Can you say that again? Braun-what? (FGC)

Dalbeider · June 9, 2009

So, hello everyone. This is my first post in this side of the forums (not that I've posted that much in the *other* side of the forums, but still ). I've been wanting to get started with this Stories thing for a while already, since I've always liked writing, I like FM, and I like practising other languages, english in this case (I'm spanish, in case you wonder). So I figured with three "likes" already accounted for I should probably love this. Let's see how this works out...

Wegason's FGC challenge is what finally made me decide to give it a go. I've managed at least one Fallen Giant in each FM/CM game I've played so far, except FM09. Two birds with one stone, I guess. This time I've steered away from my favourite FGs (Leeds and Forest), and after Google-ing for a while looking for obscure candidates, I picked Eintracht Braunschweig, Bundesliga champions in 1967. Should be interesting, it's my first time ever in the german lower divisions.

Technical stuff: playing FM09 9.0.3 with the official 9.0.3 data update, Germany down to Third Division as the only playable nation. And my alter ego, Phrann Dovecot, is an englishman with semi-pro experience, just because.

Wish me luck!

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06-12-08. Welcome to Bru... Braus... Braunsche... Braunschweig!

Yep, those Germans are one of a kind indeed. Only them would think about building a football stadium at Hamburger Street, and then simply name it Stadion an der Hamburger Strasse. Sigh. At least it was easy to find...

Chairman Gerhard Glogowski was waiting for me at the entrance. He's a serious man. No surprises here. We got through the formalities with ease, not at all thanks to my non-existant understanding of the local language. That will make number one on my "Things to Improve, and Fast" list. After signing my 2.600 €/week contract, I was introduced to the rest of the staff. Assistant manager Markus Foda handed me a carefully prepared report about our squad. Since training had already finished, I'd have to wait until the next day to meet my players in person.

After a quick glance at Markus' report, I met Herr Glogowski once again, and informed him that with a few signings in key positions, we should be able to challenge for promotion. I think I saw a shadow of a smile in his stoic, oh-so-serious face. Then he went on telling me things I already knew about the glorious past of the institution, how Eintracht had been one of the top teams of the north for the first half of the century, and then had gone on to win the Bundesliga for the first (and last) time in 1967, only four years after its creation. And how things went bad in the eighties, and the team relegated, and never came back to the top. And how things were really hard for them right now, and although they fully expected the team to achieve at least a top-half finish, there wasn't any money available for transfers, and the wage budget was already quite tight.

"Look, I know all that", I cut him before he finished. That brought the first real emotion to his face, a funny looking mix of surprise and discomfort - he was clearly not used to being interrupted. "And I tell you, my long term plans are to bring this club back where it belongs, right at the top of the Bundesliga". That's where surprise intensified, discomfort disappeared, and amusement made a grand entrance. "But we need to start somewhere, and that somewhere is leaving this hellpit called Third Division. Braunschweig doesn't deserve to be playing against reserve teams day in and day out, that's for sure. So, are you really sure there's no way you can help me to build a team able to challenge for glory?".

He smiled, then sighed, then nodded. I still got no transfer funds, but the wage budget was slightly increased. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. I thanked him, said goodbye to the staff, and went home. There was a lot of work to do.

Manxie_Ash · June 9, 2009

Good start Welcome to FMS

Wegason · June 9, 2009

Best of luck with Eintracht Braunschweig, my attempt will be with a fellow German 3. Liga side, Fortuna Düsseldorf.

tenthreeleader · June 9, 2009

Welcome to FMS. As an aside, you shouldn't have told us you are Spanish. Your fine English could have kept people guessing for a long time.

Terk · June 10, 2009

As others have said, welcome to FMS, Dalbeider That's a pretty damned good first FMS post, keep that quality up and you'll have no problems around here.

Dalbeider · June 10, 2009

Heh, thanks everyone for the warm welcome .

This was supposed to go up yesterday, but my computer BSoDed on me, and Scandisk seems to think that one of FM's .xml files (TeamScreen.xml or something like that) is corrupted. Whoops? The game works fine, though. Weird.

06.12.08, later. Building blocks.

I spent that evening reading (and translating - thank the gods for Internet and online dictionaries...) Markus' report. The first team looked like this:

GOALKEEPERS

Nico Lauenstein (GK, Germany, 22yo, €14k)

Jasmin Fejzik (GK, Bosnia & Herzegovina, 22yo, €16k)

Adrian Horn (GK, Germany, 25yo, €4k)

The goal is our weakest spot for sure. Lauenstein is only decent for this level, and he was the best of the three, although only barely. Fejzik is on loan from Fürth, and seemed to be almost on par with Nico. Adrian Horn was transfer listed before I took charge, and I couldn't help but agree with that decision, whoever took it.

Signing a good keeper would be my first priority. I took note about asking the scouts to send me a few reports when I met them next morning.

DEFENDERS

Vali Nästase (SW/D C, Romania [4 caps], 33yo, €55k)

Deniz Dogan (D LC, Turkey, 28yo, €22k)

Matthias Henn (D LC, Germany, 23yo, €22k)

Ken Reichel (D LC/WB L, Germany, 21yo, €20k)

Jan Schanda (D C, DM, M C, Germany, 30yo, €85k)

Ramazan Yildirim (D/WB R, Germany, 32yo, €35k)

...not much depth, huh? From those, Dogan and Yildirim are useless, and would be listed immediately. Nästase is our best man in the back line, strong and powerful in the air, although a bit slow given his age. He's also the only senior international player in the squad. Henn is quite decent, too, and can play equally well at the center and full back positions. Reichel is a backup wingback with little hope of making the first team in the short term. Finally, Jan Schanda is the team's captain and the most influent member of the squad. He plays better as an anchor man, but can cover the center of the defense in a pinch.

Lübeck and Burghausen are reported to be interested in both Dogan and Henn, so hopefully we can get rid of the Turk and receive some cash in return. We have no good right side full backs, so that will be another priority. Luckily it's three weeks until the first friendly...

MIDFIELDERS

Holger Wehlage (WB R/DM/M RC, Germany, 31yo, €70k)

Tim Danneberg (WB R/DM/M C, Germany, 22yo, €100k)

Dennis Kruppke (WB/M RL, Germany, 28yo, €300k)

Kosta Rodrigues (WB/M L, Germany, 28yo, €65k)

Christian Lenze (DM, M LC, Germany, 31yo, €80k)

Dennis Brinkman (DM, M C, Germany, 29yo, €110k)

Kai Koitka (AM R, Germany, 26yo, €26k)

Jan Washausen (AM L, Germany, 19yo, €80k)

Benjamin Fuchs (AM R/ST, Austria, 24yo, €26k)

Aah, that's better. Lots of wingbacks, maybe we could play a 3-5-2 and forget about the full backs? Also, lots of multi-role players, that should give us a good deal of flexibility.

Wehlage is not exactly a technical prodigy, but he can run the right wing nonstop. Same with Danneberg, although he's most suited to central midfielder duties, thanks to his awesome work rate and teamwork. A below average passer, though. Kruppke is our quickest player, and can play in both wings without much trouble, even though his crossing and dribbling could see some improvement. Rodrigues is the most technical of the four wingbacks, and will start at the left for sure if we finally go with the 3-5-2.

All that quality seems to be lost in the middle of the pitch. Both Lenze and Brinkman are hard working midfielders, capable of recovering the ball and performing simple passes, but don't ask them to be creative. Again, germans... Koitka and Washausen are decent wingers, the first being also a freekick specialist. They could play, depending on our tactics. Fuchs, on the other hand, is the quickest of the three offensive wingers, and knows how to dribble and cross. He can also play at the front, but his finishing seems to be rather poor.

Not much to improve here, honestly. Maybe we could do with a center midfielder or two more, hopefully with some creativity that helps us compensate our current lack of talent.

FORWARDS

Fait-Florian Banser (ST, Germany, 26yo, €6k)

Stefan Hauk (ST, Germany, 28yo, €8k)

Riley O'Neill (ST, Canada, 22yo, €45k)

Marcel Scheid (ST, Germany, 24yo, €250k)

Only four strikers, and O'Neill is probably the worst of the four, so bad he'll probably leave the team before our first game. Banser and Hauk are average-to-bad, but could be kept as backups. Scheid is our only decent source of goals, but doesn't look specially suited to the lone striker role, which means we must find someone to partner up with him.

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The report also mentioned the U23 and U19 teams, and although the first of these squads looked almost useless, there were a few promising young kids in the second. Too bad they were all 14 and 15 years old, still way too young to be pushed into the first team. After one or two more years of hard training and a few competitive matches here and there, they could be ready to make the jump.

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06.13.08. Got some mortar?

After meeting the team and introducing myself to the players, I left Markus in charge of the morning training and arranged a meeting with the club scouts. After telling them about our needs, they went off and came back a few hours later with their preliminary reports.

Our first transfer target would be Ismaning's 25 year-old goalkeeper Jan Schlösser. He was out of contract and pretended by a few big teams, including Dortmund, but I decided to give it a try anyway.

The second on the list was a big one: Cyril Domoraud, former Inter, AC Milan, Olympique de Marseille and Espanyol player, was out of contract and still looking for more professional football despite being 36 already. He didn't ask for much in wages, which was a plus. Besides, there wasn't much else available for free, so we made an offer and hoped for the best.

Another big name (for us, anyway) was our target for the midfield: Marco Reich, 30 years old attacking midfielder who had recently played for Offenbach, was also out of contract. Lots of teams wanted him, and we needed some creativity in the middle as soon as possible, so I offered him a contract slightly above his expectations, hoping to draw his attention away from the likes of Dresden or Aue.

And finally, the scouts' pick for the forward position was Gjoksen Limanov, a 23 year old macedonian who had been playing for Kempten. Since there was also a certain interest on him, we used the same tactic and offered him a small raise above his demanded weekly wage.

After all the offers were filed, I sent the scouts out to keep looking for talent. Meanwhile, I got back to the training field. It was time for some 5-a-side, and those are always fun to watch.

----

After training, I was asked to meet the local media for a short press conference. It was quite predictable, to be honest. Yadda-yadda-I'm happy to be here-yadda-yadda-Sure, I'll be looking to sign some players-yadda-yadda-hey. Well, they also asked about our chances to keep hold of Brinkmann, who was being scouted by FSV Frankfurt. I answered truthfully: if FSV wanted him and put enough money on the table, so be it, but I'd rather keep him. That seemed to satisfy the small murder of crows, and they left shortly after, not without wishing me good luck.

Heh, that was fun. I'm sure press conferences will never get old.

Dalbeider · June 10, 2009

06-14-08

Matt Henn will be out for 4 weeks with a back strain. That sucks. I may need to find another defender now.

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First signing incoming! Cyril Domoroud has agreed to join Eintracht Braunschweig for one season. He's old, but he can still be useful at this level thanks to his strength and experience.

06-15-08

Schlösser seems to be attracting lots of attention since we made our offer. PSV, Rangers and Dortmund have made offers, according to the press. Looks like we should look for a backup plan if we really want a new keeper...

06-16-08

Marco Reich joins Braunschweig for two seasons. Looks like we were faster than the competition, and we had him signed before they could react. Same goes for Gjoksen Limanov, who will join our team as soon as his deal with Kempten runs out on the 1st of July.

06-17-08

Time to unload some dead weight. Deniz Dogan will join Lübeck as soon as the transfer window opens. Braunschweig will receive €22k for him. Woo, money!

06-19-09

As expected, Schlösser went for a big team: Sevilla. Let's see what the scouts bring on their next report. We badly need a decent keeper...

06-30-09

Finally we found a good keeper for free. Georg Koch, a 36yo veteran, was highly recommended by my scouts, and I was quick to make an offer. Let's see if he accepts, his only alternative seems to be joining Saarbrucken, and we're much cooler than them!

It was only after making the offer that I read the small print in the report: Koch wouldn't be able to play until March for medical reasons. Gah. Oh well.

----

Schanda out for 4 weeks. He'll miss all the pre-season. Grmpf.

07-01-09

Transfer window open. Deniz leaves, Limanov joins. Good times. Our transfer budget rises from €0 to €8.5k. Whoop-de-doo.

07-03-09

Georg Koch agrees to join Braunschweig for two years. Too bad he won't be available until march.

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07-06-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. FSV Frankfurt (Friendly)

FSV plays on the Second Division, so we're expected to lose against them. It would be nice to start breaking expectations from the beginning, but this is a friendly after all. My first priority is testing my players against a real opponent and seeing if they perform as I expect them to. It is also a good moment to see if my beloved 3-5-2 was the right formation for this team.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Domoraud (DC), Reichel (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Schied (FC), Limanov (FC).

The game starts evenly matched, with chances for both sides. As the timer ticks, we manage to take control of the ball. The team seems solid, and we're creating a few good chances. Schied misses a clear ball through, and Limanov and Reich try their luck from outside the box. On the 31st minute, Kruppke leaves the game injured, and is replaced by Fuchs. Lenze hits the upright with a medium-range shot on the 44th.

After halftime we bring in the substitutes, and it shows: FSV takes control and the best chances are theirs. To round it off, Fuchs gets injured on the 67th, which means we have to play with 10 players for the rest of the game. Or 9, as it were: Danneberg also leaves the field before the end of the game. Nothing much else happens, besides both teams missing one or two clear cut chances.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

FSV Frankfurt 0

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None of the injuries were serious, thankfully. The result wasn't as good as I would have wished, but the team played decently well, at least until our midfielders starting falling down like flies. The defense was quite solid, but our forwards showed a certain lack of accuracy. We'll see what happens in the next game.

Balthazars · June 10, 2009

Welcome to FMS, Dalbeider. You have a fine grasp of English for someone using it as a second language, and the writing is catchy and easy to follow. All the best for the challenge, I figure most of the competitors are going to have their work cut out for them!

Dalbeider · June 11, 2009

@Balthazars: Thanks for the welcome and the praise .

07-07-08

Wow. My scouts had a pleasant surprise for me this morning. Seyfo Soley, 28 years old, with 38 caps for the Gambian national team, was out of contract and willing to discuss terms with us. His wage demands were reasonable, too, and this time the small print was nowhere to be seen, so I didn't hesitate to make a bid. If he joins, he'll instantly become the best player in the squad, and maybe in the whole 3.Liga. Crossing fingers...

07-08-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Thun (Friendly)

I don't know who arranged our pre-season friendlies for this season, but he clearly was out of his mind. Two matches in two days to start it off, then eight days without a fixture, then again two matches in two days. Oh, and the last friendly was arranged just two days before our first league match. I'm trying to rearrange everything in a less insane way.

Today, time for more tests, hopefully without injuries this time.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Domoraud (DC), Reichel (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Koitka (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Schied (FC), Limanov (FC).

Thun are from Switzerland. You probably already know that. Anyway, since Swiss football is normally on the "bad-sucky" band of the spectre, we're favourites for this match. I'm not that confident, but hey, who am I to contradict the bet houses...

And they were right, or at least that's what it looked like after Limanov received a wonderful pass from Lenze and scored our first goal of the season in the 8th minute. We were controlling the ball and the match pace with ease, and had a few more chances. Reich missed a sitter in front of the keeper, and so did Koitka after a great play between Lenze and Rodrigues. Thun could only hit on the counter, but they did so with little real danger. Their best chance came from a corner kick that hit the crossbar directly. On the 44th, the nightmare strikes again: Domoraud is injured and has to go off. Sigh. On extra time, Reich scores our second, with a placed shot from way outside the box.

Half time again means an almost whole new eleven comes into play, with only Lenze and Nästase staying. Thun seem to be more in control now, and are creating chances. Nästase picks a knock, but seems to be able to continue. And nothing else to report: the second half was a bit of a snorefest. The second unit has proven why they're the second unit, being unable to create a single chance in 45 minutes.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Limanov 8, Reich 44)

Thun 0

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Well, bad news. Domoraud will be out for 3-4 weeks, and Nästase for 4-5 weeks. Right now we have one fit defender, and he was supposed to be a backup. Soley can't come too soon. Time to scour the transfer market again...

Dalbeider · June 11, 2009

07-09-08

Awesome news. Seyfo Soley joins Braunschweig! If he stays healthy, he should be a big performer for us. Patrice Meissner could be joining him in the defense soon, since we've made an offer to sign him for free from Markranstädt. We've also offered €8k for Assani Lukimya, playing for Rostock, but it's unlilkely that they will accept, since they're asking a minimum of €35k for him. With three defenders out with various injuries, it's imperative that we increase our depth in that line.

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Oh my. Looks like even the Germans have a sense of humor of sorts. Herr Glogowski received this afternoon a fax from Bielefeld, offering us Leonidas Kabantais for the extra-low price of €1,650,000. We were laughing so hard at this that for a moment we thought that the fax which came immediately after was also a joke. But no. Köln were seriously offering to offload Fabrice Ehret, a 28 year old left wing back, for free! Of course we made an offer, fully knowing that our chances of successfully signing him were reaaally slim.

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To round up a great day, Rostock accepted our offer for Lukimya. That will eat all of our transfer budget, but it seems to be more than worth it.

07-10-08

Two new coaches join our team, bringing the total to six, as recomended by the board.

07-11-08

Henn is back in training. We might be able to field a competitive defense in tomorrow's friendly after all...

07-12-08 - Eintracht Braunschweig vs. AFC Compiègne (Friendly)

Assani Lukimya agrees to join Braunschweig from Rostock in exchange of eight thousand euros a few hours before the match. He's a strong centre back, also able to play on the left. Even more important, he's young (only 22), meaning he should be helpful in giving some rest to veterans like Nästase and Domoraud. Once they recover from their injuries, of course.

AFC Compiègne was the best I could find in such short notice for a friendly. They're a french amateur team, so we should be able to beat them without much trouble. Time to test our new defenders.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lukimya (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Schied (FC), Limanov (FC).

We take it easy for the first minutes, and slowly but steady our ball possession starts rising, and chances begin to appear. After a pair of misses, Schied finally scores on the 32nd, finishing with ease a great pass from Limanov. From then until the break, nothing.

Another chance for the second unit, and things start interesting with a chance for Koitka, who misses. After Compiègne hit the bar in their only chance in the game so far, Koitka goes down after a hard challenge, and can't get up. On extra time, Washausen receives a pass from the left and scores our second and last goal of the match. Dreadful performance by some of the substitutes, specially O'Neill, Hauk and Yildirim.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Schied 32, Washausen 90)

AFC Compiègne 0

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Koitka will be out between 6 and 7 weeks. Marcel Schied also picked a knock, and will be out for 3-4 weeks with a twisted knee. Now we need a forward? Bwaaah!

---

Meissner had agreed to join us, but I decided to cancel the deal at the last minute. With the arrivals of Lukimya and Soley our defense should be well covered for now, and we should save some wage space, just in case.

07-13-08

Thomas Brendel, a 32yo striker, could be our next signing. If he agrees to our offer, he should play the role of backup striker, just behind Schied and Limanov in the rotation.

07-15-08

Fabrice Ehret finally decides to reject our contract offer, and joins Fortuna Düsseldorf on a free transfer from Köln. Booo, I say. Fortuna fans are obviously delighted for the bargain. He'll be a player to watch for once we meet in the league.

07-16-08. Herne vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Friendly)

Our first away match sees us travelling to Herne to play the local club. One of the few amateur clubs in the world that happen to play in a stadium with capacity for 36000 fans. I wonder how often it sells out...

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lukimya (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Banser (FC), Limanov (FC).

Possession is split, but the best chances are ours. Rodrigues and Limanov are denied a goal by Herne's keeper, who is having a killer match. In the end, a header from Rodrigues after a measured cross by Kruppke on the 37th finally opens the score.

The second half begins as expected, with Yildirim performing some awful crosses and O'Neill missing easy chances. Then, on the 54th, Wehlage breaks through the middle of the defense after dribbling past all of Herne's midfield and half of their defense, and scores a wonderful goal. Wehlage himself has the best chances of the half, with two headers and a free kick that go well wide. Finally, Wehlage's efforts are rewarded with a second goal on the 76th minute, after a short pass inside the box by O'Neill, who wasn't even trying to do that.

Herne 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Rodrigues 37, Wehlage 54 76)

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Our best performance so far, and the first time that the subs have shown their worth. Wehlage did an awesome job in the midfield, and may be rewarded with a start on our next friendly. Also, no injuries. Yay!

07-17-08

German Trial Day! Markus was sent to the pitch to keep an eye on the players he judged to be potentially interesting. He came back singing the praises of goalkeeper Nils Schmadtke and defender/midfielder Julien Lücke. Trusting in his good judgement, I decide to offer a contract to both.

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In other news, Thomas Brendel joins Braunschweig. His arrival should ensure that we never ever need to witness the horrible sight of O'Neill trying to shoot at goal on a competitive match. Seriously, who signed him? Fire him already! ...oh wait, maybe you already did?

07-18-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Duisburg (Friendly)

Eek. Duisburg are the first (and last) tough opponent of the pre-season. They're in the Second Division right now, but it wouldn't be a surprise if they won promotion to the Bundesliga this season.

As hinted, Wehlage will start in the middle in Lenze's place, and Brendel will have a chance to prove his worth from the start.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lukimya (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Brendel (FC), Limanov (FC).

Duisburg charge from the start, but we're able to withstand their attacks and create some danger on the counterattack. Brendel is showing some nice moves up front. After stealing the ball in the middle, Brendel sends the ball right to Kruppke, who dribbles, crosses, and finds the forward ready to push it into the net. 33rd minute and we're ahead! But just before the break, Duisburg equalize thanks to Kouemaha, who heads a corner kick past the keeper after a serious mistake by Rodrigues.

The second half seems like a mirror image of the first. We're in control now, and creating chances thanks to Fuchs' good work on the right wing. Duisburg strike back, though, and hit the post in their best chance so far. Finally, Maicon scores with a powerful header in the 89th minute. Somewhat unfair, but I'm happy with our performance anyway.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Brendel 33)

Duisburg 2 (Kouemaha 45, Maicon 89)

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So we conceded our first goals of the season, but it was against a very strong Duisburg side, and we managed to make them work hard for their victory. Brendel is looking good already, let's see if he can keep it up. Also, second match in a row without injuries. That feels good.

Nathan Pike · June 12, 2009

A very good start, Dalbeider. Best of luck for the upcoming season. :thup:

Dalbeider · June 12, 2009

@Nathan: Thanks, I think I'll need it .

07-19-08

Man, it took them long enough... Today's local press reports on a possible interest from Union Berlin in signing Kruppke. Nothing new for me, I knew they were interested almost since day one, but it looks like the crows hadn't smelled this carcass until now. They came asking, of course, and my answer was clear: we can't afford to turn down big offers for our players. If Union came with enough cash, I'd allow them to talk to Kruppke.

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Today's press also had a report about the average promotion odds given by the bet houses. Offenbach and Aue are first with 5-1, followed by Jena and Paderborn at 8-1, Dresden at 10-1 and Düsseldorf at 20-1. We're paid at 25-1, so we're not that far behind. Only two teams gain direct promotion to the 2.Bundesliga, with a third qualifying for a promotion playoff against the 16th team in the upper level, so if we must live to my expectations, we'll have to work hard.

07-20-08. BV Veendam vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Friendly)

Our last friendly of the preseason sees us travelling to the Netherlands to play against BV Veendam. They're not a top team in their country by any means, but they are currently in the Eerste Divisie (second tier), so we should be careful.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lukimya (DRC), Soley (DC), Reichel (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Brendel (FC), Limanov (FC).

The game starts with a well-led counterattack which ends with Brendel sending the ball into the keeper's face. That hurts. We enjoy total control in the first minutes, and after a pair of clumsy attemps, Brendel sends the ball past the keeper after a nice move by Kruppke. Veendam still seem unable to fight for the game, and Lenze scores the second with a short range blast after dribbling past his marker. Brendel has two more chances to increase our lead, but the Dutch defenders manage to prevent him from shooting. The end of the first half sees Volendam's only chances so far, well stopped by Lauenstein. On the following attack, Kruppke scores after a wonderful long range pass by Brinkmann.

It was hard to top our first half performance after the break. Stiil, Reich manages to improve our result even further with a 25 yard banana shot. Banser scores the fifth after Washausen breaks offside with a long pass from the left. Only Hauk seems to be set on missing every single chance he has today, but in the end, even he manages to score after a well measured cross from the right by Fuchs. Fuchs himself scores the seventh (!) after a rebound inside the box. Hauk makes it eight with a long range shot, and thanks to Veendam's keeper. But wait, there's more! Henn scores the NINTH after yet another funny mistake by the keeper, who went flying who knows where trying to catch a corner kick.

BV Veendam 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 9 (Brendel 12, Lenze 18, Kruppke 45, Reich 50, Banser 54, Hauk 68 86, Fuchs 70, Henn 90)

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The perfect way to finish our preseason work. Six days from now we'll see if this is for real in our first competitive match, our debut in the 3.Liga against Sandhausen.

07.21.08

Nils Schmadtke, the young keeper recomended by Markus after his display in the Trial match, has accepted to join Braunschweig, choosing us over Union Berlin. He's only 19, so he has plenty of time to develop, but he will make a nice backup keeper even now, and may start from time to time.

07.24.08

The other trialist we had bid for, Julien Lücke, also agrees to our terms and joins our squad. A 23yo defender/midfielder, he should prove useful in both lines, and will enjoy lots of first team play time this season.

----

The squad win bonuses were decided today. Herr Glogowski was feeling generous after our 0-9 friendly win and the recent reports about an increase in the season ticket sales, so he allowed me to promise the players an extra prize if we managed to win the league. They were understandably happy, and vowed to do their best to achieve our objectives. In their case, those objectives probably involve buying a new car in May.

07.26.08. Sandhausen vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga, 1/38)

"So, Herr Dovecot, who do you think will win the 3.Liga this season?"

"Us, of course"

That may have been a mistake, judging by the faces I saw in the dressing room before our league debut. Oh well, no sense thinking about it now. I told the players to forget about whatever had unsettled them (as if I didn't know) and concentrate in the task ahead. Sandhausen are supposed to fight against relegation, and so we were clear favourites in this match, but I had a bad feeling. Yeah, I'm always this optimistic before important matches, why do you ask?

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lücke (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML), Brendel (FC), Limanov (FC).

Hey, another 3-5-2 fan! Gerd Dais, Sandhausen's manager, seems to like that formation too, although he uses a more defensive variant. Sreto Ristic, a tall Serbian forward, is their main danger. On our side, Lücke is pushed straight into the first team in Henn's place, while Wehlage keeps his place in the midfield over Lenze.

The game started with a bad backpass by Ristic that almost costed Sandhausen a goal, but Wehlage was tackled inside the area and lost the ball. He asked for a penalty, but was given nothing. Sandhausen seemed more alert, and put Lauenstein to test a few times. On the 22nd minute, Mintzel scored with a high shot that hit the underside of the bar: nothing our keeper could do. Rodrigues saw an offside there, but was the only one. Brendel asked for yet another penalty in the 32nd, but again the ref ignored him. Brendel himself had our best chance in the first 45 minutes, with a header that went just to the left of the post.

At half time, I asked more from the guys, trying to get them to react. Lücke stayed in the bench as he complained about a knock, and Henn replaced him. Things looked better in the second half, with Braunschweig in control of the ball and enjoying the occasional chance. Reich got close in a free kick, just before being replaced by Lenze, while Fuchs entered the game in Kruppke's place. On the 75th, Lenze drew level with a powerful free kick. Seven minutes later, Limanov had to leave the field injured, while Lenze struggled. Still, he bit the pain and managed to unleash a long range shot on the 89th to put us ahead. Way to go, Lenze! The game went for six more minutes, even though the referee had indicated only four, but we held on and went home with three points.

Sandhausen 1 (Mintzel 22)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Lenze 75 89)

----

Physio report: Lenze will miss the following 11-14 days of training with a strained neck, while Limanov will be out for 3 weeks with a thigh strain. I took the chance to praise Lenze's game in the post-match press conference, and he personally thanked me for my words of praise on the bus on our way back home. A few more games like this one and they may start to believe that we really have what it takes to win this league.

Dalbeider · June 12, 2009

07.27.08

Schanda is back in training. Once he's fit again, he should regain his place in the defensive midfielder position, or maybe I'll make him play in the back allowing me to push Soley into the midfield. We'll see.

07.28.08

Domoraud is also back from his injury. He'll probably stay in the bench for now.

07.30.08

Wacken Open Air '08 starts today. I wanna go to see Iron Maiden but I can't. Damn german leagues starting way too soon ;_;.

----

These guys are a wonderful bunch. They saw my depressed face at the morning training session and asked what was going on. I told them about the festival. They looked at each other, then Schanda went back into the changing room and came back with a ginormous stereo that must have been hidden under a bench or something, because I had never seen it before. Five minutes later the whole squad were doing sprints while Rob Halford (and I) screamed about how evil was going under deadly wheels. Good times. Good times indeed.

07.31.08

More transfer rumours, this time the target is Rodrigues, and the likely bidder Neuhaus. Same question, same answer: bring the monies and then we'll talk.

08.02.08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Regensburg (3.Liga 2/38)

We're back at Carl Friedrich Gauss' home city for our next match against mid-table-bound Regensburg. The bookies say we're favourites and offer even odds for our victory. So far, they have always been right...

Schied is back in training, but he won't play today. Schanda will return after his injury, and he and Domoraud will sit at the bench waiting for their chance. Banser will start in Limanov's place. Regensburg have a solid team, but no single player appears to be an obvious danger man. Maybe Jürgen Schmid, their best forward.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lukimya (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Brendel (FC), Banser (FC).

Regensburg start with a flat 4-4-2, and surprisingly Schmid stays at the bench. The game starts with both teams evenly matched, neither capable of creating any clear-cut chance. Brinkmann has the first with a 20-yard shot. Banser demands a penalty after a push inside the box. Seemed difficult to see for the ref, even if it existed. The second half ends with little more worth mentioning, besides Brendel sustaining an apparently mild injury and Regensburg counterattacking once or twice, but without much danger to our goal.

Hauk replaces Brendel at the break. The second half starts with yet another call for a penalty kick by my players. This one seemed clearer. I join their protests, but nothing happens. Both teams do their best to play as bad as they can, and the few half-chances we can see come from dead ball situations. I try to make things happen bringing Schanda and Fuchs in for Reich and Rodrigues. This move gives Wehlage more freedom in the midfield, and he answers almost instantly heading a pefect cross by Fuchs into the net. Regensburg try to strike back, but their only answer seems to be in the shape of long range shots, which create little danger. One of them, though, would have gone in if it wasn't for Lauenstein's flipping save. A criminal tackle from Fleischer sees him receiving his marching orders. Fair, considering he injured Soley. The brave Gambian was able to finish the match, though, which ended shortly after that.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Wehlage 59)

Regensburg 0

----

Good news and bad news after our physios reviewed today's injuries. Brendel will only miss 6 days with a gashed arm, but Soley will be out for 2-3 weeks with a gashed leg. Luckily, we have a two-week-long summer break now, as our next match won't come until the 16th.

Another piece of good news is that Nästase will be back in training starting tomorrow, so even if Soley doesn't make it in time, we'll have a good backup ready.

08.10.08

I took my chance and went on holiday for a few days, leaving Markus in charge of training. When I came back from the beach, besides being the envy of everyone thanks to my newly acquired tan, there were some good news waiting for me. Lenze, our hero in our first league match, had been training normally for four days already. Also, the season ticket sale had ended with 11,377 tickets sold. Not bad for a Third Division side, huh? Wehlage rounded up the news thanks to having received our first award of the season, after being included in the 3.Liga Team of the Week for his performance against Regensburg.

08.13.08

Limanov is back, too. We may be able to play with our first choice strikers for the first time in the league. Not a day too soon, because we're facing Jena, one of the teams tipped for promotion.

08.14.08

International callups for the matches on the 20th have arrived. Limanov will join Macedonia's national team, while O'Neill (?????) will travel with Canada.

08.16.08. Jena vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 3/38)

Jena may be favourites for promotion and today's match, but their season start has been horrible: 0 points out of 6, still haven't scored, and are tied for last position. We should capitalize on this bad form, win our third match in a row, and remove one contender from the fight at the top.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Domoraud (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Brendel (FC), Schied (FC).

Soley didn't make it in time, so Nästase and Domoraud start. Schanda takes Brinkmann's place at the anchor, while Lenze replaces Reich, who's been showing a certain lack of stamina. Schied starts, while Limanov waits.

Kick-off and... wow, that was quick. Amirante scores when only 30 seconds had passed, heading a cross from the left. Lauenstein was at fault there. The guys are shocked, but they react quickly, and Schied has two clear chances but no luck. But we can't keep possession for long, and Jena quickly take control again. On the 34th, Wehlage is tripped inside the box, and the whistle sounds. Penalty kick! Kruppke steps back and... misses! The ball went wide. A second blow comes six minutes later, when Amirante scores again with another header. Nästase seems unable to cope with him, despite being our aerial specialist.

To make it even better, Brendel gets injured just before the break. He wants to keep playing, but the physio says that he should rest, and I trust him: Limanov comes in. Since nothing seems to change after a while, Reich and Fuchs replace Wehlage and Kruppke. Nothing of relevance happens until Rodrigues is knocked down in the box. This time, though, the ref didn't see anything, even though the lad had to be taken out of the field for assistance. To round our lackluster performance, Lenze gets injured again and we're forced to play the last five minutes with ten men. Limanov still has time to hit the crossbar with the resulting free kick, which by the way was taken while the physios were still in the field!

Jena 2 (Amirante 1, 42)

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

----

Both Lenze and Rodrigues will be out of contention for 8-10 days. We were unlucky, that's true, but we didn't really deserve to win. Domoraud was extra dire today, but somewhat understandable considering he's out of form after his injury. Anyway, time to go down to earth. Next match in 7 days against Bayern II.

Dalbeider · June 12, 2009

08-18-08

Surprisingly, Nästase made it into the Team of the Week. Looks like the press blamed Domoraud for the defensive mistakes in the game against Jena. In injury news, Soley and Koitka are back in full training.

08-20-08

So, three league games, three goals, none from our forwards. If we also take into account that three of them have been injured for more or less time during this period, it seems clear that we need some extra punch at the front. For this reason, I've decided to sign Roman Prokoph, a 23yo striker, former St. Pauli and Bochum player, who joins for free. He gives us something we lacked so far: aerial power at the forward line. He's also no slouch with the ball at his feet. I still have to decide his exact place in the rotation, but he's very likely to start the next game against Bayern.

International round-up: not much to report, but Limanov played as a late substitute in Macedonia's 0-1 win against Luxembourg. I should have recorded that match on video, I'm sure it was a game to remember... O'Neill didn't play for Canada. Of course.

08-23-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. FC Bayern II (3.Liga 4/38)

A reserve/U23 team is always a dangerous opponent. Thankfully, Bayern have loaned out most of their best young players (like Toni Kroos), and Bayern II are currently in the relegation zone. But so was Jena until last week. Thomas Müller will be Bayern's main danger in today's match.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Lukimya hasn't been performing well so far, so Henn gets a chance. Brinkmann is back in Schanda's place, Reich covers for injured Lenze, and Fuchs replaces Rodrigues, forcing Kruppke to the left wing. Prokoph will play his first match with us from the start, while Schied waits in the bench.

Bayern also decide to keep their main star out of their unimaginative 4-4-2 formation. Good for us. Possession is ours, but chances are few and far in between. Prokoph has a good one after heading a corner kick, but narrowly misses. He's doing a good job at holding up the ball and passing back to the wingers. Fuchs seems very active on the right, as always. Our attacking football seems to dry up, but in one of our very few arrivals at Bayern's area, Kruppke crosses from the left and Limanov, unmarked, only needs to push the ball into goal. Limanov was playing injured, by the way. Unsurprising, really.

Schied replaces Limanov at half time, in order to prevent his injury from getting worse. The game had barely restarted when Reich found Prokoph in the box with a through pass. The newbie didn't miss this time, scoring a debut goal and putting us two goals ahead. A few minutes later, Wehlage and Fuchs almost repeat the same play, and the winger scores easily. 3-0 and looking good. With the match as good as finished, Lücke and Washausen enter the fray for Reich and Kruppke. We take a step back and Bayern take control, but we're never in danger of conceding.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Limanov 43, Prokoph 46, Fuchs 59)

FC Bayern II 0

----

Limanov is (again) out for 2-3 weeks with a gashed leg. Our best league game so far, with Prokoph making an instant impact in our play and results, and Fuchs claiming for a regular place in the lineup. Rodrigues should be worried.

08.25.08

Nästase makes the Team of the Week again. I'm honestly surprised that Fuchs didn't get in.

The transfer deadline comes in one week, and unless I'm offered a once-in-a-lifetime deal, I'm happy with our current squad. I'll make a last effort to unload some nonperformers, but it's quite hard finding someone interested.

08.31.08. Union Berlin vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 5/38)

After an eventless week (besides Manchester United winning the European Super Cup against Zenit, and Sandhausen being taken over by a new board of directors), we travel to the capital to face Union Berlin. They've enjoyed a decent start and lie at the middle of the table, exactly where they're predicted to be at the end of the season. We should be careful with Younga, a quick, technical attacking midfielder from Congo.

Some of our U19s are called by their national teams for the upcoming matches. Soley will play with Gambia, while O'Neill will once again be part of the Canadian team.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Schied (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Lukimya gets another chance at the back, while Schied replaces Limanov. Otherwise, the same team that thumped Bayern II.

Union start with a diamond 4-4-2, surprisingly playing Younga at the right wing. I don't like having such a quick player behind my wingers, so I order Kruppke to move back to the wingback position, keeping an eye on him at all times. The match starts with Union looking for a goal, while we are shut into our own half. We don't get half a chance in the whole first half, and things don't exactly improve when Younga moves to its natural position in the middle. At half time, we're thankful for not having conceded so far.

The second half starts with a disgrace: after a corner kick and one or two weird bounces, the ball strikes Nästase's back and crosses the line - own goal. I react ordering Kruppke to push forward once again, and replacing Reich and Prokoph (who had a snooze in the field today) with Lenze and Brendel. Now things start looking a bit different: we start having the ball, and Schied almost scores with a header. Rodrigues replaces Kruppke to try and bring some extra quality in the left wing. Lenze almost becomes a hero again with another long shot, but the keeper saves. Just one minute later, Lukimya recovers a ball in the midfield and passes left to Rodrigues, who sends a through ball to Schied, who scores with a powerful effort. Well played! Injury time is again cruel with us, and Schied has to leave the game before the end.

Union Berlin 1 (Nästase og 51)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Scheid 82)

----

Schied's injury is a big one: six to eight weeks with a broken arm. We were sooo right in signing Prokoph. The result was good considering how the game played. We wasted almost 60 minutes doing nothing worth of mention besides defending, and we lost two points because of that. Still, after the first month of competition, we're close to where we wanted to be. The next month will be extremely important in order to decide our chances of fighting for promotion.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Offenbach              |       | 5     | 4     | 1     | 0     | 8     | 3     | +5    | 13    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Emden                  |       | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 10    | 2     | +8    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Regensburg             |       | 5     | 4     | 0     | 1     | 9     | 3     | +6    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Aue                    |       | 5     | 3     | 2     | 0     | 10    | 2     | +8    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 5     | 3     | 2     | 0     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b][color=Blue]| 6th   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 5     | 3     | 1     | 1     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 10    | 
[/color][/b][color=Black]|[/color] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Paderborn              |       | 5     | 3     | 0     | 2     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 5     | 2     | 2     | 1     | 11    | 4     | +7    | 8     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Dresden                |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 6     | 4     | +2    | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Union Berlin           |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 5     | 0     | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Wuppertal              |       | 5     | 2     | 1     | 2     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Erfurt                 |       | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 10    | 7     | +3    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Aalen                  |       | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 7     | 9     | -2    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Jena                   |       | 5     | 2     | 0     | 3     | 3     | 8     | -5    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Unterhaching           |       | 5     | 1     | 2     | 2     | 4     | 3     | +1    | 5     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Stuttgarter K.         |       | 5     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 1     | 6     | -5    | 4     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | FC Bayern II           |       | 5     | 1     | 1     | 3     | 2     | 10    | -8    | 4     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Sandhausen             |       | 5     | 1     | 0     | 4     | 4     | 9     | -5    | 3     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Werder II              |       | 5     | 0     | 1     | 4     | 1     | 16    | -15   | 1     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Stuttgart II           |       | 5     | 0     | 0     | 5     | 1     | 9     | -8    | 0     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Nathan Pike · June 12, 2009

That's a promising start considering the amount of new players you have. KUTGW :thup:

Dalbeider · June 13, 2009

@Nathan: Yeah, I'm surprised myself. The team is gelling quite well even though we have to change things around each week because of injuries. Oh, and thanks .

09-01-08

A new month, a new training report from Markus. Fuchs and Washausen have been the highlights, while Domoraud and Brendel didn't exactly impress. Nothing surprising, considering their respective performances on the field.

----

Assani Lukimya has been called up by the DR Congo manager for their match on the 7th against Egypt. If he plays, it will be his first international cap, so I'm happy for the guy. He is, too.

----

September also brought the first monthly meeting with Herr Glogowski in order to assess my performance as manager. The board and the fans are fairly satisfied for now, and Marco Reich seems to be regarded as my best purchase so far. Soley, on the other hand, hasn't impressed the crowd, even though I'm quite happy with him so far. Maybe I should tell him to do more bycicle kicks or something...

----

The transfer window closed today, and the press regards EiBrau as one of the most active teams in this period. Georg Koch is hailed as the most important purchase of the summer, even though he won't be in the field until way after the winter break.

----

Our next match won't come until the 13th because of the international call-ups, so our forwards have time to recover from our last batch of injuries. Limanov should be ready to play by then, at least.

09-07-08

Soley and Lukimya play well for Gambia and DR Congo respectively, which means we now have a new international player in our squad. This same day, Limanov starts training at full intensity again, while Banser strains his wrist and will be out for 11-14 days.

09-09-08

Ouch, more training injuries. This time it's Brinkmann who strains the ligaments on his right knee. He'll be recovering for the following 2 months. That will give Schanda and/or Soley more chances to play at the DM position.

09-13-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Dynamo Dresden (3.Liga 6/38)

Dresden are one of the main threats in our challenge for promotion, according to the preseason odds. The press puts them at 5th at the end, but their start has been average, and currently lie at the middle of the table, 3 points behind us. A win against them would be a perfect way to start climbing into the top, while trampling the dreams of our rivals. Heh, I liked that. Trample away!

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Domoraud (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Soley (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Rodrigues gives Kruppke some rest at the left wing, and Domoraud has a chance to show that he's still not finished for the game, pushing Soley into Brinkmann's position. Limanov starts, even though he probably won't be able to play the full match.

Dresden meets us with a 4-2-3-1. That will mean extra defensive work for Soley. After a dubitative start, we quickly take control, and Fuchs starts with his run-dribble-cross-hope for the best routine. Dresden's defenders seem alert, though, although Wehlage and Prokoph have good chances to open the can. The goal finally comes from the left, when Rodrigues sends a low ball to Soley, who shoots with power from just outside the box. It's not a bycicle kick, but it will do. Dresden try to respond, but Soley and Wehlage are running the midfield today, and we stay in control of the ball. Still, they manage to draw level when Bröker scores, probably offside. On extra time, Bröker scores again, this time with a 20 yard low effort. Completely unfair, but what can you do...

I ask the lads to be much more alert in the second half, but two minutes in and Dresden hit the bar with an spectacular long shot. That serves as a wake-up call even better than my harsh words in the break, and Limanov draws level after a great play by Fuchs on the right. Dresden change to a 4-3-3, and I move things around a bit replacing Wehlage and Reich, who were exhausted, with Schanda and Lenze. But before they can make it into the field Röttger scores the 2-3 with a sensational first-time effort from the left corner of the box. Kruppke comes in for Rodrigues, and it's a shot by Kruppke himself that creates the chance for Lenze to get the rebound ball and draw level again. Prokoph has a late chance to make it 4-3, but he's unable to dribble past the keeper's wild rush. Dresden also waste their chances, and that makes it a draw in the end.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Soley 14, Limanov 51, Lenze 71)

Dynamo Dresden 3 (Bröker 40 45+1, Röttger 57)

----

A crazy match indeed. Dresden were lucky to find themselves ahead at the break, but then went on to play really well in the second half, so luck evened out in the end. Domoraud and Lukimya had once again a horrid performance, and are extremely unlikely to start again this month.

----

09-15-09

SH*T. Seyfo Soley injures himself in training, and will be out until mid-november with a fractured wrist. Schanda will have to regain his form, and quick.

09-20-09. Werder Bremen II vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 7/38)

A good chance to grab an away win after two draws. Werder II are dead last in the table, having scored only 2 and received 19 in six games. The fans expect a clear win, and I'm here to provide it.

Starting eleven: Schmadtke (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lücke (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

We change things around a bit at the back this time. Schmadtke gets his first chance to play for us, and Lücke and Henn replace the disappointing Domoraud and Lukimya.

Werder start with a weird 4-2-2-2, with two DMs, two MCs and no offensive wingers. The game starts slow, without any clear-cut chances until Reich heads a perfect cross by Fuchs into the net. That brings the game to life, and crosses start raining over Werder's area, while Prokoph heads most of them either high or wide. And now for something completely different: Kruppke is injured and has to go off. Rodrigues comes in. The first half ends with another wide header, this time from Limanov.

Werder seem to have found their lost pride in the dressing room, and find themselves with two chances at the start of the second half. Luckily for us, they miss both. Meanwhile we keep missing chances, too. On the 60th Lukimya and Wehlage replace Lücke and Reich. Finally, Fuchs makes it 0-2 after a wonderful through pass by Lenze. We spend the rest of the game passing the ball around Werder's box, looking for a third goal that doesn't come.

Werder Bremen II 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Reich 19, Fuchs 76)

----

Kruppke will be out for 5 weeks with a twisted ankle. Prokoph also strained his groin, and although he managed to finish the game, he now needs to rest for 3-4 weeks. This was an easy game made hard by our woeful finishing. The defense and the midfield were solid, though, and Fuchs is quickly becoming our most consistent offensive player, with 2 goals, 4 assists and a 7.41 league average rating so far. Schmadtke had a calm debut.

Dalbeider · June 13, 2009

09-22-08

Marco Reich makes the Team of the Week for the first time. And again, Fuchs is unfairly left out. Seems like someboy in the FA doesn't like his face or something...

09-27-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Stuttgarter Kickers (3.Liga 8/38)

After an uneventful week, we're once again at home against a struggling team. Kickers should be a mid table team, but instead they find themselves at the bottom, with only one goal scored in seven matches. They've only received 10, though, so at least their defense seems decent. We'll need a better contribution from our forwards if we are to keep the three points at home. Their best player is Orlando Smeekes, a quick Antillan winger.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lukimya (DC), Henn (DLC); Lenze (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Brendel (FC).

Lücke and Schanda are still lacking match practice and they're still tired from their last match. Lukimya and Lenze start in their place. Lauenstein is back, and Rodrigues and Brendel replace Kruppke and Prokoph.

Stuttgarter try to imitate Union Berlin and start with a 4-4-2 diamond formation, with Smeekes at the left. The first half hour drags on without any chances for either team. Then the game suddenly comes alive, with Reich, Rodrigues and Fuchs being denied a goal in a short period of time. Still, the first half ends as it started, 0-0.

There's tension in the air after the ref manages to make everyone unhappy by not giving one penalty in each goal. We finally break the spell thanks to Reich, who finishes with a placed shot a silky run through the middle by Limanov. Then the game dies again, with only a few long range attempts from both sides breaking the boredom. Until extra time, when Wehlage finds Hauk with a through ball, and the forward scores our second.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Reich 54, Hauk 90)

Stuttgarter Kickers 0

----

A good, hard-fought win, and without injuries for a change. This makes 5 games without losing, and sees us climbing up to the 2nd position in the league table, two points behind Offenbach.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Offenbach              |       | 8     | 6     | 1     | 1     | 12    | 6     | +6    | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=RoyalBlue][b][color=Blue]| 2nd   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 8     | 5     | 2     | 1     | 14    | 7     | +7    | 17    | [/color]
[/b][/color]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Emden                  |       | 8     | 5     | 1     | 2     | 15    | 5     | +10   | 16    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 8     | 5     | 1     | 2     | 14    | 9     | +5    | 16    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Wuppertal              |       | 8     | 5     | 1     | 2     | 10    | 8     | +2    | 16    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 8     | 5     | 0     | 3     | 20    | 9     | +11   | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Paderborn              |       | 8     | 5     | 0     | 3     | 14    | 8     | +6    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 8     | 4     | 3     | 1     | 12    | 8     | +4    | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

09-29-08

Finally! Fuchs gets a much deserved induction into the Team of the Week, in what probably was his lesser performance in all of September. Reich is also included for the second week in a row.

----

Our next game is against Fortuna Düsseldorf, and their board have decided to declare it as a fan day. Still, if they really wish to fill that beast of a stadium (51484 seats, more than two times our maximum capacity) they'd better concentrate on improving their game. A promotion or two wouldn't hurt, either.

10-01-08

Markus' training report is brief this time: Schmedtke is doing well, while Domoraud still doesn't show signs of improvement. Looks like signing the Ivorian defender was a mistake after all.

----

Benjamin Fuchs gets second place in the Player of the Month awards for September, only behind Erfurt's Alexander Schnetzler.

----

Board and fans are still satisfied with our results, and still seem to be in love with Marco Reich's performances. Brendel is considered a poor piece of business, though, and this time I must agree with them. The backup forward needs to step up his game, and he's having the chances to do so thanks to Schied and Prokoph's injuries. Economy seems problematic, with the club losing roughly half a million euros per month. We're still in the black, but our funds are being exhausted quickly. Unsurprising, given that we must pay €250k/month in order to repay our loan, and our sponsorship deal only gives us €199k/month.

10-05-08. Fortuna Düsseldorf vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 9/38)

Ah, a classic game. Both teams were once among the best of the nation, with Fortuna managing to win the German title in 1933. They also won two Cups in 1979 and 1980. But times did a-change, and now we find ourselves fighting against each other for a chance to escape the bottom of the professional tiers. Düsseldorf are only two points behind us despite being 8th in the table. A win is imperative.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lücke (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Hauk (FC).

Lücke and Schanda are back in the team. Hauk is rewarded for his goal last week with a chance to start over Brendel, who's been disappointing so far.

4-4-2 diamond again. Lawaree, a tall Belgian striker, will be Fortuna's main danger. Düsseldorf start strong, and a short range shot hits the upright of Lauenstein's goal. We shake the pressure off with a pair of quick counters, and Schanda has a chance to score, but the keeper reacts in time. Fuchs is playing injured, and looks like a sure bet to be subbed at half time. And Reich, too. Our two most in-form players. Hauk scores after a long ball by Lücke, but he was clearly offside and the ref saw it. More injuries, this time Rodrigues, and he can't continue. I take the chance to replace all three, and Lenze, Koitka and Washausen come in. The first half ends shortly after, with Lauenstein playing the hero and saving us from defeat.

Not much I could change with all three substitutions already made, so I encouraged the guys and sent them back into the battle. The game seems to be closer now, with both teams enjoying chances to put them ahead. The match goes on, and both keepers manage somehow to keep their clean sheets intact. At least four penalties were demanded by both sides. In the last one, Lücke's protests earned him a second yellow card, with five minutes still to play. But we manage to kill the game, and we go home happy with a point in our pockets.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

----

Physio report. Reich: 8-10 days. Fuchs: nothing serious. Rodrigues: FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS. Big ouch. Lücke gets a one week fine for his stupid dismissal. But not only does he think that I'm being unfair, but most other members of the team do, too! I thought germans liked discipline! I wonder what would have happened if I had fined him for two weeks...

No changes in the table, we're still second two points behind the leaders.

----

More international call-ups, and again Limanov, Lukimya and O'Neill travel with their respective national sides. This means we'll have two weeks to rest and recover. Just in time, since right now we have seven injured players in the first team.

10-09-08

Tobias Krause is a 15-year-old right full back playing in Braunschweig's U19s. Today he made his debut with Germany's junior national team. He's playing really well so far, and Markus sees him as a potential star in only two or three more years. I'll keep an eye on him.

----

Schied and Prokoph are back in training.

----

Markus reports that Lücke seems markedly unhappy in the last training sessions, and that he should play more first team football if we wan't to keep him happy. Well, I would, but he's banned for the next match, you know...

10-19-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Burghausen (3.Liga 10/38)

Back home, but this ain't gonna be an easy match. Burghausen have been performing really well so far, and find themselves in the 8th position, close to the top. Their star is Kai Michalke, a former Bochum, Hertha and Nürnberg left winger that had a few good seasons in the Bundesliga.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lukimya (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Lenze (MC), Fuchs (MR), Washausen (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Washausen replaces Rodrigues until Kruppke comes back, while Lukimya takes Lücke's place at the center of the defense. Prokoph is ready to play, and Schied will probably play in the second half, together with Reich.

Burghausen start with a defensive 4-4-2, with their midfielders pushed back closer to the defensive line. The game doesn't look good at first, with Burghausen controlling the ball and having the best chances, but slowly we regain control, and Prokoph puts us ahead after heading a corner kick. Only five minutes later Prokoph scores again, this time with his right foot, thanks to a through ball by Wehlage. Lukimya suffers a knock just before the first half ends.

Domoraud replaces Lukimya, and enjoys his first game after a long while. Prokoph earns a standing ovation after he's substituted by Schied, while Reich replaces Washausen. Burghausen had been calling at our door for a while already, and Calamita finally makes something happen in this boring second half with a well placed header, bringing the visitors closer. Absolutely nothing else happens until the final whistle.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Prokoph 27 34)

Burghausen 1 (Calamita 68)

----

Lukimya is fine, it was just a knock. With today's win we maintain our second position and extend our unbeaten run to seven matches. We're looking really good, despite the constant injury problems.

Dalbeider · June 13, 2009

10-24-08. Paderborn vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 11/38)

With only five days to recover from our victory against Burghausen, we travel again to pay a visit to in-form Paderborn. They're sixth right now, and expected to be fourth at the end. So, another key match. I'll be happy if we escape from this with something. Paderborn's best player so far has been Enis Alushi, a young Albanian/German midfielder who has scored thrice, in addition to giving five assists.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lücke (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Kruppke is back, but he's unlikely to be able to play the whole match. Schied starts in place of an exhausted Prokoph, and Lücke reclaims his place in the middle of the defense.

Paderborn greets us with their trademark flat 4-4-2, so no surprises here. Again, a boring start of the game, without any serious danger in either area. Our first attack on the right creates a corner kick, and Limanov rises above the keeper to make it 0-1 in our first shot at goal in the match. After a while, Lücke steals the ball in the middle and sends a long pass to Schied, who finishes the play with an aesthetic lob over the keeper. Oh, and he probably was offside too, but meh, it was awesome anyway. Another corner kick brings Paderborn back into the game, thanks to Damjanovic's backwards header. Yep, he hit it with the backside of his head. That brings the first half to an end.

No changes yet, but Reich and Kruppke are looking very tired. Brückner draws level for Paderborn with a powerful free kick, no hope for Lauenstein there. Trying to reactivate or game, Washausen and Wehlage come into the field. The game drags on without any movement on either side, until in injury time Schied finds Wehlage inside the box, and the midfielder smashes it into the target. A last minute win!

Paderborn 2 (Damjanovic 43, Brückner 54)

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Limanov 26, Schied 34, Wehlage 90+1)

----

A great win against a promotion contender. Lücke, Schanda and Schied played their best match of the season so far, and it showed in our general performance. Eight games without losing!

----

Stuttgarter Kickers' manager, Stefan Minkwitz, was spotted at Paragon Arena during the match. According to the press, he's after Matthias Henn, who only had an average performance. Hopefully that will discourage him from trying to pry him away from us.

10-27-08

Schied makes the Team of the Week, on the same day that sees defensive midfielder Brinkmann rejoin our training sessions after being injured for seven weeks.

10-29-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Aue (3.Liga 12/38)

A mid-week game, the first of the season, will see Braunschweig hosting promotion favourites Aue. Or well, they were promotion favourites at the start of the season, but their current form is quite far from that target, and seem destined to a mediocre finish. Right now, they're 12th. A defeat against us will probably spell doom for their promotion hopes, and maybe for their manager.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lücke (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Washausen (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Kruppke and Schied get a rest, since three days is too short of a time to recover for them. Henn has been dropping the ball lately, and Lukimya starts in his place.

Aue start with a weird 3-4-2-1 formation. It seems to work, as Hensel puts them ahead with a powerful header after a cross from the left. We struggle to find any regularity in our play, and the best chances of the first half are theirs. The first 45 minutes end without a single shot on goal from our side.

Time to wake the boys up. Kruppke replaces Washausen, and the rest get an earful. We start playing better, but the chances won't come. Reich and Schied enter the game for Lenze and Limanov, who were underperforming. Schied almost draws the game with a shot from outside the area, but the keeper pushes the ball away. But eventually Aue regain control, and even though we keep trying until the very end, we're unable to score. A painful defeat.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

Aue 1 (Hansel 9)

----

Looks like playing on Wednesday is bad for our performance. We were unable to cope with Aue's overloaded midfield, and in the end that cost us the game. We're still second, but Oberhausen are now 5 points clear ahead and look unstoppable so far. Regensburg is 3rd two points behind us, and from them to the 9th team (Wuppertal) there's only one point. We must rebound from this defeat and fast, or we could find ourselves in mid-table before the end of November.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Offenbach              |       | 12    | 9     | 2     | 1     | 19    | 6     | +13   | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 2nd   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 12    | 7     | 3     | 2     | 19    | 11    | +8    | 24    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Regensburg             |       | 12    | 7     | 1     | 4     | 22    | 15    | +7    | 22    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 12    | 6     | 4     | 2     | 16    | 11    | +5    | 22    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 26    | 11    | +15   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 12    | 7     | 0     | 5     | 28    | 17    | +11   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Emden                  |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 20    | 9     | +11   | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Union Berlin           |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 18    | 9     | +9    | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Wuppertal              |       | 12    | 6     | 3     | 3     | 12    | 13    | -1    | 21    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dalbeider · June 13, 2009

10-30-08

I thought I wouldn't write again until November, but Soley surprised me joining the rest of the guys at the morning training session. He'll still need a while to put himself up to speed, but considering he has recovered two weeks before anyone's best predictions, this is good news. In his honor, our stereo blasted Manowar's "Return of the Warlord". He seemed to enjoy it, although I somehow doubt that metal is any big in Gambia...

11-01-08. Emden vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 13/38)

Happy birthday to me! And to celebrate, a trip to the northwest to visit beautiful Emden. Our opponents for today have been performing way above what was expected: the press put them close to the relegation zone, and they've been battling for the top positions since the start of the season. Now they're 7th, after a small slip in their form. Not the best place to try to recover our spirits after our loss against Aue.

Markus' training report came just before the match, with praises for Henn and little else.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lücke (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

Kruppke is still not completely healthy, but Washausen seems out of form too, so I'm alternating them at the starting eleven trying to keep them in a good enough shape. Rest for Limanov and Lenze. Brinkmann could return to action in the second half.

Emden plays a flat 4-4-2, and I sigh in relief: we haven't lost yet against this formation. We start well, but Lauenstein makes his first huge mistake of the season, missing the ball after rushing out of goal, allowing Vunguidica to score. We show no reaction, and Vunguldica himself sets a low cross from the right which allows Gökyesil to make it 2-0 for Emden. Half time, and we're still looking for the ball.

Yet another earful. Result? Ball to the crossbar by Emden. Time to change things around: Lenze, Washausen and Brinkmann come in. This seems to have an instant effect, as makeshift hero Lenze hits a low ball into the net, after receiving a good pass from Schanda. But it's a mirage: Aidoo makes it 3-1 after heading a corner kick. We have some more chances, but we lack spirit. The players seem exhausted after playing three times in six days. And then, what probably will become the goal of the season: Sievers takes a free kick from the midfield line, looking for the head of someone, but instead he finds the net. Lauenstein can't believe it. In the end, a well deserved 4-1 defeat in our worst performance of the season so far.

Emden 4 (Vunguidica 16, Gökyesil 36, Aidoo 58, Sievers 90+2)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Lenze 55)

----

What can I say... That was a horrible birthday present, for sure. If we keep playing like this we should be worried about not relegating, and we can completely forget about fighting for promotion. We need a result ASAP before our morale sinks. We go down to 7th, 1 point behind the second.

----

No changes in this month's board's appraisal.

11-08-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Wuppertal (3.Liga 14/38)

At least, some time to rest our bones and our mind from our last defeats. According to the press, we're clear favourites in today's match, but Wuppertal are 8th in the league, just behind us, and haven't conceded a single goal in their last three matches.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Schanda (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Soley (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Soley is back, sending Schanda to the center of the defense and Lücke to the bench. Lukimya, Limanov and Lenze also return to the starting eleven.

We're against a 4-4-2 diamond, which usually spells trouble for us. We should be careful with Tobias Damm's aerial ability. The first half hour is a monologue by Wuppertal, we can barely leave our half of the field, but their chances are always stopped by the defense. We stay calm and wait for our chance, which comes in a corner kick: Limanov heads the ball outside, and Lenze connects a shot that surprises the keeper. That's Lenze's fifth goal of the season. Lauenstein and the defenders keep us ahead until the break.

Kruppke has injured himself again, and Washausen replaces him. Instead of working on fixing his terrible recent form, he tackles a forward inside the box and provokes a penalty kick. Markolf scores and draws the game. The game comes to an impasse, and nothing happens until the 86th, when Washausen compensates for his previous mistake with a key pass to Schied, who scores with a placed shot. The Wuppertal players protested furiously, clamoring for an offside position. The final minutes pass veeery slowly, but in the end we claim a completely undeserved victory.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Lenze 31, Schied 87)

Wuppertal 1 (Markolf pen 55)

----

Lenze suffered a twisted knee in the second half, and will be out for 3-4 weeks. Too bad, his goals have kept us alive in many occasions, today included. Better lucky than dead, as they say. This victory should give us momentum and help us get back into the right track. For now, we remain seventh. Leaders Offenbach have lost two straight, which means we're only two points behind them.

11-11-08

Winter is looming in the horizon, and with the cold come... colds. Washausen takes a leave of absence and will stay at home for 2-4 days. Hopefully he'll be back before the weekend.

11-12-08

Mirko Boland, who had been in our reserve team for the whole season, is transfered to Reutlingen for a team record fee of €28k. It's not much, but every little bit helps: our economy is still in shambles. We should be in the red for the first time at the end of this month. Another reserve, Burgdorf, is sold to Darmstadt for €3k. Both will join their new teams in January.

11-15-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Unterhaching (3.Liga 15/38)

Two home matches in a row, and in the best possible moment. Unterhaching are underachieving slightly according to the predicitons, but with the table so tight at the moment, a win could bring them to the top half in a second. For now, they're 13th. Francisco Copado, a veteran Spanish attacking midfielder who has played for at least half of all Germany's clubs already, is their star.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lücke (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

If my horoscope is right, Prokoph will play well today. Although maybe I should have read his... Washausen couldn't recover in time, and that leaves us without a backup in the left wing. Let's hope Kruppke can play the whole match for once...

Unterhaching present no surprises and start with a flat 4-4-2, with Copado playing as a striker. The lads seem extra motivated, and Reich opens the scoring on the fifth minute of play, assisted by Kruppke. By the way, Unterhaching's second striker is Tobias Schweinsteiger, Bastian's brother. Trivialities aside, the match becomes boring after the opener. After a corner kick, a penalty is awarded to us after a defender jumps unfairly with Schied. Wehlage takes the kick and scores. The first half ends with a good save by Lauenstein.

No changes at the break. The second half starts slow, while we keep control of the ball and Unterhaching seem lost on the field. Copado tries to bring them back into the game, but Lauenstein denies him. Finally, Schaschko scores for Unterhaching after a series of mistakes and rebounds inside the area. A minute later, Rathgeber scores again, but he's offside. They siege our goal for the final five minutes, but we hold on to our win.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Reich 6, Wehlage pen 38)

Unterhaching 1 (Schaschko 84)

----

Lucky again, but this time the win was deserved. We climb up to the fourth position, tied with second (Burghausen) and third (Union Berlin). Oh, and my horoscope was wrong. Again.

Dalbeider · June 14, 2009

11-17-08

Kruppke and Reich are part of the Team of the Week. That's Kruppke's first induction of the season, while Reich grabs his third.

11-19-08

Limanov made today his first start for Macedonia, which he celebrated with his first international assist. O'Neill played a few minutes for Canada. Looks like the Canadians are really desperate for forwards...

11-22-08. Erfurt vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 16/38)

Only four matches left to end the first half of the season. The first game in our final rush before winter break brings us to Erfurt, whose team is being one of the pleasant surprises this year. After a dubitative start, they've improved greatly and, after two straight wins, are 7th in the table, only 3 points behind us. This will be a tough test for our recent form.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lücke (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

No changes since our last game, besides Limanov replacing the irregular Prokoph.

Erfurt play a defensive 4-4-2 with two DMs. Their star is Italian striker Massimo Cannizzaro, top goalscorer of the whole 3.Liga with 10 goals. And Cannizzaro is true to his quality, opening the game with a first-time shot after Lücke fails to intercept the cross. Meanwhile, Schied and Fuchs keep playing despite being injured in the first 10 minutes. Schied himself manages to assist Schanda, who draws level with an amazing 25 yard effort. The captain has been playing really well lately, and this goal is a fine reward to his form. The game enters a frantic phase, with both teams enjoying good chances to break the draw, but Semmer takes the cake after a pass from Cannizzaro. From then on it's all us, but we end the first half behind.

Schied will be able to finish the game, but Fuchs is replaced by Koitka. Erfurt start the second half on the attack, trying to finish the game there and then. They even get a goal disallowed by the ref, since the scorer was clearly offside. Brinkmann and Prokoph enter the fray, but we seem unable to control the ball long enough to create any danger. Schanda tries another long shot, but the keeper pushes it wide. In the resulting corner kick, in the last minute of extra time, Schied draws the game with an easy header. The game ends immediately after that. Phew!

Erfurt 2 (Cannizaro 7, Semmer 27)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Schanda 14, Schied 90+3)

----

Again, a lucky result. An away draw against an in-form team like Erfurt is always a good result, and even better when it happens like it did. We're fifth now, but still close to the top. Oh, and Fuchs will be out for 11-14 days.

11-24-08

The board have decided to inject some much-needed cash into the team's accounts. It's not much, only 120k, but it could help us stay in the black for another month.

----

Finally, an offer for Yildirim, who had been transfer listed since last summer. Reutlingen will pay €5k for him, even though his contract runs out in June. I'll take it.

----

Schied makes the team of the Week thanks to his performance (goal+assist) in our match against Erfurt.

11-28-08

Pre-game press conference, and for a while I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. First, it looks like the fans are concerned about Lauenstein's form, even though he's saved us from defeat in our last three games. Then, Georg Koch is reportedly unhappy about his lack of first team minutes, even though he's unable to play until March! Third, the crows ask me about Lücke's personal problems. As if I would discuss such things with them... And to top it all, a question about the World Footballer of the Year award, with such likely candidates as Andy Johnson, Sergio García and Gojko Kacar. In the end I muttered something like "Eh, maybe Luca Toni. Now, if you'll excuse me..." and left. That was... weird.

----

It has taken a while, but the first managing victim of the year finally arrived: Stefan Minkwitz was sacked by the Stuttgarter Kicker's board today, after a really bad start of the season.

11-29-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Stuttgart II (3.Liga 17/38)

At last, an easy game. Stuttgart II have been among the worst of the league since the start, and so far they've only won one game and drawn three, and their goalscoring numbers are also a thing to behold: seven goals in sixteen games. We should have no problems today.

Starting eleven: Schmadtke (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Kruppke (MR), Washausen (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

Lücke has run out of chances after his latest displays and his lack of discipline in training. Schmadtke gets another chance at goal, while Kruppke is back on the right after Fuchs' injury.

Stuttgart start with a 4-4-2 diamond formation. We are in absolute control from the start, and Reich has the first chance, but the keeper saves. But the Stuttgart players bite the bullet and seem determined to resist until the end. Their defenders have a great first half, and despite being the best team by far, we're unable to score.

Few things change in the second half. We keep trying, and we keep failing. Limanov and Koitka enter to try to bring a new spark to our attack. It takes until the 78th minute, but finally Limanov crosses from the left and Prokoph heads the ball into the net. Stuttgart go all gung-ho on us, but Rahn misses a one-on-one with Schmadtke by sending the ball wide in extra time. An ugly win, but a win after all.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Prokoph 78)

Stuttgart II 0

----

I certainly didn't expect Stuttgart II to put up such a fight. Oh well, we got the points, and Prokoph scored again, which is good. Four games without losing is also good. And no injuries is doubleplusgood. All in all, a good if a bit frustrating day. We stay fifth, and everything remains really tight at the top, now with Union Berlin as leaders.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Union Berlin           |       | 17    | 11    | 3     | 3     | 29    | 11    | +18   | 36    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Offenbach              |       | 17    | 11    | 2     | 4     | 25    | 11    | +14   | 35    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 17    | 10    | 5     | 2     | 25    | 12    | +13   | 35    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 17    | 10    | 4     | 3     | 36    | 12    | +24   | 34    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[b][color=Blue]| 5th   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 17    | 10    | 4     | 3     | 27    | 19    | +8    | 34    | 
[/color][/b]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 17    | 9     | 2     | 6     | 29    | 20    | +9    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Emden                  |       | 17    | 8     | 4     | 5     | 29    | 17    | +12   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 17    | 9     | 1     | 7     | 38    | 27    | +11   | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Aue                    |       | 17    | 7     | 7     | 3     | 28    | 20    | +8    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dalbeider · June 14, 2009

12-01-08

December is here, and with it comes Markus' monthly training report. Good grades for Limanov and Banser, and another F for Domoraud. Looks like the veteran center back should have retired one year earlier.

----

Nästase gets another induction into the Team of the Week. So far he's been our most consistent defender, together with Soley. The left position on the defense is where I'm having most of my doubts: both Henn, Lukimya and Lücke have played there, and none have impressed.

----

Again, no changes in the board appraisal. Reich and Soley are our best signings, while Brendel and Prokoph are considered a waste of time and money by our fans. I still think that Prokoph could turn into our best forward if he is able to find some kind of consistency in his play. Time will tell, I guess...

----

Fuchs and Lenze are back in training, which means that the only injured player right now is Rodrigues, who is supposed to come back in January. We'll see how long that lasts.

12-05-08. Aalen vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 18/38)

Aalen have been performing exactly as was expected of them, always staying on the low end of the middle of the table. They're currently 14th and ten points clear of the relegation zone, so unless they mess up really bad in the second half of the season, they should have no problems staying up. It's a game we should win, but after our difficult time with Stuttgart II, I'm ready for a surprise.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Lenze and Fuchs are back in the team, as is Lauenstein. Lücke is this close of being transfer listed: after one game in the bench, he's already unhappy about a "lack" of first team football. Considering he's played in more than half of the games thus far, I'm not sure what he's complaining about. He also seems to be a disruptive force in the dressing room, and his personal problems have affected the quality of his game throughout the season. A problem child if I've ever seen one... He's out of the chosen 18 for today's match and for the foreseeable future.

Aalen meets us with a 4-2-3-1 formation. The first half is a boring mess, with neither team looking any good. Still, Aalen make the best of their few chances, and Holzer scores after Lauenstein refused a shot by Lechleiter. This same player has two more chances before the break, but Lauenstein stops both with ease.

I try to wake the lads up at the dressing room with a few selected yells. We have two chances on two corner kicks, but otherwise we're still being dominated. Wehlage, Brinkmann and Washausen are called to try and bring an end to this mess. But nothing changes, and Lechleiter puts Aalen two ahead after muscling the ball away from Soley inside the box. No miracles happen, and we lose deservedly.

Aalen 2 (Holzer 33, Lechleiter 80)

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

----

Luck runs out, as James Hetfield said. We played badly, and we lost badly. And next week's game is a big one. We better wake up soon, or it will be too late when we finally do. We're still fifth, but farther from the top.

12-08-08

The German leagues enjoy a veeeery long winter break, which will start for us after our match on the December 20. That means we must book two or three friendlies for that period just to keep us in good shape until the competition restarts in February. This week we've booked two of them, both at home, and against big teams like HSV and Greuther Fürth. I don't know if winters are too cold here in Braunschweig, but there's an outside chance that we may have to play these friendlies with a red ball...

12-13-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs Offenbach (3.Liga 19/38)

The match that marks the end of the first half of the 3.Liga brings Offenbach to our home. Offenbach started the season looking unbeatable, and held the first position until November, when they got into a slump of which they still haven't fully recovered. Right now they're third two points ahead of us, and they've been alternating victories and defeats for a while now. We won't have a better chance to get a win against them, and in the meantime climb some positions on the table.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Henn, Wehlage and Schied are back in the lineup. One change per line should bring a bit of fresh air into our play. Gods know we'll need it.

Defensive 4-4-2 for Offenbach. The fans are chanting in the stands, and their songs bring our boys forward, while Offenbach retreat into their area. Scheid scores our fastest goal in a long while, after receiving a perfect pass from Reich inside the box. That's his fifth of the season, and catches Lenze as our top goalscorer. But our joy lasts for only four minutes, as Mesic draws level pushing into our net a cross from the right. That was a special goal, as it made one hundred in Mesic's league career. Not much later he had to leave the field injured. Lots of things were happening, and we were still in the 15th minute of the first half! And two minutes later, 2-1, with a repeat of our first: Scheid assisted by Reich. From then until the break, lots of chances, many fouls, some yellow cards, and an outrageous goal from outside the box by Türker, his 15th (!) of the season so far, which drew the game in extra time.

An awesome game so far, so I touch nothing at half time. The players seem tired from their effort in the first 45, so after a quarter with not much movement, I send reinforcements in, in the shape of Lenze, Prokoph and Washausen. More opportunities are missed on each goal, until close to the end a shot by Prokoph is refused by the keeper. Lenze, seemingly motivated after being dethroned as the team's top scorer, pounces on the rebound and sends the ball into goal. Shorlty after, Schied is deneid a hattrick by the ref, as he disallowed his goal allegedly because of an previous foul by Prokoph, who wasn't involved in the play. We keep the ball away from Offenbach's hands until the end of the game, thus securing a vital win.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Schied 4 18, Lenze 87)

Offenbach 2 (Mesic 8, Türker 45+1)

----

What a great game, and what a great win. Schied looks in form and Lenze once again played the hero with his late goal. This win allows us to pass Offenbach on the table and brings us closer to the top thanks to Union Berlin's defeat at the hands of Burghausen. By the way, planning way ahead, this means that the final week of the league will see us playing at Offenbach's stadium, while Burghausen visits Berlin. That's four of the five top teams of the table right now. Things could become... interesting by then.

HALF SEASON STATS

LEAGUE TABLE:

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Burghausen             |       | 19    | 12    | 4     | 3     | 38    | 12    | +26   | 40    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Union Berlin           |       | 19    | 12    | 3     | 4     | 32    | 12    | +20   | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 19    | 11    | 5     | 3     | 27    | 16    | +11   | 38    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 4th   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 19    | 11    | 4     | 4     | 30    | 23    | +7    | 37    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Offenbach              |       | 19    | 11    | 3     | 5     | 28    | 15    | +13   | 36    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 19    | 10    | 3     | 6     | 33    | 22    | +11   | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Paderborn              |       | 19    | 10    | 3     | 6     | 30    | 20    | +10   | 33    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 19    | 10    | 2     | 7     | 40    | 28    | +12   | 32    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Emden                  |       | 19    | 8     | 6     | 5     | 31    | 19    | +12   | 30    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Aue                    |       | 19    | 7     | 8     | 4     | 29    | 23    | +6    | 29    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Unterhaching           |       | 19    | 7     | 7     | 5     | 24    | 17    | +7    | 28    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Wuppertal              |       | 19    | 7     | 5     | 7     | 19    | 26    | -7    | 26    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Aalen                  |       | 19    | 7     | 3     | 9     | 26    | 26    | 0     | 24    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Jena                   |       | 19    | 6     | 5     | 8     | 19    | 23    | -4    | 23    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Stuttgarter K.         |       | 19    | 6     | 1     | 12    | 16    | 27    | -11   | 19    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Dresden                |       | 19    | 4     | 5     | 10    | 19    | 33    | -14   | 17    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | FC Bayern II           |       | 19    | 5     | 2     | 12    | 9     | 32    | -23   | 17    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Sandhausen             |       | 19    | 4     | 3     | 12    | 16    | 31    | -15   | 15    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Stuttgart II           |       | 19    | 1     | 5     | 13    | 8     | 31    | -23   | 8     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Werder II              |       | 19    | 1     | 3     | 15    | 9     | 47    | -38   | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

BRAUNSCHWEIG'S BEST PLAYERS

[font=Lucida Console]
                APPS   G    AS   MoM   Av.R.[/font][b][font=Lucida Console] 
[/font][/b][font=Lucida Console]Benjamin Fuchs   15(3)  2    4     2    7.10 
Christian Lenze  8(6)   6    1     2    7.05 
Holger Wehlage   15(4)  3    3     1    6.96 
Marcel Schied    9(3)   6    3     2    6.92 
Vali Nästase     17                     6.91
Marco Reich      16(3)  3    3     1    6.87[/font]

Dalbeider · June 14, 2009

12-15-08

Reich is once again inducted into the Team of the Week, and that makes four times so far.

12-20-08. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Sandhausen (3.Liga 20/38)

Our last match before the winter break will bring 18th placed Sandhausen to our stadium, as we'll play once again two home matches in a row. Sandhausen have been battling against relegation from the start, and the new board that took charge of the club in late August hasn't managed to change things around so far. We beat them 1-2 at their stadium when we met in July.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

Brinkmann enters the team to give Schanda some well deserved rest. Lenze and Prokoph also return to the first eleven.

Gerd Dais stays faithful to a defensive variant of the 3-5-2 formation, even though the results may ask for a change. Schied keeps delivering the goods, and once again scores very soon with a diving header, after a great run down the left by Kruppke. This time we manage to keep the match under control, and keep attacking looking for the second, while Sandhausen seem unable to react. Then, bad news: Schied has to leave the game after a hard tackle, and is replaced by Limanov. Soley finally gets the second with another header, this time after a corner kick. Lauenstein shows his quality with a great save on Sandhausen's best chance of the first half.

The second half starts with Sandhausen looking for a way back into the game, but their forwards are unable to translate possession into goals. Lauenstein and the defenders show security, and our counterattacks bring some danger to the visitor's goal. Sandhausen's fighting spirit eventually wanes, and we secure a solid win.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Schied 5, Soley 24)

Sandhausen 0

----

A good way to close the year. Nothing changes at the top this time, and we start the break 2 points behind promotion, and 3 points behind the leaders.

12-21-08 - 02-01-09. Don't Fear the Winter

The winter break starts with an award for Seyfo Soley, who makes the Team of the Week for the first time this season.

----

Julien Lücke is given a one-month leave of absence to sort out his personal problems. I make it very clear to him that unless his attitude improves drastically when he returns, he'll find himself out of the first team for the rest of the season, and out of the club as soon as an offer comes.

----

Time for a round of contract renewals. More than half of our squad see their contracts run out at the end of this season, so it's a good moment to try and decide who will stay with us next year. With promotion in mind, only the best of the current first team squad will be offered a new deal, while the rest wait until we know for sure at what level will we be playing after the summer. New contracts are offered to Schied, Nästase, Fuchs, Lenze, Wehlage, Rodrigues, Lauenstein and Henn.

----

The end of the year also marks the time when teams can start making offers to players whose contracts are running out next June. Our economy probably won't allow us any transfer expenditure, so it's imperative that we make the best of our free signings. Our first offers are for Cottbus' young central defender Lukasz Kanik, Kaiserslautern's young left winger Alan Stulin, and Bielefeld's striker Leonidas Kabantais. We'll hold on to any further offers until we know if we promote to the 2.Bundesliga or not. Duisburg and Pfullendorf are also trailing Stulin.

----

Even from his home in Hannover, Lücke seems determined to destroy the harmony in our dressing room. The local newspapers brought his words to us, asking for a place in the first team "or else". My answer? "Prove that you're worth it. So far, you haven't". He seems satisfied with that answer. This kid is driving me mad...

----

Nästase doesn't want to sign a deal until 2010 at this moment. We'll try again when the summer draws closer. In other transfer-related news, Banser has been offered a contract by Meuselwitz, Pössneck, Baunatal and Bergedorf. If he accepts, he'll join the team of his choice on July.

----

Lukasz Kanik will be our first signing for the next season, after he accepts to leave Cottbus and join Braunschweig on a free transfer. He's a very promising 20-year-old Polish centre-back.

----

Stulin rejects our offer, and will join Duisburg. Harald Fleischer, from Regensburg, is our next option to reinforce our attacking options on the wings.

----

Leonidas Kabantais, a 26yo Greek forward playing for Bielefeld, will join us in July. Considering that he was offered to us last summer for more than one million and a half euros, this could be a good piece of business.

----

Our first friendly of the break matches us against Hamburger SV, currently second placed in the Bundesliga. We hold our own on the first half, and even put us ahead for a short while thanks to a goal by Prokoph, but in the end the best team prevailed, and we lost 1-3 in a very decent display against a juggernaut like HSV. No snow :/.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Prokoph 11)

HSV 3 (Pitroipa 20, Chrisantus 50, Tavares 70)

----

Banser decides to join Bergedorf. The forward will leave for free on the 1st of July.

----

Harald Fleischer will be our third and, for now, last signing for next season. A 23yo attacking midfielder, he can play in any wing, in the middle, or even as a forward. He should be mainly used on the left, although he will also be a decent alternative for Reich as our most offensive midfielder.

----

Riley O'Neill injures himself in training. A torn hamstring will keep him off the field for 3 to 4 months. Impact on our plans: zero.

----

Wuppertal are rumoured to be interested in Schanda. As our captain is currently a key member of the squad, I decide to issue a hands-off warning. I don't think Wuppertal could come with a big enough offer to make me think twice about this.

----

Bad news for veteran keeper Georg Koch: he's suffering from a hip injury, and after checking with a specialist, he's supposed to miss the next three months. That will delay his debut with Braunschweig until mid-April, at the least.

----

Another friendly, this time against Greuther Fürth, 14th in the 2.Bundesliga. It's a good chance to measure ourselves against a possible rival for next season. Reich puts us ahead shortly after kickoff, and then Prokoph widens the gap to 2-0. Fürth get one back just before the break. On the second half, and with our substitutes already in the field, Fürth draw the game in a counterattack. And so the game ends, although I'm quite happy with our performance. We were the better team in the field. Still no snow :/.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Reich 3, Prokoph 6)

Greuther Fürth 2 (Reisinger 45+1, Brukhardt 68)

----

Rodrigues is back in full training after a 4-month shin injury. He'll come back straight into the first team as soon as he regains his form. The last winter friendly should help with that.

----

For our last friendly, our rivals are Altona 93, a 115-year-old amateur club from Hamburg. This game's only purpose was to help our first team to recover some of the lost match practice, and to see Rodrigues again in action. We took it easy, yet we managed a 2-0 win. Our goalscorers were Prokoph and Schied, and Brinkmann was injured and will be out for 11-14 days. And, of course, no snow :/.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Prokoph 23, Schied 75)

Altona 93 0

----

Well, at last the winter break is over. Winter in Braunschweig is not that cold (as in, no snow :/), but it's very boring. Everyone goes home at 4 PM, puts the TV and the stove on, and that's it. I'm glad to be back to the real competition, even the lads were showing a certain lack of motivation lately. That should change soon: Regensburg awaits in a week!

Wegason · June 15, 2009

An excellent start, hopefully your side (and Dusseldorf) can stay near the top of the table.

Wacken Open Air '08 starts today. I wanna go to see Iron Maiden but I can't. Damn german leagues starting way too soon ;_;.

Excellent taste

Dalbeider · June 15, 2009

@Weg: Heh, thanks. I should be going to WOA this summer for reals . Too bad there's no Maiden this time, Heaven & Hell will have to do :cool: . Now that I think about it, maybe I'll go through Braunschweig on my way back. I'll be sure to pay a visit to Hamburger Strasse if I do!

How's that Düsseldorf game coming along, by the way?

----

02-01-09

February starts the usual way, with Markus' training report waiting on my desk early in the morning. No surprises in the "must improve" section (Domoraud), while Henn is the highlight among the "worked their behind off in training". He's being solid in defense lately, and this report only improves his chances of staying in the team.

----

Lücke just came back from his leave. He assured me that everything's allright in his personal life, and he's ready to rejoin the team and fight to get his place back. On the other hand, the press reports that Lücke's agent is actively looking for a new team for the defender. I don't know who to believe anymore...

----

The board's monthly update keeps using the word "satisfied" when talking about my work. This month the highlight is in our low wage expenditure, which isn't enough by itself to save the team from the economic troubles it's going through, but it helps. Brendel is, again, the black spot in an otherwise immaculate report card. You can't get 'em all right, I guess...

02-03-09

The winter transfer window closed last night. No news on our side, and the rest of the teams in our league have remained quite quiet this time. Only Jena have signed more than one player, and all the relevant transfers were free ones. Seems like nobody has much cash to expend right now.

02-07-09. Regensburg vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 21/38)

A toughie. Regensburg have been consistently close to the top, although they've never been at the top so far. Right now, they stay 6th, five points behind Offenbach and six behind us. They're a solid team, and we had many difficulties beating them in the first leg. Our future new guy Fleischer may play today. Funny coincidences: he was sent off after an over the top challenge in our 1-0 win back in August.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

Rodrigues is back in the lineup after a long while. He probably won't be able to play the whole match, but he looked quite good in the 45 minutes he played in our last friendly, so he gets to start. Schanda replaces Brinkmann, still injured.

Regensburg look good at the start of the game, and the first real chance is theirs, after they hit the bar with a header that looked easy. A few minutes later they insist in bouncing the ball off of our goal, this time with a banana shot from way out. They don't miss their third chance, though, and Würll scores easily after a great cross from the right. We're being completely dominated in this half, and Würll scores his second with a great header.

Things are not looking good at all. Three substitutions only ten minutes after halftime are my desperate answer, looking for some way to change the tide. And Limanov gives us hope almost instantly, with a great goal from distance. A few minutes later Schied scores an unbelievable draw, after fighting for a loose ball in the area following a corner kick. Wehlage is this close to putting us ahead, but his header misses the goal for mere inches. Regensburg have an illegal goal disallowed: a clear offside by Stoilov. Lauenstein saves us once more from defeat with a few unlikely saves. Two minutes before the end, Henn is sent off after being shown the second yellow card for an apparently innocent foul in the middle of the pitch. We hold on to the ball for the rest of the game, and leave Regensburg with a point as a reward for our hard work in the second half.

Regensburg 2 (Würll 23 41)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Limanov 58, Scheid 65)

----

Henn came to me after the game looking distraught, saying he had deserved that second yellow card, and that he would learn from this mistake and be more intelligent when defending under the threat of a red in the future. I had thought about handing him an official warning, but after he stopped talking the only thing I could say was "Uh, yeah, about that... just don't do it again, okay? Consider yourself warned". Yeah, kinda weak. Specially when everyone's friend Lücke happens to be listening...

The draw against Regensburg was a good result after all. We came back from behind and improved drastically after a disastrous first half. A win was too much to ask for, but I'll take the point. We drop a position, down to fifth.

02-09-09

Nästase makes the Team of the Week again. If I haven't miscounted, that will be his fourth induction of the season.

----

Werder Bremen offer us Addy Menga, a right winger/striker from the Democratic Republic of Congo, for free. He's older than Fuchs, and doesn't look significantly better, but still, free is free. If his wage demands are reasonable, we may try to get him for the next season.

----

So, only three thousand euros per week. Looks good enough. There are many interested teams, though, including Regensburg, Jena and Unterhaching.

02-14-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Jena (3.Liga 22/38)

Jena, I remember them. Our first league defeat of the season was against them. It was also their first win, and they haven't improved that much. They're 14th, even though they were supposed to be at the top. Still, they beat us, and they can do it again. We can't afford any kind of overconfidence.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lücke (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

So, yeah. Another chance for Lücke. The last chance for Lücke. He'd better perform, or he's out. I can only stand so much, and only if I get something in exchange.

Darn, Amirante is playing today. He destroyed us in our previous meeting, so we'd better watch out today. The game starts slow, with chances coming only from set pieces. In one of those (a corner kick) Schied heads the ball into the goal, and keeps improving his recent goalscoring form: this one's his ninth of the season. Schied scores again near the end of the first half, but he was clearly offside, and nobody complained when the ref disallowed it. Jena have been surprisingly tame during the first 45 minutes. I smell a trap...

As I feared. Jena start the second half hypermotivated, and it only takes them ten minutes to draw the game, thanks to a good shot by Ziegner. The usual substitutions (Reich, Kruppke, Limanov out - Wehlage, Rodrigues, Prokoph in) happen. But our old nightmare comes back to haunt us, and Amirante scores after a comical mistake by Lauenstein, who was unable to catch a long ball and left it at the forward's feet. Not much more happens until the end. We're floored.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Schied 20)

Jena 2 (Ziegner 56, Amirante 65)

----

It's official: Jena are my new arch-nemesis. How such an underperforming team has been unable to beat us both home and away is beyond me. Today we were clearly better in the first half, but they erased us from the pitch in the second. And that second goal... boy, that was absurd. Lücke was average, as expected. He'll stay as a backup, but don't expect to see him on the starting eleven anytime soon.

Things don't look too bad for our promotion hopes, though. We're still fifth, but the second position (Union Berlin right now) is only three points away. Our next match will bring us to München to face the worst team in the league, goalscoring-wise (9 in 22). If we win that game, we'll be back in the fight. If we lose, then we deserve to spend another year in the 3.Liga. Simple as that.

Oh, and that guy from Werder we were offered? He's going to Aachen. Too bad.

Wegason · June 16, 2009

I don't want to reveal how it is going as it will spoil the story but mine is on FM08 so I start in Regionalliga Nord. It's a very interesting save and I'm finding managing in Germany to be a lot of fun.

Dalbeider · June 16, 2009

Yeah, Germany is fun in a different way from Spain or England. A relaxed schedule while in the 3.Liga (38 league games and that's it, unless you happen to play the cup), few competitions even for the top tiers, and a fair promotion system from the bottom tier (as opposed to Spain's Segunda B playoffs, which are a pain in the rearside). The thing I didn't like in FM08 was the overload of reserve teams in the Regionalliga, and that's (almost) gone in the 3.Liga. That still happens in France (CFA), and that's the only reason I've never tried a low-league game there. Maybe for the next save...

----

02-22-09. FC Bayern II vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 23/38)

An easy game? Yeah, that's what I thought about both matches against Jena. You all know how that turned out. But really, we shouldn't have any problema against Bayern II. In addition to having scored only 9 goals so far, they've conceded 40. But still, they've managed to win 5 games with those numbers, plus 2 draws. That makes them the "less bad" of the reserve teams playing in our league.

Starting eleven: Schmadtke (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

A perfect game to give some minutes to Schmadtke, Brinkmann and Rodrigues. I'm thinking about giving the keeper a run in the first team, so his performance today will we watched carefully.

The game starts as expected, with Braunschweig in control and Bayern trying to counterattack. Brinkmann makes good use of his chance, and sets Schied up for an easy goal, after the forward dribbled past his marker. That makes five league matches in a row in which Schied has scored, on top of being his tenth league goal of the season. The story repeats shortly: Brinkmann passes low from the right, and Schied scores with a first-time shot. The game looks almost completely decided when Rodrigues is pushed inside the box, and the ref calls for a penalty kick. Wehlage shoots and scores. The first half ends with a correctly disallowed goal for Bayern. Even that seems to be working today.

The second half starts with no surprises and a few more chances for us, while Bayern keep looking miserable. We take the chance to give our out-of-form players some well deserved rest - all of them did great today. Two minutes after our third substitution is made, Schied goes down injured and has to be taken out. Pro-tip: don't punch benches, even if you're angry and/or frustrated. It hurts, you may break a finger or two, and the bench doesn't care. Kruppke and Soley gave me a reason to smile again five minutes later, when the second threw a long pass and the second hit the ball first time from the left corner of the area. An awesome goal. Bayern had given up a while ago, and we took it easy from then till the end.

FC Bayern II 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 4 (Schied 14 21, Wehlage pen 28, Kruppke 63)

----

What a trouncing. That's the best way to bounce back from our defeat last week against a team that will remain unnamed. To make it even better, Düsseldorf defeated Burghausen, which means we're now only 3 points behind the leaders, even though we're still fifth. Also, I'm glad to report that Marcel Schied will only be out for about six days with a gashed arm. Schmadtke played well, and will stay in the first team at least for one more week.

02-23-09

We dominate the nominations for the Team of the Week this time, with three players being selected: Fuchs, Brinkmann and Schied. Fuchs is a weird case: he was fantastic in September, but then kind of faded away. He's still solid on the wing, but he hasn't given an assist or scored a goal since his second place as Player of the Month, nearly half a year ago.

02-28-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Union Berlin (3.Liga 24/38)

And after a walk in München's parks, one of the most important games of the season. Talk about a change of pace... Union Berlin have been among the best all along, and right now are third, only one point ahead of us. A win could potentially put us back where we want to be, and a defeat leaves us too far away from the top for my tastes. Even better, Burghausen lost yesterday, so that's an extra motivation for us to grab the three points today.

Starting eleven: Schmadtke (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Prokoph (FC), Limanov (FC).

We're gonna miss Schied today, that's a given. For the rest, I pick the best available. This will be a real baptism by fire for Schmadtke, hopefully he'll show his worth.

Union have been playing well with their 4-4-2 diamond so far, and they show no surprises today. Younga once again starts on the right wing, but will probably swap towards the middle later. We're looking good at the start, but Union strike first after a bad mistake in marking by our defenders: Bolivard scores completely alone inside the box after a nod by Kenan. It takes us almost until the half hour mark to create of first serious chance, which Fuchs sends into the keeper's body. We improve, but the first half ends with Union ahead and looking confident.

The second half starts with more bad news: Henn has to be carried away from the pitch. Lukimya takes his place. It's Lukimya himself who scores ten minutes later, only he does in the wrong goal. Lenze and Rodrigues enter the game shortly after, looking for another miracle. And Lenze casts his usual magic, by scoring our first after a pass by Limanov. But Bolivard kills our hopes by scoring his second and Union's third, after a flashing move by the Berliner midfield. The game drags one for a while yet, but nothing changes.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Lenze 63)

Union Berlin 3 (Bolivard 5 69, Lukimya og 56)

----

I don't really want to think about this game too much. Everything went wrong from the start. Still fifth, now 4 points behind Union Berlin who are the leaders of the day, and 3 behind third-placed Burghausen. Henn is out for 9-11 days, and Nästase will miss our next match after picking five yellows. Our defense is going to be in shambles. Heck, I may even need to play Lücke again...

03-01-09

More money from the board: they've decided to inject an additional half a million euros into the club's accounts. That's good news.

----

Markus' training report is also good news. It includes a page full of glowing praise for our young wanna-be star Tobias Krause, who keeps developing really well.

----

The board don't seem to mind our wandering form of late, and are still happy about my work as a manager. The fans' eyes now seem fixated in Prokoph, who's having a hard time scoring lately.

----

Nästase is once again in the Team of the Week.

03-08-09. Dynamo Dresden vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 25/38)

A chance to bounce back again, but we must be extra careful. Dresden are right now on a four match unbeaten run, and our home defeats of late have made the betting houses believe that we are no longer the favourites in this game. Right now Dresden remain 16th, but they'll stay safe as long as they play better than Bayern II. And that's not hard. At all.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Schanda (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Schied (FC), Limanov (FC).

Lots of changes today. Schanda is back at the back to cover Nästase's place, while Lukimya takes the left defender position above Lücke. Reichel is called for a place in the bench for the first time in months, again above Lücke. And Lauenstein is back at the goal, since Schmadtke didn't exactly set the world alight agains Union Berlin (not that the goals were his fault, but still).

Not good: Dresden seem to be on the offensive from the start, and they're setting the pace of the game. Luckily their forwards seem to lack quality, and they miss, lots. We slowly try to regain control, but precisely when we seemed to be improving, Hansen scores for Dresden. We keep our cool, and after a cross from the left is refused by a defender, Lenze (again) scores with a powerful volley from just outside the box. The first half ends with nothing else worth reporting.

Dresden return from the shower refreshed and looking for the win, and they almost get a deserved goal with a long-range effort that smashes against the woodwork. Substitutions are made, and things change completely: a cross from the right, a rebound, and Schied give us a probably undeserved advantage. It takes a while, but Dresden finally get what they deserve: Jungnickel finishes with quality a well-led counterattack. And then the impossible happens (again). Kruppke crosses a ball from the left, Schied jumps, heads the ball, and it goes in, with injury time already dead and gone. A miracle win, and that makes quite a few already...

Dynamo Dresden 2 (Hansen 27, Jungnickel 82)

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Lenze 33, Schied 62, 90+4)

----

Limanov will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a twisted knee, but that didn't matter. The guys were absolutely pumped after the game, and Schied was cheered and praised and showered two times, one with his clothes on and one without. If we can keep this kind of spirit, there's no stopping us. We regain the fourth position after a long while behind Offenbach, but the distance with the top three remains the same. No matter. We will catch them. Now I know we can.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Union Berlin           |       | 25    | 15    | 6     | 4     | 44    | 18    | +26   | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 25    | 15    | 6     | 4     | 41    | 21    | +20   | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Burghausen             |       | 25    | 15    | 5     | 5     | 46    | 19    | +27   | 50    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 4th   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 25    | 14    | 5     | 6     | 43    | 32    | +11   | 47    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Offenbach              |       | 25    | 13    | 6     | 6     | 37    | 21    | +16   | 45    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Emden                  |       | 25    | 12    | 7     | 6     | 43    | 21    | +22   | 43    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 25    | 12    | 6     | 7     | 41    | 29    | +12   | 42    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Unterhaching           |       | 25    | 10    | 9     | 6     | 37    | 25    | +12   | 39    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Wegason · June 17, 2009

That's certainly one thing I found weird, no cup competitions while I in my first season of Regionalliga Nord, found that very strange. I'm looking forward to hopefully in the future challenging the likes of Bayern Munich and others for the title.

Dalbeider · June 17, 2009

I don't know what I would do with EB if I had to play two cups on top of the league. I'm having more than enough injuries as it is, thank you very much. Next year, with a bit of luck...

----

03-09-09

Well, look who got into the Team of the Week. None other than Marcel Schied, who just happens to have scored 9 goals in his last 6 league matches (some of them game winners), plus an assist, plus an average rating of 7.87 in those same six games. We'd probably be deep into mid-table hell if he hadn't been around. Simply awesome.

03-14-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Werder Bremen II (3.Liga 26/38)

The worst of the reserve teams in our division. 13 goals scored, 66 conceded. One win, three draws, twenty-one defeats. Dead-last in the table. Thirteen matches without winning. We must win this game.

Starting eleven: Schmadtke (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lukimya (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Lenze (MC), Koitka (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Brendel (FC).

We won't find a better chance to give some of our ever-present starters a rest, and to allow our reserves to play competitive football. Soley, Fuchs, Reich and Schied take a break, and are replaced by Lukimya, Wehlage, Koitka and Brendel.

I love it when things work as expected. Brendel gets the opener on the fourth minute after a series of crosses across the box. The team seems hungry, and we lay siege to Werder's goal, until Brendel scores again after Koitka unwilliingly turns his attempt at a shot into an assist. The third thing Brendel gets in the first half is a yellow for diving inside the box. I think we can forgive him this one time, huh.

Another lightning strike immediately after half time sees Wehlage scoring the third, after a nod by Rodrigues. That seemed to be the cue Werder were waiting for to start doing... something other than conceding goals. They get a pair of dangerous counterattacks, but Schmadtke stays calm and stops both shots easily. Our keeper looks way worse when Ernst rifles a free kick from the left, almost without angle, and Schmadtke just lets it go in. Werder seem to regain some confidence, but soon after that Oehrl sees the red card after a completely unnecessary foul on Henn. That signals the end of the game for both teams, even though the clock keeps ticking and the ball keeps moving for a while afterwards.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Brendel 4 27, Wehlage 47)

Werder Bremen II 1 (Ernst 59)

----

An easy win as predicted. I was kind of disappointed with our lack of intensity in the second half, but it was understandable, winning easily against a weaker team tends to do that to your concentration. Brendel got the best part of the deal today, and his performance may earn him a run in the first eleven while Limanov remains injured and Prokoph remains useless.

Good news on the league, too. Both Düsseldorf and Burghausen lost their matches, which means we're still fourth, but tied with third and only one point behind second. Getting closer!

03-15-09

Lücke finally snapped today. He had been slacking off in training all day long, and I called him out for that. He started shouting and kicking things and screaming profanities, and I sent him home. When I went to my office after the session, I found a hand-written note on my desk, signed by him, and formally requesting to be transfer listed. I'll gladly accept his request, but from now on he'll be training with the U23 team, and he won't play again for Eintracht Braunschweig if I have any word on it. Goodbye, you won't be missed.

03-16-09

Nästase (that's six times?) and Rodrigues make the Team of the Week. Quite surprising that Brendel is not there.

----

This morning I faxed a few managers all around Germany about Lücke's new transfer situation, inquiring if any one of them would be interested in signing him. I didn't have much hopes, but before noon I had an answer: Saarbrücken were willing to offer €24k for him. All yours, buddies...

03-20-09

Hey, look who's back in training. Georg Koch is finally fully fit and able to play. He's still not cleared for competitive football until the end of the month, but he will surely give Lauenstein a run for his money in only two weeks.

----

He accepted! That means that Lücke won't be any longer an Eintracht Braunschweig player starting 07-01-09. One less trouble-making, egotistic, self-centered brat to worry about.

03-21-09. Stuttgarter Kickers vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 27/38)

Another likely candidate for relegation, if it wasn't for the reserve teams filling up the slots. Kickers, like Dresden and Sandhausen, have been near the bottom for most of the league, and even found themselves behind Bayern II for a while, after the Bavarians somehow managed to concatenate three straight victories. They're still not completely safe, with Bayern only six points behind them, so they can't afford to give us the points for free. We'll have to battle for them. And that's what we're here for.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

Brendel stays in the bench because of his lack of match fitness, otherwise he would start in Prokoph's place. The rest of the team is the best we can field right now. No holding back today.

Surprisingly, Stuttgarter take control of the match and the ball from the start, and lay siege to Lauenstein's goal. But their guns are seriously lacking in the firepower department, and we're never in any real danger. Soon our wingers start doing their usual job of providing our forwards with dangerous crosses, and Schied and Prokoph almost put us ahead twice. In the end, 0-0 at half... oh wait, no. Traub scores in extra time after a corner kick and a mistake by Henn. <self-censored>.

Rodrigues was looking uncomfortable after a collision with his marker, so I let him rest, together with Reich, who's having a disastrous second half of the season. We're in control now, but chances are hard to come by. Brendel joins the fray in Prokoph's place. Kickers' defending today is being spectacular, Bora Milutinovic would be proud. But in the 80th minute, a long ball by Fuchs along the right wing finds Schied. The forward crosses into the box, and Brendel heads it inside. Seven minutes later, the turnaround is complete: Schied passes outside towards usual suspect Lenze, who scores with one of his trademarked screamers. With Stuttgarter going all out looking for the draw we have a good chance to score the third on the counter, but the keeper saves Wehlage's shot. In the end, a hard-fought 1-2 victory that leaves us much closer to our goal.

Stuttgarter Kickers 1 (Traub 45+4)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Brendel 80, Lenze 87)

----

If I were a cardiologist and I lived in Braunschweig, I'd be happy with the amount of extra work (and income!) that Eintracht would be bringing to me with all these last-minute victories. Schied didn't score today (and that's a first in his last seven league matches), but his two assists were the key that allowed us to pry Stuttgarter's defense wide open. It was hard, but oh so worth it.

Nothing changes at the top of the table, but next week will bring some movement up there, that's for sure...

03-23-09

Christian Lenze's umpteenth gamewinning goal of the season earn him a place in the 3.Liga Team of the Week.

03-26-09

Tobias Krause keeps impressing with the German U19 national team. Granted, they won easily against Liechtenstein, but his performance was still quite good for someone that young.

03-28-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf (3.Liga 28/38)

This match marks the start of what me and Markus have dubbed as "The Infernal Week". In only seven days we'll host second-placed Düsseldorf, travel to pay a visit to third-placed Burghausen, and finally return to Braunschweig to play against eleventh-placed Paderborn, which wouldn't be that hard of a game if it didn't come just after the other two, and in the middle of an international games week (which means that Limanov and Lukimya are out of the team). Düsseldorf have been consistent and solid all season, and will prove a worthy enemy.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Brendel (FC), Schied (FC).

Brendel's goalscoring spree in his two latest apps has earned him a place in the team. Reich, on the other hand, has been awful since the winter break, and will rest today.

Düsseldorf's 4-4-2 diamond has proven our Achilles' Heel, being the best choice for any team that wants to keep the ball away from our midfielders. This time, though, it seems to be malfunctioning. Lenze has our best real chance with an impossible 40-yard-long free kick that misses the post for millimeters. Düsseldorf know how to run, though, and their counterattacks manage to catch us off-guard from time to time. Neither team seems able to create any real danger, though, and the first half ends with the starting score still on the board.

The second half starts a bit slow, but after Reich, Brinkmann and Kruppke are brought in to instill energy into our midfield, the ball starts flowing faster and gaps appear in Düsseldorf's wall, but Brendel first and Wehlage next miss when it was easier to score. In the end, another goalless draw between both teams.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

Fortuna Düsseldorf 0

----

A shame, really. We had the chance of our lives to pass Düsseldorf on the table, but we couldn't finish the job even when all Fortuna could do in the second half (and most of the first) was defend. Still, Burghausen's surprise defeat against Wuppertal makes it a decent result, since that point puts us third. Our duel with Burghausen next Wednesday will be the most important match of the season so far.

04-01-09. Burghausen vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 29/38)

Before the match, Markus handed me his monthly report. Henn's performance in training was once again a highlight, together with Fuchs.

----

The board seem happy about the way things are going lately, even though the fans are still a bit hurt after our despicable performance against Union Berlin. Time to make up for that.

----

I think I've already written enough about the importance of getting a result in Burghausen today. A win (even a draw) would be an awesome result since it would allow us to remain ahead of them in the race for the third place. My sight is set on the second place, though, but baby steps: secure third first, attack second later.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

A bit of rotation to keep everyone healthy until the end of The Infernal Week. Koch is finally able to play, and jumps straight into the first team in the most critical moment. Let's hope that he doesn't disappoint.

Burghausen start with a defensive 4-4-2. Things start slow, but Burghausen's first attack leads to the first goal of the evening, scored by Werner after a nice cross from the right by Galuschka. Nothing Koch could do here. A bit like in our last match, we hold the ball, but Burghausen's defensive formation stops us from shooting at goal from dangerous positions. Still, little by little we get closer, and finally Lenze finds Schied inside the box, and the forward smashes it home, drawing the game. We keep pushing looking for the second, but in one of Burghausen's counterattacks Reich brings down Lastuvka inside the box - penalty kick. Schmidt scores easily, and the first half ends with a short advantage for the home team.

The second half starts with Burghausen in command, keeping us away from their goal by hiding the ball from us. After a while of nothing, I decide to bring in the substitutes, and it pays off immediately: Wehlage sends a through ball to Schied, and the forward makes his second of the day and his 15th of the season. But ten minutes later, a free kick taken low from the left of the box finds Hertl alone in front of Koch, who once again can only watch as the ball goes past him and into the net. Then Burghausen make a fatal mistake: they park the bus and give us the ball. After a while of probing around their defenses looking for the weak point, Kruppke finds it: his cross hits Wolf's legs and the bounce crosses the goal line. 3-3, and Burghausen have no time to react. In fact, Kern saves them from defeat by saving Schied's shot one minute into extra time.

Burghausen 3 (Werner 15, Schmidt pen 42, Hertl 74)

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Schied 32 63, Wolf og 86)

----

At the post-game press conference, the crows tried to make me believe that we'd been lucky to draw thanks to an own goal. I refused that, stating clearly that we'd had gotten that goal one way or another, and went on to praise Schied for his great match and awesome second half of the season.

The result was a good one, since we achieved what we were looking for: to stay ahead of Burghausen. Offenbach lost, which means that we don't have to worry about them catching up with us for now. Too bad that both Union and Düsseldorf won and got a bit farther away, but there's enough time left to think about hunting them. For now, we're better than we've been in a long time, and from here we can only look up. There's no turning back now.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Union Berlin           |       | 29    | 18    | 7     | 4     | 52    | 19    | +33   | 61    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 29    | 17    | 7     | 5     | 47    | 23    | +24   | 58    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 3rd   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 29    | 16    | 7     | 6     | 51    | 37    | +14   | 55    | 
[/b][/color]| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 29    | 16    | 6     | 7     | 52    | 27    | +25   | 54    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Offenbach              |       | 29    | 15    | 7     | 7     | 42    | 25    | +17   | 52    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 29    | 14    | 6     | 9     | 46    | 36    | +10   | 48    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Emden                  |       | 29    | 13    | 7     | 9     | 46    | 26    | +20   | 46    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 29    | 14    | 4     | 11    | 54    | 39    | +15   | 46    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dalbeider · June 18, 2009

04-03-09

Nästase finally agreed to extend his contract for one more season, and the 34 year old defender will probably end his playing career in Braunschweig. Reichel also renewed his contract, and will stay as a backup for the defensive line.

04-05-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Paderborn (3.Liga 30/38)

So in the end this weekend's game was moved to Sunday. That's good for many reasons. First, one more day to rest after the two battles we've faced this week. Second, we know what our rivals for promotion did yesterday, and most of them did us a favour: Union Berlin lost 3-0 at Regensburg, Burghausen drew 1-1 away with Erfurt, and Düsseldorf were held by Stuttgart II to a very disappointing 1-1 draw. Offenbach are putting the pressure on everyone (Braunschweig included) from behind thanks to their 7-1 win against Werder II.

Paderborn are in the exact middle of the table, in 10th place. That could be considered a disappointment by their fans, who expected them to challenge for promotion. Still, they're a very dangerous team who happen to be on a four match unbeaten run, and we'll need to work as hard as we did against Düsseldorf and Burghausen.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Limanov is back from his international match with FYR Macedonia. For the rest, most of the usual starters minus Lenze, who will rest today. Prokoph would have watched his first game from the stands in a long time, if it wasn't for the "minimum 4 German U23 players in the squad" rule.

The game starts with controversy: Schied runs past two defenders and is brought down from behind by the third from behind just as he enters the box with a clear run to Paderborn's keeper. The ref signaled the foul, but only showed a yellow card, when it was a clear red. Both teams look quite even, and the rhythm of play is quick and pleasant to the fans, yet the forward seem to have left their aim at home. From the 25th minute onwards, Paderborn dominate the match and enjoy their best chances so far. Koch shows that the wait was worth it with two great saves. Close to the end of the first half we finally find a way to break out on the counter, and Limanov takes his chance to score after a great cross from the right by Fuchs, who bags his first assist in almost six months. Fifth goal of the season for the Macedonian striker. Half time coms to find us ahead.

The second half starts slow, and it seems like everything's under control, until Koch loses fails to clear a dangerous ball, and Sercan steals it and scores on an empty goal. A bad way to make everyone forget about his great performance in the first half. With the match tied again, Paderborn regain control of the ball, while be try to catch it like dogs chasing a frisbee. Sercan wastes an incredible chance, alone against Koch, when Nästase arrives from behind him and steals the ball. The tide starts changing with a quarter still left in the clock, when we finally manage to chain more than two passes in a row. After a weird attack, with lots of mistakes on both sides, Fuchs once again crosses from the right, and Schied won't show forgiveness: 2-1. Paderborn seem shellshocked, and we take our chance to quickly finish the game: yet another cross from Fuchs, in what's probably his best performance of the season, find's Wehlage's head, and the midfielder puts the game beyond any doubt.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Limanov 41, Schied 77, Wehlage 82)

Paderborn 1 (Sercan 54)

----

A great win, and a great flash of quality from Fuchs, who had faded a bit into the background since his breakout performances near the start of the season. For once, our finishing was outstanding, since we scored three out of three shots on target. The three points gained today keep us third, but three points clear of Offenbach and Burghausen, one behind Düsseldorf, and three behind Union Berlin. Looking good.

04-08-09

This afternoon, just before leaving after yet another day of hard work at the club's training facilities, a fax from Cottbus arrived. They were willing to offload 31yo forward Branko Jelic for free, and they wanted to know if we were interested. Jelic is a really interesting player who, together with Schied and Kabantais, could make a really fearsome front line for our next campaign. I answered immediately accepting their offer, and inquiring about Jelic's wage demands.

----

The answer brought some doubts to my mind: 4.500€/week is quite a big deal for our budget. Still, we're still quite far from our limit (even though the club keeps losing money on a monthly basis), and Jelic is probably worth even more than that. We make an offer, and hope for the best. Jena, Saarbrücken and Siegen do the same.

04-10-09

The local newspapers are at it again, and this time I'm their target. They know I signed only for a year when I joined Eintracht, and they know I haven't yet received an offer from Herr Glogowski to stay at the club. Since the team's doing quite well in the league, I kind of took it for granted, and I'm planning for the next season already (see Jelic). But the list of interested managers I saw in one of the reports was quite worrying, with names such as Reiner Maurer, former Dresden manager. Maybe the board thinks that a more experienced manager would be a safer bet if the team makes it to the 2.Bundesliga? Hmm. I think I need to talk with Herr Glogowski, and soon...

04-12-09. Aue vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 31/38)

Only eight games remaining, and the first of the final rush for promotion is a toughie. Aue, much like Paderborn, have been playing below expectations, and find themselves in mid-table when they should have been at the top since the start. Only difference is, they beat us already in our previous meeting at Hamburger Strasse. I don't care about revenge (well, only if it's against Jena, and we won't have a chance for that this season), but I care about extending our undefeated run and keeping the pressure on Düsseldorf and Union as high as possible.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Lenze (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

A full week of rest means we don't need to rotate players that much anymore. Lenze is back at the starting eleven, and so is Prokoph, who may find himself on the transfer list this summer if Jelic finally signs with us.

As it's almost traditional in our away games, we start suffering under Aue's early pressure. But we shrug it off almost effortlessly in a great display of defensive strength, and we start moving the ball with more liberty. Soon, our two best players find each other again: Fuchs crosses, Schied heads and scores. I almost felt a déjà-vu there... Aue seem to have wasted all their energy in that first-minute rush, and they're unable to mount a quick comeback. Instead, Lenze doubles our advantage with another one of his special shots from outside the box. This one hit the bar, then bounced only a foot inside the goal line. Tenth goal of the season for the midfielder. Aue try to look for more goalscoring opportunities, but they look clumsy in their play, and their only real chance before halftime is fantastically stopped by Koch, who looks more confident on goal with each passing day.

If anyone who didn't know the result happened to see the first quarter of an hour of the second half, he would not be at fault if he thought that we were losing! Aue look powerless to resist our midfield domination, and the 0-3 seems way more likely than the 1-2. The few times that Aue are able to break thru, they come across and inspired defensive performance by Henn and Soley, who look unbeatable today. But finally they find a gap, and Strbac finds himself alone in the box, and scores easily. The goal gives Aue hopes of a comeback, and they keep attacking with even more determination. But it all goes to nothing when Rupf is sent off after picking his second yellow card for a foul on Lenze. The game dies right there, and we keep the ball for ourselves until the final whistle.

Aue 1 (Strbac 68)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Schied 24, Lenze 31)

----

A good defensive performance, which would have been the best of the season if we had managed a clean sheet. Still, a very good away result against tough opposition, which in addition sees us increasing our lead over Offenbach and Burghausen, since both drew their respective matches. Düsseldorf and Union Berlin won, and the chase goes on for another week.

04-13-09

Seventh induction into the Team of the Week for Nästase, which puts him one ahead of Schied in this particular statistic.

----

Well, that was surprising. Jelic declined our offer, and decided to join non-leaguers Saarbrücken instead, where he will meet with Julien "Happy Boy" Lücke. That's a shame.

04-16-09

With the season's end getting closer each day, it's time for the individual awards to be given. And the latest rumour seems to be that Marcel Schied could be the favourite for the 3.Liga Player of the Year award, a.k.a. The Big One. Schied would be a more than deserving candidate in my opinion (but I'm biased, obviously), but there's quite a bit of competence: Aidoo from Emden, Cannizzaro from Erfurt and Dogan from Union Berlin are the other candidates. Good luck, Marcel!

04-18-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Emden (3.Liga 32/38)

Back home, and against surprising Emden, who are seventh right now, and could have a chance to improve their position even more, should Offenbach and Regensburg continue with their erratic form. Lawrence Aidoo, a 27yo striker from Ghana, has been the major driving force behind Emden's succesful season, thanks to his 17 goals, same as Schied.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Wehlage (MC), Lenze (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Prokoph (FC), Schied (FC).

For the first time in the whole season, no changes. This squad worked really well last week, and I see nothing in our bench that could improve it right now. Prokoph may not be scoring, but his intelligent play and his aerial capability are really important for the team.

No prisoners are to be taken today, judging by both teams' start of the game: Schanda hits first by heading a free kick slightly above the bar, and Emden answer two minutes later with a direct free kick that hitsthe bar. Then Lenze strikes back with a long-range shot that hits both posts before bouncing outside the danger area. And then Emden hit the bar again. And so does Schied, on the last minute of the first half. Wow, what a show. And the funniest thing is, when halftime arrived, the score was still nil-nil. Football is football, as Rinus Michels used to say.

The rules that govern the universe say that, after such a first half, the second half should be boring, with lots of mistakes and few chances, but with lots of goals being scored. They got the first two right. Absolutely nothing happens until the 63th minute, when I decided to bring some fresh faces into the pitch. But nothing changes, and after 45 minutes of wonderful attacking football, and another 45 minutes of dire, boring and uninspired ball-kicking, the game ends as it started.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

Emden 0

----

Not much to say, really. I still can't understand how neither team managed at least a goal in that first half. I thought the goals would end up breaking down if the players kept hitting the bars like that! Anyway, the result is not as bad as it seems, since the only top team that managed a win was Union Berlin. Offenbach and Düsseldorf drew against each other, while Burghausen lost once again. Still one point behind Düsseldorf, waiting for another chance to strike.

Dalbeider · June 19, 2009

04-20-09

Nästase is on a roll: eighth induction into the Team of the Week for him. He seems a sure candidate for the Team of the Year once the season ends.

04-22-09

Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. What a great day for Braunschweig this could be.

You see, one of our scouts, Bernd Franke, returned yesterday from Spain. I had assigned him to scout around the country and report with any interesting potential purchase he could find. He handed his report to me this morning, and after a few pages of wonderful players which could be perfect for us if it wasn't because we don't have a friggin' penny in the bank, a name caught my sight: Gerard.

"Hey, I know this guy", I thought. "He played for Barcelona and Valencia, right? Why is he here? He's surely worth a lot of money...". Wrong. He's without a team. He's been without a team for the whole season! Recreativo released him, and although he's been keeping himself fit, nobody made an offer so far. Then I took a look at what Franke had written down under "Expected wage". 1.300€?! That's insane for someone of his age (30) and quality! I scrambled to the phone, called his agent, and after a brief talk, arranged with him that we would be sending a fax to both him and Gerard with our offer, and they'll come back to us in a few days. If we manage to sign him, that would be... too awesome for words, I think.

There were other interesting things in the report, and we made one more offer: Armiche, a young forward playing for Las Palmas, would come to us for free at the end of his current contract if he accepts our offer. He only wants 110€ per week! Only problem would be that Castilla, Real Madrid's "B" team, want him too. Looks like Spain is a real bargain bin at this time of the year...

04-25-09. Wuppertal vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 33/38)

We now enter one of the most difficult parts of what remains of the season: two away games in a row against mid-table teams. The first in line is Wuppertal. Currently they are 14th, but they are much closer to the safety of the central zone of the table than to the desperate battle for survival happening in the low end. Wuppertal's season is mostly over, with nothing to fight for but honour and a slightly better position at the final table, but they remain a dangerous opponent. We'd better stay sharp.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Limanov, Reich and Kruppke rejoin the team. Before the match I was asked by the press who I thought would be the winner of the PotY award, and I answered (truthfully) that I could only see Marcel Schied winning it. Schied likely heard me, because he was brimming with confidence while I gave the team their last-minute instructions. Come on boy, make us proud!

Only problem is, the rest of the team didn't seem up to the task, at least at first. A mistake by Fuchs allowed Wuppertal to cross the ball into the box, and Hamm rised above Henn to head the ball past Koch. Not the best way to start a game, I'm afraid. Thinks looked grim, but the boys once again showed their combative spirit, and only three minutes later Fuchs made up for his previous mistake with a precise cross to Limanov, who tapped the ball into the box allowing Schied to score with ease. But after this aggressive start by both sides, things suddenly calmed down, and only Henn was close to scoring with a header that narrowly missed the right post. A well wide shot by Reich put an end to a strange first half.

The slow and sloppy play didn't disappear after halftime, but Wuppertal profited from it: Salih scored from close range after an unlucky bounce. We tried to get back into the game, but Wuppertal's midfield was too strong, and our only chances, few as they were, came from set pieces. And from another dead-ball sitiuation came our death sentence, as Schäfer headed a corner kick into the net. The game ended shortly after, and confirmed our first defeat in nine games.

Wuppertal 3 (Damm 3, Salih 60, Schäfer 87)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Schied 6)

----

It had been a while since we had a total blackout like we had today. Let's hope this is just a blip in our otherwise fantastic form. The table looks worse now, Düsseldorf four points ahead and Burghausen three behind. We can't afford any more defeats until the end of the season, or we may be in trouble.

04-26-09

Gerard accepts our offer! The Spanish midfielder will be joining us shortly, even though we won't be able to register him for the remaining games of the season. A great signing for us, hopefully.

04-27-09

Armiche won't be joining with his fellow Spaniard Gerard, as he decided to join Castilla at the end of the current season. Good luck to him, he seemed like a very promising attacking player.

04-28-09

Lücke didn't report for today's morning training session. When he finally decided to show his face at the training ground, I informed him that he was fined for two weeks worth of wages for his unprofessional behaviour. Of course he threw a tantrum, and said to whoever wanted to listen (i.e. no one) that I was marginalizing him because he was leaving the club. No, Julien, you see, I'm not marginalizing you for that reason. I'm marginalizing you because you're a nuisance and a bad example for our young players. I'll be really glad the day I see you go your way and leave us behind.

05-01-09

May is here, and Markus' training report didn't contain any information worth mentioning here. The news of the day was that, during our monthly meeting, Herr Glogowski offered me in the name of Eintracht Braunschweig's board a new contract. The deal was for two more years, although my wages would remain the same (2.600€/week). I gladly accepted, and once again stated my wishes to lead the team back to the top. Herr Glogowski only smiled, took a drink from his water bottle, and urged me to sign my contract. What, he thinks I'm exaggerating? I'll show him...

05-02-09. Unterhaching vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 34/38)

Unterhaching are another mid-table team, and one that made us work hard for our victory in the first leg. They're 10th right now, but looking downwards rather than upwards. With the precedent of Wuppertal's game, I go into this one expecting a hard fight, even though the points are mostly worthless to them, while precious for us.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Kruppke is suspended for today's game, so Rodrigues is back in the line-up, as is Wehlage.

Woah, what a start! Schied steals a ball in the middle, runs to the right, crosses into the box, and Wehlage's head impacts the ball cleanly and pushes it inside the net. Unlike other times, we hold control of the ball even though we're ahead, and keep looking for the second, in what is maybe our best performance in an away match for a long time. Schied, Wehlage and Nästase are close to extending our lead, and on the 41st minute, Lindemann is sent off after a violent tackle on Fuchs. Halftime comes, and things are looking quite favorable.

Rodrigues needs to leave the field after a minor knock, and Washausen enters the pitch in his place. We start dominating again, but Unterhaching strike lucky, and Schweinsteiger scores with a shot from just outside the box that would make his brother proud. Happy with the draw, Unterhaching retreat into their own half, playing with zero forwards. We try to widen the field, and even though we control the ball completely for most of the half, we're unable to find a way to score. The game ends with a very disappointing and unfair 1-1 draw.

Unterhaching 1 (Schweinsteiger 52)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Wehlage 3)

----

A bad result considering how the game went, but I can live with an away point. Specially when Burghausen lost and Düsseldorf drew, too. These results make Union Berlin's win almost decisive in their chase for both the title and promotion, since they hold a six-point advantage over Düsseldorf with only four games remaining. For now, they've secured at the very least the playoff spot, and are extremely likely to play Second Division football in a few months.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | Pl    | Union Berlin           |       | 34    | 22    | 7     | 5     | 58    | 23    | +35   | 73    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Düsseldorf             |       | 34    | 19    | 10    | 5     | 55    | 27    | +28   | 67    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 3rd   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 34    | 18    | 9     | 7     | 58    | 43    | +15   | 63    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Offenbach              |       | 34    | 17    | 9     | 8     | 51    | 28    | +23   | 60    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 34    | 17    | 8     | 9     | 54    | 30    | +24   | 59    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 34    | 16    | 9     | 9     | 56    | 39    | +17   | 57    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Aalen                  |       | 34    | 16    | 7     | 11    | 47    | 33    | +14   | 55    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Emden                  |       | 34    | 15    | 9     | 10    | 52    | 30    | +22   | 54    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dalbeider · June 19, 2009

05-04-09

Guess who? Yeah, Nästase again in the Team of the Week.

----

Koitka will likely miss the rest of the season after he twisted his knee in training. He will be out for 3-4 weeks. He's a backup player, but hopefully we won't need his services in the four (six?) games that remain.

05-07-09

The Champions League and the Euro CUP finalists have been decided this week. Barcelona and Liverpool will fight for the right of calling themselves European Champions on May 27th. Meanwhile, Atlético de Madrid and Porto will play in the Euro CUP final, scheduled for May 20th.

05-09-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Erfurt (3.Liga 35/38)

Darn, more mid-table teams. At least this time we're at home, and Erfurt's form seems sketchy at best, with only two wins in their last six games. But they're 9th, and they're the top goalscorers of all the 3.Liga with 62 goals scored so far, four more than Braunschweig. In fact, their goal average is better than ours. Why can't I have an easy game some time, just for a change?

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Kruppke (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Team morale is at an all-time low, but the bench players have been disappointing me as of late, so I can only afford two changes. Lauenstein is back, since Koch hasn't shown any kind of regularity in his play, and Kruppke replaces Rodrigues.

I must have fallen sleep at some point of the first half, because I only remember about ten minutes of the most uninteresting boged-down midfield play I've ever seen, and then nothing until Markus shaked my shoulder and told me that halftime was there already. From what he told me later, we controlled the ball and had a few decent chances, while Erfurt did nothing but defend and try some timid and unconvincing counterattacks. From what I saw of the crowd's faces while heading to the dressing room, I wasn't the only one who took a nap, voluntarily or not.

Nothing changes in the second half, and I force myself to stay awake and try to correct the situation with some substitutions. Things improve slightly, and we enjoy some chances again, but we seem to have lost our touch in the final meters, and all our shots are either high, wide or easy to catch by the Erfurt's keeper. The game ends as the archetype of "a bore draw".

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

Erfurt 0

----

*snore*... Oh, it's over already? Yeah, what a borefest. At least Offenbach had the decency of losing, so we can remain third one more week, but honestly, we're playing our worst football of the season in the worst possible moment. Even Schied and Lenze seem to be overcome by a feeling of... lazyness? Maybe it's the spring or something, but we have to start winning now, or it will be too late. By the way, Union Berlin did their job and secured promotion to the 2.Bundesliga. Düsseldorf will probably follow them shortly.

05-11-09

Blah blah blah Vali Nästase blah blah Team of the Week blaaaah blah blah ten times! blah.

05-13-09. Stuttgart II vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 36/38)

Eep, a mid-week game. Luckily it's our only remaining easy game, as we'll be travelling to Stuttgart to face the second-worst team of the 3.Liga. They relegated after their last game (a defeat, unsurprisingly), and while they're not as bad as Werder II, their -39 current goal average speaks miles of their ability. This is our last chance to get back into the path to promotion, as we'll need a decent form if we want to stand a chance in the playoff. Provided that we keep our third position, of course.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Lukimya (DC), Henn (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Reich (MC), Wehlage (MC), Kruppke (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Brendel (FC), Schied (FC).

A bit of a revolution there. Hopefully the reserves will make good use of their first team chance, and the first-teamers will understand the message and start getting it together.

Well, that looks a bit better. We're dominating the game and having decent chances. We only seem to miss the finishing, and Reich finally awakens from his months-long slumber to gather a loose ball in the middle of the box and putting it away. Stuttgart seem hopeless, but in their only chance in the whole 45 minutes, Rahn heads a corner kick and draws the game. This goal marks the end of the first half.

Total domination again in the first minutes of the second half, but we seem to be cursed today: Rahn scores again with a diving header in Stuttgart's second shot at goal in the whole match. We seem morally destroyed after the goal, and I quickly decide it's time for some substitutions. And for once, they work: Limanov receives the ball from Schied, turns around, and his placed shot puts the draw again in the scoreboard. Schanda almost puts us ahead, but hits the crossbar after a pass by Reich, who's playing his best football of all 2009. Wehlage hits the bar, too. We're really cursed after all? No! Limanov finally breaks the spell with another placed shot from outside the box, assisted by Reich. And with the magic gone, justice is done: Limanov sends a through ball to the right side of the box, and Schied scores his goal, bringing the game to an end. A great comeback.

Stuttgart II 2 (Rahn 45 51)

Eintracht Braunschweig 4 (Reich 26, Limanov 65 89, Schied 90+2)

----

Don't tell anyone, but Limanov's awesome performance from the bench may very well have sealed our presence in the promotion playoff. Burghausen's draw means that a win in our next home game against Aalen secures the third position for us, without putting all our hopes and dreams at the stake in our last game of the season in Offenbach. Düsseldorf won, too, which means our hopes of finishing second are almost totally gone.

----

Kruppke suffered a bruised rib during the game, and will miss the next 8-10 days of training, and our crucial match against Aalen.

05-16-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Aalen (3.Liga 37/38)

There's only one teeny weeny problem in my plan of winning today and securing the playoff spot: Aalen. They beat us 2-0 in the first leg in one of our worst games of the season, and that still weighs on the hearts of our players. Furthermore, their form of late has been awesome, with five consecutive wins, and that has brought them close to the privileged positions of the table: right now, they're 6th, and they still have a mathematical chance of catching us on the 3rd position, since they're 6 points behind, with 2 games remaining. Tough, but doable. This is, undoubtedly, the match of the season.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

It's a shame, but Reich has to await his chance on the bench: he's too tired after playing the whole match against Stuttgart and only having two days of rest afterwards.

The game starts as I feared: Aalen's 4-2-3-1 destroys our midfield and kills us on the counterattack thanks to our weak defense on the wings. After ten minutes I swallow my pride and, for the first time in the season, order the players into a 4-4-2 flat formation, with Schanda and Soley as center-backs, Nästase at the right, and Henn at the left. It's a gamble, but it seems to work: the game looks levelled again, we have a few chances, and even though Aalen manage to score, the goal is quickly disallowed because of offside. In our next attack, a cross from the left by Rodrigues bounces on the head of a hapless defender and the ball falls at Schied's feet, who blasts it inside without remorse. A few minutes before the break, Wehlage injures himself and has to be replaced by Reich. Limanov was close to doubling our advantage in extra time, but his shot went wide.

Aalen had been swept out of the field before halftime, but they come back from the dressing room with renewed strength, looking for the draw. On the 50th minute, Henn allegedly trips Teinert inside the box, and even though Reich protested the decision furiously, the ref gave the penalty. Lechleiter didn't miss. Aalen wanted more, though, and ten minutes later sent a cannonball crashing into the crossbar. It takes us 25 minutes of the second half to start playing decent football, and Schied almost scores an unbelievable goal from close to the right corner of the field, but his shot was parried by the keeper. Later, Washausen heads a cross into the sidenet. And finally, when the game seemed headed to an unavoidable draw, Schied gathered another loose ball inside the box and rifled it home. The crowd went wild, and the whole stadium chanted "M, V, P!!" for the rest of the game. Finally, the referee signaled the end of the game, and the party was on. Eintracht Braunschweig had qualified for the promotion playoff!

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Schied 28 89)

Aalen 1 (Lechleiter pen 52)

----

Party time! We can relax and enjoy ourselves for a week or two, since next week's game against Offenbach will only be good for bragging rights. Düsseldorf won today, which together with our win means that we can only end third. This also means that the promotion spots are already assigned, with Union Berlin and Düsseldorf getting the big prize.

We still have one thing to do, though, and that's the playoff itself. Our rival hasn't been decided yet, and at least 5 or 6 teams could finish 16th in the 2.Bundesliga, with only two games left to play. The only sure thing is that Oberhausen will relegate.

Dalbeider · June 19, 2009

05-18-09

Time for some movement in the transfer market. Bielefeld offered 22-year-old Finnish striker Berat Sadik for free, and we've made a tentative offer, hoping that his wage demands will be reasonable. 1860 München and Austria Lustenau are the other interested teams. A few hours later, FSV Frankfurt also offered 23yo right wingback Marc Gallego (he's German, believe me). Their fax specified that they wanted aproximately 8.000 euros for him, but our offer of 0€ was accepted nonetheless. This time our rival for his signing will be Magdeburg. We're currently waiting for the players' final decisions.

----

Marcel Schied received a well-deserved minor award with his seventh induction into the Team of the Week of the 3.Liga.

05-20-09

EURO Cup Final: Atlético de Madrid lift the trophy, and earn their first european title since 1962, when they won the Cup Winners Cup. They defeated Porto 2-0, with the goals being scored by two Argentinian players: Sergio Agüero and Maxi Rodriguez. Another Argentinian, Lucho Gonzalez, was sent off for Porto, easing the path towards the final win for the Spanish squad.

05-22-09

Marc Gallego will be our fifth signing for the next season, after he agreed to a 1.200€/week two-year-long deal. Shortly after that, Berak Sadik also agrees to our offer (3.800€/week, two years) and becomes the sixth man to join us in July (including Gerard). Hopefully, we will be in the 2.Bundesliga by then.

05-23-09. Offenbach vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 38/38)

One of the least interesting final weeks in any league that I remember, with only one thing left to decide: Düsseldorf still have a small chance of winning the league, if they win against Dresden and Union Berlin is defeated by Burghausen. They also need to recover a 5-goal disadvantage in the goal average in the meantime. Not likely, but stranger things have happened. The rest of the promotion and relegation spots have already been decided, with the three reserves going down to the Regionalliga.

Oh, and our game? Not that important, but we'll try to close the season with a win. Any morale we may get from a victory here will be useful in the playoff.

Starting eleven: Koch (GK); Nästase (DRC), Soley (DC), Lukimya (DLC); Brinkmann (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Washausen (ML); Limanov (FC), Prokoph (FC).

Lots of reserves in the squad today. We can't afford any injury risks, and Schied stays in the bench in the final game of the regular season.

I tell the lads that there's no pressure on them today, and they start the game quite relaxed. Too relaxed, I'm afraid: before the tenth minute, Offenbach are already ahead, thanks to a good goal by Schmidt. Stachnik scores the second a quarter later after a long attacking play by Offenbach. And Schmidt makes it three, after receiving a short pass in the penalty spot. WAY too relaxed, yeah.

I try to wake the guys up at halftime with one of my trademarked earfuls, and things improve drastically, with Braunschweig taking control of the ball and creating some chances. Not much, but it was really hard to play any worse than we did in the first half. But Offenbach had too big of an advantage, and when the players realized that they were not going to score thrice even if the game lasted 900 minutes, they gave up. Tufan scored the fourth near the end of the game.

Offenbach 4 (Schmidt 9 34, Stachnik 27, Tufan 83)

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

----

Well, a dire performance, specially by our defenders. But it doesn't really matter, what's important is what comes now. Also, we were right to reserve our starters: Brinkmann will miss the playoff with an injury that will keep him away from the training field for 3-4 weeks.

----

05-25-09

Freiburg will be our foes in the playoff match. Whenever it is played, that is: today I arrived at the training field and found it empty. Even Markus was not there. I called him, and he told me (with a quite sleepy-sounding voice) that the team was on holiday until the 22nd of June. I could only mutter "...ah, of course. Sorry for waking you up", and then hanged. I need to do some research. Like, right now.

05-27-09

European Champions Cup Final: Barcelona make it a double for Spanish teams in Europe this season with their extra time 3-2 win against Liverpool. Iniesta and Torres scored in the first 90 minutes, and the extra time was full of emotion: Iniesta scored his second in the 96th to put Barcelona ahead, but Eto'o scored and own goal in the 108th, drawing the game again. In the end, a goal by Seydou Keita in the second minute of injury time broke the balance, and the Catalans brought the Cup home for the third time in their history.

(Yay! )

----

Today we received a fax from the German Federation, informing us that the first leg of the promotion playoff against Freiburg would be hold at Hamburger Strasse... tomorrow! I quickly called Markus, and together we managed to contact all the players of the squad. We even managed a quick afternoon training session. And they told me the Germans were fanatics of order and organization... Yeah, right.

05-28-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Freiburg (Promotion Playoff, first leg)

Well, here we are. Our destiny is in our hands, as countless songs and epic poems have said throughout history. Most of them sucked. Aaanyway. Freiburg are another historic team in Germany, but with a much more recent stint in the top flight. In fact, they were in the Bundesliga as recently as in 2005, and they even managed a 6th place in the best league of the country in 2001. Their star is Mohamadou Idrissou, a 1.90m tall striker from Cameroon. His technique is nonexistant, but he can surely jump and head the ball with precision and power. Stopping him may require some adjustments in our defense.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Soley (DRC), Nästase (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Gerard (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Gerard makes his debut for Braunschweig today, since apparently he doesn't need to be registered for the league to play the playoffs. Nästase moves to the center of the defense in order to try to stop Idrissou. And we can only bring 5 subs today, which made the selection a bit of a nightmare.

Woah, Idrissou is not in play, and not even in the bench? Maybe he injured himself in the warm-up or something. Anyway, better for us. The game is as tough as any playoff ever has been, and Fuchs suffers a mild injury in the first minute. He's able to run it off for now. The game starts slow, with lots of fouls and interruptions, but the first chance is ours, with a long range shot by Soley that goes above the bar. Freiburg seem content to play for a goalless draw, and try to finish the job at their stadium. Schied has another chance, but the keeper sends his shot wide. Freiburg's first shot at goal comes in the 36th minute, and Lauenstein answers accordingly. A few minutes later, Gerard almost gets a debut goal with a screamer from outside the box, but the ball goes slightly wide. Halftime arrives, and we've shown Freiburg that we mean business.

Kruppke replaces a desolated Fuchs at half time, since his injured has worsened. The second half starts as the first finished, with Braunschweig dominating the game, but our crosses never seem to find our forwards, and Freiburg stay safe. Eventually they get out of the jail they've put themselves into, and in a corner kick they're really close to opening the score, but Lauenstein makes a fantastic save. Two minutes later Schanda steals the ball and hands it to Schied, who misses the top corner by a few inches. Lenze and Brendel replace Gerard and Limanov. The Spaniard has had a good debut, but he's still far from his best form, and our midfield was starting to feel it. On the 68th minute Kruppke advances through the middle of the pitch, sending the ball to Brendel inside the box. His first shot bounces out of a defender, but the veteran forward jumps on the rebound, turns around and shots again. GOAL for Brendel! Freiburg's ultra-defensive plan had been undone, and now they needed to attack if they wanted to return home with a decent result. That opened their lines, and gave us chances to counterattack. Kruppke almost scored after a good counter led by Schied, and after the following corner kick, Lenze got a long shot deflected by the keeper. But football is almost never fair: in the 88th minute, a desperate cross from the right by Schwaab found Mnari alone inside our box, in our only defensive mistake in the whole game. The veteran midfielder, who had never scored for Freiburg, took his chance and drew the game. There wasn't time for more.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Brendel 68)

Freiburg 1 (Mnari 88)

----

An unlucky draw against an opponent that never deserved to score. Now we are forced to score at least once at Freiburg if we want to play in the 2.Bundesliga after the summer holidays. Best news for us is that Fuchs is alright, and will be available for the second leg, three days from now.

05-31-09. Freiburg vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Promotion Playoff, second leg)

This is it. A defeat or a goalless draw send us back to the 3.Liga for another long season. A 1-1 draw means extra time. And a win or a draw at two goals or more means we've achieved our objective. Alea Jacta Est.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Soley (DRC), Nästase (DC), Henn (DLC); Schanda (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Limanov (FC), Schied (FC).

Only two changes, both in the midfield. Gerard returns to the bench, since he's not fit enough for two live-or-death games in three days. Reich replaces Wehlage, also for fitness reasons.

Freiburg finally show their offensive cards: Idrissou and Rodionov start at the front. The first 10-15 minutes of the game seem like a repeat of the first leg: we're in command, and Freiburg wait patiently in their own half. Of course they know that a 0-0 draw is good for them and bad for us. Brendel has a good chance in the 22nd minute, when he receives a cross from Schied inside the box, but a defender is all over him before he's able to shoot, and he loses the ball. Lenze tries his luck from outside the area, but he seems to have lost his killer touch in the last weeks, and the ball flies harmlessly over the goal. Reich gets the best one so far, with a punch-shot from 15 yards, but the keeper deflects the ball away. Freiburg don't show themselves on our area until injury time, with a powerful shot from afar that Lauenstein sends wide to a corner kick. The halftime whistle comes immediately after.

Limanov replaces a wasteful Brendel before the game is restarted. Freiburg seem to have changed their mentality now, and the first chance of the second half is theirs. Rodionov heads the ball over the bar. We seem tired, and Freiburg control the pace of the game now, allowing no breaks. Gerard and Kruppke replace Reich and Rodrigues, trying to revitalize our play. It works, partially. We regain possession, but we still are unable to create goalscoring chances. Minutes pass, and nothing changes. And when it does, it's for the worse: Freiburg regain possession of the ball, and we start looking really tired, both physically and mentally. Finally, after ten minutes of slow agony, the referee signals the end of the game. We've lost the playoff.

Freiburg 0 (1a)

Eintracht Braunschweig 0 (1h)

----

Utter disappointment. After all the hard work we've done this season, now we have to restart from scratch. The boys look devastated, and there's little I can say to them that will bring their smiles back. But I know they'll be back next year. We all will. And next year will be our year. Just you wait.

Dalbeider · June 19, 2009

END OF SEASON STATS

3.LIGA FINAL TABLE

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   | C     | Union Berlin           |       | 38    | 25    | 7     | 6     | 67    | 25    | +42   | 82    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   | P     | Düsseldorf             |       | 38    | 23    | 10    | 5     | 65    | 28    | +37   | 79    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 3rd   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 38    | 20    | 10    | 8     | 64    | 50    | +14   | 70    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 38    | 19    | 9     | 10    | 63    | 36    | +27   | 66    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Offenbach              |       | 38    | 19    | 9     | 10    | 58    | 32    | +26   | 66    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Aalen                  |       | 38    | 19    | 7     | 12    | 58    | 38    | +20   | 64    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 38    | 18    | 9     | 11    | 65    | 47    | +18   | 63    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 8th   |       | Unterhaching           |       | 38    | 15    | 15    | 8     | 54    | 34    | +20   | 60    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Emden                  |       | 38    | 16    | 9     | 13    | 56    | 36    | +20   | 57    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Erfurt                 |       | 38    | 17    | 6     | 15    | 67    | 50    | +17   | 57    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Jena                   |       | 38    | 15    | 11    | 12    | 48    | 46    | +2    | 56    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Wuppertal              |       | 38    | 15    | 9     | 14    | 44    | 54    | -10   | 54    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Aue                    |       | 38    | 13    | 13    | 12    | 58    | 56    | +2    | 52    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | Paderborn              |       | 38    | 14    | 9     | 15    | 48    | 48    | 0     | 51    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Sandhausen             |       | 38    | 13    | 8     | 17    | 40    | 51    | -11   | 47    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | Dresden                |       | 38    | 10    | 10    | 18    | 42    | 59    | -17   | 40    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Stuttgarter K.         |       | 38    | 11    | 5     | 22    | 36    | 62    | -26   | 38    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  | R     | FC Bayern II           |       | 38    | 8     | 2     | 28    | 16    | 70    | -54   | 26    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  | R     | Stuttgart II           |       | 38    | 4     | 8     | 26    | 25    | 70    | -45   | 20    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  | R     | Werder II              |       | 38    | 1     | 4     | 33    | 18    | 100   | -82   | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

3.LIGA TOP GOALSCORERS

[font=Lucida Console]Player                Team                          Goals
---------------------------------------------------------
Marcel Schied         Eintracht Braunschweig        21
Suat Türker           Offenbach                     19
Kenan Sahin           Union Berlin                  19
[/font]

3.LIGA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

[font=Lucida Console]Player                Team
---------------------------------------
Hüzeyfe Dogan         Union Berlin
Massimo Cannizzaro    Erfurt
Malick Bolivard       Union Berlin
[/font]

3.LIGA TEAM OF THE YEAR

[font=Lucida Console]    
      Schied    Kenan    Cannizzaro

Zillner     Nehrbauer     Bohl      Hüzeyfe

    Langeneke   Pailkuca   Schulz

                Melka
[/font]

EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG END OF SEASON STATS

BEST PLAYERS

[font=Lucida Console]                 APPS   G    AS   MoM   Av.R.[/font][b][font=Lucida Console] 
[/font][/b][font=Lucida Console]Marcel Schied    27(3)  21   8     6    7.06[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]Benjamin Fuchs   34(5)  2    8     4    7.03
[/font][font=Lucida Console]Christian Lenze  25(9)  10   2     3    6.96
[/font][font=Lucida Console]Holger Wehlage   27(12) 7    5     4    6.96
[/font][font=Lucida Console]Jan Schanda      29(5)  1    4          6.89[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]Kosta Rodrigues  20(8)       6          6.88
[/font][font=Lucida Console]vali Nästase     37                     6.88[/font]
[font=Lucida Console]Dennis Kruppke   21(13) 1    6     1    6.86
Matthias Henn    27(2)                  6.83
Nico Lauenstein  28                     6.78
Marco Reich      28(11) 4    4     1    6.77
Seyfo Soley      30     2    3     1    6.74
Gjoksen Limanov  23(7)  7    5          6.59
[/font]

Dalbeider · June 19, 2009

Summer break (06-01-09 - 06-22-09)

Our defeat in the playoffs against Freiburg, coupled with our disastrous final match of the regular season agains Offenbach, had lit the emergency lights inside Herr Glogowski's head. Just before the start of the break, he told me that the board were slightly disappointed with how the season had ended, and that they expected marked improvements at the start of the next season. Oops?

----

Levski and Saarbrücken (again) had shown their interest in signing Lukimya in the past. Given his below average performance in his first season with us, I decided to offer those teams a deal. Both came back with €16k in cash, and I allowed them to try and make a deal with the player.

----

Lukimya accepts to join Levski in exchange for €16k. He'll join his new team on July.

----

The club has announced losses for a total of €2.2M. Ouch. And our lack of promotion does little to improve this situation.

----

Assani Lukimya has been selected as the worst signing of the season in the 3.Liga. Considering that we bough him for €8K and we just sold him for €16K, maybe it wasn't that bad...

----

Good news: we've signed a deal with French juggernaut Girondins de Bordeaux. The deal covers many different points, but the most important for my day-to-day job will be:

- Girondins can send players on loan to us. That's good

- Girondins have the first option to buy our players. That's neutral, if I'm selling a player I don't really care that much where he's going.

- Girondins will pay us €50.76k yearly. Not much, but it helps, so good too.

All in all, a great deal for us.

----

The fans' representative has announced that, after a voting among the most important fan clubs in the whole city, Marcel Schied has been nominated as the Fans' Player of the Year. Not surprising in the least.

----

Our first games of the following season will see us hosting Emden, travelling to Erfurt, and finally returning home to play against recently relegated Oberhausen. A tough start, but not the worst we could have.

----

The TV rights' yearly payment has arrived: half a million euros. Good.

----

The club's economy hasn't exactly improved in the last months. That means that, while our transfer budget will remain at zero, our wage budget has been dramatically decreased from €93k/week to €57k/week. Once the new signings come in and the players about to be released leave the club, we'll see if we're above or below that limit. I'm betting for "slightly above, just enough to be a serious problem". Sigh.

----

A new batch of youngsters has arrived at our U19 team. Markus took a look at them, and he's been rendered speechless by young central midfielder Stephan Gross. I agree with him, this kid looks to have lots of potential, and he's already almost on par with some of our first teamers. I'll probably bring him along for some of our preseason games, together with Krause. Another new potential star if Wolfgang Sander, a goalkeeper. The rest of the bunch seem quite average, but maybe there's a rough gem hidden among them. We'll see.

06-22-09

First day of training, and first injury. Lauenstein has sustained a damaged shoulder and will miss most of the preseason. A tough blow.

06-26-09

After some work with the office's fax machine, I've got a few offers for some of my never-used players.

- Goalkeeper Adrian Horn has somehow attracted the attention of Leverkusen, who offered €10k for him. Ahlen did the same.

- Midfielder Tim Danneberg is being followed by Reutlingen and (again) Ahlen. Both have offered €22k in exchange of his contract.

- Last but not least, forward Riley O'Neill has been offered to (again!) Ahlen, (again) Reutlingen, FSV Frankfurt and Kiel. His price is €24k.

06-30-09

Adrian Horn will move to Leverkusen. The transfer will be effective tomorrow. O'Neill, on the other hand, has agreed to join Kiel. Danneberg had agreed to join Reutlingen, but they decided to call the deal off at the last moment, for undisclosed reasons.

07-01-09

Eintracht Braunschweig transfer summary

Players in:

Lukasz Kanic (D C, 21yo, Cottbus, FT)

Berat Sadik (ST, 22yo, Bielefeld, FT)

Marc Gallego (D/WB R, 23yo, FSV Frankfurt, FT)

Harald Fleischer (AM RLC/FC, 24yo, Regensburg, FT)

Leonidas Kabantais (ST, 27yo, Bielefeld, FT)

Players out:

Julien Lücke (D C/DM, 24yo, Saarbrücken, €24k)

Assani Lukimya (D LC, 23yo, Levski, €16k)

Fait-Florian Banser (ST, 27yo, Bergedorf, FT)

Adrian Horn (GK, 26yo, Leverkusen, €10k)

Riley O'Neill (ST, 23yo, Kiel, €24k)

Cyril Domoraud (SW/D C, 37yo, released)

Stefan Hauk (ST, 29yo, released)

Kai Koitka (AM R, 27yo, released)

Jan Spoelder (GK, 36yo, released)

Dennis Brinkmann (DM/M C, 30yo, released)

Jan Washausen (AM L, 20yo, released)

----

Besides all the player movements, part of our staff also were released after their current contracts reached their expiration date. We took the chance to improve the quality of our back staff. We signed 2 new physios, 2 scouts, and 2 coches.

----

And as expected, even after the typical release spree of the first of July, we're still slightly above our weekly wage budget, by €4.73k. It's not much, but it's enough to be a bit of a nuisance, and another red light in my monthly evaluation by the board. I don't really want to find new ways to make them think about firing me, you know. I'll see what I can do with this.

----

For starters, Roman Prokoph finds himself in the transfer list alongside Danneberg. Their profiles have been faxed to a number of teams, and now we'll wait for the answers. Should they leave the club, we'd regain €4.2k weekly, which leaves us almost exactly in our budget limit. Let's see if it works.

07-02-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Panathinaikos (Friendly)

A great way to start a preseason, being destroyed by a Greek powerhouse. I'll have to talk with Markus about his criteria when selecting our friendlies...

In the end the game wasn't as one-sided as I expected, not one bit. Panathinaikos started strong, and soon found themselves two goals ahead thanks to Karagounis and Ivanov, but we fought back, and Fleischer crowned a good debut with Braunschweig with a goal, assisted by Fuchs. We improved even more in the second half, and Limanov drew the game after a great pass by Sadik, but eventually the greater quality of Panathinaikos showed, and Karagounis scored his second after a series of rebounds inside the box. Not a bad debut for most of our new signings, Fleischer and Sadik looked specially comfortable with their new shirt.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Fleischer 16, Limanov 58)

Panathinaikos 3 (Karagounis 1 68, Ivanov 12)

----

Hallescher and Darmstadt have made a €40k offer for Prokoph, which has been accepted. Darmstadt are also interested in Danneberg, and they offer €22k for him. Offenbach will also try to get the midfielder for their squad.

Dalbeider · June 20, 2009

07-05-09

Thanks to our third position achieved last year in the 3.Liga, we're qualified fo the first round of the German cup. The draw is made today, and I don't really know if I prefer a small team we have a chance of beating, or a Bundesliga team that will annihilate us, but that will fill the stadium and bring lots of cash to the club's arks. We'll see...

----

Boom! Eintracht Braunschweig will play home against Schalke 04 in the first round of the German Cup. A big draw for us, I could see the Euro signs flipping in Herr Glogowski's eyes when he heard the news. And maybe, just maybe, they'll play with their U19 team and we'll have a chance of getting through. Heh, who knows.

----

Baumgarten vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Friendly)

Ah, that's more like it. Games against the Austrian amateurs of Baumgarten will allow us to make some experiments with our tactics, get the players back into competition fitness, and hopefully raise everyone's morale with an easy win.

Things went more or less as expected. Baumgarten didn't stay behind Freiburg-style and made our job easy. Lenze scored our first before the ten-minute mark, but the Austrian keeper played a good first half, and it took us until the 38th minute to score the second, made by Fuchs. Baumgarten crumbled then, and Kabantais got his first goal with our stylish yellow shirt three minutes later. We tried a wide 3-man back line in the second half, with Reicher and Gallego as fullbacks, which is a tactical alternative we may be using this season against teams with only one forward and offensive wingers (4-2-3-1 et al). It worked quite well, mostly because after Wehlage scored the fourth, Baumgarten decided that was enough and closed shop, building a wall in front of their goal. Still, Limanov managed to make the fifth after a corner kick near the end of the game.

Baumgarten 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 5 (Lenze 10, Fuchs 38, Kabantais 41, Wehlage 47, Limanov 86)

----

Bad news from the injury front: Wehlage is out for three weeks with a thigh strain, and Kabantais will have to rest for a month with a pulled hamstring. Both will probably miss the first game of the season against Emden.

07-06-09

Prokoph has agreed a deal with Darmstadt, and will join them immediately in exchange for €40k. The forward had a great start with us after being signed on a free, but lacked consistency, and eventually lost his place in the first team. His place as the squad's tall striker will be filled by Kabantais and Sadik.

07-07-09

Danneberg had the choice of rejoining Prokoph in Darmstadt, but instead chose to go to our promotion rivals Offenbach, who will be paying €22k for him. We'll probably meet him again at the pitch sooner rather than later.

Kriens vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Friendly)

We travel west to Switzerland to play agains Kriens, a semi-professional team that should provide a decent challenge. Youngsters Tobias Krause and Stephan Gross will be part of the expedition and will play their first minutes at the senior level.

We start the game with our new defensive formation on from the start. Things start really well, with Gerard scoring his first goal for us in the second minute, and Schied doubling our lead in the fourth. The Swiss defense had more holes than a piece of Gruyère. Still, they battled on, and enjoyed a few decent chances to get one back. Near the end of the first half, Schied made his second and our third. After halftime, Gross and Krause made their first team debut. Both showed their quality, specially the midfielder, who made some interesting passes towards the forwards. Brendel made the fourth ten minutes before the end, but we had chances to score at least two or three more.

Kriens 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 4 (Gerard 2, Schied 5 45+1, Brendel 81)

07-08-09

Mainz and St. Pauli seem to be willing to part ways with their backup fullbacks. Mainz offered veteran Belgian international Peter Van der Heyden to us for €16k. We don't have that kind of money (or any kind of money, for that matter), so we answered asking for a free transfer. Meanwhile, St. Pauli want to get rid of 28yo right fullback Florian Lechner for free. He has the quality to set the 3.Liga alight, so we decided to accept the proposal. Let's see if our wage budget is enough to allow us to sign these guys.

----

Well, it kinda did. The board didn't allow me to offer Van der Heyden a contract, since they thought that a player of his age wouldn't be worth the €4.500/week he was asking. On the other hand, they agreed to Florian Lechner's €2.000/week demands, and so we gave it a try. Düsseldorf also want him, which makes the move highly unlikely, but it's worth a try.

07-10-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. FC København (Friendly)

Back home, our next preseason friendly puts us head to head against FC København, coming straight from Denmark's capital. They're regulars in the Euro CUP (Euro League, whatever) with occasional appearences in the Champions Cup, so we're up for a tough challenge.

The guys don't seem impressed by the names of Grønkjaer, Aílton or Jørgensen, and we keep up with them in the first half. Both teams seem evenly matched, and even though they both enjoy some decent chances, the result at halftime is still a goalless draw. The second half is a boring affair, with Braunschweig having the ball but unable to turn possession into danger. Until Schanda heads a corner kick into the net, putting us ahead with only 13 minutes left to play. København try to make up for the lost time, but aren't unable to put us in real danger. A good win against a supposedly superior foe.

----

Gerard adds himself to our growing list of injured players: he'll miss the next 3 weeks with a twisted knee.

07-12-09

Great news: Florian Lechner accepts our contract offer and will join Eintracht Braunschweig on a free transfer from St. Pauli. The arrival of another wingback may make our recent experiments with a wide defense our default formation for this season.

07-15-09

Tobias Krause is taking part in the European U19 Championship with the German national team. So far, he's been really solid in his international performances.

07-16-09

Markus attended the German Trialist Game, held today. He came back disappointed: he could only find one half-interesting player, and he was a right midfielder, a position we have already well covered. Since we can't afford spending wages in someone who most likely won't even be a regular in the first team, we declined making any offers.

Eintracht Braunschweig vs. FC Toulouse (Friendly)

Maybe the toughest match of all of our preseason. Toulouse have never won the French league, but they have a squad full of young talents, like Etienne Capoue, Moussa Sissoko and André-Pierre Gignac. They are more than capable of beating us senseless, but given our performance against København, I won't take a defeat for granted. Peter Klauß will join the team from the U19 squad to cover Gerard's place.

The guys surprise everyone (me included) once again, when Fuchs opens the score only two minutes after the start. Toulouse seem overwhelmed by our great start, and are unable to get near our goal. Meanwhile, we're still hungry, and Fuchs scores the second. Both goals came from great crosses from the left by Fleischer, who seems to be adapting really well to his new team. No sign of life from the french side until the break, nor for most of the second half. And when they finally get close, Kanik demonstrates how a lone center-back is supposed to play, almost single-handedly aborting most of Toulouse's attacks. The game ends 2-0, another great win.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Fuchs 3 22)

FC Toulouse 0

07-17-09

It looks like our recent performances against top teams all across Europe have attracted some unwanted attention from the big fishes in Germany. Borussia Moenchengladbach's manager, Reiner Mauer, has stated publicly that he's interested in signing Matthias Henn. I told the press that he shouldn't bother calling us: Henn is not for sale.

07-18-09

But he didn't listen: today we received a formal offer from Gladbach: €75k for Henn. Rejected.

----

We've been made the top favourites for promotion from the 3.Liga this season. Betting for us would net a 3-1 payback. Offenbach, Burghausen, Regensburg, Aalen and FSV Frankfurt are supposed to be our toughest competitors in yet another race towards the 2.Bundesliga.

07-19-09

Germany qualified for the semi-finals of the U19 European Championship. They'll play Russia for a place in the final. Krause's performances have suffered a little, and in their last game against Greece he was in the bench.

07-20-09. Fortuna Sittard vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (Friendly)

The last friendly of the preseason sends us to the Netherlands, but this time our last rival won't be an amateur team: Fortuna Sittard are a professional club, and throughtout their history they've played at the top level for many years, and even managed to reach the Dutch Cup final twice.

As seems to be our motto this season, we start strong, looking for a speedy resolution. Sadik makes the first goal quite soon, and only three minutes later grabs his second. On the 20th minute the Finn seals his hattrick, in his best performance so far in the preseason. But he hasn't had enough: fourth goal only two minutes later! Not much later, Lenze makes it five. Fortuna get one back three minutes before the break with a freak goal by Beltman, but Sadik scores his fifth and our sixth from a penalty kick in injury time. After halftime, Groß scores his two first senior goals in the two first minutes of the second half, while Klauß misses his chance by sending a penalty kick into the woodwork. Schanda, Brendel, Groß (who sealed a hattrick) and an own goal by Beltman gave the final touches to an historical 1-12 win. Looks like thrashing Dutch teams just before starting the league is turning into a bit of a tradition. I love traditions like this.

Fortuna Sittard 1 (Beltman 43)

Eintracht Braunschweig 12 (Sadik 6 8 20 23 pen 45+2, Lenze 35, Groß 46 47 90, Schanda 55, Beltman og 74, Brendel 82)

Dalbeider · June 20, 2009

07-22-09

Germany lost in the semi-finals, so that's the end of Krause's participation in the U19 Euro Championships. He had one good game, but was average in the rest. He still has a lot to learn.

----

Gladbach won't give up, and today made a new offer for Henn: €90k. That's quite an amount of money, but I still don't want to lose my first-choice left fullback, not unless I get a much more substantial amount. I sent a fax back to Reiner Mauer asking for €250k.

----

As expected, they gave up. Henn will stay with us, at least for now. We won't be able to fend the big teams away from him forever.

07-25-09

EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG'S DEPTH CHART

GK: Lauenstein/Koch/Schmadtke

DR: Lechner/Gallego/Nästase/Krause

DL: Henn/Reichel

DC: Nästase/Kanik/Soley/Schanda/Henn

DM: Soley/Schanda/Lenze

MC: Lenze/Wehlage/Groß

MC: Gerard/Reich/Fleischer

MR: Fuchs/Kruppke/Fleischer

ML: Fleischer/Rodrigues/Kruppke

FC: Schied/Limanov/Sadik

FC: Sadik/Kabantais/Brendel

07-26-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Emden (3.Liga 1/38)

Finally, a new season starts. Emden gave us a hard time last year, and we only managed to get one point in our two meetings of the season. But this year thinks look different. Our morale is sky-high, and everyone expects us to win the league easily. My only fear is that the pressure may get into us, but I trust in my players. Let's get this train a-rollin'!

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Nästase (DC), Henn (DL); Soley (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Schied (FC), Sadik (FC).

Gerard is still recovering from his injury, and Wehlage is unfit, so Groß will have a chance to debut in the league, since Reich will probably need a replacement in the second half. Lechner is still a bit short on form, but he'll start.

We look good from the start, reminiscent of our latest friendlies, dominating and creating chances. Nästase is very close to becoming our first goalscorer of the season after a nice cross from a corner kick by Lechner, but Emden's keeper saves his header just over the line. Sadik takes that honour, with a silky run through the middle of the field crowned by a great effort from just outside the box. A great debut goal for the forward. Emden try to react quickly, but Lauenstein stops them without much trouble. On the 17th minute, Lenze takes a free kick, his pass finds Schied, and the forward turns around and smashes the ball into the top corner of the goal. Emden try their best to recover, but we stay solid behind. The first half ends 2-0.

Lechner and Lenze appear exhausted and have to be replaced at half time, which means that Gallego and Groß make their league debuts. Groß becomes the youngest player ever to play a competitive match for Braunschweig. Sadik starts the second half smashing and indirect free kick into the top corner, but the keeper reacts in time and pushes it wide. Reich is replaced by Kruppke, which leads Fleischer into the middle, forming and unlikely pair of midfielders with young Groß. They work fine, though, and we hold control of the ball for most of the time. Emden's best chances come from counterattacks, but Lauenstein and the defenders keep alert and avoid any further complications.

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Sadik 6, Schied 17)

Emden 0

----

A nice, solid win is a nice, solide way to start a season. The new signings showed glimpses of their talent, with Sadik grabbing most of the attention with his great performance. Groß showed composure and quality in his senior debut, and helped us hold up the ball when we most needed it.

08-01-09. Erfurt vs. Eintracht Braunschweig

Erfurt is another mid-table-bound team that always were a thorn on our side last season. We only managed two draws against them. Also, our form away from our stadium was a bit erratic last year, so grabbing a win in our first trip outside of Braunschweig could prove a real blessing.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Gallego (DR), Nästase (DC), Henn (DL); Soley (DM), Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Schied (FC), Sadik (FC).

Only one change, Gallego replaces Lechner, since the wingback hasn't recovered fully from a knock suffered in the game against Emden. He may play in the second half, though. Wehlage is back in the bench, sending Groß back to the juniors, while Gerard and Kabantais are back in training, but not fit enough to play.

Cannizzaro remains Erfurt's greatest danger. Ex-Braunschweig Brinkmann will be starting as defensive midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation. Again, we start the game looking for the opener, and Soley sends a header into the crossbar in the fifth minute. But a counterattack by Erfurt brings us back to earth with a crash: Pagenburg scores breaking in from the right. Furious, we rush again towards Erfurt's goal, and Sadik almost draws the game with another header, blocked by the keeper. Yet another counterattack well led by Cannizzaro is finished by Semmer, putting us two goals behind. We keep trying, but our forwards keep missing. We go to halftime with the feeling that we should be winning, but somehow are losing by two.

Things get a bit harder four minutes into the second half, when Cannizzaro unleashes his right leg and scores with an outrageous 30-yard effort. Wehlage, Schanda and Limanov enter the game, looking for a miracle recovery. But we're unable to recover, and our bad performance in the second half makes the defeat deserved. Carolus scores the fourth to wrap it up.

Erfurt 4 (Pagenburg 16, Semmer 25, Cannizzaro 49, Carolus 84)

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

----

A wake-up call if I've ever seen one. Also a reminder that even though we may be favourites for promotion, we still have to work hard in each game if we want to earn it in the end. And finally, a slap in the face for me: the 3-man wide defense was destroyed by Erfurt's quick counterattacks, which didn't give Soley enough time to retreat and help Nästase in the center. I'm seriously considering trying a 4-4-2, with Soley/Schanda as an offensive center-back, joining the midfield in the attacking moves. We'll see.

Dalbeider · June 20, 2009

08-05-09

Back-up striker Thomas Brendel will miss the next three weeks of training after he sustained a damaged foot in today's session.

----

The preliminary tests we've been doing with our new formation seem promising. We'll give it a spin on our cup match against Schalke. We have nothing to lose after all...

08-09-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Schalke 04 (German Cup, 1st round)

And suddenly the eyes of the whole nation are turned upon us. Today's press conference was the busiest I've had the (dis?)pleasure to attend so far, even though the questions weren't that different from what I've had to endure in the past. I played down our chances of getting through the first round, praised Schalke's players as some of the best on the nation, and said I was sure that my players would try their best.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Nästase (DC), Soley (DC), Henn (DL); Schanda (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Schied (FC), Sadik (FC).

4-4-2, but few changes over our last league game. Schanda starts in the middle trying to increase the consistency of our 2-man midfield. Gerard and Kabantais could play their first competitive minutes of the season.

Hamil Altintop, Asamoah, Kuranyi, Farfán, Rakitic, Pander... Man, what a team. The game starts as anyone could expect: Schalke looking for the win, and getting close to grabbing the first once or twice. But a quick run on the right wing by Fuchs, followed by a precise cross, allowed Reich to score for Braunschweig, after Neuer and Rakitic failed to control the ball inside the box. Five minutes later, a cross from the left by Fleischer almost turns into our second thanks to a gust of wind, but in the end it hit the crossbar and went wide. Kuranyi tried to tie the game, but Lauenstein answered with a great save. Rakitic went down injured, and had to be replaced by Jermaine Jones. Asamoah brought us down from heaven with a great strike after a cross from the left. A mistake by Nästase almost costed us another goal, but Lauenstein once again showed why he's the first choice at goal. The first half ended with a 1-1 draw, and the fans were having a ball.

Schalke didn't want any more surprises, and started the second half looking for the win from the start. After a corner kick was refused by our defense, Asamoah grabbed the ball near the penalty spot and put it far from Lauenstein's reach. Gerard, Kabantais and Rodrigues entered the field as we tried our best to draw an impossible game. Pander also had to leave the field injured, and was replaced by Zambrano. Gerard shot from outside the box, but the wall whisked on the wrong side of the right post. A header by Rodrigues was stopped by Neuere, with only 6 minutes left in the clock. But in injury time, Höwedes headed a corner kick past Lauenstein, and that was it. We were really close to an upset.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Reich 11)

Schalke 04 3 (Asamoah 32 51, Höwedes 90+3)

----

It was the first time I've seen the Stadion am Hamburger Strasse full, and it was a joy to behold. We did our best, and gave Schalke a run for their money, but in the end their best finishing quality was the key to the final result. The 4-4-2 test was a partial success: I need to find a way to get Soley more involved in the midfield tasks while we control the ball.

08-14-09

Seifo Soley will miss our next game, after he suffered a head injury in our last training session. He'll have to resort to light training for the next 7-10 days.

08-16-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Oberhausen (3.Liga 3/38)

Oberhausen have had a rough start in the 3.Liga so far. After relegating last season from the 2.Bundesliga, so far they haven't managed to win a single match. In fact, they haven't even scored! They also lost in the cup 0-1 against Cottbus, so they seem to be in a truly horrid form right now. A perfect chance to regain all the confidence we lost against Erfurt.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Gallego (DR), Kanik (DC), Schanda (DC), Henn (DL); Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Schied (FC), Sadik (FC).

Debut for Kanik, since Nästase seems to be slower lately. Those 34 years are starting to show. Gallego for Lechner and Lenze for Soley are the other changes since the cup match against Schalke.

Oberhausen scare us in the first minutes, and Lauenstein has a bit of work to do. But we shrug it off and start attacking. Reich has a good chance after a pass by Sadik, but the keeper saves. Both teams seem evenly matched, and both have chances to score, but none manage to finish the work. The first half ends 0-0.

Gerard replaces Reich at half time, looking for a better control of the midfield. After a good restart, Schanda heads the ball over the ball after a corner kick. Kruppke and Kabantais replace Fleischer and Sadik, who were looking tired and ineffective. Both teams trade blows, until 12 minutes before the end, Gerard is tripped inside the box, and the referee points to the spot without hesitation. Gerard himself takes the kick, and scores with a powerful shot through the middle. The final minutes are hard, as Oberhausen throw themselves desperately towards our goal, while we defend in any possible way. But we hold on, and grab a deserved, if a bit short, win.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Gerard pen 79)

Oberhausen 0

----

We suffered, but we prevailed. Oberhausen are still looking for their first goal of the season, and after playing against them I think I understand why: they play very defensively, and their forwards lack the needed quality to finish the job in the few chances they get each game. Unless they improve radically, I wouldn't be surprised if they end in the lower half of the table.

08-17-09

First induction into the Team of the Week of the season for a Braunschweig player. Benjamin Fuchs gets the award after a great session of silky running and precise crossing from the right against Oberhausen.

08-19-09

First-choice midfielder Christian Lenze is out for 11-14 days with a strained wrist.

08-22-09. Burghausen vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 4/38)

Not the best moment for a visit to promotion contenders Burghausen, but we have to take what the calendar gives us. They haven't lost a game yet in the league, but are two points behind us, given that they've drawn twice. A difficult match without a doubt.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Schanda (DC), Henn (DL); Wehlage (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Kabantais (FC), Sadik (FC).

Scheid sufferd a knock in our last game, and will stay at the bench. Wehlage replaces the injured Lenze, and Lechner is back at the right side of the defense.

Fuchs seems to be back at his impressive start-of-season form from last year. Our first dangerous play comes from his feet, but Sadik is unable to head his cross inside. Besides that one chance, Burghausen controls the flow of the game in the first half, although they can't get past our defense. The first half ends with nothing worth seeing again.

The second half seems to go the same way, until Fleischer heads Wehlage's cross into the net. Too bad he was offside. Six minutes later, Sadik is fouled near the front end of the box. Reich takes the free kick, and sends it straight into the top corner. A great effort. Burghausen returned to their attacking ways, but their forwards seemed uninspired today. Either that, or our defense was fantastic. Either way, the game ends with a 0-1 victory for our side, a result that may prove really important in our quest for promotion.

Burghausen 0

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Reich 60)

----

An injury plague seems to be attacking our midfielders: Gerard will be out for 6 weeks after twisting his ankle. We may need to bring Groß again from the U19s for our next game, since Lenze will also miss it. Anyway, another 1-0 win against a direct rival for promotion, which brings us to the second position of the table, tied with Erfurt. It's our second clean sheet in a row, and that speaks miles of the defensive security we've achieved with our new "false" 4-4-2 formation. Schanda and Soley are slowly learning to push forward when needed, and the team is starting to play as I want them to.

Dalbeider · June 20, 2009

08-24-09

Marco Reich has started this season much, much better than he ended the last. His game-winning direct free kick earns him a place in the Team of the Week.

08-27-09

With the transfer deadline closing in, most teams are trying to round up their squads. Today Austria Lustenau offered €55k, plus a 20% of the profit obtained on his next sale, for Benjamin Fuchs. No way in hell we're letting our best winger go, and never for this pittance. Rejected.

08-29-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. FSV Frankfurt (3.Liga 5/38)

Yet another recently relegated team in deep trouble in their new division. FSV Frankfurt were the other team to relegate from the 2.Bundesliga last year, and with only one win and three defeats in the first four games of the season, find themselves only one place above the relegation zone. Still, they have good players, like Amir Shapourzadeh, a right winger/striker from Iran, and Mainz's loanee Robert Mertinitz, who surprisingly hasn't played a single match with FSV so far.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Soley (DC), Henn (DL); Schanda (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Rodrigues (ML); Schied (FC), Sadik (FC).

Soley's return helps us fill the gap in our midfield with Schanda. Fleischer rests today, since his last performances have been rather poor, and Rodrigues starts in his place.

FSV seem decided to put an end to their bad form, and seem very aggressive from the start. Bencik sends their two first chances wide, and they start losing steam. With the ball again in our possession, we start looking for a goal. Reich gets close with another direct free kick. With both teams fighting for the ball, the first half runs out of time quickly, and the result is still a draw.

Frankfurt look the better team after halftime, and Bliznyuk finally scores after a great pass by Shapourzadeh. With Groß, Fleischer and Limanov already on the pitch, Fuchs has a real chance to draw level, but smashes the ball into the keeper's body. Another great chance goes by after Schanda's piledriver is deflected by the defense, hits the post, and the forwards are one millisecond too late to the rebound. We don't get many more opportunities, and the game ends 0-1.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

FSV Frankfurt 1 (Bliznyuk 52)

----

That was really unlucky on our side. Schied doesn't look like the same clinical striker that led the goalscoring tables last season, and Sadik's debut goal now seems a one-day fluke. We're struggling up front, and our injuries in the midfield don't help our problems either. We need a clear, convincing win, and we need it now.

08-31-09

In a last minute move in the hopes of strenghtening our midfield, we've signed Girondins' Paul Lasne on loan until end of season. We won't have to pay any wages for him. Lasne is a defensive midfielder who will increase our depth, given the injury proneness of some of our current players.

09-03-09

Tobias Krause is joined by Stephen Groß in the last call-up for the German U19 squad. The midfielder has been solid in the games he's played with the first team so far, so this call-up was only a matter of time.

09-12-09. Reutlingen vs Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 5/38)

After a week of rest due to the international matches being played, we travel to play agains newly-promoted Reutlingen. They have had a tough start, with 5 points in 5 games, but look likely to pull it off and avoid the relegation zone altogether.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Soley (DC), Henn (DL); Lasne (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (MR), Fleischer (ML); Schied (FC), Kabantais (FC).

Lasne goes straight into the first team. Lenze and Wehlage are still out of form, and Schanda seems better used in defense at this stage in his career. Kabantais replaces Sadik up front.

Reutlingen seem determined to please their fans with a win, and the first chances are theirs. But the match quickly drags into a boring mess, with neither team capable of getting near the opposite goal. 0-0 at halftime, and snores can be heard coming from the stands.

Things don't seem to want to change by themselves, so we make them change: we're back to a 3-5-2 with wide defenders. Things improve, and we seem to be controlling the game, but then Reutlingen find the gap between our defenders and Reyering scores taking Lauenstein by surprise. Schied was desperate, and asked for no less than four penalties in the second half, none given. Sadik had more luck: he was clearly tripped and the referee finally gave in and signaled the penalty. Sadik himself blasted it into the net. There was still enough time to try and get a winner, but there wasn't a chance. One point for each team in the end.

Reutlingen 1 (Reyering 68)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Sadik pen 87)

----

Not exactly what I had in mind for this match, but I'll take it. We deserved to win, but considering that we were behind until three minutes before the end, we'll have to settle for an away draw. We're 8th now, but things are pretty tight at the top - we're only four points behind the unbeaten leaders, Aue.

| Pos   | Inf   | Team                   |       | Pld   | Won   | Drn   | Lst   | For   | Ag    | G.D.  | Pts   | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 1st   |       | Aue                    |       | 6     | 4     | 2     | 0     | 6     | 1     | +5    | 14    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 2nd   |       | Erfurt                 |       | 6     | 4     | 0     | 2     | 8     | 4     | +4    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 3rd   |       | Wuppertal              |       | 6     | 4     | 0     | 2     | 7     | 4     | +3    | 12    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 4th   |       | Unterhaching           |       | 6     | 3     | 2     | 1     | 7     | 3     | +4    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 5th   |       | Burghausen             |       | 6     | 3     | 2     | 1     | 8     | 5     | +3    | 11    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 6th   |       | Jena                   |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 7     | 5     | +2    | 10    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 7th   |       | Regensburg             |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 6     | 5     | +1    | 10    | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
[color=Blue][b]| 8th   |       | Eintracht Braunschweig |       | 6     | 3     | 1     | 2     | 5     | 6     | -1    | 10    | [/b][/color]
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 9th   |       | Aalen                  |       | 6     | 2     | 3     | 1     | 8     | 5     | +3    | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 10th  |       | Emden                  |       | 6     | 2     | 3     | 1     | 8     | 6     | +2    | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 11th  |       | Offenbach              |       | 6     | 3     | 0     | 3     | 6     | 6     | 0     | 9     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 12th  |       | Paderborn              |       | 6     | 2     | 2     | 2     | 4     | 4     | 0     | 8     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 13th  |       | Kiel                   |       | 6     | 2     | 1     | 3     | 3     | 5     | -2    | 7     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 14th  |       | FSV Frankfurt          |       | 6     | 2     | 0     | 4     | 7     | 9     | -2    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 15th  |       | Dresden                |       | 6     | 1     | 3     | 2     | 6     | 8     | -2    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 16th  |       | RW Essen               |       | 6     | 1     | 3     | 2     | 4     | 6     | -2    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 17th  |       | Reutlingen             |       | 6     | 1     | 3     | 2     | 3     | 6     | -3    | 6     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 18th  |       | Oberhausen             |       | 6     | 1     | 1     | 4     | 1     | 4     | -3    | 4     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 19th  |       | Sandhausen             |       | 6     | 0     | 3     | 3     | 5     | 9     | -4    | 3     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 
| 20th  |       | Stuttgarter K.         |       | 6     | 0     | 1     | 5     | 1     | 9     | -8    | 1     | 
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Dalbeider · June 21, 2009

09-16-09

Our form ain't looking good at all, so it's time to look for alternatives. Today we're playing an improvised friendly/training match against our U19 squad. I will be testing different tactical alternatives, with special focus on 4-3-3 and 4-5-1 variants.

----

The tests were a success. We looked better in the second half, when our second unit played a 4-2-3-1 with Limanov behind Sadik, who played the lone striker role decently well. The result wasn't important (seniors won 3-0), but we learned some new things today, and we got to play some players out of their normal position, with some interesting results. Kabantais, for example, is able to fill the AML, AMR and AMC positions in a pinch. We may be doing this kind of tests again some time in the future. The only problem was Rodrigues, who picked a knock and will have to rest for approximately six days.

09-20-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Aue (3.Liga 7/38)

Yikes. Looks like our new 4-2-3-1 will face the ultimate test quite soon after its inception. Aue are the league leaders, haven't lost a game yet, and have only conceded one goal so far. A win would put us back where we belong.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Nästase (DC), Henn (DL); Soley (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Fleischer (AML), Limanov (AMC); Sadik (FC).

Nästase is back in the defense. Playing with two "real" center-backs allows one of them to be tall and slow. Limanov starts as the link between the mids and Sadik.

Aue start the game looking for the win, confident in their fantastic current form. Glasner got close to the opener with a header gone way too high. I quickly tweaked a bit the positions of some of our midfielders, and things started improving while our possession rate increased. After a first half full of alternatives and with both teams battling as hard as they can, the result stayed the same at halftime.

Lenze was brought in in Reich's place. The second half started with a good shot by Sadik that bounced off the upright. Two minutes later, Lauenstein made a great save when Glasner tried to score after an indirect free kick. Kruppke and Schied were brought in, and Fleischer took Limanov's position behind the striker. Yet another great save by Lauenstein kept us alive after a mistake by the defense. Finally, Aue got the goal they'd been looking for all day long: Strbac sent a free kick into the post, and Çimen got the rebound and scored easily. Schied and Lenze got a double chance to draw the game immediately after, but the first had his shot stopped, and the second sent it to the clouds. Soley almost got there, but the keeper's fingers got in the way of his piledriver. We had many chances, but in the end, none went in. A spirited defeat, but a defeat nonetheless.

Eintracht Braunschweig 0

Aue 1 (Çimen 65)

----

I told the guys I was pleased with them despite the result, and it was true. We had a good display against the most in-form team in the division, and only our bad luck and Aue's keeper kept us away from the points. A draw would have been a fairer result. Still, the improvement in our game gives me hope that we will we able to pull this off the ground.

09-26-09. Stuttgarter Kickers vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 8/38)

From one end of the table to the other. Winless Stuttgarter Kickers are 20th out of 20 teams, with only one point after seven games. In fact, they have only scored one game so far, and conceded eleven. Looks like a perfect chance to start our comeback in the league.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Soley (DC), Henn (DL); Lenze (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Fleischer (AML), Limanov (AMC); Schied (FC).

Lenze pushes Soley back into the defense and Nästase out of the team, as we look for some extra creativity in the midfield. Schied starts as lone striker this time, and hopefully will be able to bring his calamitous start of season to an end with a goal or two.

We start sharp, and Limanov has a great chance in the first minute after a shot by Schied is refused, but he sends the ball wide. But Stuttgarter want the win, too, and Lauenstein saves a point-blank shot in the tenth minute. Only two minutes later, Galm picks a loose ball inside the area and blasts it inside. Immediately after kick-off, Schied sends another shot into the woodwork. The third is the charm, and Schied finally breaks his goalscoring curse with a great header after a cross by Lechner. The game then becomes a midfield battle with no clear winner, and even though Schied gets close after a great individual effort, the result is still a draw at halftime.

Things still look quite even after the break, even though we get the best chances. Schied seems motivated after his first goal and looks for more, but he's unlucky with the finish. Stuttgarter don't seem much better, though, and time runs out leaving the game without a winner.

Stuttgarter Kickers 1 (Galm 12)

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Schied 19)

----

Not good enough, but it's a start. We need to improve our midfield control, we can't allow the worst team of the league to fight us in equal conditions in a possession battle. The best news of the game was Schied's goal. Hopefully that will signal the start of better times for our side, and for him.

09-28-09

It's been a while since I wrote this, but... Vali Nästase has been selected into the 3.Liga's Team of the Week. We've missed you, big guy.

10-03-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Aalen (3.Liga 9/38)

Back home, which is where we should ciment our recovery. Problem is, in-form teams keep coming to Hamburger Strasse to test our resolve. Aalen were tipped for a lower-half finish, maybe close to the relegation spots, but instead find themselves 6th, and looking good. We'll have to give it our best.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Nästase (DC), Soley (DC), Henn (DL); Lenze (MC), Gerard (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Fleischer (AML), Limanov (AMC); Schied (FC).

Gerard and Nästase are back in the team. It's time for the veterans to show their experience and quality.

4-2-3-1 mirror game, it seems. Lechleiter is their lone forward, and he's on a great form this season. One minute into the game, and there's already a controversial decision by the ref, who didn't award us an apparently evident penalty. The incident brought our worst side out, and Aalen dominated us for the first quarter of an hour. We eventually snapped out of it, and in one of our first arrivals at Aalen's area, Lenze was brought down inside the box. This time, the ref gave in and awarded the penalty kick. Soley stepped up, but his shot was wide, and we wasted a perfect chance to put ourselves ahead. We controlled the ball for the rest of the first half, but Aalen had the best chances on the counter.

At halftime, Reich replaced an exhausted Gerard, who had been playing well. Things couldn't start better for us after restart, since a cross by Lechner was headed into the net by Reich, only five minutes after entering the game. Ten minutes later, Reich entered the box, and after clumsily muscling his way past three defenders, gave a death pass back to Schied, who finished in style. Schanda and Rodrigues replaced Lenze and Limanov, and we tried to secure our win by holding on to the ball for the rest of the game. But things became difficult again after Reich, grabbing all the headlines for himself, fouled Gänge inside the box. Lechleiter scored the penalty without trouble. But there was no way that the lads were going to let this one slip away, and a cross by Rodrigues was perfectly headed by Schied, who scored his second. The striker looked closer now to his former self. Aalen wouldn't give up, and a foul on Lechleiter was transformed by Müller with a great direct free kick shot. Aalen went all-in looking for the draw, but that gave us the chance to counterattack. In one of our quick breaks, Fuchs was fouled by Gänge, who was sent off after seeing two yellow cards. We held on to the ball for the rest of the game, and finally scored our first win after more than a full month.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3 (Reich 50, Scheid 60 69)

Aalen 2 (Lechleiter pen 68, Müller 76)

----

Ladies and gentlemen, we're back. A great performance on the second half by Reich and Schied gave us a win we needed desperately. This should give us a moral lift. Now to build upon it and try to get closer to the top. For now, we're seventh, four points behind second-placed Wuppertal.

Dalbeider · June 21, 2009

10-05-09

Nästase and Reich in the Team of the Week. Aaah, just like in the old times...

10-07-09

Tobi Krause got today his first international goal with the U19 German squad, in a 0-3 win against Austria. Groß was called up, but didn't play.

10-11-09

Gerard skipped training today. Since it's his first unprofessional act since he joined us last May, he's only been warned this time. Further breaches of the code of conduct will mean that the Spaniard goes Lücke's way. As in, out of the team. Luckily, Gerard accepted his warning and acknowledged his mistake.

10-17-09. Offenbach vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 10/38)

One could expect, after reading the promotion odds given by the bookies at the start of the season, that our match against Offenbach would be a title-decider, with both teams at the top and trying to get an advantage over the other. But no. In fact, we're way better than Offenbach right now. They promotion contenders are 14th right now, and have only won one of their last five games. Like us, only we're looking up after our win last week, while they come from a defeat and two draws. Still, this will be a great test for our team, and we'll see if we really are on the right path towards the top of the table.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Nästase (DC), Henn (DL); Soley (MC), Reich (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Fleischer (AML), Limanov (AMC); Scheid (FC).

Soley is back in the midfield while Gerard becomes fit again. His missed training session didn't exactly help with that. Kanik will fill the gap in defense.

Offenbach start putting the pressure on us, and we're forced to defend ourselves with everything we've got. Eventually we settle down and start moving the ball around with more ease, but Schied seems somehow cut out from the rest of the team, and that's bad news considering that he's our main source of danger. Things get worse when both Schied and Reich go down injured, even though both try to run with it. A great mistake by our defense leaves Stachnik alone against Lauenstein, who can't do anything to stop him from scoring. Our answer is immediate: a cross by Fuchs is delicately redirected by Henn, setting up Limanov for an easy goal, his first of the season. Uplifted by our reaction, we keep up our attack, and Limanov is barged in the back by a defender inside the box, provoking a penalty kick. Henn transforms without much trouble. our quick one-two hit leads straight into halftime.

Reich and Scheid are replaced by Gerard and Sadik. Offenbach start the second half looking for the draw with intensity, and Lauenstein's saves keep us ahead for the moment. Lenze replaces Nästase, as the defender seems to be limping after a hard challenge. We improve slightly, and Fleischer has a good chance to put the game in the sack with a third goal, but the keeper denies him. We seem to have endured the worst, but a last-ditch cross by Kokocinski finds Becker alone inside the small box, and there's no stopping him from drawing the game. Lenze still has time to send a missile smashing into the crossbar, and Sadik has a clear ball through, but his shot is saved. The game is a draw.

Offenbach 2 (Stachnik 34, Becker 81)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Limanov 38, Henn pen 42)

----

Not a bad result by any means, but I thought we deserved better. We played a really good first half, and we had more than enough chances to secure the win. Oh well, an away draw is good anyway, and we're now three games without a defeat. Not a bad platform over which to keep building on. The bad news: Reich will be out for 4 weeks. Gerard will need to step up to the plate and demonstrate that he's still quality.

10-24-09. Eintracht Braunschweig vs. Unterhaching (3.Liga 11/38)

Today starts a three-game rush, which will see us against three promotion candidates in only seven days, and two of them away. Starting with a win against high-flying Unterhaching is a must then. They're sixth after three draws in a row, but have been in the top three for most of the season. To our credit, we haven't lost against them since I'm in Braunschweig.

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Schanda (DC), Nästase (DC), Henn (DL); Lenze (MC), Gerard (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Fleischer (AML), Limanov (AMC); Scheid (FC).

A new midfield, given Reich's injury and Soley's ugly performances as of late. Schanda replaces Kanik in defense.

We start really well, moving the ball around with ease, and Fleischer ends our first play of the game sending it straight into the right post. Gerard and Schied are the next to test Unterhaching's keeper, who passes with good grades. At the half hour, one of the few attacks by the visitors is led by Copado, who crosses and finds Steegmann's head. The striker scores without opposition. But their happiness doesn't last for long: Fuchs crosses, Gerard heads looking for goal, and Mitterhuber sends the ball inadvertently past his own keeper. It looks like the first half will end with a level score, but a bad backwards header by Nästase allows Copado to score a psychological goal in injury time, his fifth of the season.

The guys had looked a bit cold during the first half, so I reminded them that the fans outside were expecting a bit of passion for the game from their players. That seemed to do the trick, and only the bar (again) prevented Lenze from drawing the game. The team lost steam eventually, and not even a batch of fresh players managed to revitalize them. Fourteen minutes before the end, Rathgeber scored the third for Unterhaching with an audacious long range effort. That finally killed our remaining hopes, and the game ended 1-3.

Eintracht Braunschweig 1 (Mitterhuber og 35)

Unterhaching 3 (Steegmann 31, Copado 45+2, Rathgeber 77)

----

The worst that could happen, really. Not only we lose anything we might have gained in our previous games, but we also put ourselves in a very difficult position just before facing Jena and Regensburg away from home. Things don't look good.

10-28-09. Regensburg vs. Eintracht Braunschweig (3.Liga 12/38)

Regensburg, a bit like Offenbach, are in trouble just like us. Their current position is 13th, and they're on a bad run of five games without a win. Another chance to turn our situation upside down, but we're starting to run out of them...

Starting eleven: Lauenstein (GK); Lechner (DR), Kanik (DC), Nästase (DC), Reichel (DL); Schanda (MC), Wehlage (MC), Fuchs (AMR), Rodrigues (AML), Limanov (AMC); Sadik (FC).

Few players remain from our lineup against Unterhaching, so I won't bore you with the details. We need to rotate players around so they can keep their energy throughout the week.

Good start for Braunschweig, with Schanda sending the first sign of danger from afar. Sadik and Wehlage also try their luck, but they find their shots stopped or deflected by the defenders. Regensburg look for counterattacks, and create some danger this way, but Lauenstein is having one of his good days. A quick clearance by Nästase turns suddenly into a great assist, as Sadik finds himself clear through goal, and after dribbling past the keeper, scores with a subtle touch. But Regensburg won't let us enjoy it, and Zellner draws the game after a nod by Hiemer. Halftime finds us still wondering how we could throw away an advantage so quickly.

Gerard and Soley enter after halftime, replacing a tired Wehlage and a slightly injured Kanik. Sadik has another great chance to score after a pass from Fuchs, but sends it wide. Fleischer replaces an ineffectual Limanov. Regensburg progressively take control of the match, and a direct free kick by Trehkopf cleans the spider web's on the corner of Lauenstein's goal. Yet we get another chance to get back into the game: Rodrigues is tripped inside the area, and the ref awards a penalty. Lechner puts it in, and scores his first goal ever for Braunschweig. But destiny is cruel with us, and on the last minute of injury time Trehkopf scores his second and Regensburg's third with a diving header, giving them the win in the last possible moment.

Regensburg 3 (Zellner 36, Trehkopf 76 90+5)

Eintracht Braunschweig 2 (Sadik 34, Lechner pen 85)

----

This hurts. This hurts lots. We could have come out of this alive, and a last-second bad decision by the defense leaves us with nothing. Painful.

----

After the game, Herr Glogowki came looking for me. He found me alone in the dressing room, staring at the void. Everyone else had left. I looked up, and when I saw his eyes I knew what he was there for. He started speaking, and I guess he told me how things were going from bad to worse, and that with the quality we had in our current squad the team should be fighting for better things than mere survival, and probably a few other things. I didn't listen.

I cut him before he ended speaking. I had done the same the first day we met, sixteen months ago. Then, I had told him how Eintracht Braunschweig would return to his glory days of the past with me at the helm. Now, I could only say "I understand. And I'm sorry. I was sure we could make it. Looks like I was wrong".

He smiled, the same way he had smiled every time we had talked about my great ambitions for this team, with a mix of amusement and disbelief. And he said: "You tried. That's what counts.". I nodded, stood up, and shook hands with my ex-boss for the last time. Two days later, I was back in England, trying to find where things went wrong. But it didn't matter any more. Because I had become part of Eintracht Braunschweig's past, and I would have no part in his future. Glorious or not.

gavrenwick · June 21, 2009

Shame on the sacking mate. Best of luck with any new venture.

Wegason · June 21, 2009

That is really really harsh! 3rd last season and they don't give you time to get going this season? It was a good story as well!

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Can you say that again? Braun-what? (FGC)

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