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Managing in the Bundesliga


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I’ve never done this before. I’ve always picked one of the 3 big leagues because in a few years when I have a great squad, I want my domestic league to still be really hard to win. I don’t want the only challenge to be the Champions League. Thing is I love big stadiums, and then I started thinking…in FM, after 10-20 years, why wouldn’t the Bundesliga be the strongest league in Europe? With all those massive stadiums bringing in all that revenue. They have about 12 stadiums over 45,000 – many of them huge.

So, anyone else managed long term in this league? How does it turn out? Thanks!

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I'm in 2018/19 now and it's fun. Dortmund and Bayern are the top dogs but slowly I have climbed up the table. It's fun, competitive, and something different to my usual Premier League career - in a good way. Particularly since even though I find myself in a good position financially (and not only that) I realize - and, indeed, have actually felt it in the transfer market a couple of times in the past - there are more bigger clubs out there, unlike in England which usually is the top league reputation and money wise so once you rise to the top or thereabouts you rule the world.

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I really like the German leagues but I found the Bundesliga to be a bit too easy in this year's iteration (although that might just be FM12 in general). I lost 6 or 7 matches with my Koln side and still manged to win the title in my first season!

I love the lack of foreign player restrictions though. I don't even think you even need to worry about work permits.

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I'm managing in Liga 3 with Saarbrucken, I took over in the first season (started unemployed, American, speaks American and Russian, semi pro) when the team was 20th, and firm relegation candidates. 35k stadium capacity, the highest I've ever gotten from my first season and the beginning of this second, has been 6k. I took that team from 20th, to finishing 9th. It's a slog of a fight, because the top 5 teams at the time I was in deep relegation were all embroiled in relegation by the time I finished in 9th. The top team during that time went from number 1 to being relegated by the end.

Saarbrucken took a chance on a no name American who didn't speak German at all, and it paid off in spades for them. I won 937k from the league because of my 9th place finish, i think it was 937, it could have been 537 but I can't remember now. I saw dollar signs and cheered for that and forgot to save that as a note. Anyway, the money is very lucrative however my board has 2 loans, the first was 4.5m, yes million, and for what they got I have no idea. The second was 6.5m and there was nothing stated as to what they bought with that money. The team is in serious debt, with all income that I gain going right to paying those loans. The team, without those loans, makes 13.2 million (last years income) and would have made a substantial profit had those two large debts not been there. I have never had a sell out, or a crowd of over 6k yet.

As for the competition, it's fierce and bloody. Start of this season i have 5 injured players. My payroll got slashed by 15k, from 85k per week to 70k. I have 4-6 u19's starting and those kids are 17-19yr olds. They are very talented but not playing to their potential yet. Most of the talent on my team, from senior level to u19's are all rated to be 4 1/2 to 5 stars, with only about 10 of the 44 or so total players playing at potential. Senior level squad I have 24 players at the moment (5 injured) and I plan to cut it down to 21 or 22 at some point, but trying to get match fit and juggling players around to get the right team is getting a bit frustrating. I have loads of talent, just none of it developed :).

I will say though, that the 3rd division has had a ton of surprise for me when I started it. I was not prepared for the level of talent that is in this division. Also, the wage demands of some of these agents these players have is beyond ridiculous. I've basically resigned myself for this contract period to building talent and finishing in the top half until I can get this team financial stable. As long as the team performs, we should be ok, but having raw high potential players who are performing well but not to their potential provides for some entertaining games, and some really heart breaking ones. It's like an HBO drama series.

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If you really want to have fun in Germany, you need a custom database that will expand playable league to tier 5.

Then you will have literally two clubs to manage. Your senior club and club II side.

This sounds interesting as long as it works better than the B team system in Spain(which is poorly implemented in FM IMO).

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I've done 19 seasons with custom Germany database. (With Holstein Kiel, my fav Germany club)

It was hellish fun.

Trying to keep my senior side afloat while trying to get my II side to 3. Liga was very entertaining. And the structure made youth progression perfect also. I had no need for feeder clubs since my II side was having tough competitions.

I took control of the II side of course.

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Because my best friend is German, I've always paid attention to what's happening, Football wise, over there. So I'm a big fan of the Bundesliga. I've started off managing in Germany for the past incarnations of FM and I'd say FM2011 was the best year in it, I remember managing HSV and really battling it out with Bayern, Leverkusen, Dortmund and Schalke for the title. Really intense when you've four other sides running for the title where even a draw was a setback.

Also went head to head with Bayern at the UEFA Champions League final in 2013. They were three - nil ahead by half time, yet somehow we managed to turn it around and get to extra-time where they went ahead one more time.

With two minutes left, Pato scored twice making the final score 5 - 4.

I miss that save. :(

If you want to manage in Germany find a custom database that also loads up the Regionalliga's and mange RB Leipzig. They earned a soft spot in my heart as I watched them progress towards the Bundesliga.

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Got offered a job at Bayern like 9 years ago in my save. Every year I win the league by at least 20 points, sometimes even 30. German cup has been mine last 9 years in a row as well. Champions League hasnt been as successful but I have come away with the cup 6 out of 9 times which isn't bad.

I havent bought a player over the age of 21 in 7 years and the board have never given me a transfer budget above 24million. But some years I literally dont spend anything as I dont want to overcrowd my youth squad. I want to get out of it because its far too easy but I dont want to lose all the players I brought up from 15.

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Thing is I love big stadiums, and then I started thinking…in FM, after 10-20 years, why wouldn’t the Bundesliga be the strongest league in Europe? With all those massive stadiums bringing in all that revenue. They have about 12 stadiums over 45,000 – many of them huge.
The thing is that the tickets are also really cheap in the Bundesliga, because the teams are effectively owned by the fans. So in real life in 2010 the matchday revenue of, for example, Schalke, is almost half that of Tottenham, despite the Veltins-Arena having a capacity of 60,000 people and White Hart Lane of under 40,000 people.
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I like to play Bundesliga since FM 2005. But this year i'm a little bit disappointed. Cologne and especially Podolski are completely overperforming. The second thing is that even with Bayern you won't get enough money. In reality they spend a lot of money if its necessary (Neuer, Gomez, Robben, Ribery are players that have cost 20M+). In this years FM i never get more than 25M Euro to spend. It was really frustrating having half of the Centre Back and Wingers injured and no money in the January transfer window.

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If you want to manage in Germany find a custom database that also loads up the Regionalliga's and mange RB Leipzig. They earned a soft spot in my heart as I watched them progress towards the Bundesliga.

Thought you might like to know that I'm currently managing RB Leipzig, and in the 2019/2020 season we're now top 5 in the league and challenging for europe and maybe even champions league.

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Thanks for all the great responses. I was going to take over Hertha Berlin. Thought it might be fun with their massive stadium. But if the tickets are super-cheap and you never get much money there doesn't seem much point. Also sounds like domestic play could be a little easy after a while.

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Is this the file that you have been using alucasa? It works fine?

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/281961-Germany-Lower-Leagues-File

Really interested in this because of using the II team as a B Team to develop youngsters.

Well? I've gone through 19 seasons with it. Nothing (too much) wrong spotted.

Players I signed up to play in II team (It is kind of B team but it works differently as you have the full control as if you have a reserve team or you can let your assman handle it.) complained that they were going to "reserves" but once they played few games, they never complained. I even had an elder player who played for my II side for his last 7 seasons until his retirement and he had never complained about not having first-team football experience.

If there is a downside having the II team (if you can call this downside), your assman can win manager of year and he gains management experience and fame if you let him handle II team. In few seasons, he will go to manage a club. :p

And watch your wage spending because you will need to spend quite a bit if you want your II side to even reach 3. Liga and hold their ground there.

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Well? I've gone through 19 seasons with it. Nothing (too much) wrong spotted.

Players I signed up to play in II team (It is kind of B team but it works differently as you have the full control as if you have a reserve team or you can let your assman handle it.) complained that they were going to "reserves" but once they played few games, they never complained. I even had an elder player who played for my II side for his last 7 seasons until his retirement and he had never complained about not having first-team football experience.

If there is a downside having the II team (if you can call this downside), your assman can win manager of year and he gains management experience and fame if you let him handle II team. In few seasons, he will go to manage a club. :p

And watch your wage spending because you will need to spend quite a bit if you want your II side to even reach 3. Liga and hold their ground there.

I'm only wondering because i tried to start a new game (didn't actually play anything) and i couldn't see any relegation spots from the Regionaliga(4th tier) to the Oberliga(5th tier) unless i'm not understanding how the German League structure works, but if you played with it for 19 seasons then surely it's fine.

I think i'll leave the II team to my Assistant Manager or a coach, don't have the patience to manage in detail both teams, just want a secondary team for my youngsters to develop.

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If you read the thread you linked fully, there was German league structure change this year, so it was a special case for just that year. Once a season passes, relegation spots will be properly displayed.

There is only no relegation in the 1st year.

Like in reality

In the Season 2011/2012 no german 4th division clubs will be relegated

Having said that, once the new league structure kicks in, it becomes rather (much) harder to win promotion from tier 4 to 3.Liga, so you've better earn the promotion on your first year. Otherwise, you might suffer.

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