Vida will also improve a lot, but I wouldn't consider his future at right back due to the quality of the two players ahead of him.

Key man: Daniel Schwaab.

Prospect: None.

Targets: Andreas Beck, Stefano Celozzi, Stefan Bell.

Rating: 8/10

Left Back:

Michal Kadlec.

First season:

Michal Kadlec is a very solid left back, good both defensively and can put in a shift going forward. However, cover for Kadlec is poor. Arturo Vidal, Gonzalo Castro and Daniel Schwaab can all easily be retrained to play here though, and I personally chose Castro, as he was my second choice at right back. You may want to bring in a cheap backup here regardless. In an emergency, there are a couple of Leverkusen II players that could come in.

Long term:

Kadlec, at only 25, has many years ahead of him, so first team investment is not strictly necessary, however you may want to bring in a first choice. Ivorian Constant Djakpa and Bastian Oczipka are on loan at Hannover and St. Pauli respectively for the first season and when he returns he'll make a good backup for Kadlec if you so choose. If you do choose to bring in a younger player in the first season I would suggest offloading Djakpa when he returns.

Key man: Michal Kadlec

Prospect: None.

Targets: Diego Contento (loan/loan to buy), Andreas Beck, Marcell Jansen, Marcel Schmelzer, Marcel Schäfer.

Rating: 6.5/10

Centre Back:

Sami Hyypiä, Manuel Friedrich, Stefan Reinartz, Domagoj Vida.

First season:

Your coaches will rate Sami Hyypiä as by far the best centre back in the squad, but despite his aerial dominance, mental strength and ability in the tackle his pace and acceleration really let him down, which is hugely disappointing. Because of that, I would choose Manuel Friedrich and Stefan Reinartz as the first choice centre backs. Reinartz is a terrific ball playing centre back, so you may want to use his as that, whilst Friedrich is poor on the ball. Again Domagoj Vida can play a backup role here, as can Daniel Schwaab and Michal Kadlec from full back.

Long term:

Reinartz should figure in your long term plans for the club, as he is only 21 and has the potential to grow as the team progresses. Hyypiä however is 36, and a replacement should be found for him preferably in the first season. Friedrich is useful and could make a good backup, but I would suggest bringing in a partner for Reinartz. Vida's long term position in the squad should also be at centre back, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be good enough for the first team.

Key man: Stefan Reinartz.

Prospect: Stefan Reinartz.

Targets: Ömer Toprak, Serdar Tasçi, Benedikt Höwedes, Holger Badstuber, Mats Hummels.

Rating: 6.5/10

Defensive Midfield:

Simon Rolfes, Arturo Vidal, Michael Ballack, Hanno Balitsch, Lars Bender, Gonzalo Castro, Stefan Reinartz, Domagoj Vida.

First season:

A lot of choices here, with three natural in the position and several accomplished. Simon Rolfes is arguably the best player of the three natural, with excellent ball playing skills, great passing and good creativity, whilst being very good defensively as well. Arturo Vidal is probably the best choice for the position though, unless you are planning on using a deep lying playmaker. Vidal is brutal in the tackle and will pick up lots of yellow cards, but will offer a lot of protection in front of the back four. Hanno Balitsch is a very good backup here, especially for Vidal. As long as you only use one defensive midfielder the rest of the options won't be necessary, as the three players that are natural here should be more than enough.

Long term:

This position will be set for a few years to come, Vidal is probably first choice and is only 23, whilst Rolfes is 28. I don't think you'll need to bring in any younger backup players for the future either, as Lars Bender is good enough to play here, whilst Jens Hegeler, who's out on loan to St. Pauli for the first two seasons, could also do a job if required.

Key man: Arturo Vidal.

Prospect: Lars Bender.

Targets: Sven Bender, Joёl Matip, Eugen Polanski, Sami Khedira, Christian Trȁsch.

Rating: 8/10

Versatile midfield terrier Arturo Vidal.

Central Midfield:

Michael Ballack, Arturo Vidal, Simon Rolfes, Renato Augusto, Lars Bender, Hanno Balitsch, Gonzalo Castro.

First season:

Michael Ballack is still an exceptional player, despite having lost a lot of acceleration. He's great on the ball at picking a pass, strong in the air and aware defensively with a good shot. If you're playing three in midfield he has to be there somewhere. Arturo Vidal and/or Simon Rolfes, depending on if you're playing either of them at defensive midfield will be a great partner for him, as they are great defensively and on the ball. Renato Augusto can also drop back here, although he along with Rolfes is only accomplished. Augusto should offer a great attacking option, with great creativity and ability to run with the ball. Hanno Balitsch is a good backup, as is Lars Bender, who is a the younger option and will be great backup in the first year.

Long term:

Ballack obviously doesn't have a long term future at the club and you should look to reduce his role at the club after the first season, or even before that. Rolfes, Vidal, Bender and Renato Augusto should all play a role in your thinking for a few years to come, but you may want to add another quality option, even if there's no role which isn't covered by those four.

Key man: Michael Ballack.

Prospect: Lars Bender.

Targets: Sami Khedira, Nuri Sahin, Mehmet Ekici, Philipp Klement.

Rating: 7/10

Right Wing:

Sidney Sam, Tranquillo Barnetta, Renato Augusto, Burak Kaplan, Nicolai Jørgensen.

First season:

Sidney Sam and Burak Kaplan are the only two natural in this position, and Sam is a good option, although his attributes don't look great. Tranquillo Barnetta is probably the best option to use here though, but all three options are versatile in that they can easily perform both winger or inside forward roles. Renato Augusto can also play here, but I'd recommend playing him in-field so you can capitalise on his creativity. Alternatively you could retrain one of the strikers to the right wing, either as cover or for first choice.

Long term:

You may want to improve on this position, as although Barnetta is a very good player he is natural on the opposite flank, and the other options aren't really 'first team' standard. I'd keep hold of the younger players though, as they can still improve to a good level and in the meantime will offer good cover for Barnetta or whoever you bring in as first choice, and also both are very versatile offering cover for several positions. Don't forget out-on-loan Marcel Risse, who is natural in this position as well.

Key man: Tranquillo Barnetta.

Prospect: Burak Kaplan.

Targets: Ashkan Dejagah, Aaron Hunt, Mario Götze, Marko Marin, Lewis Holtby, Marco Reus, Deniz Naki.

Rating: 5.5/10

Left Wing:

Tranquillo Barnetta, Renato Augusto, Nicolai Jørgensen, Sidney Sam, Burak Kaplan.

First season:

Tranquillo Barnetta could easily be your first choice here for the first season, depending on whether you want to use him on the other flank or not. He is slightly stronger on his right so he will naturally cut inside from the left. Nicolai Jørgensen is very similar to Barnetta with good potential so can be used as good backup. Renato Augusto could also be used here as a different option, make sure you get him to cut inside as more of a playmaker type. Again another option here is to go into retraining, preferably Stefan Kießling, who's attributes lend themselves very well to play as an inside forward, and is easily good enough to become first choice here.

Long term:

Barnetta is good enough long term, as is Kießling if you decide to retrain to be a long term first choice. However you should bear in mind Jørgensen, André Schürrle (who joins at the end of the first season) and also Marcel Risse (who's out on loan for the first season) as they could have the potential to be great options for the future as long as they continue their development, yet they can both play on either flank so you won't need to worry too much about crowding them out of the first team.

Key man: Tranquillo Barnetta.

Prospect: André Schürrle, Nicolai Jørgensen.

Targets: Lukas Podolski, Marcell Jansen, Marko Marin, Lewis Holtby, Marco Reus, Mario Götze, Ashkan Dejagah, Kevin Großkreutz.

Rating: 7/10

Advanced playmaker Renato Augusto.

Attacking Midfield:

Renato Augusto, Michael Ballack, Sidney Sam, Burak Kaplan.

First season:

Renato Augusto is a top class player here, in his favourite position, and will comfortably be your first choice for when you use a formation with an AMC. Michael Ballack can be good cover here but I'd personally much rather him playing in a deeper position, and I wouldn't trust Sidney Sam or Burak Kaplan with this important a position in the side, so really Augusto is the only viable option here.

Long term:

The Brazilian Augusto is one of the best advanced playmakers in the league, and is only 22 so has loads of time to improve and grow into his role. Croatian Zvonko Pamic is another exciting talent, but unfortunately he's out on loan for the first two seasons, but at only 19 could become a very good player in the future, so make sure you give him a place in your squad when he returns. Sam or Burak could also be decent here in the future, but I would consider them more as wide players.

Key man: Renato Augusto.

Prospect: Zvonko Pamic.

Targets: Marko Marin, Lewis Holtby, Aaron Hunt, Mario Götze, Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Rating: 7.5/10

Striker:

Patrick Helmes, Stefan Kießling, Eren Derdiyok, Sidney Sam, Nicolai Jørgensen.

First season:

Three very good strikers, in particular Patrick Helmes, a lethal finisher and good option for advanced forward, and Stefan Kießling who is a very good all-round player who is hardworking and quick with good technical skills. Playing two up front would see these two in a great partnership, with the Swiss Eren Derdiyok a great option off the bench, in a similar mould to Kießling. Sidney Sam could be decent cover, but you may want to invest in a fourth choice striker if you really want to play two up front. If you're only playing one up front then Kießling is probably the best option, but I would recommend retraining him to the left or right wing and playing a mixture of Helmes and Derdiyok up front.

Long term:

Kießling is already at his full potential, so over time Derdiyok will probably become a better option to partner Helmes, but it could prove difficult to choose if you only play one up front. This is why I would recommend mixing around the formation depending on opposition and fitness, to give a mix of playing one and two up front. Richard Sukuta-Pasu is on loan for the first season but when he returns he has the potential to become a quality squad member, so there is no need to invest in young talent.

Key man: Stefan Kießling.

Prospect: Richard Sukuta-Pasu.

Targets: Lukas Podolski, Deniz Naki, Peniel Mlapa.

Rating: 9/10

Great all-round forward player Stefan Kießling.

Possible Tactics:

With Leverkusen's versatile starting squad I wouldn't recommend that you stick with one shape throughout the season, but instead play to the weaknesses of the opposition. There are many different shapes that you could take.

The first possible shape is a very simple 4-3-3. In this formation I would recommend using wing backs to bomb forward and provide the width, so that the 'wingers' can come inside and play as second strikers. The defensive midfielder is there to cover for the full backs getting forward a lot.

In midfield, you could go for one of two main alternatives. You could play Vidal at DM and Rolfes further forward or swap them round and use Rolfes as a deep playmaker and Vidal as the ball winner. I would base this decision mainly on how dangerous an opposition AMC is, as you could be forced into using Vidal there to try and cut him out the game. In the other situation, sitting Rolfes deep will help you to retain posession, as he's an excellent passer of the ball and can start attacks from deep, whilst Vidal play higher up the pitch would mean you're more likely to win the ball back quicker. In these roles, Ballack or Bender could fill in for Rolfes whilst Balitsch could do the same for Vidal.

The third midfielder should be set to an attack duty to try and link the deeper two with the front three, Ballack or Renato Augusto would be the best choices for this role, as they have the ability on the ball to pick a pass in tight areas, and are the best going forwards.

The striker is up to you, I prefer to have my lone forwards dropping deeper to link with the two inside forwards, but that approach doesn't particularly suit Helmes' style of play, so you may want to use Derdiyok or even Kießling in this role.

The 4-2-3-1 is similar in style to the 4-3-3 above, except that it generally looks to press higher up the pitch and in FM it tends to naturally keep hold of possession better. I find in 99% of games it is best to start with one of these two tactics, and as the match progresses shift things around.

The above picture for the 4-2-3-1 is not the only way you could play it, as Leverkusen have the players to be able to use the 'deep' version as well. With the pass and tackler pushed back to DM, or you could even stagger them so that one drops and the other stays at MC.

In the above version I would reign in the full backs to support duty as the holding midfielder is not there to cover like in the 4-3-3, whilst it is also not necessary for the wide midfielders to come inside so much with the AMC there.

For the midfield two my first choice would be Vidal and Rolfes, but Ballack could fill in just as well for either of the roles, and he is probably second choice for the AMC slot as well. Also, with the midfield pushing higher up the pitch you may feel more comfortable using your striker on attack duty, as he will have a creative player right behind him.

The 4-2-4 is not a formation I would suggest starting a match with, but it can be very useful if you're looking a goal late on in a game. It would work well with a high-pressing, direct game, possibly utilising a big man-quick man combination up front. The wingers should look the provide width in the build up but also look to get into the box, so a wideplay of moves into channels might be appropriate.

The midfielders are much less important in the formation as you will probably be playing more direct, but ones that are good at closing down, shooting from distance and getting into the box would be useful, so Vidal and Ballack would be a good combination.

Other Possible Formations:

You could go with a simple 4-4-2 with a ball winner and a passer in midfield and two wingers, possibly Barnetta and Renato Augusto on the flanks. It would be very simple to set up, and quite similar to the 4-2-4 outlined above in shape.

I wouldn't advise playing with a narrow formation with Leverkusen due to the quality of the wide players, but if you want to play with a 4-3-1-2 variation then the current squad could pull that off fairly easily. Naturally you'll have to offload the widemen, in particular Barnetta, but the three in midfield could provide a very solid base. You'll have to get your full backs forward a lot, and there isn't a lot of pace in midfield so a slower tempo would work better. A possible midfield of Ballack-Vidal-Rolfes with Renato Augusto ahead would work well here, but you may want to bring in more midfield squad players.

Other FM11 Information:

General:

Year founded - 1904

Status - Professional

Reputation - National

Chairman status - Loves the club

Fierce rival - FC Köln.

Other rivals - Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Bayern München, Borussia Dortmund.

Legends - Rudi Völler, Rüdiger Vollborn, Carsten Ramelow, Ulf Kirsten.

Financial:

Finances - Secure

Estimated value - £61m

Loan debt - £61m

Average ticket price - £20.90

Average season ticket price - £294

Season ticket holders - 19,000

Facilities:

Stadium - BayArena

Capacity - 30210 (28500 seated)

Year built - 1956

Stadium condition - Very good

Corporate - Good facilities

Training - Top facilities

Youth - Excellent facilities + academy

Youth Recruitment - Well established

Affiliations:

ASPIRE (Qatar).

Transfer and Wage Budgets:

Starting wage budget - £530,559 per week

Continental qualification through league finish:

Transfer budget - £2.6m

Wage budget - £575k

Title challenge:

Transfer budget - £3.1m

Wage budget - £625k

Winner:

Transfer budget - £3.4m

Wage budget - £625k

I would suggest you take the lowest offer, continental qualification, as the squad doesn't need too much strengthening. If you're planning on making wholesale changes though, the title challenge option seems sensible, as it's quite a large jump up from the continental qualification option, but not too much less than the title winner option.

Reserved .

Great thread joe brillant analysis of the squad.

Will start a Bayer save soon.

Nice one Joe well in

In all honesty, better than the Chelsea thread Joe!

Nicely done.

This is from now on the standard for team threads. :respect:

joe..can you tell me how to post the tactical screen here?i'm trying to improve my Bayern thread..sorry to trouble you!

I'll join Leverkusen in one of the next patches after how awesome my save with them was last year, we dominated entirely.

Great OP

What AF7 said, I will in later patches.

Cannot play long term at the minute.

Excellent thread, I was undecided as to which German club to play as but this may have made up my mind.

Cheers guys Tbh it was always gonna be better than the Chelsea one as that was my first team thread and I've learnt from it.

I've just completed half a season and I'm sitting in 2nd, 5 points below Bayern and 1 point ahead of Werder. Also won my Europa League group and still in the cup, so it's all good atm.

Kiessling has been disappointing, his finishing always seems to be off, and Helmes, Derdiyok, Barnetta etc haven't been much better. The midfield is awesome though, particularly Vidal, Rolfes and Ballack, who let me control games and keep the ball, and provide loads of chances for the front three. Renato Augusto has been a little bit disappointing.

I think I'm gonna look for a new centre back in January, possibly either Tasci or Toprak, as Friedrich and Hyypia have both looked very vulnerable, compared with Reinartz who's been a godsend.

My mind was drifting at work today on what German team to manage on FM11 for my next game and this thread just made my mind up completely, great OP I will probably start at the weekend if I can get myself away from my mighty Auckland City save.

One question am I imagining it or has Vidal changed from a CB to a DMC over the last 3 FM's?

He has been a midfielder for atleast 3 FM's now.

Helmes as a Poacher is fantastic, although Hulk has replaced him for me. Reinartz and Schwaab are great CBs! Kießling and Derdiyok are rather annoying, they just miss too many chances for my linking.

My starting lineup in season 4, rather offensive, but the 3 CB + Adler obviously give me great defense + I got a nice amount of goals off corners because of the size of my team:

Ballack, Rolfes and a couple of regens coming off the bench.

First season I finished 3rd. 1 point behind Stuttgart and 9 behind Bayern.

Second season, first championship. 22 wins 11 draws 1 loss with 64-23 scoring, 7 pts ahead of Dortmund. Won German Cup.

Last year I improved that record to 25 wins 8 draws and 1 loss with 77-19 goals, this time 9 points in front of Dortmund and 22 in front of Freiburg who amazingly finished 3rd. Lost in CL semi-finals to Barca. Won German Cup.

This year I am "struggling", after making some changes. Signed Schweinsteiger, Pato and some regens while selling Helmes, Kießling, Renato Augusto, Nani, Ninis and Neymar. I got eliminated in the second round of the Cup by 2nd division 1860 München and already lost 2 of my 9 league games.

You got to love the 48 months payment option!

He has been a midfielder for atleast 3 FM's now.

Video could be wrong but it says he was a defender on FM08, I knew I used to sign him as a CB a long time a go.

Yeah, FM08 is 4 FM's ago.

I said 3.

Yeah, FM08 is 4 FM's ago.

I said 3.

lol, I knew you would say that. At least I wasn't imagining it my mind is at rest.

How good is Barnetta? Just been offered £14 million for him think I could bring in Wilshere on loan and maybe Seb Blanco to replace him.

I like Barnetta, his two-footedness and versatility is very useful and he's a very good all-round player. However £14m is a very good offer, and chances are he'll get unhappy if you reject it. Try negotiating for a bit more, but I'd take that personally.

Could look at Marin or Holtby as a replacement as well.

I had to start again and had a quick look round to see if anyone would be worth getting to replace Barnetta but I decided to keep him for at least one season. Wonder how much longer he can keep this form up for?

Bayern are ridiculous in this game. Robben, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Ribery, Muller, Kroos and Badstuber are all incredibly good, and have left them 10 points clear on 55 after 24 games.

They just beat me 2-1 at home after the idiot GK Alder decided to not clear the ball and instead stood there had a fit and got slide tackled.

Helmes and Kiessling are combining brilliantly should be a good race between the two to see who ends up top scorer. Currently battling for 1st place with Koln after 14 games and am 9 points ahead of Bayern but we have had a reasonably easy run so far some crap teams at home should be an exciting title race. Never played in Germany before and so far it's a close and exciting league.

Quick update on my progress so far. My pre-season transfers saw me bring in 4 players, all under 21 including Brazillian wonderkid Fabricio. Loaned Friedrich out as he was 6th choice CB so couldn't see him playing much.

Had a fairly slow start to the season but have picked the form up in time to lead the table before we play Bayern next.

What a game!! What a result!!

Thanks for the thread Joe Great OP.

I started with Leverkusen and won the title in first season. I kinda cheated and removed Ballack and Ballitsch because I wouldnt have signed them in the first place

My squad ( I played a 4 1 1 2 2 with 1 DM, 1 CM)

Adler (Giefer)

Castro/Schwaab - Hyp/Toprak - Reinartz/ Vida - Kadlec (Konstantin Rausch)

Rolfes/ Sven Bender - Lars Bender/ Vidal/ Okoli

Kaplan/ Sam - Barnetta/ Sam/ Jörgensen

Helmes/ Niflore - Kießling/ Derdiyok

Transfers in where: Sven Bender, Ömer Toprak, Konstantin Rausch, Mobi Okoli, Wilfred Niflore.

Also I brought in Lukaku in January but sold him again as I got a young american/german striker who did a good job when I played him so I sold Lukaku again after six months.

Helmes and Kießling where simply amazing. Helmes scored 29 Goals in 25 games, Kießling played all 34 games and scored 30 plus added 23 assists.

I sold Barnetta and Renato Augusto in January, Barnetta did a good job but got tempted and Renato had one problem: Burak Kaplan The kid was amazing for me on the right wing, he even won the Footballer of the Year award.

Lars Benders luck was a brutal foul by Vidal 8 minutes into the second game of the season which send him off and propably cost me a otherwise close match against Schalke. Bender took his chance, played well and kept his spot in the team even after Vidal came back.

Made a few, or at least one, transfermistakes. Derdiyok became tempted by some bigger clubs and I sold him to Italy. As Helmes is unhappy because I dont allow him to leave (something he decided he wants to do in the first week of September) I may face problems here I guess. Other noteable transfer out was Vidal who went to Inter and Jörgensen who joined Paris St. Germain

Noteable transfers in second season:

-Thiago (former Barca)

-Ilkay Gündokan (but loaned out for the first season to relegated Mainz 05 to gain game experience in the second league)

-Deniz Naki (not as good as last year, but I love the kid and still hope he will wear the Leverkusen dress again in the future)

-Marco Amelia (three keeper are saver than two)

-Schürrle (obviously)

7 games in and i am not really satisfied as I lost in Nürnberg and Freiburg. But as its just two points to Dortmund I guess nothing is lost so far Championsleague is manageable, Zagreb (destroyed them on their turf with 5-0), Glasgow Rangers and Lyon. Lyon might be tricky, but I hope we might snatch a win at home and win the group.

Right I've finally got round to posting in here, great OP btw Joe, one of the best I've seen so far. I haven't got far in my Leverkusen save yet just finished my transfers and I'm now pretty happy with the squad.

OUTS

Tranquillo Barnetta - £9.25m - Aston Villa

Burak Kaplan - £5.5m - Stuttgart

Sidney Sam - Loan Fee 160k - Lyon

INS

Adil Rami - £5.5m - Lille

Cheik M'Bengue - £6m - Toulouse

Nicolas Lodeiro - Loan fee £1.6m, future fee £4.5m - Ajax

Romelu Lukaku - Loan fee 775k, future fee 5.25m - Anderlecht

I decided to ship out the wingers because apart from Barnetta there was no real quality but there is a wealth of quality centre midfield options at the club so I decided to opt for a 4-3-1-2 to get the best out of my squad. I plan to set it up like this:

GK: Adler (Goalkeeper defend)

RB: Schwaab/Castro (Full back auto)

CB: Rami (Central defender, defend)

CB: Hyypia (Limited defender, defend)

LB: Kadlec/M'Bengue (Full back auto)

RCM: Rolfes (Box to box)

CM: Vidal (Ball winning midfielder, defend)

LCM: Ballack (Box to box)

AM: Augusto (Advanced playmaker, attack)

RST: Helmes (Poacher)

LST: Kießling (Defensive forward, attack)

I will most likely have a few tweaks with my tactics until I'm happy with them, I will update my progress in here once had a chance to play a few games. Also good luck to everyone playing as Leverkusen

There is a one year sponsorship deal worth £21.73 million a season, does this big money deal get renewed for future seasons?

Yes, this is the money from the Bayer AG.

Managed to win the league in the first season probably more to do with Bayern being so poor than us being great. Going to have to spend wisely in the summer despite having £30 million balance I only got £7 million to spend and a wage budget that was only 50k more than what I am currently spending. So far have managed to get Kaboul and Bassong on loan from Spurs and signed the temperamental Brazilian striker Adriano.

Missed out on Granero who went on loan to Bayern and then Fernando Llorente would not even think of discussing a contract with us and signed for Bayern. Going to be hard work holding onto the title this season but at least the club will be financially secure and hopefully I can get some more cash next season.

Got to the semi-finals of the Europa league only to be knocked out by PSG who went on to beat Stuttgart in the final. These performances raised the co-efficient meaning we replaced Italy and now get 4 champions league places.

What a game!! What a result!!

Great Result, off topic could you give me a link of those kits for the Bundesliga.

Great Result, off topic could you give me a link of those kits for the Bundesliga.

They are from FM-Base but I cant seem to find them now. :confused:

....

Back on-topic, after 11 games we're still top of the league 3 points clear with Bayern struggling down in 11th but since the Bayern win we have stuttered a bit and drawn 5 games but still unbeaten in all competitions.

Just beat Hoffenheim 4-2 with Helmes getting the 'perfect hat trick' but the highlight of the game was this goal from Kadlec:

[video=youtube;Z1IDA3c78Bk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IDA3c78Bk

Aaaah!

The tackling thing is atrocious, but hitting the post twice...

Well, 3rd time is a charm(after 2002)!

Anyway, Leverkusen really is a great team to start with, although there aren't that many players left of the original team for me, but Adler is the best GK in the game and Reinartz has become a legend at 26.

Lost the title to Bayern in second season, had a few really bad games midseason that cost me the title

But third season (11 games in) looks great so far. Only one loss (with a defender playing goalie as I put Giefer in both, first and second team that day) one draw and a brilliant Patrick Helmes so far. He scored 18 in 11 games. Guess its save to say that he has a chance to reach the 30 goal mark this year (scored 29 in both previous seasons).

Was suprised by my first team squad. Kadlec is the only one without a german passport. Looking at my talents I might not be able to keep that ratio, but I'm still happy that I managed to have this team as I usually have a wild mix of nationalities

They are from FM-Base but I cant seem to find them now. :confused:

....

Back on-topic, after 11 games we're still top of the league 3 points clear with Bayern struggling down in 11th but since the Bayern win we have stuttered a bit and drawn 5 games but still unbeaten in all competitions.

Can't you upload them?

Can't you upload them?

Yea, here is the link.

I am starting a Leverkusen save purely based of this thread.

The best thread along with the velez thread.

I am starting a Leverkusen save purely based of this thread.

The best thread along with the velez thread.

You're right, its a great thread. Hopefully there will be more people play as Leverkusen. Good luck with the save

....

Just finished my first season, will post my review soon.

Thanks dburns

Schurrle looks great as a prospect and i like the look of rofles

Thanks dburns

Schurrle looks great as a prospect and i like the look of rofles

Yea Schurrle does look good. And Rolfes is good as deep lying playmaker but he has lost his place in the team to Nuri Sahin but when he does play, he does a good job.

Adler is the key though.

i have literally started 5 mis ago so have not played a friendly yet.

Adler is the key though.

i have literally started 5 mis ago so have not played a friendly yet.

Adler is very good, yes. So are Helmes, Barnetta, Keisling and Vidal.

Adler is very good, yes. So are Helmes, Barnetta, Keisling and Vidal.

What formation do you play.

What formation do you play.

Started the season with a 4-2-3-1 with staggered DM's but due to the signing of Dzeko and form of Helmes I change to a very attacking 4-2-4 with Kiesling and Barnetta on the wings.

Kiessling is exceptional on the left wing tbh, has been excellent. Just a shame I can't have three of him, one on either wing and one upfront. Helmes and Derdiyok are too wasteful imo, Kiessling is the only 'forward' player that has impressed me.