Dalbeider Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Something simple to keep me busy in between posts for my main story, Seeing Red and Yellow. This is my third attempt at the Fallen Giant Challenge by Wegason, with the first (with Eintracht Braunschweig) ending in failure and the second (with Preston North End) ending in boredom and stagnation. Played in FM11, patch 11.1, no edits, large database with all international players retained, and the leagues of Argentina (down to Second Division), Brazil (same), Spain (Segunda B), France (National), England (BSN/S), Italy (C2), Holland (Eerste Divisie) and Germany (Third Division) loaded. In stark contrast with my other story's longwindedness, this will be short and to the point, in a journal style close to what mark_wilson, Faramir and others usually do, and similar to what I tried with Braunschweig. Once I get the first two or three posts out of the way, of course... **** June 9th, 2010 This is a real story. Yeah, seriously. It all started with the economy. Spain's perspectives for the future looked grimmer and grimmer with each passing month, my contract had just expired leaving me jobless once again, and there was little hope of finding anything that was either: a) half-interesting, b) reasonably well paid, c) suitable for me, or d) all of the above. My parents were starting to look funny at me every time they stepped into my room and saw me playing FM, and didn't seem convinced when I told them that running around dropping CVs at random at everyone's front door was old-fashioned, and that nowadays everyone and his dog looked for jobs on the Internet. I don't blame them, really. So when a friend from university told me that there was a severe lack of qualified workers in Germany, and that he had already found a great job there and was about to move in two weeks, I seriously considered it. My German lessons from back in the day were almost completely forgotten, but I still recalled a few words here and there. "Bier" was one. I hated "Bier". Thankfully I liked both "Bratwurst" and "Kartoffelsalat", so at least I knew I could find something to eat there, and "Wasser" is cheap everywhere. So I signed up to a website my friend had recommended, uploaded my CV, bought an express German course in DVD (and never unwrapped it), and waited. The only problem was that I uploaded the wrong CV. I mean, I seriously doubt that most German consultancy firms have any place for someone named "Dal Beider" who lists under the "Other Achievements" header something like "Back-to-back Champions League titles with TSV 1860 München on Football Manager 2008". Sheesh. First you're writing a joke CV for some stupid reason, and the next thing you know a whole country is laughing its collective rearside at your expense. Not funny, guys. It took me two weeks to notice, and when I did I rushed back to that website to take it down, delete my tainted profile and start from scratch. I was pondering if I should really bother with the last part when I saw a flashing icon on the top of the screen: incoming job offer. Fully expecting a prank of some sort (my friends have a... different kind of sense of humour), I opened the inbox. By some miracle, I didn't fracture my jaw when it hit the floor at full speed. It hurt anyway. Three days later I was in Munich. Or München, as them Germans say, wanting to prove that they're the most metal country in the world by adding ümlaüts ëvërÿwhërë. A fancy Audi brought me to the Allianz-Arena, and a fellow named Rainer Beeck greeted me. In English, thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I had already discovered that constantly answering "ja, ja!" to every question actually wasn't a very good idea. Beeck introduced himself as chairman of one of the oldest football clubs in continental Europe. TSV 1860 München was founded as a sports club in (you guessed it) 1860, although the football section wasn't created until the turn of the century, in 1899. One of the founding fathers of the Bundesliga, they won the league title once in 1966, only one year after reaching their first and only European final, a Cup Winners Cup they lost against West Ham in 1965. Since then, relegations, money problems (and who doesn't have them nowadays...), promotions followed by swift relegations, a good spell in the first tier in the 90s, including a short foray in Europe after a fantastic 4th place in 2000, and finally, the last relegation to the second division so far in 2004. And, judging from what the chairman told me, they were desperate. They had tried everything, from former international players to experienced managers to young and promising ones, and they still were stuck in the 2.Bundesliga for the seventh consecutive year. The fans were starting to get fed up of so many failures, and the whole board had agreed that a different approach was to be taken to break their current stagnation. And that "different approach" happened to be me. The issue of me not being a certified UEFA coach was handwaved by Beeck, saying that "that could be solved with little effort". I wondered how, and which percentage of that "little effort" would be mine. I had my suspicions regarding the man's sanity since I had seen that flashing icon on my computer screen, but I became absolutely sure of his complete and incurable madness when I saw the deal he was offering me. Two years, eight thousand, two hundred and fifty friggin' euros per week. My first job paid that for half a year, and I somehow doubt that inflation had been that bad since then. Of course, it was under quite strict conditions: the board could decide to sack me at any time during my first season for any reason and without any compensation. I didn't mind that at all, and I hurriedly signed the dotted line. And when we shaked hands to seal the deal, it suddenly struck me. Wait, I'm a football manager now. I have no idea how to do that! Someone help me! I can't find the training sliders! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 June 10th, 2010 The next day was a busy one, as expected. First came greeting the rest of the coaching staff, the physios and the scouts. A nice bunch of fellows indeed, most of them considerate enough to speak in English while I finished (well, more like started) my crash course on their mother tongue. There was something wrong there, though: three coaches counting Kai Griepenkerl, my assistant manager. That's short, but manageable. The same could be said about the two scouts. But FIVE physios? Herr Beeck should build a hospital next to the Allianz-Arena and these guys could make a living there in their spare time. Which would be plenty. My first decision, then, was a difficult one: which two of the five to keep, and which three to send straight towards the closest unemployment office. In the end, Willi Widenmayer and Oliver Schmidtlein stayed. And yeah, I was learning to love German names the hard way. Too many consecutive consonants for my poor throat to handle. I instructed my assistant to find me some good coaches and an extra scout or two to fill the gaps, then went to say hello to the players. They greeted me with respect, and that surprised me. I mean, I was a complete nobody who suddenly took charge in a big club like 1860, I expected to see at least a few suspicious faces. But no, everyone was happy to see me there and willing to help me overcome the language barrier. I didn't find out until a few months later that someone (and by "someone" I mean "a certain crazy chairman") had insinuated (and by "insinuated" I mean "flat out lied"... you get the picture, I guess) that I used to be a professional footballer back in Spain. It was then that I understood what the guys had meant when they asked me about my time in Valladolid, and how weirded out they looked when I told them that I had been there on holiday once, and that it was ugly as sin. In any case, this is what I found when I looked at the training grounds, plus a few notes I compiled during the first week of preseason with some (read: LOTS of) help from Kai. GOALKEEPERS =========== - Gábor Király (GK, 34yo, HUN, €1M) - Philipp Tschauner (GK, 24yo, GER, €625k) - Björn Bussmann (GK, 19yo, GER, €425k) A good set of keepers, with veteran Hungarian international Király at the forefront thanks to his quality and experience. Tschauner is a very decent backup without any glaring weak points, and Bussmann is a good prospect for the future that should step up to the backup role once Király calls it quits. No complaints here. FULL BACKS ========== - Benjamin Schwarz (D/WBL, 23yo, GER, €100k) - Antonio Rukavina (D/WBR, 26yo, SER, €800k) - Sandro Kaiser (D/MR, 20yo, GER, €1.2M) The gap on the left back position is huge. We only have one player there in Schwarz, and a pretty average one at that. Rukavina and Kaiser are both better running down the flank on the attack than defending, so it's likely that one of the center backs will move here if we need to stop an opposing winger. Signing a good left back is a top priority. CENTER BACKS ============ - Mate Ghvinianidze (DRC, 23yo, GEO, €600k) - Stefan Bell (DRC, 18yo, GER, €1.2M, on loan from Mainz) - Necat Aygün (SW/DC, 30yo, GER, €275k) - Stefan Buck (DC/DM/MC, 29yo, GER, €575k) - Mathieu Béda (DC/DM/MC, 28yo, FRA, €425k) Fantastic depth here. All five players could start at a given point of the season, and most of them can also do well in other positions. Buck is specially versatile, looking great as both a defender, an anchor man or a deep-lying playmaker, while Béda is more of a pure destroyer. Bielefeld are chasing both Ghvinianidze and Béda, though, with Frankfurt also interested in the Frenchman. I'd rather keep them both. MIDFIELDERS =========== - Aleksandar Ignjovski (DM/MRC, 19yo, SER, €1.6M, on loan from OFK Beograd) - Kai Bülow (DM/MC, 24yo, GER, €700k) - Florin Lovin (DM/MC, 28yo, ROM, €1.4M) - Eke Uzoma (DM/MC, 20yo, NIG, €1.3M) - Moritz Leitner (M/AMLC, 17yo, AUT, €1.4M) - Emanuel Biancucchi (M/AMC, 21yo, ARG, €450k) Don't be fooled by the amound of defensive midfielders, there's more than enough variety in there to build a very competitive middle line. Bülow is the only pure destroyer of the bunch, with Lovin and Ignjovski being quality all-rounders and Uzoma the most creative of the four. Leitner and Biancucchi are young, underdeveloped options to turn games around from the bench with their freshness and flair. Add that Ludwig (wingers) and Buck (defenders) can also play here and do really well, and we have the strongest and deepest line in the whole squad. WINGERS ======= - Daniel Bierofka (MRL/AML, 31yo, GER, €900k) - Alexander Ludwig (M/AMRLC, 26yo, GER, €725k) - Stefan Aigner (M/AMRL, 22yo, GER, €900k) - Savio (M/AML, 20yo, GER, €1.8M, on loan from Fiorentina) - Daniel Halfar (AMRLC/ST, 22yo, GER, €1M) Just great. Bierofka is a fantastic player for this level, and Ludwig and Savio aren't far behind, with the former being also adept at playing in the center. Halfar and Aigner are also very versatile rotation options. Another very strong line, although with Halfar and Aigner both being trailed by Nürnberg, things could change pretty soon. STRIKERS ======== - Juan Barros (D/ML/ST, 20yo, PER, €550k, on loan from Bolognesi) - Djordje Rakic (AMC/ST, 24yo, SER, €525k) - Benjamin Lauth (ST, 28yo, GER, €750k) - Kenny Cooper (ST, 25yo, USA, €825k) Not bad at all. Cooper is a pure target man, and his height should give opposing defenders fits. Lauth is the opposite: quick and nimble, although not at all useless in the air. Rakic is a great all-rounder who can also come deep to receive the ball and create from there, and Barros is the oddball, a competent backup striker who for some reason has also trained as a left back and left winger, even though he's quite bad in both defending and crossing. No complaints either, even less counting with Halfar (wingers) as a fifth option. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the depth of the squad, with the glaring exception of the left back position. A quick meeting with Herr Beeck to review the financial status of the club revealed that we were only five thousand euros below the wage budget and that there was no money to spend on transfers. Not looking good. I tried to haggle with him by promising a league result better than the expected top half finish, but he would only budge in very small amounts which weren't worth the additional risk of failure. It was clear that I'd have to learn to work with limited resources. Thankfully my scouts were on the case (they knew the squad way better than me, after all), and the first thing I found after returning to my office was a report on Ibrahima Faye, a 30 year-old Senegalese left back who could also play (and quite well, I might add) as a center-back, who was available on a free transfer after leaving Troyes and whose wages would be affordable. I quickly filed in an offer, hoping that no one would steal him under our collective noses. French side Clermont were our main rivals for his signature. I took a look at the reserves and U18 squads later, and found some interesting things. Playing for the former we had midfielders Dominik Stahl and Tarik Camdal, both useful in emergencies, and Albanian right winger Kushtrim Lushtaku, who wasn't good enough for the first team but could provide some well-needed cash if sold, since he was well valued in the market for some reason. There was also Manuel Schäffler, a pretty decent looking target man who was on loan in Duisburg. Meaning he would play against us in the league. Darn it. The youth squad was the pride and joy of the club, which owned one of the best football accademies in the country. Proof of that quality were some of the young jewels that were being polished in there. The most significant ones were goalkeeper Phillip Hentschel, defender Marcel Hauser (both only fourteen years old), attacking midfielders Kevin Volland and Hassan Seif and striker Markus Ziereis. With the depth of the first team squad, it was unlikely that they'd have many chances to shine this season, but the future was looking bright already. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrithral Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Great minds think alike, Dal. I started the FGC last night with Dynamo Dresden, i'm using FM10 though and there's little chance it will end up being a story. Good luck and, as always, you'll have one of your biggest fans on board. PS: Tschauner, Bierofka and Lauth are old FM favourites of mine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Great minds indeed . The FGC has been a thorn on my side for a while, and 1860 caught my heart during the four seasons I spent there in a career game in FM10. Too bad I got there too late to enjoy Bierofka and Lauth, but Tschauner was great... until I signed Kasper Schmeichel . The true legend of those years was that loaned-out guy in the reserves, Schäffler. Boy, was he good... He seems to have been downgraded somewhat in FM11, though. Shame . Oh, and delighted to have you aboard, El . * * * June 11th, 2010 The next day, I had the pleasure to enjoy my first press conference. It was easier than I had expected, to be honest. There was a grand total of ONE journalist in the gigantic press room of the Allianz-Arena. It looked like nobody cared about 1860 anymore. The questions were easy for the most part, but when the journalist, a fellow named Thomas Müller, started his first question with by calling me "Herr Beider", I couldn't help but facepalm. Beeck had done it again. I didn't bother correcting Müller, though. If I had to become Dal Beider in order to earn eight thousand a week, I'd gracefully comply. It was also time for the new staffers to arrive. Eloy, a fellow Spaniard coach, was the first to sign a deal. Next came a big name: Claus Jensen, former Danish international player, had decided to join our staff to quickstart his new career as a coach. The third and last new coach came from the Netherlands, and answered to the tongue-twisting name of Graaf Xhofleer. I never managed to pronounce that "Xh" sound correctly. He never cared. A veteran face joined our scouts that same day, too: 60-year-old Klaus Fischer, bringing lots of knowledge about the game and its players to the club. June 12th, 2010 Time for some action. Kai had arranged a friendly match against the reserve squad, just to allow me to see the lads in action. I took it easy on the tactical side with a flat 4-4-2 formation, and fielded two completely different elevens in each half of the game, an old habit from my FM playing days. The players were still clearly out of form, but there was no excuse to missing a gazillion chances in the first half hour, then conceding in their first shot at goal of the game, a nice crossed finish by Lushtaku. Thankfully Cooper scored a quick goal ten minutes later to draw the game with an uncharacteristic subtle touch after dribbling past the keeper. The second unit did better, and fifteen minutes into the second half Rakic put us ahead with a lobbed header. We kept pushing until the end, but to no avail, and the result didn't budge. There was a lot of work to do. Savio picked up a bruised thigh in the final minutes of the match, and was expected to miss between five and eight days of training. Nothing too serious. June 13th, 2010 Sunday the 13th shouldn't be an unlucky day, but it brought the first serious trouble I had to face: Ghvinianidze wanted out, he felt 1860 was too small for someone of his talent. I kind of agreed with him, but I couldn't afford to start bleeding quality players so soon. I managed to convince him to stay promising him that the team would soon improve to better fit his ambitions. He left my office in a good mood. Crisis averted. June 14th, 2010 Ibrahima Faye didn't take long to agree to our terms. The 30-year-old Senegalese left back joined on a free transfer and signed a two-year deal at €5.5k/week, putting our wage spending almost exactly on the budgeted amount. Unless someone left, there wasn't room for anyone else. June 21st, 2010 After a quiet week, only disturbed by the constant blabbering of annoying agents trying to sell the virtues of the players they represented (and failing spectacularly in most cases), the promotion odds for the 2.Bundesliga came in and gave the squad something to talk about. Hertha BSC were the main favourites at 5-2, as expected, with Bochum, Bielefeld, Duisburg, Cottbus and Karlsruhe behind them. We were given a 33-1 rate, not great but not too bad either. I seriously considered betting a small amount on us, just for the heck of it, but with Calciopoli so close in time I decided against it. The less attention I attracted to myself, the better. June 28th, 2010 Our friendly match schedule for the summer was finally set, with a total of six games. The big ones were to be at home against current Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg and Sparta Prague, and there were also three short stays planned in France, Belgium and Italy, with matches against lower division teams from those countries. The real stuff was about the start. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 July 4th, 2010 The draw for the first round of the DFB-Pokal, a fancy name for what in reality is nothing more than the German Cup, was held on the 4th of July. We got drawn against SW Essen, from the NRW Liga in the 5th (!) tier of the German football league, and one time Cup winners, way back in 1959. An easy draw, even if the game was away from home. The season ticket sales were going well, with 8366 already sold and a grand total of ten thousand ticket holders expected by the time the league kicked off a month and a half later. Filling the Allianz-Arena was out of the question, of course. July 7th, 2010 UJA Paris-Alfortville vs. TSV 1860 München (Friendly) The preseason proper started with a pleasant trip to the small suburban town of Choisy-le-Roi, almost touching the Paris-Orly (yeah, really!) international airport. The local amateur squad were our first rivals, and they were more than a match for us in the first quarter, even testing Király's reflexes in two dangerous chances. We slowly took control, but our forwards were looking out of the game, and the first half ended without goals. We changed things after the break, including a new 4-2-3-1 formation with Rakic alone upfront. It worked a treat: ten minutes later, the striker assisted Halfar with a backwards pass for the 0-1. We controlled the game effortlessly until the end, although the number of chances created was quite low. A very short result. UJA Paris-Alfortville 0 TSV 1860 München 1 (Daniel Halfar 55) July 10th, 2010 TSV 1860 München vs. VfL Wolfsburg (Friendly) The big one. The Bundesliga champions came to the Allianz pretty early in their preparation, and we tried our third formation in three games: 4-5-1. The first half was pretty tight, with both teams fighting for possession in equal terms. Lauth had to be substituted by Rakic on the half hour mark due to injury. Back to 4-4-2 after the break, Wolfsburg quickly took the lead on a counterattack finished with extreme ease by Mandzukic. We kept playing well and enjoying good chances until Buck was fairly sent off for a last-man foul on Mandzukic. Another break through the middle allowed Richter to score the 0-2 in the 77th, and it was game over. Kjaer's header seven minutes later after a corner kick only added insult to the injury. Our best game thus far, and our first defeat. TSV 1860 München 0 (Stefan Buck sent off 72) VfL Wolfsburg 3 (Mario Mandzukic 47, Sascha Richter 77, Simon Kjaer 83) --- Lauth had damaged his right elbow, meaning he would miss 10-14 days of training. He still had time to play in the final friendlies and be in good fitness for the cup and league debuts. July 17th, 2010 Hansa Rostock want Leitner on loan. He's unlikely to feature much this season, so the offer is accepted. --- FCV Dender vs. TSV 1860 München (Friendly) Belgium was next, with Second Division team Dender hosting us in our third preseason friendly. With Lauth out we kept the 4-5-1, this time with Rakic starting. Only three minutes into the game Faye had to leave the field injured. Damn. To make things worse, Dender took the lead in the 14th minute when Béda fell asleep, forgot to clear an innocent cross from the left and Blomme stole the ball from him to score with ease. A terrible first half ended with the 1-0 still on the scoreboard. Things looked better after the break, with young Biancucchi ruling the midfield and creating danger. Finally Cooper pulled level with a fantastic strike from outside the box in the 72nd minute. We kept pushing, but the winner wouldn't come. Another disappointment. FCV Dender 1 (Gauthier Blomme 14) TSV 1860 München 1 (Kevin Cooper 72) --- Thigh strain for Faye, two weeks out. Could have been worse. July 20th, 2010 Moritz Leitner left to Hansa Rostock on loan until the end of the season. It was a great chance for the youngster to experiment first team football in a competitive environment, and we hoped that he would shine in one of the strongest squads in the 3.Liga. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 July 22nd, 2010 It was time to decide the squad bonuses. The club's finances weren't exactly soaring, but there was enough money left to offer a very convincing €2.8M to the players in the case of winning the 2.Bundesliga. The Cup bonus was lower at only half a million, but that competition was never going to be a priority in any case. July 25th, 2010 The fans didn't seem concerned about our lackluster performances on the preseason friendlies thus far, and were flocking to purchase season tickets. 10700 were sold at that point, already surpasing the initial target of ten thousand. That was good. --- Reggiana vs. TSV 1860 München (Fiendly) The last of the summer trips brought us to the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia, invited by the Serie C1A squad Reggiana. We started well for once, and on the 21st a nice pass by Kaiser found Rakic, who shot first time into the root of the far post and into the net to open the score. The players seemed hungry, and after a scramble inside the box Rakic pounced on the loose ball to score the second only six minutes later. Leading at half time was a nice sensation, and we set up a 4-4-2 for the second half, with Lauth returning to action after his injury. He celebrated by assisting Cooper for an easy finish in the 51st, making it 0-3. Reggiana surrendered, and we kept the ball under control for the rest of the half, with Lauth scoring the fourth eight minutes before the end with a wonderful lob over the keeper, and the fifth three minutes later volleying a cross by Cooper. At last, a good game with a good result. Reggiana 0 TSV 1860 München 5 (Djordje Rakic 21 26, Kenny Cooper 51, Benjamin Lauth 82 85) July 27th, 2010 It was time to choose the captain and vice-captain for the season. Benjamin Lauth was the current captain, and although he had done a fine job thus far, there were more suitable players for that role in the squad. In the end, Antonio Rukavina was given the armband, while Daniel Bierofka kept his role as vice-captain. It was a potentially dangerous decision that could upset one of the key players in the squad, but it had to be done. July 31th, 2010 TSV 1860 München vs. Sparta Prague (Friendly) Back home against one of the mainstays of Czech football, Sparta Prague. Faye was back in training, but still not fit enough to play. The first half was pretty even, although most of the good chances fell on our side. Halfar wasted them all in a pretty horrid performance on the right wing. Things were looking good in the second half, too, at least until Holy broke our defensive line and beat Tschauner to put Sparta ahead in the 61st. We poured forward and enjoyed many more chances, including a final one-on-one that Savio sent straight into the muppet, but we couldn't get there. One step forward, two steps back. TSV 1860 München 0 Sparta Prague 1 (David Holy 61) August 5th, 2010 Király was for some reason that my feeble mind couldn't comprehend left out of the Hungary national squad for their upcoming match against England. The man wasn't happy at all, but he didn't seem too worried. After all, it was not like Hungary had too many keepers that could compete with him, right? I mean, seriously, János Balogh? --- 1.FC Union Berlin vs. TSV 1860 München (Friendly) What a better way to close the preseason that with a real test of our strength? That was the reasoning behind facing fellow 2.Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin as our last fixture of the summer. The ball was theirs for the first half hour, but we endured their attacks and slowly started stealing possession rate from them. After a goalless first half, it only took six minutes for Union Berlin to break our defense in the second half: a cross from the left by Mattuschka was volleyed on the far post by Benyamina to score the 1-0. A game-ending injury for Aygün didn't make things look any better. Cooper had our best chances, including an absolute sitter five minutes from full time, but couldn't put any of them in. Not the best way to face the start of the competition. 1.FC Union Berlin 1 (Karim Benyamina 51) TSV 1860 München 0 --- Aygün had torn his hamstring. The physios sent him to one of the best specialists in Munich, but even that would mean a three-month long absence. So things weren't looking exactly bright for our near future, to be honest. Besides the Reggiana game, we had failed to impress against weaker opposition or had fallen narrowly against teams of our level. On the plus side, we usually created many chances. Then we proceeded to squander them all with our abysmal finishing. My only hope was that the players would begin showing their true colours once the season started for good. Otherwise, I'd be toast. Simple as that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mametz1536 Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Great start, It will be interesting to see how 1860 get on, i hope it won't be too frustrating for you. A very good story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 Thanks mametz . We'll see if die Löwen can really return to the glory days of old. * * * August 7th, 2010 Bierofka strained his wrist in training. We decided against using injections, since he would only miss the cup game against SW Essen, and he shouldn't be needed there. Out for 9-12 days. August 8th, 2010 So after the initial rush the fans seemed to wise up, and no additional seasonal tickets were sold since the last update, leaving the final number at 10700. Still above the initial target, so a good number in the end. August 13th, 2010 ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen vs. TSV 1860 München (DFB Pokal 1st round) Friday the 13th. Nice day for a managerial debut. Thankfully it was supposed to be the easiest game of the season by far, so I wasn't that nervous. *** Starting lineups: SW ESSEN (4-4-2): Stefan Riederer (GK); Manuel Schulitz (DR), Thomas Mayer (DL), Alexander Karachristos (DCr), Lars Heller (DCl); Henrik Blecker (MR), Gabriel Czajor (ML), Mark Zeh (MCr), Björn Grallert (MCl); Sebastian Westerhoff (STr), Martin Setzke (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kevin Cooper (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) *** We started a full strenght team, minus Bierofka due to his wrist injury, in a 4-4-2 formation that I planned on using against weaker opposition throughout the season. We went on the attack from the start, and Uzoma had our first chance with a first-time shot from outside the box that Riederer managed to fist away. SW Essen didn't show any fear, though, and Zeh got really close with a direct free kick that went wide to the right, but not by much. 24 minutes into the game, a free kick whipped in by Ludwig ended with Ghvinianidze laying on the grass inside the box, and the referee didn't hesitate to award a penalty kick. Rukavina scored from the spot with a centered shot, giving us the lead, while the Georgian defender struggled against a nagging injury. The home team tried to attack, but didn't manage to create any serious danger, while Uzoma got very close with another long range effort, narrowly wide to the left. HALF TIME - 0-1 Ghvinianidze seemed to have recovered well, so no changes were made at half time. The second half started slow, and it took until the 57th for Uzoma to try again from afar, this time sending the ball a bit over the bar. On the 63rd, a nice break down the left flank initiated by Faye led to a nice combination between Lauth, Cooper and Ludwig, who scored the 0-2 without opposition. Halfar, Aigner and Rakic entered the game a bit later, replacing Ludwig, Savio and Cooper. Rakic got a goal disallowed in the 69th for a quite argueable offside decision. The striker had another good chance eight minutes later, but his finish was punched away by the keeper. A long, hard and extremely high drive by Aigner near full time was the last opportunity of an easy victory, as expected. *** ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen 0 TSV 1860 München 2 (Antonio Rukavina pen 25, Alexander Ludwig 63) --- That easy but terribly short win brought us an extra prize of €100k, which is always a welcome gift. Reaching the second round also covered the minimum expectations of the board regarding this competition, showing that they couldn't care less about the Cup. Oh well. August 14th, 2010 One day later it looked quite likely that we could exceed those expectations in the DFB Pokal. We had been drawn in the second round against the winner of the Hallescher-Chemnitz tie, to be played the very next day. Both teams were in the Regionalliga Nord, meaning that both should be easy prey. August 15th, 2010 Hallescher, then, since they won 3-1 at home. The game would be played on the 26th of October, more than two months down the line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 August 20th, 2010 TSV 1860 München vs. SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2.Bundesliga, 1/34) And the league finally got underway with a home tie against Fürth, also candidates for mid-table. *** Starting lineups: 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kevin Cooper (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) FÜRTH (4-4-2): Max Grün (GK); Stephan Schröck (DR), Christian Rahn (DL), Marino Biliskov (DCr), Thomas Kleine (DCl); Bernd Nehrig (MR), Nicolai Müller (ML), Milorad Pekovic (MCr), Leo Haas (MCl); Tayfun Pektürk (STr), Christopher Nöthe (STl) *** We kept the same squad from the cup game against SW Essen, minus Lovin (replaced by Ignjovski). A healthy but slightly unfit Bierofka was in the bench. Fürth only needed 34 seconds to give us a first scare, a very wide attempt from 25 yards by Haas. It was only a mirage, though, and we soon started moving the ball around their box, looking for a gap. Yet we were having a hard time finding it, and only Cooper managed a long shot that went nowhere near the target. His second attempt was much better, though, and forced Grün to tip the ball over the bar for a corner kick, which ended with a weak header by Savio that the goalkeeper held without much trouble. On the 33rd Lauth attracted three defenders before assisting Savio, who got the ball on the wrong leg and blasted it way over the bar. The winger did better on his next movement, a great cross from the left side that evaded legs until reaching Ludwig, who simply tapped it in for the opener in the 35th minute of the game. We kept pushing, and Cooper got close with yet another long range attempt. On the 41st Lauth found Cooper unmarked behind the defense, and the American shot into Grün's legs. Luckily the rebound went straight to Ludwig, who once again scored unopposed, doubling our lead and grabbing his third goal of the season. Fürth seemed lost on the pitch, and were unable to get one back before the break. HALF TIME - 2-0 The second half started without changes, and only two minutes later Ludwig grabbed his hattrick with yet another easy finish, this time after a fantastic cross by Faye and thanks to the general passivity of Fürth's defenders. My half time warnings against complacency seemed to be working, and we were playing some beautiful passing football. Meanwhile, Fürth continued their abysmal performance with a terrible finish in their first good chance of the game, courtesy of Falkenberg. Ludwig still wanted more, but this time he had to work for his goal and his shot went well wide to the left. A bit later Lauth profited from Biliskov's drowsiness and stole the ball, facing Grün one on one and meeting the keeper's last ditch save. Ludwig went at it again with a beautiful shot that cannonned off the crossbar. Soon the fans could reward him with a standing ovation as Halfar replaced him. Lovin and Kaiser also came in for Lauth and Rukavina, moving us to a 4-5-1. On the 65th Fürth struck lucky, with Nöthe scoring the 3-1 from the edge of the box with an unstoppable low placed shot. The game was still pretty much in our hands, though, and we proceded to kill it slowly but surely, holding onto the ball and only allowing a few inoffensive long shots. Cooper could have sealed the deal for good in the 88th, but his first-time finish was poor and Grün saved easily. 3-1 in the end, a comprehensive win in Ludwig's game of a lifetime. *** TSV 1860 München 3 (Alexander Ludwig 35 41 47) SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1 (Christopher Nöthe 65) --- That was more like it. Beating a direct rival like Fürth in such an emphatic manner was a fantastic way to start the league season. And Ludwig had certainly started the year in a fantastic form. August 22nd, 2010 Promotion favourites Hertha BSC started the season with a shocking 1-4 defeat against relegation candidates Ingolstadt. Nice. August 24th, 2010 Ludwig made the first Team of the Week of the season, although he somehow didn't get the Player of the Week award, which went to Ingolstadt striker Moritz Hartmann. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 15, 2010 Author Share Posted November 15, 2010 August 28th, 2010 Király was right, and the Hungarian national manager only needed one game (a 4-0 defeat against England) to see the error in his ways. He was back in the national team to play against Sweden and Moldova. Ghvinianidze also made the Georgian squad. August 29th, 2010 TSV Alemannia Aachen vs. TSV 1860 München (2.Bundesliga, 2/34) Our first away league fixture brought us to the western end of the country to play against another firm candidate for a safe midtable position, Aachen. Their first game had ended in a 2-0 defeat against Bochum. *** AACHEN (4-4-2): Thorsten Stuckmann (GK); Mirko Casper (DR), Timo Achenbach (DL), Seyi Olajengbesi (DCr), Nico Herzig (DCl); Änis Ben-Hatira (MR), Kevin Kratz (ML), Thorsten Burkhardt (MCr), Thomas Zdebel (MCl); Benjamin Auer (STr), Babacar Gueye (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-5-1): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Florin Lovin (DMC), Eke Uzoma (MCr), Alexander Ludwig (MCl); Daniel Halfar (AMR), Daniel Bierofka (AML), Djordje Rakic (ST) *** We changed formation to a somewhat more controlling 4-5-1, with Ludwig in the middle and Rakic as our lone striker. Bierofka returned to the lineup, replacing Savio on the left. Once again we started somewhat asleep in the first minute, allowing a dangerous-looking wide shot by Zdebel. But only two minutes later a great run and cross from the left by Rakic ended with Halfar smashing his finish against the crossbar. When the winger went for the rebound he was clearly tripped by Achenbach, and the referee whistled for a penalty kick. Halfar himself took the shot, but Stuckmann did extremely well to parry it and sent it into the crossbar, and Uzoma sent the rebound wide. The game went back and forth for a while, with Achenbach and Uzoma getting close from distance, while a pretty trigger-happy referee showed four yellow cards in only twenty minutes. Aachen slowly managed to stablish control over the ball, and the game became a full-fledged midfield battle with little danger on either goal. Bierofka finally threatened something with an inside cut from the left to shoot with his right leg, although the ball went clearly wide. A mistake by Buck almost cost us, but a fantastic last ditch tackle by Rukavina prevented a certain goal by Gueye. Faye tried his luck with a 30 yard direct free kick, and almost hit the jackpot. A weak shot by Rakic marked the end of a pretty intense first half. HALF TIME - 0-0 Bierofka had picked up another minor injury during the first half, and Savio replaced him after the break. The second half followed suit, with Rakic hitting the sidenetting only three minutes in, while the Aachen players protested a pretty unlikely penalty by Uzoma. The Nigerian tried again after a good pass by Ludwig, but once again he was unable to find the target. Lauth and Ignjovski replaced Rakic and a pretty ineffective Halfar in the 60th minute, moving Ludwig back to the right wing. Three minutes later Lauth validated those substitutions provoking another penalty, this time after a pretty reckless tackle by Herzig. This time it was Faye's turn to shoot from the spot, and... he sent it wide! Our bad luck woudln't end there, as Lauth hit the post in the 70th with a nice low shot after a good combination with Savio. The forward kept leading our attack, assisting Lovin from the left before the midfielder sent his shot wide. Aachen had more possession but created close to no danger with it, the only exception a wide effort by Ben Hatira, and a terrible finish by Junglas after a counterattack through the middle of the pitch. Eight minutes before the end Lauth hit the woodwork AGAIN, this time with a cannonball shot from the edge of the box. One minute later Uzoma got a nice ball from Faye but failed to beat Stuckmann in the one on one chance that ensued. We didn't get another. *** TSV Alemannia Aachen 0 TSV 1860 München 0 --- Two missed penalties and four encounters of the close kind with the woodwork. We couldn't get any unluckier than that. Or could we? Still, it was a pretty good performance, if it hadn't been for our woeful finishing. Thankfully Bierofka's injury was just a bruised rib, and with an international break coming right up, he would be ready for our next league match without trouble. Faye joined our small host of international players after a call-up by the Senegal national squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elrithral Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Looking at that 2. Bundesliga, it's a very tight league with a lot of teams that could turn out to be challengers, Bielefed, Cottbus, Hertha, Karlsruher, Bochum, Duisburg and 1860 are all capable of mounting a promotion challenge. The likes of Aachen, Oberhausen and Furth are tricky customers too. I'm 5 points off a promotion place with Dresden (I shifted to FM11), starting to think that i'd rather not get promoted to such a difficult league until i've had a chance to improve my team (i've just been handed FC Bayern as a parent club ). Yet more good luck heaped upon you courtesy of the Elmeister, I think you might need it..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 15, 2010 Author Share Posted November 15, 2010 You couldn't have heaped all that good luck upon me before the Aachen game, could you? Seriously, thanks a lot, I'm sure I'll make good use of it . And yeah, the 2.Bundesliga is as even as it gets, even the relegation candidates can give you a scare if you're not careful (see: Ingolstadt vs. Hertha, two posts above), and the top three or four teams are downright scary. It's probably my favourite division in the whole game, with the Serie B and the Bundesliga proper as close seconds. * * * September 12th, 2010 TSV 1860 München vs. MSV Duisburg (2.Bundesliga, 3/34) After two weeks without any action we returned to the league with a crucial match against promotion favourites Duisburg, with one win and one defeat thus far. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kevin Cooper (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) DUISBURG (4-4-2 diamond): David Yelldell (GK); Julian Koch (DR), Olivier Viegneau (DL), Betão (DC), Branimir Bajic (DC); Goran Sukal (DMC), Benjamin Kern (MR), Filip Trojan (ML), Onur Ayik (AMC); Stefan Maierhofer (STr), Srdjan Baljak (STl) *** We went back to the 4-4-2 that had done so well against Fürth. It worked wonderfully: seven minutes into the game Cooper sent a delicious through ball towards Bierofka, who won the race to the ball against Yelldell and pushed it in for the opener, celebrating his 100th league game with 1860 with an important goal. We held the ball under our control for the following minutes, keeping Duisburg on their own half and looking for the second. Yelldell saved well a weak direct free kick by Cooper in the 18th. Things slowed down a bit afterwards, and on the 32nd Trojan headed into Király's net a cross from the right, only to see the goal disallowed for a previous foul on Ghvinianidze. The left winger had another great chance after a nice ball by Baljak, but Király saved low to prevent a certain goal. That was all for a pretty boring first half. HALF TIME - 1-0 Duisburg tried to attack from the start of the second half, but the first shot was Lovin's, from 25 yards away and narrowly wide. Manuel Schäffler, our loaned out striker, entered the game for Duisburg, and I trembled a bit inside. The game was still under our control, though, with Uzoma sending a powerful effort a few miles above the bar near the 60th minute. Savio replaced an exhausted Bierofka, still somewhat short on fitness, while Rakic took Cooper's place in the attack. A few minutes later Aigner came in for Ludwig, who had been battered by his marker throughout the game. The game crawled slowly towards the end without any action until Bodzek hit the frame of our goal with a powerful effort from afar eight minutes before the end. For our side, Aigner had a good chance after a beautiful ball by Uzoma, but Yelldell saved well and Lauth missed the rebound. The best, though, was for Rakic, after the keeper tried to clear a loose ball and sent it straight at his feet, but the striker sent his finish over the bar from thirty yards away with no one between him and the goal line. We didn't have to remember that chance in the end, though, since Duisburg were absolutely inept on the offensive throughout the game. A solid win. *** TSV 1860 München 1 (Daniel Bierofka 7) MSV Duisburg 0 --- Ugly but effective. The win put us second on the table, two points behind Karlsruhe, the only team to win all three initial games. September 14th, 2010 Daniel Bierofka made the team of the week after his performance against Duisburg. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satio Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Love the way you're presenting these match reports, Dal. Good luck with the challenge! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 Thanks Satio . Would you believe that these are just my in-game notes with some extra formatting and line breaks here and there? * * * September 18th, 2010 VfL Osnabrück (9th) vs. TSV 1860 München (2nd) (2.Bundesliga, 4/34) Osnabrück were supposed to be a bottom half team, but had managed a surprising win at Bochum last week which had given them momentum. It was a pretty dangerous game, but our form wasn't bad either, and we were confident of escaping with the three points in the bag. *** OSNABRÜCK (4-2-3-1): Manuel Riemann (GK); Patrick Herrmann (DR), Alexander Krük (DL), Angelo Barletta (DCr), Benjamin Gorka (DCl); Matthias Hiedrich (DMCr), Niels Hansen (DMCl); Sebastian Tyrala (AMR), Björn Lindemann (AMC), Aleksandar Kotuljac (AML); Mamadou Laminé Diabang (ST) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Kevin Cooper (STr), Djordje Rakic (STl) *** We kept the 4-4-2 despite being away, rotating the midfield players around a bit to give us a more rocky outlook. Once again, it worked fine, specially when Buck got ahead of his marker on the near post to volley a corner kick taken by Ludwig and score the 0-1 in the third minute of the game. Osnabrück tried to recover quickly, with Hiedrich trying luck from afar and finding nothing but the billboards behind the goal. But their reaction was killed almost immediately when Savio gathered a loose ball on the left side of the box, crossed towards the center and met Rakic's finish to put the 0-2 on the scoreboard with only twelve minutes gone. After that we pulled back a little and allowed Osnabrück to have the ball, defending well against their feeble attacks. But a bad mistake at the back by Lovin allowed Hiedrich to recover the ball and cross towards Diabang, who got ahead of Buck to pull one back for the home team, still with twenty minutes remaining in the half. The striker got fired up after his first goal for Osnabrück and tried a powerful effort from the edge of the area that licked the upside of the crossbar. Another attempt by Diabang in the 38th minute was well saved by Király. Rakic answered on the other goal with a bending shot that went narrowly wide to the Riemann's left. We managed to retain our lead without much trouble until the end of the half. HALF TIME - 1-2 Things looked good in the first minutes of the second half, with Lovin soon finding Cooper unmarked inside the box and the American's powerful effort being pushed away by Riemann. Lindemann responded with a dangerous 30 yard shot that Király had some trouble keeping out of the net, and Diabang kept looking for a second goal with a terribly wide header after a corner kick. When Andersen tested Király again, it became clear that we were losing the midfield battle by a landslide. We switched to a 4-5-1, bringing Bierofka and Uzoma in for Ludwig and Cooper. Things improved drastically, and Rakic soon had another chance to increase the lead after a nice ball from Lovin, well stopped by Riemann. The goalkeeper made another great save to tip over the bar a powerful header by Ghvinianidze in the 67th. Lauth replaced Rakic a bit later. Another corner kick almost gave us the third when Uzoma got ahead of his marker and smashed the ball against the post. But after our best minutes of the half, a free kick crossed into our box from the left ended with Ignjovski bringing Barletta down, and the referee quickly signaled the penalty kick. Heidrich scored from the spot to draw the game with only nine minutes remaining. We didn't give up, though, and Lovin wasted a perfectly good chance to recover the lead six minutes later, well assisted by Lauth. Osnabrück also had a chance to win the game in the boots of Lindemann, but his shot was poor and Király saved without trouble. But in the end neither team could get the three points. *** VfL Osnabrück 2 (Mamadou Laminé Diabang 25, Matthias Hiedrich pen 81) TSV 1860 München 2 (Stefan Buck 3, Djordje Rakic 12) --- Such a waste. The draw kept us unbeaten and in the top three, but it could and should have been a win. The media were apparently liking my tactical tinkering, commending me for my constant switching around between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 that kept the opposing managers guessing. None of them ever wondered if I had any idea at all about what I was doing, or if I was just blindly trying stuff and keeping whatever seemed to work. Karsten Baumann, Osnabrück manager, seemed to like my tactics, too, and praised me in the press for such a controlling approach to the game. The fans weren't that happy after we threw away a two-goal lead, but eh. Can't keep everyone happy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 16, 2010 Author Share Posted November 16, 2010 September 24th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue (5th) (2.Bundesliga, 5/34) Two teams flying above their normal heights met next. Aue were relegation favourites, but seven points in four games had put them close to the privileged positions of the table. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) AUE (4-4-2 defensive): Martin Männel (GK); René Klingbeil (DR), Daniel Damm (DL), Thomas Paulus (DCr), Adli Lachheb (DCl); Marc Hensel (DMCr), Oliver Schröder (DMCl), Kevin Schlitte (MR), Tobias Kempe (ML); Sebastian Glasner (STr), Enrico Kern (STl) *** Aue were clearly on the defensive with a very deep formation, while we kept our usual 4-4-2 with some name changes to keep everyone fresh and fit. We almost got to another lightning start when Bierofka broke down the left blank in the very first minute of the game and found Rakic completely unmarked in the far post with a well measured cross, but the striker miskicked his left-footed finish and sent the ball wide, somehow. We had the ball, but Aue got the next chance in a quick break down the middle by Kern that Király stopped with a good save. We struck next, with Lauth shooting wide after a nice pass by Rakic. Király kept us alive with a fantastic save to Paulus' downwards header in the 20th minute of the game. Lauth had another chance after some terrible movement by Aue's defensive line, but Männel fixed their mistake with a good save. Finally, in the 38th, a fine pass into space by Uzoma found Ludwig free on the right wing, and his cross was tapped in by Lauth to give us the lead. Aue didn't threaten our advantage until the break. HALF TIME - 1-0 Lovin came in replacing a very tired Ignjovski after half time. And the first relevant thing he did, only seven minutes later, was half-volleying a corner kick taken by Bierofka to double our lead, scoring his first goal for 1860. Aue seemed lost, and only reacted with a weak shot by Glasner that Király gathered without any trouble. The forward had a perfect chance after a horrible backpass by Faye, but once again Király justified his wage winning the one on one with a great reflex save. Aigner and Savio came into the game replacing Ludwig and Bierofka, giving us fresh legs on both wings. Our next chance came through the middle, though, with a good combination between both strikers leading to a narrowly wide shot by Lauth. A good defensive display in the final twenty minutes kept Aue at bay until the end, securing a good, solid win to keep us near the top. *** TSV 1860 München 2 (Benjamin Lauth 38, Florin Lovin 52) FC Erzgebirge Aue 0 --- Lessons learnt, I guess. This time we did a good job at killing the game before Aue got back into it. Not that they tried too much, in any case. More importantly, Karlsruhe's defeat in Frankfurt left us as lone leaders! To keep the pressure going, the media were suddenly calling us promotion contenders, despite those 33-1 odds at the start of the season, and even rival managers were starting to take us seriously. How things can change in only a couple of weeks... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satio Posted November 16, 2010 Share Posted November 16, 2010 Thanks Satio . Would you believe that these are just my in-game notes with some extra formatting and line breaks here and there? I really wouldn't. Much better than my in game notes which consist of the very basics and a statement like this: we played better. I must say, too, that I love Florin Lovin. What genius that name is keep the results up and you'll restore these giants in no time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 17, 2010 Author Share Posted November 17, 2010 Heh, my routine when playing FM is filled with "press space - press alt+tab - write down a sentence or two about what just happened - alt+tab back to the game - press space" sequences every few seconds. I'm just glad I only play games with Extended highlights on Oh, and agreed 100% with Lovin's name. He's lovin' awesome. * * * October 2nd, 2010 SC Paderborn 07 (12th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundesliga, 6/34) Paderborn were a bottom half team through and through, and were meeting the expectations with exactitude with their 12th place. They came from a draw at Bochum, so it wasn't the easiest place in the world to start defending our top spot in the table. *** PADERBORN (4-4-2 diamond): Lukas Kruse (GK); Sören Gonther (DR), Philipp Heithölter (DL), Christian Strohdiek (DCr), Florian Mohr (DCl); Markus Krösche (DMC), Rolf Cristel Guié-Mien (MR), Daniel Brückner (ML), Enis Alushi (AMC); Edmond Kapilani (STr), Dragan Georgiev (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Mate Ghvinianidze (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Stefan Buck (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kevin Cooper (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) *** Ghvinianidze moved to the right back position to keep a dangerous Brückner under check, while the rest remained more or less the same. The first dangerous situation took eleven minutes to appear, and it was an innocent header by Strohdiek after a corner kick, well held by Király. Paderborn had more possession, but we created a chance in a quick counter led by Ludwig and finished by Bierofka with a weak header, easy for Kruse. Not much later Lovin gathered a loose ball outside the box after a corner kick was refused by the defense and passed towards Uzoma, who turned around and shot with power and precision straight at the top left corner to give us the lead. Paderborn pushed the defensive line forward, narrowing the midfield and trying to regain control of the game, but Uzoma enjoyed sending high balls over the defenders' heads and into the path of Lauth and Cooper. The latter had a great chance after one of those passes, but squandered it with a very poor finish and sent the ball straight at Kruse's hands. A cross from the left by Lauth almost went in after a tap by Ludwig, but the keeper dived to push the ball wide. Béda got close with a header after a corner kick, but he could only hit the outside of the net. The bad news arrived in the 40th minute, when Bierofka was injured by Gonther and had to be replaced by Savio. A wide free kick by Faye was the last chance of the half. HALF TIME - 0-1 Not much happened in the second half until Lauth tried to bend a banana shot from the edge of the box and missed the crossbar by a few inches. Halfar and Ignjovski replaced Ludwig and Lovin in the 62nd minute. The first chance for Paderborn came five minutes later, a good combination through the middle very badly finished by Kapilani. Absolutely nothing else happened until the end of the game, and that was just fine for us. *** SC Paderborn 07 0 TSV 1860 München 1 (Eke Uzoma 16) --- Easy. First away win of the season, and for once we managed to hold a lead outside of the Allianz. We kept the top spot, although Karlsruhe and Duisburg followed close behind. Bierofka had nothing of consequence, thankfully, although he would be on the bench for the next game, which was only five days away. Ghvinianidze and Király repeated international callups. October 5th, 2010 Eke Uzoma made the 2.Bundesliga Team of the Week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 17, 2010 Author Share Posted November 17, 2010 October 6th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (1st) vs. 1.FC Union Berlin (11th) (2.Bundesliga 7/34) Remember our meeting in the preseason? Yeah, they hurt us pretty bad. It was time for revenge, and their shaky away form showed some promise, although they came to the Allianz after destroying Bochum 4-0 at home. By the way, the second favourites for promotion were 14th in the table. Yikes. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) UNION BERLIN (4-4-1-1): Marcel Höttecke (GK); Jérôme Polenz (DR), Patrick Kohlmann (DL), Julien Lücke (DCr), Ahmed Madouni (DCl); Macchambes Younga-Mouhani (DMCr), Dominic Peitz (DMCl), Karim Benyamina (MR), Björn Brunnemann (ML); Santi Kolk (AMC); John Jairo Mosquera (ST) *** More rotation, but keeping the same tactical disposition against a very defensive Union. Things started very promising, with Uzoma hitting the bar with an outrageous 30-yard effort and Lauth smashing the rebound on Höttecke's body. The striker redeemed himself with a nice run down the left flank and a cross towards the far post where Ludwig (who else) headed it in for the 1-0, ten minutes into the game. Union's first shot at goal was a terrible direct free kick by Polenz, never in danger of finding the target. The possession rate was 60-40 in our favour for most of the half, but Uzoma kept wasting perfectly good attacks with terrible long shots. Ludwig was having another stormer, though, and an incisive attack from the right ended with Brunnemann pulling his shirt inside the box: penalty kick. Considering our previous record, it was almost a relief when Lauth took the kick and buried it in, doubling our lead in the 31st. Things almost got even better when a loose ball inside the box bounced on Rakic and towards the goal, but a defender managed to clear it off the line just in time. The Serbian striker didn't have the best of days, and a few minutes later managed to head over the bar a great cross by Savio, when just putting it in looked to be much easier. Ludwig kept doing fine, although his next shot sailed over the bar. When half time arrived the game seemed to be as good as finished. HALF TIME - 2-0 The second half started as the first had finished: under control. Ignjovski had better aim than Uzoma that day, and proved it with a piledriver that Höttecke punched away with a pretty good save. Rakic, meanwhile, kept being unlucky, blasting a shot from the edge of the box into the woodwork. Ignjovski tried again from a bit closer, but this time the ball went a bit too high. Höttecke kept pulling great saves out of his rearside, the next one against a point blank finish by Rakic, who was finally replaced by Cooper after a truly woeful night. Lovin and Bierofka also came in, replacing the excellent Ludwig and Uzoma. After that, the game slowed down dramatically and no other action was recorded on either goal. Union didn't take a shot at goal in the whole second half. Easy win. *** TSV 1860 München 2 (Alexander Ludwig 10, Benjamin Lauth pen 31) 1.FC Union Berlin 0 --- It was so easy that it almost left a bitter aftertaste: how the heck could we have lost against this bunch only a month and a half ago? Either we had improved dramatically once the season had started, or their form had gone down the drain. It was a weird feeling. The best part? Third straight clean sheet, and conceding almost no chances at all. We were starting to look really solid. October 9th, 2010 It had been a long time without a training injury, but they had to come back sooner or later. The pulled number was Rukavina's, who strained his groin and would miss the next 2-3 weeks. Kaiser would finally get a chance to play. October 10th, 2010 Of course, when one evil comes, a million follow. Eke Uzoma strained his wrist on the following day, and would be out for 9-12 days, missing a key game against Karlsruhe at the very least. October 12th, 2010 Ludwig made his second appearance in the Team of the Week. Many more were to come if he was able to keep that form. Ghvinianidze finally had the chance to play a few minutes for Georgia in their 0-4 win over Latvia. He only came in when the game was already in its final minutes, so his impact was minimal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 Ein gütem start, herr Dalbeider. I apologies for my horrendous German, I've not had the opportunity to practice it in the better part of a decade. But, looking good in the league so far. KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 I won't even try to correct your German, Mark. I only took one course, and it was so long ago that I can only remember a few small things about it. Once I'm done with Japanese (five years from now, give or take a few ) I'll go back to it, hopefully. Although declensions make my brain hurt a little inside. Thanks for reading! * * * October 14th, 2010 The upcoming duel against Karlsruhe was starting to heat up, and their manager, a fellow named Markus Schupp, didn't waste any time telling the press that he intended to dislodge us from the top spot of the table, and hopefully crash our promotion hopes in a single blow. I decided to ignore him. I wasn't in the mood for mind games. October 15th, 2010 Karlsruher SC (2nd) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bunderliga, 8/34) What to say about this game. You couldn't call it a title decider that early in the season, but its result would undoubtedly mark the immediate future of both squads' forms and promotion hopes. We had two draws in seven games, they had one defeat and one draw in the same amount, making us the two most in-form squads of the league at that point. *** KARLSRUHE (4-2-3-1): Jean-François Kometzky (GK); Stefan Rieß (DR), Andreas Schäfer (DL), Sebastian Langkamp (DCr), Elias (DCl); Michael Mutzel (MCr), Marco Engelhardt (MCl); Anton Fink (AMR), Alexander Iashvili (AMC), Gaétan Krebs (AML); Macauley Chrisantus (ST) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-5-1): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Aleksandar Ignjovski (DMC), Florin Lovin (MCr), Alexander Ludwig (MCl); Daniel Halfar (AMR), Daniel Bierofka (AML), Benjamin Lauth (ST) *** The 4-5-1 returned for a very difficult away match, although the lack of Uzoma could reduce the creativity of our midfield. And for once, things started horribly wrong: three minutes in a cross from the left found Iashvili inside the box, Ignjovski tackled him cleanly, and the ball slowly rolled into the net for an unlucky own goal. Our initial plan gone to hell in a second, we started looking for attacking options, and Lauth soon sent a long range shot into the sidenetting. Karlsruhe didn't exactly wait for us on their half, and Király had to save a dangerous-looking shot by Engelhardt in the 13th minute. The match got pretty ugly, with lots of fight and muscle but little danger created on either goal. But on the 38th, a fantastic individual movement by Chrisantus allowed him to sneak past Béda and shoot with power past Király to score the 2-0. Lauth tried to answer quickly, but his long range effort went wide. A horrible first half left us in a quite bad position. HALF TIME - 2-0 It was time for changes. First, the formation went back to our usual 4-4-2. Then, Halfar and Lovin left their places to Cooper and Savio. The result wasn't exactly immediate, but at least we looked a bit more solid after the restart. Cooper tried a left-footed shot from just inside the box after a good movement by Lauth, but couldn't hit it well and the ball slowly rolled over the line for a goal kick. His chronic lack of fitness forced us to replace Bierofka, bringing Bülow in his place and moving Ludwig to the right wing. The rest of the half was a boring affair, with zero real chances created by both teams. Karlsruhe were happy with the result and we were simply unable to change it. 2-0 in the end. *** Karlsruher SC 2 (Aleksander Ignjovski og 3, Macauley Chrisantus 38) TSV 1860 München 0 --- Crashing down to Earth. It had to come sooner or later, and now the question was if we could stand back up right away or if we would end up slipping down the table towards our more natural zone, right in the middle of it. The next match would answer that question for the most part. Seven games played and Cooper still hadn't scored. That was worrying, considering that that's what he was being paid for. In fact, none of our strikers was having a good season until then, with Lauth being the most decent of the three and having scored only two goals. We really had to thank Ludwig's goalscoring form for our position. October 20th, 2010 Aygün finally returned to full training after his hamstring injury. Good news, although our defensive line had held its own quite well in his absence. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 October 24th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (16th) (2.Bundesliga, 9/34) We couldn't hope for a better opponent for this game: Oberhausen were confirming their role as relegation candidates with a six-game streak without winning, and we seriously needed a bounce-back win after the terrible performance against Karlsruhe. Which, by the way, had lost the previous day against dead-last Augsburg, so we had a great chance to recover the lead. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) OBERHAUSEN (4-4-2): Stephan Loboué (GK); Dimitris Pappas (DR), Daniel Embers (DL), Benjamin Reichert (DCr), Marinko Miletic (DCl); Oliver Petersch (MR), Heinrich Schmidtgal (ML), Markus Kaya (MCr), Daniel Gordon (MCl); Ronny König (STr), Mike Terranova (STl) *** With the 4-5-1 underperforming, returning to the 4-4-2 was a no-brainer. A quick start saw Bierofka running the left flank and crossing towards Ludwig, who for once hit a poor header that Loboué caught without any apparent effort. Bierofka also picked up a knock in that play, but soldiered through the pain. Next to try was Lauth, with a shot from just outside the box that went wide to the left. Ludwig outran his marker in the 15th minute and sent a good low cross towards Rakic, but the striker's finish was deflected by a well positioned Loboué. One minute later we performed a mirrored version of the same play, with Bierofka crossing from the left, but this time Rakic did better, stretching himself to reach the ball and place it into the net. We kept pushing, and Ghvinianidze had a wonderful chance in the 21st, but sent his header over the bar. Lauth also struggled with a minor injury for the final 20 minutes of the half, but he was healthy enough to receive from Rakic, turn around, sprint past Reichert and place a low shot next to the left post to score the 2-0. Lauth did it again in the 37th, this time assisted by Lovin, but the referee disallowed the goal for a very doubtful offside position. Near injury time a shot by Lovin bounced on a defender and fell to Bierofka, who controlled it and half-volleyed narrowly over the bar. That was all for a great first half. Oberhausen still hadn't shown their face near our goal. HALF TIME - 2-0 With the game under control, Bierofka and Lauth were given the chance to rest, replaced by Savio and Cooper. Things didn't change at all after the break, and our dominance remained almost absolute. Uzoma tried one of his trademark long shots, but Loboué did well to save and hold onto the ball. The Nigerian was soon replaced by Ignjovski, since he had just returned from injury and needed a rest. Sixty-six minutes into the game Savio broke down the left flank outrunning everyone but Rakic, who pushed his perfect low cross into the net to grab his second and our third. The striker even tried for a hattrick with a great 20-yard shot, but Loboué was equal to it with a fantastic fingertip save. Oberhausen's first and last shot at goal of the game came in the 76th, a weak header by König that Király held without any problems. And that was all in a pretty comprehensive win. *** TSV 1860 München 3 (Djordje Rakic 16 66, Benjamin Lauth 28) Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 0 --- Total dominance in a perfect victory, and back to the top spot of the table. There was no better way to bounce back from a defeat against a direct rival. Plus Rakic and Lauth proved that our strike force really could score. Cooper's chances were starting to run out. Bierofka had nothing serious, but Lauth would be out for 5-7 days with a small but annoying bruise on his ribs. [font=Courier New] ========================== 2.BUNDESLIGA AFTER 9 GAMES ========================== [/font][font=Courier New] | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [color=royalblue][b]| 1st | | 1860 München | | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 20 | [/b][/color] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Cottbus | | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 19 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Karlsruhe | | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 19 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Fürth | | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 16 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Duisburg | | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 16 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Bielefeld | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Hertha BSC | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Aue | | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | FSV Frankfurt | | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 13 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Ingolstadt | | 9 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 13 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Aachen | | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 12 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Union Berlin | | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 10 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Bochum | | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 9 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Düsseldorf | | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 8 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Paderborn | | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 8 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Augsburg | | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 16 | -8 | 8 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Oberhausen | | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 15 | -9 | 7 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Osnabrück | | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 6 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [/font] Duisburg had been slipping down the table lately, following two consecutive defeats, while Cottbus and Karslruhe still kept the pressure up. Hertha were climbing up after an abysmal start, and could very well become a threat to the top three if they kept their winning form. Bochum were the greatest disappointment thus far, sitting 13th when expected on the top four. Fürth were the opposite: they had reacted well to their defeat against us in the first week and held a very lofty fourth place. [font=Courier New] ========================== PLAYER STATS AFTER 9 GAMES ========================== [u]Average rating (min. 3 games played, league only):[/u] Stefan Buck [b]7.35[/b] (4 apps) Mate Ghvinianidze [b]7.28[/b] (9 apps) Djordje Rakic [b]7.22[/b] (5[1] apps) Alexander Ludwig [b]7.21[/b] (9 apps) Mathieu Béda [b]7.17[/b] (6 apps) [u]Goals (league only)[/u] Alexander Ludwig [b]4[/b] Djordje Rakic [b]3[/b] Benjamin Lauth [b]3[/b] 4 other players [b]1[/b] [u]Assists (league only)[/u] Alexander Ludwig [b]3[/b] Savio [b]2[/b] Daniel Bierofka [b]2[/b] Kenny Cooper [b]2[/b] 4 other players [b]1[/b][/font] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 19, 2010 Author Share Posted November 19, 2010 October 26th, 2010 Djordje Rakic made the Team of the Week. --- Hallescher FC vs. TSV 1860 München (DFB Pokal 2nd round) Only two days after the last game and we had to get the second round of the Cup out of the way. A good chance for the usual reserves to show they could play, too. *** HALLESCHER (4-4-2): Darko Horvat (GK); Phillip Schubert (DR), Jan Benes (DL), Christian Kamalla (DCr), Christoph Klippel (DCl); Henning Sauerbier (MR), Nico Kanitz (ML), Selim Aydemir (MCr), Steve Finke (MCl); Thomas Neubert (STr), Pavel David (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Philipp Tschauner (GK); Mate Ghvinianidze (DR), Benjamin Schwarz (DL), Necat Aygün (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Stefan Aigner (MR), Savio (ML), Kai Bülow (MCr), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCl); Kenny Cooper (STr), Juan Barros (STl) *** Cooper had another chance to show that he was a good player for the team, but he didn't exactly start well: he stole the ball from a defender and ran straight at goal, but his finish was terribly wide. The American had another chance after a good pass by Savio, but this time Horvat saved, and Aigner blasted the rebound over the bar. Hallescher also wanted to score, and David tried luck from the edge of the box with a wide shot. The game slowed down dramatically until a late challenge by Aygün, in his first game after his hamstring injury, earned a fair red card from the referee, leaving us with only ten men on the pitch. Buck replaced Bülow and we moved to a 4-3-2. Hallescher took their chance and Sauerbier scored after a bad refusal by Tschauner, but the goal was invalidated by the referee: he was offside. In the 39th minute Aigner calmed things down with a nice cross from a dead ball situation that Béda headed into the net to give us the lead. Finke looked for the instante response with a 30-yard effort that whistled very close to the top right corner of Tschauner's goal. That was all for a somewhat ugly first half. HALF TIME - 0-1 Hallescher didn't gain any sympathies from anyone when they profited from Ignjovski injury to mount an attack in the 48th minute, finished by David with a subtle touch past Tschauner to draw the game. Barros struck right back with a header after a cross by Savio, but Horvat saved well to deny him a debut goal. Halfar and Lovin replaced Aigner, who played a decent match, and Cooper, who was terrible once again, moving us to a 4-4-1 with Barros upfront. The idea was to have more possession of the ball, but it didn't work, and Hallescher dominated the following minutes with ease, although creating little danger. To make things even worse Ignjovski had to leave the field injured five minutes before the end, leaving us with nine men. The second half ended without any other goals, or chances for that matter, so the teams got ready for extra time. FULL TIME - 1-1 Absolutely nothing happened in the first half of extra time. Two minutes into the second, though, a break down the left by David ended in a cross towards the far post, where Müller outjumped an atrocious Schwarz to head it in and give Hallescher the lead. We poured forward with the little strenght we had left, but only six minutes later a cross from the right by Sauerbier passed through our whole defensive line before reaching Kanitz, who simply put his foot on the way to redirect it into the net, while Tschauner watched. But we weren't done, and five minutes before the end Barros stole the ball after a terrible pass by the right back, moved into the box and shooted to score the 3-2 and give us a little hope of a comeback. The miracle didn't come, though, and we fell to a team two whole tiers below us. *** Hallescher FC 3 (Pavel David 48, Markus Müller 107, Nico Kanitz 113) TSV 1860 München 2 (Mathieu Béda 39, Juan Barros 115, Necat Aygün sent off 30) --- The only question after that game was if we could sink any lower. An absolutely abysmal performance, Aygün's sending off not even being worth mentioning as an excuse. It was the first time in my short career that I had to scream my lungs out at the players after a match, but they certainly deserved every word of it. The fans were devastated, of course, but the board didn't seem to mind too much. Herr Beeck and his colleagues kept climbing places in my personal "Craziest People in the Universe" list. Despite the defeat, we were awarded a €250k prize for reaching the second round. Not bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 19, 2010 Share Posted November 19, 2010 Too bad about the cup, but it should take a load off your heavy schedule, and you can focus on the league. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 19, 2010 Author Share Posted November 19, 2010 Yeah, the cup was never on the radar anyway. What hurt more was the way we lost. Oh well... * * * October 31st, 2010 Fortuna Düsseldorf (14th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundesliga, 10/38) Two historical German teams met in very different situations. We were top of the league, while Fortuna were pretty close to a relegation battle they weren't expected to face. Considering our midweek showing and our recent away form, I was pretty worried. *** DÜSSELDORF (4-4-2 diamond): Michael Ratajczak (GK); Christian Weber (DR), Assani Lukimya (DL), Jens Langeneke (DCr), Tiago (DCl); Claus Costa (DMC), Oliver Fink (MR), Sascha Dum (ML), Andreas Lambertz (AMC); Wellington (STr), Marcel Gaus (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mathieu Béda (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kenny Cooper (STr), Djordje Rakic (STl) *** Most starters returned to the lineup, since the backups were both tired and out of favour after the Hallescher debacle. Cooper remained, though, and his was the first chance after a good cross by Bierofka. Of course, Ratajczak saved his shot, and Rakic got the rebounded ball nicked away from him by Tiago before he could finish the job. Rakic did much better in the 10th minute, breaking the offside trap and receiving from Uzoma before rifling the ball into the net to give us an early and very welcome lead. Only four minutes later Fink handballed inside the box for a clear-cut penalty kick. Faye didn't miss this time and scored the 0-2 from the spot. We still wanted more and kept attacking, with Uzoma missing the target by inches with one of his powerful efforts from outside the box after a good movement by Rakic. Fortuna tried to recover, but their attacks smashed again and again against our solid defensive line. Király didn't have any work to do until the 38th, when he caught with ease a weak header by Dum. Cooper kept being Cooper, sending wide a good chance after a fantastic run by Ludwig on the right. That was the last action of a pretty good first half for our interests. HALF TIME - 0-2 Cooper didn't seem like scoring, but at least he was giving assists, like the one he managed after receiving from Kaiser, running the right side of the box and crossing towards a completely unmarked Rakic, who simply pushed it in to score the 0-3 in the first minute of the second half. That should have killed any hopes for Düsseldorf, but they still tried, with another header by Dum that met the same fate as the first: Király's gloves. On the other goal Rakic kept working towards a hattrick, shooting low and with power from the edge of the box into Ratajczak's good diving save. With the game as good as finished, the few reserves that got out of the Cup mess with any credit (Savio, Aigner and Barros) came into the game, replacing Bierofka, Ludwig and Cooper. Lambertz tested Király's reflexes from afar, but the keeper was up to the task and saved easily. Finally, with nine minutes remaining, a good counter down the right led by Jovanovic ended with a good pass towards Fink, who assisted Lambertz for an easy finish: 1-3. Rakic missed the perfect chance for his third goal after a miskick by Langeneke left him alone against Ratajczak, but his finish went wide, licking the outside of the left post. A long shot by Uzoma that Ratajczak caught with ease was the last chance of the game, as we forgot the pains of the Cup with three more points in the league. *** Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 (Andreas Lambertz 81) TSV 1860 München 3 (Djordje Rakic 10 46, Ibrahima Faye pen 15) --- Back to the correct path after the cup slip. The team was looking a bit shaky, but also showing a good capacity for immediate positive reactions, and that was good. Some consistency was next in the list of "Things to Do If We Want to Promote". That good result was made even better by Cottbus' and Bielefeld's defeats and Duisburg's draw, leaving only Karlsruhe on the chase. November 2nd, 2010 Rakic and Uzoma in the Team of the Week, both for the second time in the season. Aygün had already served his automatic suspension for his sending off against Hallescher, but he'd have to rest for two additional weeks after the FA decided to increase his ban for violent conduct. November 5th, 2010 Fortuna Düsseldorf sacked Norbert Meier, who became the first managerial casualty of the season after chaining five games without a win and dropping into the relegation zone. Hertha's manager, the legendary Markus Babbel, was under pressure too, but kept his head above the surface for another week with a 2-0 win over Oberhausen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 November 6th, 2010 More press shenanigans, this time by Hans-Jürgen Boysen, FSV Frankfurt manager, who also wanted to stop us from gaining promotion for some reason or another. My response pointed out that he'd better concentrate on keeping his team in the 2.Bundesliga, as was his objective. He was doing fine thus far, though, managing a pretty respectable tenth place. November 7th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (1st) vs. FSV Frankfurt (10th) (2.Bundesliga, 11/34) With a third of the season almost gone by, it was time to reinforce our leading position defeating relegation candidates and overachievers FSV Frankfurt. Our home form was simply perfect until then, so we were really confident of grabbing three easy points. The fact that they came from three defeats in a row also helped with that. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) FSV FRANKFURT (4-4-2 defensive): Patric Klandt (GK); Stefan Hickl (DR), Marc Stein (DL), Gledson (DCr), Björn Schlicke (DCl); Samil Cinaz (DMCr), Jaouhar Mnari (DMCl), Mario Fillinger (MR), Andreas Dahlén (ML); Cidimar (STr), Momar N'Diaye (STl) *** Rukavina and Lauth returned from their injuries and straight into the lineup. Frankfurt's deep defensive line gave us some problems in the first minutes, as we couldn't find a way to break through their two anchor men plus four defenders. Ghvinianidze had our first real chance with a header after a corner kick that Dahlén, who covered the far post, cleared off the line. Rakic came next, heading well a cross by Bierofka, but finding Klandt's hands in the way. Ignjovski almost scored the goal of the season from 30 yards away, but the ball cracked against the crossbar and bounced over. Frankfurt were defending well, but didn't create any danger until the 31st, and even then it was only a very high header by Dahlén. A final shot by Rakic that Klandt saved without problems was the last chance of the half. HALF TIME - 0-0 Frankfurt surprised attacking from the get go after the break, with Dahlén shooting very wide only two minutes into the second half. A bit later, a fantastic recovery by Faye allowed us to mount a counter that Rakic finished by shooting into Klandt's body. In the 57th minute Lauth tried luck from a distance and Klandt saved without apparent effort. Savio, Cooper and Lovin entered the game replacing Bierofka, Rakic and Ignjovski, trying to refresh our somewhat stale attacking ideas. The referee didn't help, ignoring a foul on Lauth that would have meant Schlicke's second yellow card and then showing one to Cooper for a nonexistant foul on Gledson. Cidimar gave us a serious scare with a first time shot that went narrowly over Király's bar. Stein tried luck in the 74th with a direct free kick that also went too high. We threw forward everything we had, and in the 84th finally found the prize. Savio broke into the box from the left and crossed low, Klandt failed to intercept the ball and Ludwig (WHO ELSE!) finished the job with an easy finish on the far post. Frankfurt didn't surrender, and Cidimar headed over the bar a dangerous cross from the right by Hickl. Lovin tried to close up the game with a long distance shot, but Klandt fixed his previous mistake with a good save. We held the ball close to our feet for the remainder of the game and secured the three points. *** TSV 1860 München 1 (Alexander Ludwig 84) FSV Frankfurt 0 --- Much harder than we thought before the game, that's for sure. Ludwig once again became our saviour and kept the three points at home. Karlsruhe rounded the day with their 4-0 debacle against Bielefeld, who moved up to third place. We were four points clear at the top, and that felt great. November 11th, 2010 Aygün was cursed. There was no other explanation to his streak of injuries, sending offs and more injuries. This time it was a strained wrist that would keep him out for 9-12 days. Király and Ghvinianidze were once again called up by their respective national teams. A few more minutes of play for both of them would be nice. Specially for Király. November 17th, 2010 Well, one out of two ain't bad: Ghvinianidze played 33 minutes against Luxembourg and had a solid if unremarkable game. Georgia won 2-1, by the way. Király still waited for his chance to add to his 69 caps, second in the picking order behind Ipswich's Márton Fülöp. November 18th, 2010 Reserve midfielder Biancucchi strained his ankle ligaments in training, missing the next 4-5 weeks of training. More managers under fire: Aachen's Peter Hyballa and Bochum's Friedrich Funkel could lose their heads (figuratively, of course, Germans aren't that crazy) if they didn't score a win in their next match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 21, 2010 Author Share Posted November 21, 2010 November 20th, 2010 Another promotion clash, another rival manager dissing our chances of actually achieving that goal. This time it was Claus-Dieter Wollitz, from Cottbus. My response? Silence. November 21st, 2010 FC Energie Cottbus (5th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundelisga 12/34) Very similar to the match against Karlsruhe, this was not a title decider but we could almost eliminate a direct contender with a win. Their form wasn't great, with only a draw and two defeats in their last three games. *** COTTBUS (4-4-2 defensive): Thorsten Kirschbaum (GK); Kolja Afriyie (DR), Daniel Zeibig (DL), Markus Brzenska (DCr), Uwe Hünemeler (DCl); Marc-André Kruska (DMCr), Marco Kurth (DMCl), Shao Jiayi (MR), Jules Reimerink (ML); Gabriel Jula (STr), Nils Petersen (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) *** No changes beside the usual rotations of Béda/Buck and Lovin/Ignjovski. Jula was their greatest threat to date, with 11 goals in 13 games between league and cup. We started well, managing to hold the ball most of the time and getting the first shot at goal via Uzoma, a very, very high attempt from afar. Cottbus prefered to wait and run on the counter, and in one of those Petersen missed a clear cut chance by shooting wide when alone against Király. Lovin also tried luck from distance, and although the ball went in the right direction, it lacked power and Kirschbaum saved with ease. Another long ball allowed Shao Jiayi to break our defensive line from the right, but then he got nervous and shot too early and too wide. After a pause, we restarted our unsuccessful attacks via Lauth, whose finish was so wide it almost went for a throw in. Rakic got much closer with a surprise long shot that hit the post before going wide. A pretty drab first half finished without goals. HALF TIME - 0-0 Bierofka was hurting after a challenge in the first half and was replaced at half time by Savio. The second half restarted with the traditional high ball by Uzoma, whose constant long shots were starting to get on my nerves a little bit. In the 50th minute Savio nodded a ball towards Lauth inside the box. Hünemeler got there first, but the forward fought for the ball, stole it and shot with power to beat Kirschbaum and give us the lead. Cottbus looked unable to create danger with their play, so they resorted to set pieces that our defense cleared easily. But a terrible defensive mistake cost us when Petersen found Jula on the right side of the box and the striker crossed towards the center, where Kruska got ahead of everyone and scored the 1-1 with 30 minutes left to play. Cooper replaced a pretty poor Rakic immediately afterwards. A dangerous backpass put Hünemeler in trouble again, and once again Lauth won the ball from him and faced Kirschbaum one on one, but this time the keeper improved and tipped his shot wide. In the 72th minute Ludwig did it again, this time by taking a corner kick towards the near post where Buck got first and blasted the ball into the back of the net. We took the chance to bring Ignjovski into the fray replacing Uzoma. Soon Petersen wasted a great chance for Cottbus in another counterattack with another abysmal finishing. Cooper returned the favour with a wide shot after a death pass by Ludwig, the easiest goal he had missed until then, and that was some achievement. We kept pressing until the end, smothering their midfield and preventing any chance that would rob us of our well-deserved three points. *** FC Energie Cottbus 1 (Marc-André Kruska 60) TSV 1860 München 2 (Benjamin Lauth 50, Stefan Buck 73) --- A good, hard-fought win that consolidated our privileged position on the table even further. Karlsruhe had drawn, and now we had extended our lead to 6 points over Duisburg, who now were second on goal difference. November 22nd, 2010 The upcoming match against Bochum had been chosen by the board as a fan day, meaning that a good crowd was expected. The perspective of maybe seeing the Allianz-Arena stands with more sky blue shirts than red empty seats filled my heart with a warm, fuzzy feeling. November 23rd, 2010 Ludwig was once again selected in the Team of the Week, fourth time thus far. Our loanee at Duisburg, target man Manuel Schäffler, was chosen as Player of the Week after a fine performance against Paderborn, capped with a wonderful hattrick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Excellent stuff sir, looks like 1860 are on their way to big things. I used to like to play them on FIFA 97 I believe it was Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Thank you very much, Mark. It's been almost that long since they were in the top flight. That's a tough streak indeed, poor Löwen... Now, about the part on being on the way to great things... * * * November 28th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (1st) vs. VfL Bochum (10th) (2.Bundesliga 13/34) One of the biggest disappointments of the season until that point. Title challengers mired in the middle of the table, their manager Friedhelm Funkel was understandably under heavy pressure to improve, and quickly. Their recent form was good, though, with four games undefeated before facing us. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Djordje Rakic (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) BOCHUM (4-5-1): Philipp Heerwagen (GK); Marc Pfertzel (DR), Björn Kopplin (DL), Anthar Yahia (DCr), Mergim Mavraj (DCl); Christoph Dabrowski (DMC), Milos Maric (MCr), Marcel Maltritz (MCl), Mimoun Azaouagh (AMR), Zlatko Dedic (AML); Jong Tae-Se (ST) *** Only one change from the Cottbus match, the already traditional Béda/Buck swap. The first chance was for us thanks to Bierofka, who stole the ball from Kopplin and entered the box to shoot, but a well positioned Heerwagen and the tight angle he was in prevented an early goal. Uzoma tried his usual banana shot from outside the box, with the usual amount of luck: none. Bochum answered through Dedic, who cut in from the left to shoot with his right and met Király's diving save. The left winger was giving Rukavina fits, and with another very similar play in the 18th minute he managed to hit the post, with Király quickly punching the rebound out of the danger zone. Jong Tae-Se tried his luck with a low shot from the edge of the box, but the ball went well wide. It was clear that if Bochum had to score it had to come through Dedic, and so it did: another incursion from the left ended with a low cross towards the heart of the area, where Béda miskicked his clearance, allowing the ball to hit an unaware Uzoma and bounce over the line for the 0-1 in the 23rd. We had more possession, but the chances were all theirs, the next a bending shot by Jong Tae-Se that went narrowly wide to the right of Király's goal, and a high header by Maltritz a few minutes later. Király had more work in the 36th, when Maric sent a powerful free kick straight at goal and he had to punch it away, right into Jong Tae-Se's way. Thankfully, the Korean sent the ball wide. So did Dedic after yet another defensive failure by Rukavina in the very next play. Our first shot at goal in almost thirty minutes came from a direct free kick hit with power by Faye that Heerwagen managed to push wide. That was all for a pretty bad first half. HALF TIME - 0-1 A terrible Rukavina was replaced by Buck at half time, moving Ghvinianidze to the wing to try to stop Dedic from tearing us a new one. The lads reacted well to my scolding in the dressing room, and soon Rakic was sending another free kick marginally over the bar. Maric had Bochum's response with a long distance shot that went a bit too much to the left of its intended target. A bit later, a header by Buck after a free kick taken by Bierofka was easily handled by Heerwagen. We were playing well, but Dedic was unstoppable that day: a cross from the right by Azaouagh reached the penalty spot, exactly where the winger had wandered towards to hit it first time and score the 0-2 in the 57th minute. We brought Cooper and Savio in for Lauth and Bierofka, looking for a fast reaction. Our left winger quickly got into action, passing towards Rakic for the striker to try a shot from the edge of the box, well parried by the goalkeeper. Rakic's next try a few minutes later was worse, way over the bar. Meanwhile, Bochum moved to a 4-4-2 diamond formation. Savio had a great chance after a perfect through ball by Uzoma, but failed to finish the job properly, handing an easy save to Heerwagen. But as time went on, our attack slowly dried up, and Bochum had no problem reaching the end of the game with their lead intact. A complete failure of a game. TSV 1860 München 0 VfL Bochum 2 (Eke Uzoma og 23, Zlatko Dedic 57) --- Terrible, just terrible. Maybe even worse than the Hallescher debacle, because there at least we tried until the end. Here, we just seemed absolutely out of our level. Bochum bossed us left and right, simple as that. So much for the fans' day, by the way. Thirty-four thousand came, eight thousand over our average attendance, but few of the new faces would want to return after witnessing such an awful performance. Funkel wasn't impressed with us, either. Understandable, but saying so to the press was ugly and uncalled for. My answer was pretty scathing, reminding him that he's in no position to talk with his neck on the line and Bochum disappointing so much in the league. I wasn't exactly in a cheery mood that day, that's for sure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 ACH! I have cursed you Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 Haha, don't worry. I've bought enough amulets to keep a full battalion of witches at bay . * * * December 4th, 2010 FC Ingolstadt 04 (6th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundesliga, 14/34) From one of the biggest disappointments to one of the biggest surprises. Ingolstadt were expected at or near the bottom, and instead had managed to compete with the best teams in the division, and they were not far at all from a playoff spot. Not the best place to visit after a home defeat. *** INGOLSTADT (4-4-2): Sascha Kirschtein (GK); Andreas Görlitz (DR), Tobias Fink (DL), David Pisot (DCr), Marvin Matip (DCl); Stefan Leitl (MR), Sebastian Hofmann (ML), Manuel Hartmann (MCr), Fabian Gerber (MCl); Steffen Wohlfarth (STr), Ersin Demir (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Kenny Cooper (STr), Djordje Rakic (STl) *** Mini-revolution, with some recent underperformers (Rukavina, Bierofka, Lauth, Uzoma) sitting on the bench as a warning shot. Things go crazy pretty early: Gerber brings Ignjovski down with a criminal tackle, earns an early red card and sends our midfielder straight into the infirmary. Uzoma is brought in in his place. Martial arts aside, the first interesting thing happens in the 13th minute, a dangerous long shot by Lovin that Kirschtein tips wide with a good save. The keeper also saved well after a header by Ghvinianidze in the following corner kick, and did well again when Cooper assisted Ludwig four minutes later, pushing his shot away from danger. Cooper was feeling generous that day, sending good passes left and right, with Uzoma sending a clear-cut chance wide after one of them in the 34th. But Ingolstadt defended well despite their numerical inferiority, and the first half ended without goals. HALF TIME - 0-0 Seven minutes into the second half Uzoma tried from almost 30 yards away, earning an "oooh" from the fans as the ball cannonned off the crossbar and clear. But four minutes later the unbelievable happens: Hartmann bosses our midfielders all by himself, then sends a fantastic through ball towards Wohlfarth, who outruns Buck and places a good finish into our net. Lauth and Bierofka came in for Rakic and Ludwig, and we poured forward looking for the draw. Still, it was Wohlfarth who had the next chance with a narrowly wide header after a cross from the left. But the draw came, although it had to be from a corner kick, taken by Bierofka and headed in on the far post by Ghvinianidze in the 69th minute. There was enough time to look for the winner, and Bierofka almost had it after a nice cross from the left by Uzoma, but Kirschtein dived in front of him to perform a miracle save against his point-blank finish. It had to come sooner or later, though, and it did so in the most unexpected way: good pass by Kaiser towards Cooper, who turned around and placed a perfect finish near the right post to score the 1-2, only five minutes after the draw. The American could have got his second of the game and the season in the 80th after yet another nice ball from Uzoma, but this time his finish was of the usual quality (i.e., poor) and the keeper saved easily. Ingolstadt still hadn't given up, though, and Wohlfarth hit the woodwork with a wonderful shot from the edge of the box three minutes later. That was it, though, and in injury time Lauth ran past his marker before assisting Cooper for a finish so easy even him shouldn't be able to mess up. He didn't. 1-3, and we were back in the winning lane after a completely crazy game. *** FC Ingolstadt 04 1 (Steffen Wohlfarth 56, Fabian Gerber sent off 4) TSV 1860 München 3 (Mate Ghvinianidze 68, Kenny Cooper 73 90+3) --- Cooper was alive! And so were we, although that early red, totally deserved as it was, surely helped our cause. We weren't too sharp in any case, and we struggled against a team that played with ten men for almost the whole match. But still, three points. No one could complain about that, right? Ignjovski would "only" miss 3-4 weeks with a twisted ankle after Gerber's killer challenge. Could have been much worse. Luis César, manager of Gimàstic de Tarragona, apparently wanted to bring Ghvinianidze to Spain, and was caught in the stadium scouting him in person. Since he was our best defender thus far, my willingness to sell him was in the negatives at the moment. December 7th, 2010 Our two goalscorers, Ghvinianidze and Cooper, made the Team of the Week. December 8th, 2010 Worldsoccer.com published some "interesting" player "analysis" data about the 2.Bundesliga, including the fact that Ludwig was leading the league in Man of the Match awards with four. If I had known that you could make a living simply by looking at some online stats page, making a list and publishing it somewhere... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 24, 2010 Author Share Posted November 24, 2010 December 10th, 2010 Oh boy, the rival managers were starting to pick on me and my team like there was no tomorrow. The next in line was Jos Luhukay, from Augsburg, saying that we weren't ready to gain promotion. Of course, Augsburg being our rivals (not our arch-rivals, that spot is reserved to the owners of our fancy rented stadium), it was to be expected. I answered in kind, stating that beating them to a pulp would be a fantastic way to propel us towards the Bundesliga. Maybe I overdid it? To make things even more interesting, Stefan Buck would be playing against his former team. I was sure that his old fans were about to welcome him with buckets of flowers and heaps of praises. Yep, completely sure. December 11th, 2010 FC Augsburg (18th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundesliga 15/34) Last against first, easy win, right? Think again. Augsburg were last, but only on goal difference and only two points away from the salvation line. Granted, they had only one win in their last five games, but they were still going to be hypermotivated to play against us. *** AUGSBURG (4-4-2 diamond): Simon Jentzsch (GK); Paul Verhaegh (DR), Lukas Sinkiewicz (DL), Uwe Möhrle (DCr), Gibril Sankoh (DCl); Kees Kwakman (DMC), Marcel Ndjeng (MR), Marcel de Jong (ML), Torsten Oehrl (AMC); Nando Rafael (STr), Michael Thurk (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kenny Cooper (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) *** The starters returned to their appointed places and everything was back to normal in our lineup. We quickly got into action with a narrowly wide effort by Lovin from outside the box. We laid siege to Augsburg's goal, but we found it hard to tear down their defensive wall in the first minutes. In fact, the ones who almost scored were the home team, in a corner kick that an unmarked Thurk volleyed straight at Faye, who was covering the near post and managed to knock the ball behind for another corner. But in the 25th we weren't so lucky: a counterattack ended with Ndjang nodding the wall towards Thurk, who snuck past Buck and shot with power through Király's attempt at a rush out to score the 1-0. Only five minutes later Lauth had to be replaced by Rakic, unable to continue due to injury. Cooper got really close after a cross from the left by Bierofka, but his header went narrowly over the bar. From then on Augsburg controlled the ball and the game, and we had to wait for half time to come so we could try and patch things up. HALF TIME - 1-0 A few harsh words later, we reentered the pitch with a completely different mindset. Faye was the first to strike with a powerful direct free kick that licked the outside of the left post. But disgrace struck us hard immediately afterwards, when Rukavina sent a pass towards Buck but the ball struck the unaware Ghvinianidze instead, falling at Rafael's feet. His finish afterwards was easy, and Augsburg's lead had suddenly doubled. We pushed forward once again, and soon we had to be thankful not to be three down when Király managed a miracle save to Oehrl's point-blank volley after a great movement by Thurk on the left flank. Something had to change or we were done for, and Savio and Kaiser replaced the very disappointing Bierofka and Rukavina. Things didn't improve. At all. In the 59th Thurk snuck past a pretty poor Ghvinianidze, dropped towards the left side attracting Király, and then crossed towards Rafael, who headed it in unopposed to score the 3-0. And it could have been even worse ir Oehrl had been a bit luckier with his header only four minutes later. Lovin finally brought us back into the game with a narrowly high shot from 25 yards away, which was better than the nothing we had managed until then. Lady Luck finally smiled upon us in the 76th minute, when a great cross by Ludwig was headed by Rakic, and Jentzsch managed to save, but only to end up pushing the ball into the net himself. 3-1 and we still had a small chance of coming back from behind. But Augsburg did their job, and we only managed a very wide long shot by Uzoma in the remaining time. A hard to swallow defeat. *** FC Augsburg 3 (Michael Thurk 26, Nando Rafael 49 59) TSV 1860 München 1 (Simon Jentzsch og 76) --- Remember when I wondered if we could sink any deeper? The answer was yes. This was rock bottom. Even the usually rock solid Ghvinianidze seemed lost in the pitch, constantly getting in the way of his companions' passes. It was a mess, pure and simple. Lauth was lucky, and only had a gashed leg. 8-10 days of rest and he'd be running up and down the pitch again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 25, 2010 Author Share Posted November 25, 2010 December 19th, 2010 TSV 1860 München (1st) vs. Hertha BSC Berlin (6th) (2.Bundesliga 16/34) Our last game before the extended winter break saw us facing one of the most dangerous squads in the league. Hertha started horribly, but were slowly but steadily picking themselves up, and hadn't lost in their last three games. Babbel was still under heavy pressure, though, and any defeat could mean his immediate sacking. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mathieu Béda (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Kenny Cooper (STr), Djordje Rakic (STl) HERTHA BERLIN (4-4-2): Maikel Aerts (GK); Christian Lell (DR), Levan Kobiashvili (DL), Peter Niemeyer (DCr), Andre Mijatovic (DCl); Patrick Ebert (MR), Rob Friend (ML), Pál Dárdai (MCr), Fabian Lustenberger (MCl); Raffael (STr), Adrián Ramos (STl) *** Hertha's lineup was scary as hell. Ours was lacking some constant underperformers in the previous weeks like Bierofka and Rukavina, plus Lauth due to injury. We tried to control possession from the start, while Hertha hit first on the counter with a cross from the right and a good header by Friend that Király saved comfortably. Not much happened in the first quarter, although we were succeeding in our goal of holding the ball at all times. In the 22nd Cooper scored after a nice assist by Uzoma, but he was clearly offside and both linesman and referee saw him, so the goal was quickly disallowed. Dárdai tried luck from distance in one of the very few approaches by Hertha, but sent the ball into the stratosphere. He tried again a bit later from even farther afar, and this time sent the ball well wide. Ramos had the best chance of the half after a delicious through ball by Lustenberger, but the striker unbelievably sent the ball wide when only Király stood between him and the goal. Uzoma was apparently envious of Dárdai and also tried one of his horrible long shots, this one a few miles wide to the right. Lell joined the party with an even better (read: worse) effort. Unsurprisingly, the first half ended without goals. HALF TIME - 0-0 Things followed suit after the break: Lustenberger, long shot, over the bar. But soon Hertha tried something different: Raffael assisted Ramos inside the box, and the striker's shot was parried by Király. Raffael gathered the rebound, and with the whole empty net at his mercy, the Brazilian sent the ball wide. A terrible miss. Our possession rate was dropping like a rock, and Hertha were ruling the midfield since the last minutes of the first half. To try and improve things we brought Ghvinianidze in for Uzoma, moving Buck to the midfield. Halfar also replaced a pretty average Ludwig. But in the 63rd Ramos broke down the left flank and sent a low cross towards an unmarked Raffael, who found himself with a finish that no one could miss. And he didn't: 0-1. Hertha kept dominating, and Ramos had another chance with a shot from the edge of the box that went wide to the right. Raffael had another a bit later after winning the ball from Béda and shooting into the root of the post from a tight angle. In a bit of a desperate move, Barros replaced Rakic with 20 minutes left to play. But it just wasn't our day: Béda saw a fair straight red after fouling Ramos from behind, as the last defender and with the striker about to enter the box. From then on it was even more of a monologue by Hertha, with Lustenberger missing a one on one against Király six minutes before the end and Raffael hitting the crossbar from 25 yards away a few seconds later. Finally, in the 86th, Ramos broke the offside trap with a good movement, Raffael saw him and sent him a nice through ball, and the striker finished the job putting the ball between Király's legs for the 0-2. And then, just like that, Halfar broke down the right flank and crossed towards Cooper, who advanced and placed a nice shot past Aerts to score the 1-2, just one minute after conceding. We poured forward, looking for a last minute miracle. In the third minute of injury time Faye crossed from the left and Halfar headed the ball downwards, but Aerts saved well. That was our chance, and we didn't have another. *** TSV 1860 München 1 (Kenny Cooper 87, Mathieu Béda sent off 72) Hertha BSC Berlin 2 (Raffael 63, Adrián Ramos 86) --- Okay, this was a match I could see us losing, but really, not the best moment nor the best way to do it. We went into the winter break second in the table, one point behind Karlsruhe. And given our recent form, it wasn't looking likely that we would ever recover that place. Béda (red card) and Uzoma (five yellows) would be suspended for our next game. Just what I needed to make me feel better. At least Markus Babbel was sympathetic to our plight, saying that we were doing more than well enough with the resources at our disposal. Nice bloke, this Babbel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 26, 2010 Author Share Posted November 26, 2010 December 21st, 2010 It was time to take a look at the expiring contracts in the squad. Some of our stars (Ludwig, Lauth, Bierofka, Király, Béda, Ghvinianidze) had a little over six months remaining in their deals, plus some reserves like Aigner, Aygün or Schwarz that would probably be allowed to leave. - Benjamin Lauth: his agent accepted a one year extension with a 10% decrease from his previous wages without even trying to negotiate. That was good. - Alexander Ludwig: Osnabrück were tracking him, so his agent waited for our offer before stating his demands. When they came, they were quite reasonable, although a €3k/week increase in his basic wage hurt a bit. Still, he was too good to let go, so after some negotiation, an acceptable offer was filed. - Gábor Király: he wanted to double his wages, from €6k to over €12k per week. That was too much for us, so we let the matter be for a while, to see if he'd be a bit more reasonable with his demands later on. We risked losing him for nothing, but there was no way we could pay that much. - Daniel Bierofka: the total opposite: he came with a proposal to reduce both his squad status (from key player to rotation player) and his wages (from €10.5k to €8.5k) in exchange for a one year extension. We sealed the deal in just five minutes. - Mathieu Béda: after some haggling, he signed a one year extension with a marginal raise in his basic wages. A good deal. - Mate Ghvinianidze: uh-oh. Not only did he want a substantial raise, but he also demanded a clause that allowed him to automatically match the biggest earner in the squad. That wouldn't do, so we left the table and postponed the negotiations until later. The shadow of Gimnàstic's interest kept looming over the whole process. - Philipp Tschauner: a three-year extension with a minor increase in wages. With Király on the fence, it was vital to secure at least one of our keepers for the future. - Björn Bussmann: the young keeper suddenly wanted to be a rotation player and a tenfold increase in wages. He was promising, but not *that* much. Offer put on hold. - Necat Aygün, Stefan Aigner and Benjamin Schwarz: there were no negotiations at that point. Things could change in the future depending on performances and/or other changes in the playing squad. December 22nd, 2010 Looks like the Hallescher incident was not completely our fault after all. The Regionalliga Nord squad took another scalp in the cup, and a much bigger one at that: they knocked out Bundesliga leaders Hoffenheim with a 1-0 home win. Their next rival in the quarter finals would be Borussia Dortmund. Could they go all the way? Karlsruhe and Fürth still survived in the competition. December 25th, 2010 As a Christmas present I got a reminder that Juan Barros' loan was about to end, leaving us with only three out-and-out strikers in the squad, none of them in any kind of good form. With our wage budget exhausted, our only option to reinforce that position would be another loan. December 26th, 2010 My knowledge from the Spanish leagues finally shone when I found a little gem in the transfer list: Juan Villar, a very capable 22-year-old striker that could also play on the right wing. For some reason Recreativo didn't want him, and they were willing to accept a loan. Once the transfer window opened, we would be all over him. December 28th, 2010 It was strange that the flu hadn't struck at our squad until then, what with München being freezing cold in winter. Kai Bülow was the first to fall ill, and hopefully he'd also be the last. December 29th, 2010 Manuel Schäffler was having a decent season in Duisburg, and was offered an extension of his contract with a small reduction in wages, which he gladly accepted. He'd probably stay with us on the following year. One who wouldn't get a new deal was my assistant manager Kai Griepenkerl. His advice had been questionable most of the time, and he had ambitions of becoming a full-fledged manager, so he would be allowed to leave in June. January 1st, 2011 Happy new year! First thing of 2011, the board offered me a new chance to change my season expectations. This time I took it, since a title challenge looked way more likely then that at the start. This increased our wage budget to €195k/week, meaning we could finally sign someone! Woo! Cristiano Ronaldo ran rampant in the end of year awards, winning the Golden Ball, the Player of the Year award and the Best Midfielder award. Sergio Agüero was chosen as the Best Striker, Patrice Evra as the Best Defender, and Júlio César as the Best Goalkeeper. It was a bit shocking to see zero members of the World Champion Spanish squad in the honour list, although Xavi, Villa and Fábregas (not Iniesta?) got second and third places in some of them. --- TSV 1860 München vs. FC Schalke 04 (Friendly) The first winter friendly brought one of the most stablished Bundesliga sides to the Allianz. They were having a bit of an off year, sitting only 8th in the table. It was time to experiment, and we did so with a 4-2-3-1 formation. And it worked wonderfully at the start, when a cross from Halfar was finished by Bierofka to give us the lead only three minutes into the game. We were dominating the game with ease, but a quick counter in the 20th allowed Gavranovic to draw the game, and Höwedes put Schalke ahead with a good header in a corner kick five minutes later. But in the 34th we repeated our first goal with the roles reversed: Bierofka crossed, Halfar finished the job. We kept doing well in the second half, but a missed header by Rukavina allowed Jendrisek to put Schalke ahead once again in the 63rd. Rukavina completed a disastrous second half by commiting a clear penalty on Jones in the final minutes, allowing the veteran Raúl to score from the spot. A bad result, but a good performance against quality opposition. *** TSV 1860 München 2 (Daniel Bierofka 3, Daniel Halfar 34) FC Schalke 04 4 (Mario Gavranovic 20, Benedikt Höwedes 25, Erik Jendrisek 63, Raúl pen 88) January 2nd, 2011 Reggina got in the way of our interest on Villar, offering €210k to purchase him permanently. Now it was in the player's hands. January 3rd, 2011 1.FC Lokomotive Leipzig vs. TSV 1860 München (Friendly) The second match of the offseason brought a much easier rival, Lok Leipzig from the fifth tier of German football. The heavy rain falling over Leipzig didn't help our passing play, and it took us until the 28th to open the score, thanks to Lauth's finish and Bierofka's cross. Things got easier in the 37th when Saalbach was rigurously sent off after a foul on Lauth. We kept attacking for the rest of the first half and the whole second half, and finally found our prize when Rakic headed into the net a ball that Savio had smashed into the crossbar with only seven minutes remaining in the game. *** 1.FC Lokomotive Leipzig 0 (Markus Saalbach sent off 37) TSV 1860 München 2 (Benjamin Lauth 28, Djordje Rakic 83) January 7th, 2011 So Villar finally joined Reggina. Sigh. Time to look for alternatives. With the 4-2-3-1 working acceptably well I was thinking of going for an attacking midfielder instead of a striker. Someone who could do both jobs would be just perfect. Even better, we had money to spend on wages now, meaning we could also take a look at the free transfer market. Biancucchi fell injured playing with the reserves, a sprained ankle that would keep him out for 5-6 weeks. Another reason to look for an attacking midfielder. --- SV Sandhausen vs. TSV 1860 München (Friendly) Third and last winter friendly, this time against 3.Liga squad Sandhausen. It was snowing quite heavily, but we still had the game under control in the first minutes until finally Ludwig opened the scoring with a nice shot from just inside the box, profiting from a good movement by Halfar. The first half ended without any more goals, and the second half only brought more snow, a few hundred chances missed by Cooper, and an injury to poor Ignjovski. We played well, but our finishing was all over the place except where it was supposed to be. Still, a solid win to close the midseason break. *** SV Sandhausen 0 TSV 1860 München 1 (Alexander Ludwig 23) --- Ingjovski kept picking up minor but damn annoying injuries. This time it was a twisted knee that would keep him out of contention for 2-3 weeks. January 10th, 2011 Bad news: Király injured his chest in training, and was expected to miss 13 days at the very least. Tschauner would get his chance to shine. January 11th, 2011 Hm, interesting. Levante were desperate to offload striker Rafa Jordà and offered him to us on a free transfer. Since his estimated value was well above two million and his wages were affordable, we didn't hesitate to apply. We expected heavy competition, of course, but it was worth a try. January 12th, 2011 Austria Wien were the first to join the race for Jordà's signature, and apparently were likely to be the last. We had a real chance of landing a very good player on the cheap. In the meantime, we were exploring other alternatives: 30-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder Tiago Freitas joined on trial. The initial assessment of the coaching staff was good, so we decided to try and sign him before someone else noticed his availability. His demands were on the very low end of the spectrum, making him and Jordà's signings fully compatible with our budget. Another of the options we were working on, Independiente's Marquinhos, decided to join Figueirense on loan instead of coming to Europe. His loss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 26, 2010 Share Posted November 26, 2010 I enjoy playing the 4-2-3-1 when I have the players available. Do you use defensive midfielders, or central ones? Wingers or three AMC's? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 27, 2010 Author Share Posted November 27, 2010 Central ones, and with wingers. With Uzoma as our most creative midfielder I want him as close to the box as possible, but he can't play AMC, so it was either two MCs or going assymetric, something I try to avoid when possible. And with so many good wingers and so few AMCs (Ludwig, Halfar and Rakic as a last option) in the squad, playing the wide version of the AM line was almost automatic. * * * January 13th, 2011 It was time for mind games again, and against a master of the trade: Christian Ziege claimed that our upcoming clash against his Bielefeld side would be a promotion decider. I played down the expectatives, stating that it was certainly a very big game, but that there was enough season for whoever happened to lose to recover and achieve the objective anyway. January 14th, 2011 SC Arminia Bielefeld (3rd) vs. TSV 1860 München (2nd) (2.Bundesliga 17/34) The first half of the season ended with a promotion clash between two out of form contenders. Both had lost our last two games, and both were looking for a vital win to keep us in the race. With Karlsruhe running rampant and the pressure from behind increasing, neither them nor us could afford to drop many points in the next few weeks. *** BIELEFELD (4-4-2 defensive): Rowen Fernandez (GK); Cristiano Teixeira (DR), Markus Schuler (DL), Markus Bollmann (DCr), Fábio Fidélis (DCl); Maximilian Haas (DMCr), Rüdiger Kauf (DMCr), Franck Guela (MR), Arne Feick (ML); Orhan Mustafi (STr), Oliver Neuville (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Philipp Tschauner (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Florin Lovin (MCr), Kai Bülow (MCl); Daniel Halfar (AMR), Alexander Ludwig (AMC), Daniel Bierofka (AML); Benjamin Lauth (ST) *** With both Uzoma and Béda suspended and Ignjovski injured, our midfield was a bit of a patch work, featuring the until then forgotten Bülow. Bielefeld attacked first, with Guela moving well and assisting Mustafi, who shot into Tschauner's somewhat dubious parry. The Guela-Mustafi pair worked again four minutes later in a corner kick taken by the first and headed over by the second. We enjoyed a nice double chance in the 15th minute, first with a shot by Ludwig that hit on a defender, then with Lovin shooting narrowly wide from distance on the rebound. The game was very tight and no team could create danger with any kind of consistency. Lauth got very close after a fantastic individual run through the middle finish with his left foot, but his shot hit the bar and bounced back on the ground a few inches away from the goal line. The rest of the first half was lost in a midfield battle for possession without a clear winner. Goalless draw at the break. HALF TIME - 0-0 Bielefeld started the second half with a good movement by veteran ex-international Neuville, who ran into the box but shot with little power straight at Tschauner's gloves. Ludwig almost got there after a nice cross by Bierofka, but the ball was cleared off the line by a defender when the goal seemed certain. Later, Lovin tried again from afar, and sent the ball very wide in a pretty poor attempt. We had the game under control, or so it seemed, and Savio and Rakic came in for Halfar and Lauth to try and finish the job. We kept pushing, but Bielefeld's defense kept us at bay, limiting us to long range efforts that went nowhere near their intended target. The best chance came in the 80th, when Rakic dropped to the left, ran into a huge space and crossed low towards the far post where Bierofka smashed his finish into the post. Herrmann gave us a scare in a corner kick with five minutes remaining, but thankfully his header went wide. Ludwig got very close from twenty yards away, his low shot missing the left post by a few inches. One minute later, Neuville blasted over the bar a one on one chance against Tschauner. With that terrible miss, the game ended as it began: without goals. *** SC Arminia Bielefeld 0 TSV 1860 München 0 --- I'd take an away draw against a direct rival any day of the week, so I wasn't at all unhappy with the result, nor with the performance. The 4-2-3-1 formation was starting to look pretty useful, although the 4-4-2 would still be used against weaker teams. Luis César came back to take another look at Ghvinianidze. We needed to sort out his contract as soon as possible. [font=Courier New]=========================== 2.BUNDESLIGA AFTER 17 GAMES =========================== | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Karlsruhe | | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 20 | +6 | 34 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|[color=deepskyblue][b] | 2nd | | 1860 München | | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 33 | [/b][/color] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Bielefeld | | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 15 | +17 | 30 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Ingolstadt | | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 19 | +7 | 29 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Duisburg | | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 12 | +6 | 27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Cottbus | | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 25 | 22 | +3 | 27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Hertha BSC | | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 28 | 29 | -1 | 27 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Fürth | | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 28 | 20 | +8 | 26 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Bochum | | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Aachen | | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 24 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Paderborn | | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 26 | -8 | 21 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Oberhausen | | 17 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 21 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Aue | | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 20 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Union Berlin | | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 19 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Düsseldorf | | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 18 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Augsburg | | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 28 | -9 | 18 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Osnabrück | | 17 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 20 | -7 | 14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | FSV Frankfurt | | 17 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 14 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|[/font] Wow, look at the tightness of those top 10 places, only six points between 3rd and 10th. Fürth had dropped the pace a bit, but Ingolstadt had taken their place as the surprise of the season, and were looking really solid at the top four for a team that was fully expected to fight against relegation. Hertha and Bochum remained anchored in the midtable, but the distance in points was so small that they could be in the promotion battle with only a couple of consecutive wins. [font=Courier New]=========================== PLAYER STATS AFTER 17 GAMES =========================== [u]Average rating (minimum 6 games played, league only)[/u] Mate Ghvinianidze [b]7.16[/b] (15[1] apps) Stefan Buck [b]7.11[/b] (10[1] apps) Mathieu Béda [b]7.09[/b] (10 apps) Eke Uzoma [b]7.05[/b] (13[2] apps) Alexander Ludwig [b]7.05[/b] (17 apps) [u] Goals (league only)[/u] Djordje Rakic [b]5[/b] Alexander Ludwig [b]5[/b] Benjamin Lauth [b]4[/b] Kenny Cooper [b]3[/b] Stefan Buck [b]2[/b] [u] Assists (league only)[/u] Savio [b]4[/b] Alexander Ludwig [b]4[/b] Daniel Bierofka [b]3[/b] Kenny Cooper [b]3[/b] Benjamin Lauth [b]2[/b] [u] Man of the Match awards (league only)[/u] Alexander Ludwig [b]4[/b] Djordje Rakic [b]2[/b] 5 other players [b]1[/b][/font] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 27, 2010 Share Posted November 27, 2010 That has not gone well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 28, 2010 Author Share Posted November 28, 2010 Could've been much worse, really... So, today one of the random power surges that usually happen in my house made me lose two weeks of play and the corresponding notes. Those two weeks happened to be the last week of June and first of July, just after I had managed to land some fancy free transfers. 'Angry' doesn't begin to cover it, really. I hope I can just repeat it all without problems. Oh, and I'm setting the autosave to weekly, starting now ¬_¬. * * * January 15th, 2011 Rafa Jordà agreed to our terms and joined 1860 on a free transfer! A 27-year-old multi-purpose tall striker, good with head and feet and also a decent enabler of his attacking companions via nods and passes. He signed a deal until June 2014, at only €6.25k/week, which is a fantastic deal for a player of his quality. His arrival had a good chance of spelling doom for the underperforming Cooper, who was supposed to play a very similar role but was constantly failing at it. January 17th, 20111 Our second winter signing became a reality two days later: Tiago Freitas, 30 years old, Brazilian and able to play as an attacking midfielder and as a striker, joined on a free transfer after leaving Vila Nova (GO) at the end of his contract. His only previous experience in Europe were two seasons in Naval, but his quality was more than enough to improve a team of our stature. Creative, good passer, good finisher and also a quite credible threat in the air, he was to be used as a roleplayer in our attack for the remainder of the season and the following one. His low wages (€3,4k/week) were another plus. January 21st, 2011 The Bochum board decided they had had enough of Friedhelm Funkel and sacked him after an outrageous 6-1 (!) defeat against Aachen. January 22nd, 2011 SpVgg Greuther Fürth (8th) vs. TSV 1860 München (1st) (2.Bundesliga 18/34) The second half of the season started as the first did, with a difficult game against an in-form Fürth side. Despite their slight slip on the table, they had managed two consecutive wins and were looking quite good on the pitch. *** FÜRTH (4-4-2): Matjaz Rozman (GK); Kim Falkenberg (DR), Philipp Langen (DL), Asen Karaslavov (DCr), Jan Mauersberger (DCl); Bernd Nehrig (MR), Sercan Sararer (ML), Milorad Pekovic (MCr), Edgar Prib (MCl); Dani Schahin (STr), Christopher Nöthe (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Philipp Tschauner (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Eke Uzoma (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Alexander Ludwig (AMR), Tiago Freitas (AMC), Daniel Bierofka (AML); Rafa Jordá (ST) *** The two new signings made the starting eleven after just one week of training with the group and low on fitness. Fürth had recently lost Nicolai Müller to Villarreal, so their wings were supposed to be at least a bit weaker. Things looked good enough in the first minutes, with Bierofka enjoying the first chance with a header saved by Rozman after a shot by Uzoma bounced on a defender. Fürth had control of the ball, though, and soon Schahn tried luck from distance with a very wide effort to give us a first warning shot. Another attempt by Prib was well saved by Tschauner, who also did well against two consecutive finishes by Nöthe a few minutes later. Fürth kept battering us with constant attacks, and we had our hands full just trying to weather the storm. In the 24th Tschauner shined again with a good save after Schahin outran his marker and faced him alone inside the box. After that we finally got a break from the constant onslaught, and we used to create our first real attacking move: the ball flowed towards the right, where Ludwig cut into the box and passed backwards towards the penalty spot, where Rafa Jordá shot first time to score an unlikely and fantastic debut goal, completely against the flow of the game. Fürth were understandably shocked, and we went on to control the following minutes of the game, with Lovin hitting the post with a piledriver from outside the box after a very nice movement by the whole team. Another shot by Lovin well saved by Rozman marked the end of a strange first half. HALF TIME - 0-1 We kept playing really well after the break, and soon Uzoma and Ludwig combined through the middle, and the latter continued the play with a delicious through ball towards Rafa Jordá, who simply blasted it in to score the 0-2 and round up a fantastic debut. Fürth finally reacted, and in the 57th Pekovic tried a crossed shot from the right that went very, very wide, after their first decent attacking movement since the first half. It was time for refreshments, and Savio replaced a pretty decent Tiago Freitas, moving Bierofka to the right and Ludwig to the hole behind Jordá. Not much later it was turn for Bülow and Halfar, replacing Lovin and Bierofka. Jordá seemed to be struggling against a nagging injury, but he kept playing. In the 73rd Prib managed a fantastic pass into the box from the left wing, Nöthe ran past a pretty static Ghvinianidze and placed the ball past Tschauner to claw one goal back. After that the game started looking like a repeat of the first twenty-five minutes, with Fürth attacking nonstop. Nöthe had a good one with a low shot that went wide, but very close to the root of the right post. In the 77th they managed to repeat the play of the first goal, with Nöthe dropping towards the left this time before assisting Schahin, who got away from Buck and shot first time to score the 2-2. And it could have been worse if Tschauner hadn't managed a miraculous save to another very similar play, again with Nöthe crossing and Schahin finishing. An injury to Savio left us with ten men on the pitch for the final three minutes of the game. With a final high ball by Pekovic, the game ended in a fair draw. *** SpVgg Greuther Fürth 2 (Christopher Nöthe 73, Dani Schahin 77) TSV 1860 München 2 (Rafa Jordá 25 53) --- See above for my reaction to any away draw against difficult opposition, although allowing Fürth to come back from two goals behind was a bit of a blunder. Rafa Jordá's debut was impressive and Tiago Freitas looked solid. The worst part was that this was our fourth straight game without winning, but at least we still kept the second place in the table. Savio's injury was a clean arm fracture that would keep him out of the field for 4 weeks. January 25th, 2011 As we Spaniards (and Rafa Benítez) would say, Rafa Jordá had just arrived and he was already kissing the saint: he made the Team of the Week and was chosen as the Player of the Week in his debut match. Not bad at all for a free transfer that couldn't get a game in Levante... After training it was discovered that young keeper Björn Bussmann was suffering from a sports hernia. He was made to rest for 4 weeks. January 26th, 2011 The Cup adventure of Hallescher FC and the two remaining 2.Bundesliga teams ended in the quarterfinals. Schalke 04, Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund would meet in the semifinals. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 28, 2010 Share Posted November 28, 2010 Wow, impressive debut! Too bad you couldn't hold that lead, nothing more frustrating than thinking you're getting away with one, only for that to happen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 29, 2010 Author Share Posted November 29, 2010 Yeah, those comebacks always make me question everything, from tactics to touchline shouts to half time team talks. It's annoying throwing away a win and not really knowing why. And Jordá started really well indeed. A sign of things to come? Well... * * * January 28th, 2011 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. TSV Alemannia Aachen (9th) (2.Bundesliga 19/34) Now this was a game we could not afford not to win. The funny thing is that Aachen had been winning as far as we had been not winning... oh man, that sounds so awkward. Translation: they arrived to the Allianz after four consecutive wins, and we hadn't won in those same four games. It was going to be hard, even more considering that our last two home games had been defeats. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Eke Uzoma (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Alexander Ludwig (AMR), Tiago Freitas (AMC), Daniel Bierofka (AML); Rafa Jordá (ST) AACHEN (4-4-2): Thorsten Stuckmann (GK); Mirko Casper (DR), Timo Achenbach (DL), Seyi Olajengbesi (DCr), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (DCl); Markus Daun (MR), Alper Uludag (ML), Änis Ben-Hatira (MCr), Thomas Zdebel (MCl); Benjamin Auer (STr), Babacar Gueye (STl) *** Király, Rukavina and Béda returned to the starting eleven. The first minutes of the game were spectacular, with both teams attacking with everything in a four-minute-long back and forth that ended with a 30-yard piledriver by Uzoma that Stuckmann tipped wide with a fantastic save. In the following corner kick Béda sent the ball wide after a good nod by Lovin. Aachen finally relented and tried to defend, but Bierofka destroyed their defensive line with a wonderful backheel pass towards Rafa Jordá, who improved on his great debut game by scoring the 1-0 only seven minutes after kick off. The Spaniard looked unable to miss, but finally did eight minutes later with a high shot after a good pass by Ludwig. Aachen tried to react and went on the attack again, but only managed a wide long shot by Uludag in their first attempt. Tiago Freitas was starting to find his place, sending nice through balls towards both wings. In one of those Ludwig cut in from the right and shot from a very tight angle that Stuckmann did well to cover. A bit later Olajengbesi gave us a scare in a corner kick with a narrowly high header. Bierofka was playing his best game of the season, but it ended too soon: he had to be replaced by Halfar in the 32nd due to a ugly-looking injury. The winger started his involvement in the match with a high and wide effort from the left side of the attack. Another defense-splitting pass by Tiago Freitas found Ludwig behind the defense, but Stuckmann managed a great save in the one on one to deny him a clear goalscoring opportunity. Uzoma also liked to try that kind of passes, and found Halfar on the left with one of them. The winger advanced along the goal line before crossing low towards the far post, where Ludwig easily pushed it in for the 2-0 in the last minute of our best first half in a long, long while. HALF TIME - 2-0 Uzoma started the second half with another great ball towards Ludwig, who tried to mirror Halfar's play from the second goal. This time, though, Stuckmann was more the wiser and dived to intercept the cross before Rafa Jordá could reach the ball. Uzoma was on fire, and tried his luck from distance only to see the ball bounce off the crossbar. Then he tried again from a direct free kick and sent it licking the outside of the left post. And all that in only three minutes! Zbedel caught us sleeping a bit later and broke unmarked through the middle, but Béda made a fantastic last ditch tackle to deny him the chance to test Király. The game calmed down a bit afterwards, with only Auer trying luck from distance and finding only the sidenetting. We took the chance to give Jordá a bit of a rest, and Lauth took his place. Rakic came in later replacing an exhausted Ludwig, moving Tiago Freitas to the right wing. Rakic was hungry for football and goals, and in the 72nd gathered a loose ball in the edge of the box after a cross by Faye, turned around and shot with power to score the 3-0. Aachen practically gave up right then, while Uzoma kept looking for his goal from distance without luck. Their answer was a very wide effort by Buckhart and a good chance for Auer that Király pushed away. A final chance for Junglas that the Hungarian keeper tipped wide was the last action of the game. Great win, finally. *** TSV 1860 München 3 (Rafa Jordá 7, Alexander Ludwig 45, Djordje Rakic 72) TSV Alemannia Aachen 0 --- That felt good. Looking back, our last official win dated from the 4th of December, almost two months away. Jordá and Tiago Freitas were already looking like candidates to signings of the season. Now it was time to build upon this and catch Karlsruhe once and for all. Faye would miss the next game due to suspension. Bierofka wasn't as lucky: he had broken his collarbone and would be out for 7-8 weeks. Ouch. February 1st, 2011 Király got a surprise nomination in the Team of the Week after a fine performance against Aachen. February 2nd, 2011 Bussmann sacked his agent. Perfect opportunity to sneak a new deal on him, since he seemed to ask for much more reasonable wages than his ex-agent did back in December, and he still was happy with a hot prospect status. Király and Ghvinianidze kept firm in their demands, though. February 3rd, 2011 Talking about those two, both got international callups for their national squads again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Good, a much needed win to break the spiral. When I hold a lead late in the game and I notice the opposition starting to attempt a come-back, I often switch to a counter-attacking look, use "Drop Deeper" and "Stay on feet". I always play in TV screen mode, with match stats, my team's ratings, assistant advice and my team's mental evaluations open. I _always_ try to sub players that "look complacent" as soon as they get that message, and try to sub players that look nervous as I've seen too many instances where a lazy or nervy player makes a mistake that lets the other team in, half-hearted tackles or sloppy passes are usually the culprit. Usually, when looking at the game stats, if I hold the lead and continue to have more of possession and continue creating equal or more chances after gaining the lead I won't change my team's mentality, but if I see the other team start "catching up" (their possession and shots go up drastically, while my team all but stops creating chances) I know that they've switched to high pressing and attacking football and the counter tactic seems to be the ideal way to deal with that, and in using "drop deeper" and "stay on feet" I tend to keep many of their chances to long-range efforts rather than through balls that lead to one-on-ones, with the added benefit of occasionally catching them over committed and hitting them on the break to extend the lead Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 See, I always try to do the exact opposite. Standard/Defensive mentality, Retain possession, Play to feet, Play narrower, maybe change to a x-5-y formation if I'm not in one already, and I try to get hold of the ball forever and kill the game that way. In the past every time I tried something similar to what you do, I almost always ended up regretting it. This way works fine for me at home, but not so much away. I'll try your way the next time I'm ahead and away and see what happens. * * * February 5th, 2011 Ohoho, that was rich. Milan Sasic, Duisburg's manager, told the press that we'd be lucky to finish in midtable, thus dismissing our promotion chances. Fifty-two and already senile, old man? February 6th, 2011 MSV Duisburg (6th) vs. TSV 1860 München (2nd) (2.Bundesliga, 20/34) Duisburg were a weird team. Best defense in the league, but fifth worst attack with exactly one goal scored per game. Only one defeat in their last five games, but also only one victory. It was going to be a tough match, but I couldn't see conceding more than once against them, and that was if they were quite lucky. *** DUISBURG (4-4-2 diamond): David Yelldell (GK); Julian Koch (DR), Olivier Viegneau (DL), Betão (DC), Branimir Bajic (DC); Adam Bodzek (DMC), Ivica Grlic (MR), Filip Trojan (ML), Onur Ayik (AMC); Stefan Maierhofer (STr), Srdjan Baljak (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Benjamin Schwarz (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stephan Buck (DCl); Eke Uzoma (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Alexander Ludwig (AMR), Tiago Freitas (AMC), Daniel Halfar (AML); Rafa Jordá (ST) *** Schwarz and Halfar start due to the absences of Faye and Bierofka. Rafa Jordá wanted to keep his goalscoring form in the red hot zone, and tried luck from the edge with a low shot that Yelldell caught easily. Next he sent a through ball towards Ludwig, but the keeper rushed out and smothered his finish just in time to prevent a goal. Maierhofer tried to hit us on the counter immediately after, but Király was well positioned and saved well. We looked in control of the situation, and our attacks kept flowing, with Halfar crossing from the left and Ludwig once again getting his header saved by Yelldell. Jordá tried another long shot, but this time the ball fled way over the bar. One of the few attacks by the home team ended with a dangerous finish by Trojan being tipped wide by Király. A terribly high free kick by Halfar was supposed to be the last chance of the half, but the winger got another in injury time after a fantastic pass by Tiago Freitas. His finish, though, was parried by a very lively Yelldell. No goals at half time. HALF TIME - 0-0 The second half didn't start much better, but the local fans seemed used to this kind of slow, methodical approach to football and were cheering their team anyway. Onur Ayik got a good chance stopped by Király, who seemed on form after his nice showing against Aachen. Our new signings connected through the middle and Rafa Jordá was left with a difficult left-footed finish that Yelldell saved with ease. It was time for changes, and Rakic, Ignjovski and Aigner came in for Jordá, Lovin and Halfar. The winger was the first to act with a terrible shot after a good pass by Ludwig. We went for a last push in the final fifteen minutes, with Ludwig trying luck from a tight angle but finding Yelldell in the way. Again. Yet the final chance was for Duisburg, after a quick counterattack badly finishd by Exslager. A goalless draw in a boring game. *** MSV Duisburg 0 TSV 1860 München 0 --- It was predictable, really. Our third consecutive away draw was starting to feel like too little if we wanted to put pressure on Karlsruhe, who still were three points away, but at least it extended our unbeaten run to four games. Uwe Klein, Fortuna's new boss, seemed to be interested in Ghvinianidze, too. No wonder the guy had his head in the clouds. Our chances of retaining him were closely tied to our chances of promoting, it seemed. February 8th, 2011 Király and Ghvinianidze (we're talking about those two a lot lately, right?) made the Team of the Week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 February 13th, 2011 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. VfL Osnabrück (18th) (2.Bundesliga, 21/34) Now, this really was supposed to be an easy game. Osnabrück hadn't won a game since November and had enjoyed a grand total of two wins until then, so we were pretty confident. But looking back at the Augsburg match, we knew that things could easily go wrong even against the weakest opposition. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Stefan Aigner (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Rafa Jordá (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) OSNABRÜCK (4-4-2 diamond): Manuel Riemann (GK); Alexander Schnetzler (DR), Alexander Krük (DL), Tobias Nickenig (DCr), Benjamin Gorka (DCl); Matthias Hiedrich (DMC), Benjamin Siegert (MR); Sebastian Tyrala (ML), Björn Lindemann (AMC); Nicky Adler (STr), Dennis Schmidt (STl) *** The 4-4-2 made a comeback in a game we expected to dominate with ease, with Aigner being the most surprising inclusion on the left. Osnabrück surprised us by getting the first chance of the game, a narrowly wide shot by Lindemann from the edge of the box, but we soon stablished our dominance and put the game completely under our control. Faye sent our first shot wide, but very close, in a powerful effort from a direct free kick position. Uzoma was next with a shot from distance that went just a little bit too high. His next effort looked to be better directed, but lacked the usual power and Riemann saved with ease. Third time's the charm, though, and after a defender nicked the ball away from Rafa Jordá, Uzoma gathered it near the edge of the box, advanced two steps and took a low, powerful and perfectly placed shot to give us the lead in the 17th minute of the game. Osnabrück didn't look like reacting, but we killed them for good only nine minutes later when Ludwig took a corner kick towards the far post and Ghvinianidze headed it in, celebrating his 100th league game for die Löwen with an important goal. It was time to enjoy ourselves, and Lauth tried his luck from the edge of the box only to find Riemann well positioned and ready to save. Rafa Jordá wasn't as active as in previous games, but still managed a good run down the right flank and a cross towards Aigner, who headed it into Riemann's arms. But in the 32nd Osnabrück showed that they weren't dead, not just yet. Schmidt gathered the ball in the left flank, cut in following the edge of the box and unleashed a right footed banana shot that whistled into the back of the net, unreachable for Király. We could have regained a two-goal lead only two minutes later when Ludwig crossed from the right and Rafa Jordá jumped over the ball, allowing it to reach an unmarked Lauth, but the striker then managed an absolutely atrocious finish that sent the ball flying very far from the target. We kept looking for the third, but the first half finished with only a minimal advantage for our side. HALF TIME - 2-1 Faye kept sending good free kicks towards Riemann's goal, but they always lacked a bit of precision, like the one he sent very narrowly wide to the left in the 47th minute. Our dominance was absolute, and we finally grabbed the third in the 52nd after a delicious pass by Uzoma towards Aigner, who calmly entered the box and placed a good shot past Riemann and into the net. Schmidt tried to bring his team back into the game again with another piledriver from the edge of the box, but Király saw it coming and managed to punch the ball away. Osnabrück were starting to steal the ball away from us with their desperate pressure, so we made a move: Tiago Freitas replaced Lauth and we moved back to the 4-2-3-1. It worked perfectly, and in the 62nd the Brazilian sent a short easy pass towards Aigner who decided to imitate Schmidt's wonder goal from exactly the same spot, cutting in from the left and bending it into the top left corner with his right. Fantastic goal by the winger, who was having an absolute stormer of a game. He and Uzoma, arguably the best players of the game, were soon replaced by Halfar and Bülow to enjoy a well-earned rest. Osnabrück still tried with a wide free kick by Hiedrich, which brought no danger for Király. Lovin tried to join the party with a 30-yard bending shot, but Riemann managed to tip it over the bar to prevent a fifth goal. The match dropped in quality in the following minutes, with only Andersen sending a header over Király's bar. Rafa Jordá still wanted his goal and almost found it in the 83rd, but Riemann did well once again with a diving save. Two more saves by both keepers to a long shot by Lovin and a downwards header by Andersen sealed the game. *** TSV 1860 München 4 (Eke Uzoma 17, Mate Ghvinianidze 26, Stefan Aigner 52 62) VfL Osnabrück 1 (Dennis Schmidt 32) --- Easy win as expected, with a very good-looking Aigner that made me think more than twice about who to place in our left wing in the following matches. Both Halfar and him were really stepping up their game after a very weak first half of the season. Bierofka and Savio could find their place stolen away when they returned from their injuries. February 15th, 2011 Aigner was chosen as the Player of the Week, second 1860 player to win that accolade this season. He, Uzoma and Ghvinianidze made the Team of the Week, too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 February 21st, 2011 FC Erzgebirge Aue (15th) vs. TSV 1860 München (2nd) (2.Bundesliga 22/34) Aue weren't looking good, at all. With only one win in their last five games they were slowly but steadily sinking towards the relegation zone, which on the other hand was their expected position at the start of the season. A game we ought to win. *** AUE (4-4-2 defensive): Martin Männel (GK); René Klingbeil (DR), Daniel Damm (DL), Thomas Paulus (DCr), Thomasz Kos (DCl); Marc Hensel (DMCr), Oliver Schröder (DMCl), Kevin Schlitte (MR), Tobias Kempe (ML); Sebastian Glasner (STr), Najeh Braham (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stephan Buck (DCl); Eke Uzoma (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Alexander Ludwig (AMR), Tiago Freitas (AMC), Daniel Halfar (AML); Djordje Rakic (ST) *** Rakic returned to the starting eleven after a long time in the bench. Aue got the first shot at goal in a very wide free kick by Paulus, and immediately afterwards Kempe got the chance to unleash a powerful half-volley after a chain of defensive mistakes, but Király managed to deflect it wide. The home team dominated the early game, but soon we established ourselves and found our first chance after a nice ball by Tiago Freitas towards Ludwig, who shot wide. The right winger had another chance a bit later, this time after a good pass by Uzoma, but Männel did well to parry his shot. Another pass by Uzoma gave Rakic a great chance to score with his left foot, but the Serbian striker could only hit the sidenetting. And we paid dearly for our lack of accuracy in the 28th minute: the ball came from the left, and the whole defense switched towards that wing, leaving Kempe and Kos alone on the right. The ball reached the first, who shot into the post, but the second gathered the rebound and put it in to put Aue ahead. We took a while to react, and when we did Halfar sent the ball way over the bar from the edge of the box when he had available passing options inside the area. A high header by Braham in a corner kick marked the end of a disappointing first half. HALF TIME - 1-0 After a very slow start in which we didn't manage a single shot at goal, we decided to change things around: Aigner and Rafa Jordá came in for Halfar and Rakic, and we switched to a 4-4-2, with Tiago Freitas joining the forward line. The Brazilian had his first chance as a striker after a long pass by Lovin, but wasted it with a bad, wide finish. Aue did well to slow the game down to a crawl, though, and our chances became nonexistant in the following minutes. Ghvinianidze was struggling with an injury, and his lack of fitness made him break the offside line, allowing Schlitte to receive unmarked inside the box and shoot first time to score the 2-0. The Georgian defender was soon replaced by Béda. Our desperate attacks in the remaining minutes led nowhere, and the game ended in an unexpected defeat. *** FC Erzgebirge Aue 2 (Tomasz Kos 28, Kevin Schlitte 73) TSV 1860 München 0 --- That was unexpected. We were completely limp, both in attack and in defense, and Aue profited from that. At least Karlsruhe only drew, so we were only four points behind them, but the pressure from behind was increasing, with Hertha, Bielefeld, Fürth and Oberhausen in very good form. Babbel's boys had managed to climb to the third position and were only two points behind us. Buck would miss the next game through suspension, while Ghvinianidze's injury wasn't too bad, a thigh strain that would keep him out for around two weeks. Still, our defense against Paderborn would look pretty patchy. Roda joined the host of clubs chasing Ghvinianidze. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 3, 2010 Author Share Posted December 3, 2010 February 26th, 2011 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. SC Paderborn 07 (14th) (2.Bundesliga 23/34) It was time for a reaction, and Paderborn were a good target to achieve exactly that. They had just snapped from a long winless streak, but their last game was a draw at home, and they still looked too close to the relegation zone for their own comfort. We had a great chance to recover from our day off against Aue. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Necat Aygün (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Rafa Jordá (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) PADERBORN (4-4-2 defensive): Lukas Kruse (GK); Jukka Raitala (DR), Toni Wachsmuth (DL), Christian Strohdiek (DCr), Florian Mohr (DCl); Markus Palionis (DMCr), Philipp Heithölter (DMCl), Stefan (MR), Gaetano Manno (ML); Edmond Kapilani (STr), Dragan Georgiev (STl) *** We started an almost completely new defensive line, with Béda and Aygün replacing the injured Ghvinianidze and the suspended Buck. Savio also returned to the lineup after his injury. Paderborn found a fantastic chance in the early minutes, with a long ball by Palionis finding Kapilani unmarked behind our defense. The striker's shot was parried by Király, and Georgiev failed to find the unguarded net with his finish after gathering the rebounded ball. We had trouble controlling possession in the first ten minutes, and soon Palionis had another chance with a low bending shot from outside the box that Király pushed away with a good-looking dive. Our first shot was a very wide left-footed shot by Rafa Jordá fourteen minutes into the game. We improved noticeably after that, and Uzoma got really close after a nice dribble through the middle, a great goal only prevented by Kruse's great save. Georgiev seemed to have a knack for missing easy goals, and he proved it again when he gathered the ball after a terrible clearance by Király and shot over the very advanced keeper only to hit the right post. In the 34th minute a wild clearance by Aygün turned into an assist from 60 meters away when Rafa Jordá broke the offside trap, gathered the ball and slotted it past Kruse with a subtle touch to open the score. The striker had another great chance five minutes later with a narrowly high header, following a nice cross by Faye. We kept the ball under control for the rest of the half with a good passing display and held to our advantage until the break. HALF TIME - 1-0 The second half started slow, which was just perfect for us. The first danger was a high header by Béda in a corner kick ten minutes after the restart. With the time just flying by with nothing of interest happening on the pitch, we decided to bring some fresh legs to both of our wings, replacing Savio and Ludwig with Aigner and Halfar. A great pass by Ignjovski found Lauth unmarked near the penalty spot, but the forward showed the reason of his recent poor form with a mediocre finish that Kruse saved without trouble. Lauth tried again three minutes later, this time from the edge of the box, but the ball flew well over its intended target. Paderborn had looked inoffensive for most of the second half, but a header by Mohr in a corner kick eight minutes before the end sent a chill through the whole Allianz-Arena when the ball bounced on the crossbar. Stefan gathered the loose ball and crossed again towards Mohr, who headed downwards this time only to find Király in the way. And on the very next attack, Halfar left his marker for dead with an electric dribble, sent a through ball towards Rafa Jordá, and the Spaniard killed the game scoring with another placed finish. Paderborn waved the white flag, and the game ended peacefully. *** TSV 1860 München 2 (Rafa Jordá 34 83) SC Paderborn 07 0 --- Much harder than it looked on the scoreboard, we only won thanks to Király, Rafa Jordá and Georgiev, who missed two very easy goals in the first half that could have completely destroyed our morale. It was records week, or so it seemed. Karlsruhe beat the 2.Bundesliga record of unbeaten games with twelve, while Oberhausen taught everyone a lesson on how to defend with six consecutive games without conceding a single goal. The funny thing was that they still had a negative (-2) goal difference after that, with 21 scored and 23 conceded in total. March 1st, 2011 Second brace and second Player of the Week award for Rafa Jordá. He and Király made the Team of the Week. Reserve defender Stefan Bell strained his groin in training, and was expected to miss the following 2-3 weeks. The DFB Pokal final would be played by Schalke 04 (1-0 over Borussia Dortmund) and Wolfsburg (3-1 over Werder Bremen). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 4, 2010 Author Share Posted December 4, 2010 March 4th, 2011 1.FC Union Berlin (16th) vs. TSV 1860 München (2nd) (2.Bundesliga 24/34) More relegation candidates in desperate positions looking for points got in our way. Union were in a worse position than Paderborn, with only one point earned of the last possible nine, but playing at home could be a boost for them and a hindrance for us. *** UNION BERLIN (4-4-1-1): Marcel Höttecke (GK); Jérôme Polenz (DR), Michael Parensen (DL), Christian Stuff (DCr), Ahmed Madouni (DCl); Macchambes Younga-Mouhani (DMCr), Dominic Peitz (DMCl), Torsten Mattuschka (MR), Chinedu Ede (ML); Santi Kolk (AMC); John Jairo Mosquera (ST) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-2-3-1): Gábor Király (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mathieu Béda (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Eke Uzoma (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Alexander Ludwig (AMR), Tiago Freitas (AMC), Savio (AML); Rafa Jordá (ST) *** Another chance for the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Buck, Tiago Freitas and Lovin returning to the lineup. The home team struck first, with Mattuschka shooting from point-blank range after a bit of chaos inside the small box and Király saving thanks to his good positioning. The first quarter was pretty quiet otherwise, and we only got our first attempt with a powerful direct free kick by Lovin that Höttecke punched away with some difficulties. The possession rates were clearly in our favour, but Union defended well and in great numbers. Lovin tried his luck from 25 yards with a good left-footed shot, but Höttecke reacted well and saved with ease. The goalkeeper also prevented a great goal by Rafa Jordá, who had snuck past his marker with a good movement but saw his finish stopped. Király's second save of the game was much easier than the first, after a pretty poor shot by Mosquera. A wide header by Tiago Freitas was the last chance of a quite boring first half. HALF TIME - 0-0 We were in need of some extra attacking options, so we moved Tiago Freitas to the forward line and changed our shape to our usual 4-4-2. The immediate result were the most boring twelve minutes of football in the whole season, and the direness of the match was only broken by a horribly wide shot by Savio in the 58th. We moved things around bringing Rakic, Halfar and Aigner into the game, replacing Tiago Freitas, Ludwig and Savio. Union seemed terribly happy with the draw, and defended with everything, going on the counter with little frequency and even less danger. At least we tried, although with little luck. Rafa Jordá had the best chance until then in the 78th, after a nice long ball by Lovin, but sent his shot wide. Things finally opened up a bit when Stuff was sent off after fouling Rakic when the Serbian striker was already running towards Höttecke with no one else in the way. We went forward with everything, but Union held on with their ultradefensive mentality, and a dire game ended as it deserved: without goals. 1.FC Union Berlin 0 (Christian Stuff sent off 82) TSV 1860 München 0 --- Booooring. That was the biggest waste of ninety minutes I've ever had the "pleasure" to endure. The draw left us in a dangerous situation, since a win for Hertha would put them tied at points with us on the table. March 6th, 2011 And they won, 0-2 at Aue. We kept the second place thanks to our better goal difference (+16 to +10), but their form was much better than ours, and they looked likely to leapfrog us as soon as we hiccupped again. Thankfully Karlsruhe lost, leaving the top three within a game's distance of each other. And guess who was our next rival... March 8th, 2011 Buck made the Team of the Week. Yet another injury to Biancucchi, this time with a broken cheekbone. Honestly, I don't know what this kid did in training sessions when I wasn't looking, but it sure was dangerous. He spent the next 4 weeks out of contention. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 5, 2010 Author Share Posted December 5, 2010 March 11th, 2011 TSV 1860 München (2nd) vs. Karlsruher SC (1st) (2.Bundesliga, 25/34) Match of the season, right here. Neither team was looking too convincing in the last weeks, us with our shaky form and our total inability to win an away game, and Karlsruher not managing to increase their lead despite all that, crowning their recent form with a 1-3 home defeat against Bochum. Still, whoever won the game would lead the 2.Bundesliga, and could send the loser towards the playoff place, or maybe even further down. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Stefan Aigner (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Rafa Jordá (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) KARLSRUHE (4-2-3-1): Kristian Nicht (GK); Christian Demirtas (DR), Andreas Schäfer (DL), Sebastian Langkamp (DCr), Elias (DCl); Michael Mutzel (MCr), Marco Engelhardt (MCl); Christian Timm (AMR), Alexander Iashvili (AMC), Gaétan Krebs (AML); Macauley Chrisantus (ST) *** Rukavina returned on the right back, Ghvinianidze did the same in the center of the defense, and Aigner got a surprise start on the left wing ahead of Savio, who had looked quite poor lately. The first attempt was for Iashvili, who snuck past Lovin before shooting wide with his left foot. A high header by Timm in a corner kick followed, and it looked like Karlsruhe were taking control of the game in the early minutes. Lauth tried to contest their domination with a good individual run through the middle, leaving Langkamp for dead with a burst of speed before trying to lob the ball over Nicht. The ball ended closer to the corner flag than to the net. Worst. Lob. Ever. Still, that play reversed the flow of the game, and now it was our turn to attack. Lauth did much better with a perfect through ball towards Rafa Jordá, who got his low finish stopped by Nicht. Next he received from Uzoma and tried to finish the job himself, but once again his shot was terrible and Nicht saved with supreme ease. The keeper was doing well in any case, and he managed a quick reflex save to another low shot by Rafa Jordá. Lauth's morale kept sinking after he missed a fantastic chance: having stolen the ball from Elias inside the box and shooting into an empty goal he managed to send the ball wide. Krebs had a chance for Karlsruhe near the end of the half with a free kick that hit the barrier but kept flying towards the goal. Thankfully Király had good reflexes and saved well. No goals in the first half, although both teams had played some good looking football. HALF TIME - 0-0 Things got crazy pretty fast in the second half. Two minutes after the restart Timm was sent off after a reckless two-footed challenge on Uzoma, who thankfully suffered no injury in the process. The Karlsruhe players protested the decision furiously, but to me it looked like a stonewall red card. The visitors still tried, but their first attack ended in a poor long shot by Engelhardt, way over the crossbar. Nicht kept Karlsruhe in the game with a miraculous save following a great cross by Ludwig and a nice first-time finish by Aigner. Lovin tried from distance, sending the ball well wide to the right. Rakic and Halfar replaced a very frustrated Lauth and Aigner a bit later. Faye sent a dangerous direct free kick at full speed towards the goal, but in the end the ball went very narrowly wide to the left. Rafa Jordá kept trying to beat a very inspired Nicht, this time with a fantasy backheel finish after a low cross by Halfar, but the keeper kept pulling the saves to keep Karlsruhe alive. And then he did it again, this time against a point-blank finish by Ludwig after another good assist by Halfar, who was working well in the left wing. We still had to be thankful of Krebs' lack of accuracy when a bad goal kick by Király allowed him the chance to face the keeper without anyone else around, but still sent the ball wide. The Hungarian goalkeeper saved our collective necks once again with a fantastic save in a very dangerous counterattack by Tarvajarvi. And in injury time, Ghvinianidze dived into a free kick taken by Uzoma, and headed it very, very narrowly wide while Nicht watched, not believing his own luck. That was all. *** TSV 1860 München 0 Karlsruher SC 0 (Christian Timm sent off 47) --- Kristian Nicht maybe earned a promotion for his team that night with his incredible saves. Otherwise, we would have won that game without trouble. A good performance overall, but our finishing deceived us once again. Lauth was specially obfuscated, and his form kept sinking into new lows. Rakic wasn't looking much better and Cooper was still Cooper, so Rafa Jordá was our only credible source of goals. That was problematic, and we were starting to suffer the consequences. Hertha won, overtaking us and taking us out of the direct promotion zone for the first time in forever. Now they were two points ahead of us and only one behind the leaders. Fürth and Bochum were creeping closer behind us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snellink Posted December 5, 2010 Share Posted December 5, 2010 You're gonna have to start taking advantage of these red cards dude Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 6, 2010 Author Share Posted December 6, 2010 Tell me about it * * * March 18th, 2011 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (6th) vs. TSV 1860 München (3rd) (2.Bundesliga 26/34) The final sprint was about to start, and we got going facing one of the most in-form teams in the league. They sported the third best defense, behind ourselves and Duisburg, and hadn't conceded a goal in the last EIGHT games. Yet, their attack was their weakest point, having only scored 22 goals until then, the second worst amount in the whole 2.Bundesliga. A third consecutive 0-0 draw was in the cards. *** OBERHAUSEN (4-4-2): Stephan Loboué (GK); Marcel Landers (DR), Daniel Embers (DL), Benjamin Reichert (DCr), Thomas Schlieter (DCl); Oliver Petersch (MR), Heinrich Schmidtgal (ML), Márcio Hahn (MCr), Marinko Miletic (MCl); Ronny König (STr), Mike Terranova (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Stephan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Halfar (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Rafa Jordá (STr), Tiago Freitas (STl) *** We needed attack against a very good defensive side, so we kept the 4-4-2 and hoped for the best. It was Tiago Freitas' first start as a forward, although he had played a few minutes there from time to time. Things started dangerous, with Schmidtgal crossing from the left wing and Petersch trying to finish the job from very close, but finding Király's body in the way. We answered with a high pass from Halfar towards Rafa Jordá, who controlled it well but mistimed his shot, almost sending the ball over the stand. The game was surprisingly open, with little time for speculation and lots of quick attacks, one of which ended with Terranova shooting with power, but over the bar. In the 19th minute Uzoma and Rafa Jordá exchanged passes near the front side of the area, until the striker turned around and unleashed an unstoppable piledriver to end Loboué's unbeaten streak and put us ahead. Now Oberhausen had to seize the initiative, something they weren't really built to do. Their lack of punch upfront showed when König wasted a perfect chance after a terrible backpass by Uzoma with a poor finish that Király saved without too much trouble. A good movement of Rafa Jordá on the left side of the box ended with a loose ball falling to Halfar, who shot with tremendous strength but sent the ball just a little bit too high. But Oberhausen finally found the way to score with a quick one-two between Terranova and König, with the latter assistng and the former shooting past Király to pull level six minutes before the break. But we weren't done just yet. Uzoma gathered a ball thirty yards away from goal and launched one of his trademark rockets, the novelty being that this one found the right way, bent Loboué's hands, hit the underside of the bar and went in for the 1-2, only three minutes later. And in the last minute of the half Ingjovski showed his vision with a wonderful 40 yard pass towards the core of the box, Halfar got there before the goalkeeper and simply pushed it in to score our third, and his first ever goal for 1860. Not a bad way to close a hectic first half. HALF TIME - 1-3 It was time to keep things under control, so we switched to the 4-2-3-1 formation. And in the very first minute Rafa Jordá already found a gap in the defense and went in, trying a long range chip over the keeper that went wide to the left. Some good passing in the midfield ended with Faye crossing from the left and Ludwig heading for an easy save by Loboué. The game was completely under control, and Halfar tried for a second goal after receiving from Rafa Jordá, but managed a weak shot that the keeper held with ease. Things became even more favourable to us when Embers saw a second yellow after a trip on Ludwig and headed towards the showers thirty-five minutes too early. It was a perfect moment to rest some players, and Jordá, Ludwig and Ignjovski left the field, replaced by Lauth, Savio and Béda. From then on the game was pretty calm, although Oberhausen tried from time to time, with König shooting from the edge of the box into Király's save in the 74th, for example. Another cannonball by Uzoma was repelled into the post by Loboué, and Halfar proceeded to send the rebounded ball as wide as he could manage. In the 83rd Ghvinianidze was brought down inside the box by König, and the referee didn't hesitate to signal a penalty kick. Rukavina took it, but Loboué guessed right and saved it with a nice dive, even though the kick was a good one. It didn't matter: in the 90th Savio ran like crazy down the left flank and crossed towards Halfar. His header was saved, but the rebound hit Schmidtgal, who couldn't clear the ball in time and ended up scoring an own goal. That was all in a great victory. *** Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 1 (Mike Terranova 39, Daniel Embers sent off 56) TSV 1860 München 4 (Rafa Jordá 19, Eke Uzoma 42, Daniel Halfar 45, Heinrich Schmidtgal og 90) --- Demolition accomplished. One of our best performances of the season, showing cutting edge up front against a defense that looked nothing like what a record-breaking defense should look. The only piece of bad news was that it was now Ghvinianidze's turn to rest for a game after picking up five yellows. March 20th, 2011 Ghvinianidze and (surprise!) Faye received international call-ups for the following week. --- [font=Courier New]=========================== 2.BUNDESLIGA AFTER 26 GAMES =========================== | Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Karlsruhe | | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 40 | 28 | +12 | 52 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Hertha BSC | | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 51 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [color=mediumturquoise][b]| 3rd | | 1860 München | | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 49 | [/b][/color] | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Bochum | | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 43 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Fürth | | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 45 | 33 | +12 | 42 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Oberhausen | | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 27 | -4 | 39 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Bielefeld | | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 38 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Duisburg | | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 38 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Aachen | | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 33 | 31 | +2 | 38 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Ingolstadt | | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 35 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Cottbus | | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 36 | -2 | 34 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | FSV Frankfurt | | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 33 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Aue | | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 21 | 32 | -11 | 29 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Paderborn | | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 26 | 41 | -15 | 29 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Düsseldorf | | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 29 | 40 | -11 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Union Berlin | | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 | 36 | -12 | 25 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Augsburg | | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 25 | 44 | -19 | 23 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Osnabrück | | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 22 | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| [/font] Things looked a bit clearer now at the top. Karlsruhe, Hertha and us were the leading candidates to fight for the two direct promotion places, with the loser being relegated to the playoff. Unless one of us had a terrible drop of form in the final stretch, it was unlikely that Bochum or Fürth, both looking good but a bit inconsistent, would be able to catch up. Things were very interesting near the bottom, though, with six teams involved in a battle royale to at least avoid the last two positions. Osnabrück and Augsburg still looked very likely to relegate, though, given their form and position. The relegation playoff place was still very much in the air. [font=Courier New]=========================== PLAYER STATS AFTER 26 GAMES =========================== [u] Average rating (minimum 9 games played, league only)[/u] Rafa Jordá [b]7.47[/b] (8[1] apps) Mate Ghvinianidze [b]7.21[/b] (22[1] apps) Eke Uzoma [b]7.13[/b] (22[2] apps) Mathieu Béda [b]7.12[/b] (15[2] apps) Stephan Buck [b]7.11[/b] (15[1] apps) [u] Goals (league only)[/u] Djordje Rakic [b]6[/b] Rafa Jordá [b]6[/b] Alexander Ludwig [b]6[/b] Benjamin Lauth [b]4[/b] Eke Uzoma [b]3[/b] Kenny Cooper [b]3[/b] [u] Assists (league only)[/u] Alexander Ludwig [b]7[/b] Savio [b]4[/b] Daniel Halfar [b]4[/b] Daniel Bierofka [b]4[/b] Eke Uzoma [b]3[/b] Kenny Cooper [b]3[/b] [u] Man of the Match awards (league only)[/u] Alexander Ludwig [b]5[/b] Djordje Rakic [b]2[/b] Rafa Jordá [b]2[/b] 7 other players [b]1[/b][/font] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 7, 2010 Author Share Posted December 7, 2010 March 22nd, 2011 Uzoma, Halfar and Rafa Jordá in the Team of the Week, all three deservedly so. March 26th, 2011 Ghvinianidze started at right back for Georgia for the first time since my arrival, but his performance was quite poor, in line with the rest of the squad: 1-3 defeat against Croatia. March 29th, 2011 Finally! Király reconquered his rightful place as the owner of the #1 shirt in the Hungarian national side, and did so in style, helping his side to a shocking 1-2 victory against World Cup finalists Holland. Ghvinianidze played a few minutes as a substitute against Israel in a 1-1 away draw. March 30th, 2011 TSV 1860 München (3rd) vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf (15th) (2.Bundesliga 27/34) A key game, believe it or not. Not just because of our opposition, or because it could be our fifth game in a row without losing, but also because that same day Hertha and Karlsruhe played against each other, ensuring that whatever their result, a win would leave us back in the second place. *** 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Philipp Tschauner (GK); Sandro Kaiser (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mathieu Béda (DCr), Stefan Buck (DCl); Alexander Ludwig (MR), Daniel Bierofka (ML), Florin Lovin (MCr), Eke Uzoma (MCl); Rafa Jordá (STr), Benjamin Lauth (STl) DÜSSELDORF (4-5-1 defensive): Michael Ratajczak (GK); Leon Binder (DR), Johannes van der Bergh (DL), Kai Schwertfeger (DCr), Tiago (DCl); Claus Costa (DMC), Andreas Lambertz (MR), Sascha Dum (ML), Tiago Matos (MCl), Marco Christ (MCr); Wellington (STr) *** With Király with Hungary, Tschauner got another chance to shine. The big news, though, was the return of Bierofka to the lineup after his injury. Düsseldorf sat deep with a very defensive formation, trying to hold on for the draw. It seemed to work, and we were restrained for the first quarter of an hour, unable to create any danger. Our first real chance didn't come until the 25th, when a cross from the left by Rafa Jordá reached Uzoma inside the box, but the Nigerian's shot was charged down by a defender and sent wide for a corner kick. Düsseldorf had an isolated attack in which Lambertz had a chance to shoot from the right side of the box, but sent the ball terribly wide. Ludwig had a goal correctly disallowed in the 43rd, since he received the ball from Lovin in a clear offside position. And that was all for a pretty uneventful first half. HALF TIME - 0-0 The second half started as more of the same, with us trying to destroy their defensive wall and them comfortably hidden behind it. We soon needed to replace Bierofka, who was very short on match fitness, and Halfar came in. Rakic also entered the game replacing a pretty terrible Lauth. Funnily, the first shot at goal of the half was for Tiago Matos, a wide effort from the edge of the box, and it took fifteen minutes to arrive. Rafa Jordá finally had a chance to score after a nice cross by Ludwig, but headed the ball narrowly over the bar. With twenty minutes remaining we tried something new: Tiago Freitas replaced Lovin and we went to a very attacking 4-1-3-2 formation. The first result was a nice movement by Uzoma, who penetrated through the middle and shooted low only for Ratajczak to tip the ball wide. But it was just a mirage, and the game ended without another shot at goal by either team. A complete waste of time. *** TSV 1860 München 0 Fortuna Düsseldorf 0 --- Yaaaawn. Next? Hertha crushed Karlsruhe with an emphatic 5-0 and took the lead on the table, two points ahead of the previous leaders and four ahead of us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalbeider Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 April 1st, 2011 At first I thought it was an April Fools joke, but it was true: some genius in the FA had moved our game against Düsseldorf to a Wednesday "due to international callups". Fine for me, but in the end we couldn't recover Király, who played that same day with Hungary. Ghvinianidze too, but he was suspended, so no harm done. But the worst part was that we still had a game to play only two days later! So they gave us two games in two days for no other reason than... no reason at all? Anyway, moving on... Three months remaining until the 1st of July, so it was time for another attempt at renewing the contracts of Király and Ghvinianidze. The defender finally agreed to a three-year extension, raising his wages to €12.750/week (a 150% improvement over his previous deal) and renouncing to the annoying "match the best paid player in the squad" clause. Good enough for me. Király also reduced his outrageous demands and accepted a two-year deal at €7.250/week, only €1.250 higher than his previous wage. Aigner's contract demands were too high for his status as a backup player, so he's very likely to leave on a free after his contract runs out. --- FSV Frankfurt (12th) vs. TSV 1860 München (3rd) (2.Bundesliga 28/34) Problems. The starters were still pretty tired after the Düsseldorf borefest, so we needed to rotate things around, but we couldn't afford to drop any points if we were to keep chasing the two leaders and dodging the increasing pressure of Bochum behind us. *** FSV FRANKFURT (4-4-2 defensive): Patric Klandt (GK); Christian Müller (DR), Andreas Dahlén (DL), Gledson (DCr), Björn Schlicke (DCl); Marc Stein (DMCr), Jaouhar Mnari (DMCl), Sven Müller (MR), Mario Fillinger (ML); Cidimar (STr), Momar N'Diaye (STl) 1860 MÜNCHEN (4-4-2): Gábor Király (GK); Antonio Rukavina (DR), Ibrahima Faye (DL), Mate Ghvinianidze (DCr), Mathieu Béda (DCl); Daniel Halfar (MR), Savio (ML), Aleksandar Ignjovski (MCr), Florin Lovin (MCl); Tiago Freitas (STr), Djordje Rakic (STl) *** In the end we managed a pretty competitive first eleven despite the fitness problems, and things started pretty well with Faye hitting the sidenetting with a nice looking direct free kick. FSV answered with an attack down the right flank, finished with a nod by Sven Müller and a wide shot by Cidimar. A good movement by N'Diaye left him in a good position to shoot from the left side of the box, but Király was well positioned to parry his finish. Fillinger then profited from a bad backpass by Tiago Freitas to put our keeper in more trouble, and this time Király had to dive to tip the ball away from danger. We were losing the midfield battle, and we only weren't losing the game thanks to Király, who saved another dangerous chance finished by N'Diaye. And things could still get worse, as Faye proved when he saw a pretty fair red after fouling Sven Müller on the edge of the box, when the winger was already looking for the perfect place to shoot from. With Rukavina as a makeshift left back, Kaiser replaced Rakic as we moved to a 4-4-1. Dahlén sent the free kick wide. Funnily, we defended better with ten men than with eleven, and we kept FSV at bay until the break without much trouble. HALF TIME - 0-0 We started well the second half, almost not noticing our lack of manpower, and Ignjovski got close with a good effort from 25 yards away that Klandt saved with both hands. We tried to improve our chances with two substitutions: Rafa Jordá and Uzoma replaced Halfar and Savio, moving to a 4-3-2 without wingers. It seemed to work fine, and in the 61st a nice assist by Uzoma found Tiago Freitas unmarked near the penalty spot. The Brazilian shot low, but found the root of the post in his way. FSV didn't look too sharp, and we kept pounding on them, with Uzoma trying luck from afar and meeting Klandt's save. Sven Müller was being the best player on the pitch for the home team, and he proved it with a surprising first-time shot from outside the box that Király barely managed to keep out of the net. The goalkeeper, on the other hand, was our best player by far, and he kept doing well with a nice save to a header by Cidimar. But in the 87th, when it seemed like we were headed to another goalless draw, a counterattack initiated by Molders ended in a cross towards Tufan Tosunoglu, who outjumped Béda to head it in and give FSV the lead, and most likely the win. Two more shots by the striker followed, one well parried by Király and the other well wide. Meanwhile, we couldn't manage a chance in the final minutes and slumped to a terribly dangerous defeat. *** FSV Frankfurt 1 (Tufan Tosunoglu 87) TSV 1860 München 0 (Ibrahima Faye sent off 24) --- The good: Karlsruhe lost again, so we remain two points behind the direct promotion places. The bad: another terrible away performance, and another defeat against lesser oposition. The ugly: Faye, our only decent left back, would miss at least one game due to suspension. April 2nd, 2011 At least we could enjoy one piece of good news: Bochum and Fürth both lost, so our third place looked secure for a while at least. April 4th, 2011 On the other hand, Hertha won in Oberhausen's stadium and looked pretty likely to run away with the title. They were looking absolutely unstoppable. Being patient with Babbel turned out to be the right decision. April 5th, 2011 Király's great performance against FSV didn't give us a point, but at least was worth an inclusion in the Team of the Week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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