{FM24} Union Berlin: Developing Football within a City

[Matty Aqua]

Why Union Berlin? Why re-ignite an old thread? Well, due to time constraints of the past 12 months I never really got this save off the ground in FM23, and with the ability to carry saves over to future editions of Football Manager it made sense to re-start the save on FM24. I decided to re-publish all the writing I did for the old thread here as a fresh start where I can detail my journey and my hope to develop football within the city of Berlin. This save will be carried over to FM25 and beyond so updates will be sometimes sporadic depending on how much time I have. I've finished reading the book: Scheisse! We're Going Up!: The Unexpected Rise of Berlin's Rebel Football Club by Kit Holden which covers the history and origins of Union Berlin and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys football literature. The book re-sparked my motivation to manage Union Berlin in FM and attempt to take them to the top and carry on the work of manager Urs Fischer, I have enjoyed watching the rise of Union Berlin and their recent success in real life and I genuinely have an appreciation for Union Berlin and what they stand for as a club. I hope they continue to grow and maintain their beliefs and values as a club as they stand for something very different in modern football.

The objective of the save is to create a successful club structure by developing players and integrating them into first-team football, creating a scouting network to identify talent that fits into the philosophies of the club. I also want to develop relationships with other clubs within the city of Berlin to send our players on loan and develop clubs locally within the city to strengthen the development of youth prospects from Berlin, which is something I will cover more in-depth in this thread.

AFFILIATED CLUBS

CLUB HISTORY

Pronounced "oon~yawn" never "yoo~nyun", 1.FC Union Berlin is known for its working-class tradition and underdog status, but also its sense of solidarity and spirit of political resistance. Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world. It's a culturally diverse city, it has a crazy nightlife, rich in history...with a touch of football on the side!.

I can't mention Berlin without touching upon the city's history and how it plays into how German Football operates to this day. On the 9th of November 1989, the citizens of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) were allowed to cross the wall that divided one side of the city from the other, more than 2 million people from the East of Berlin flooded to the West of Berlin and were finally reunited with the people of the opposite side. The Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War to this day.

Only one team from the East of Berlin has established itself in the Bundesliga, Union Berlin, while rival Hertha Berlin is from the western region of Berlin and has been a mainstay in the Bundesliga for the last 20 years, they consider themselves as the "biggest" club in Berlin, although they haven't won a Bundesliga title since the pre World War II era claiming back to back titles in 1930 and 1931.

   

Union Berlin has been competing in the Bundesliga for four consecutive seasons now and in recent years, Bayern Munich has been completely dominating the Bundesliga and has now amassed 32 league titles, and 6 Champions League trophies, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have been growing in threat over the years but don't look like slowing down Bayern Munich anytime soon.

Germany has one of the world's most successful national teams, and the Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in the world. The nation's capital city Berlin is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to football, despite Berlin's population being over 3 million people it surprisingly isn't known for producing many stars in the game today. Jérôme Boateng, Karim Bellarabi, Nico Schulz were born in the city of Berlin and have been capped for Germany, and Berliner John Brooks has had a solid career in the Bundesliga earning 43 caps for the United States and Kevin-Prince Boateng has been capped for Ghana.

Some consider Berlin to be a black hole when it comes to football development and there are questions as to whether Berlin is a football city at all!, but the fans of Union Berlin remain some of the most passionate, committed, and dedicated fans in the world. For a city that has experienced an awful lot from wars, plagues, fascists, communists, and revolutions and is one of the most significant cities in Europe symbolically, politically, and geographically, I have no explanation as to why Berlin isn't producing more world-class footballers other than possibly they get lost to the nightlife in Berlin? but I plan to change that!

STADION AN DER ALTON FÖRSTEREI

They say "Fans are the lifeblood of a football club" We've heard this numerous times, but perhaps the best example of this is the fans of Union Berlin. The fans of this East German team gave their sweat, tears, and blood to keep their team alive. 'Bleed for Union' wasn't just a catchy tagline to show the passion of the fans for the club, it was a campaign to save Union Berlin from bankruptcy in 2004. After their relegation from the second tier of German football, the club was struggling to pay its registration fee. To keep the club running and register with the football association in Germany, the team needed about £1.5 million, or else it would’ve folded. What do Union fans do? They donate their blood. In Germany, you get paid for blood donation and thus the fans of this East Berlin club lined up to donate blood, and the money received was directed to the coffers of their struggling side and helped them stay afloat.  During their first-ever game in the Bundesligainst RB Leipzig, supporters held up images of deceased fans, paying tribute to those who never got to see their club play in the top division. 

A big part of Union Berlin's history is the club's stadium Alte Försterei which holds a total capacity of 22,012 featuring only 3,617 available seats, whilst the rest of the ground remains terracing. In the middle of 2008, the club decided to finally modernize the stadium which is located at the edge of a wooded forest area called the 'Wuhlheide' which means that the path to each home game is part of a ritual that includes a walk through the forest. Money was still tight, so the fans built the ground themselves with more than 2,000 Union supporters investing 140,000 working hours. The club still has a debt remaining of €38,520,075 which I am assuming is part of the loan to refurbish and maintain the club over the previous 20 years. 

As the Union joke goes: “When god created the world, he spoke to the stones and said: ‘Do you want to become Unioners?’ And the stones said, "Yes, but we’re not hard enough ”.

The plans to modernize Stadion An der Alten Försterei were unveiled in 2017. Since then, the club has not been able to push through the project that aims to raise the number of seats from 22,012 to 37,000. The cost of the works is estimated at €39 million, although this may be different for Football Manager, the problem is not the scale of the stadium expansion, but the lack of adequate infrastructure around the stadium. The additional 15,000 seats will create traffic problems for the neighbourhood and have been rejected by the council until the nearby Köpenick station is upgraded in 2026, so I might have to hold off on stadium expansions in the short term!

The club would certainly be able to finance the redevelopment of the venue with continual qualification in European tournaments, president of Union Berlin Dirk Zingler announced that the club plans to focus its investments on the expansion of the club's academy before the increasing the stadium capacity, which fits in nicely with my objective for the save which is to develop players from the city of Berlin.

Union Berlin’s President Dirk Zingler has been in charge since 2004, overseeing the club’s rise from the lower reaches of German football to the Bundesliga, and now faces the terrifying prospect of success!, something the fans of Union Berlin may not be entirely comfortable with due to its core values of not becoming a commercial club with major global sponsors.

The fans of Union Berlin will regularly arrive 75 minutes before a match and stay well and truly after the final whistle singing chants as a means of encouragement rather than intimidation. I've come to learn supporting Union Berlin is a way of life not just something to attach some sporting novelty to, year by year football changes and so does Union Berlin, as they achieve greater and greater success do they risk losing their soul the more successful they become?, hopefully slowly enough that is can still recognize itself!.

History suggests that teams generally drift back toward their original weight class as stars get plucked away and are replaced by inferior imitations, successful managers end up at larger clubs with a larger chequebook and the team drifts back down the table as another underdog story emerges to take its place. Augsburg for instance finished 5th in 2014 but has spent most recent seasons battling relegation, while others like Schalke fell victim to relegation soon after strong finishes, so it's imperative to recruit well and develop players to fit the system. Just as every cult hero dreams of mainstream success, every mainstream success dreams of being a cult hero!

EISERN UNION

Before the game you will often hear the crowd chanting "Eisern Union", it literally means "Iron Union"  but it means so much more. The chant is a remembrance of its working-class origins and sheet-metal workers from the Köpenick region of old East Germany. The yellow bricks on the facade of the Alte Försterei are a homage to the factories along the riverbank. When Union Berlin got promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time fans lifted banners of deceased supporters so they could experience the historic moment of Union's arrival in the Bundesliga, they were also counted as part of the attendance for that match. It's rebellion and togetherness that explain why Union Berlin is one of Europe's great cult clubs!

 

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT

I've touched on the fact that Berlin hasn't been producing a lot of youth prospects for top-tier football in the opening post. Part of this save is to change that and start to develop players from the academy to fit the 5-3-2 system that was made successful by Urs Fischer, something Union Berlin doesn't necessarily rely on in the modern world as they are very proficient at signing quality free agents, and let's be honest - who doesn't love good value free agent signing on Football Manager?.

Union Berlin has some young players in the squad already as two players looking to break into the first team András Schäfer and Paul Jaeckel and an emerging talent in the academy American prospect Malick Sanogo. The 17-year-old striker looks very promising as a future first-team player and could be a future replacement as a striker.

Who is Malick Sanogo?

Malick Sanogo was born in New York in 2004 and is the son of Boubacar Sanogo, a forward who played for Kaiserslautern, Hamburg, Werder Bremen and Energie Cottbus between 2005 and 2014. Youth football took a break in Germany during the 2020/21 season due to world events, but Sanogo still managed six goals and one assist in four U17 matches that season as well as making his first appearance for the U19 team. 

RECRUITMENT 

There is a large number of Bundesliga teams currently in the midst of an identity crisis surrounding football philosophy and player recruitment, it is no surprise Union Berlin is performing better than most in the league at the moment in this area with recruitment led by long-term Director of Football Oliver Ruhnert. The success of Union Berlin is closely linked to the name of Oliver Ruhnert, the Director of Football is a squad planner with a keen nose for good footballers and has been with the club since 2017, it's no coincidence that the rise of Union Berlin coincides with Oliver Ruhnerts arrival.

In nearly every case where Union Berlin lost a player who played a valuable role in their team, they had a very effective approach to finding a replacement. Last Summer they lost Taiwo Awoniyi for a reported €20.5 million and replaced him with Jordan Siebatcheu for reportedly just €6 million, when Max Kruse was lost mid-season they recruited a player with a similar profile in second-division forward Sven Michel. Marvin Friedrich's departure to Borussia Monchengladbach was handled by the arrival of loanee Diogo Leite from Porto. 

Most of these replacements are perfect matches for the physical requirements of Fischer's tactical approach and given their age range they tend to have fewer problems needing time to fit in and settle into life in Berlin. It's pretty common for FM players to have a DNA model of attributes to recruit by and considering the Union Berlin style of play is counter-attacking, I'm happy to give up possession and focus more on strong defensive output, quick transitions, and scoring from set pieces. 

At the end of the season, I will take a look at team stats across the league and see if I am effective in achieving this style of play. I'll be keeping an eye on other teams from the city of Berlin as potential places to loan players out too and hopefully, they can benefit from getting in some quality players. I generally always recruit players that my scouts identify and then send the Director of Football to go and complete the deal, it makes sense to stick to a more strict way of recruiting and adds an element of realism.

Union Berlin has been incredibly adept in finding value in the transfer market over the years which has kept them from dropping back down into the second division. I plan on focusing the recruitment on the Bundesliga, leagues within close proximity to Germany such as The Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland The United States and some specific scouting assignments in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and England. 

---

How will I recruit for Long term and Short term goals?

Key Attributes

Physical

• Acceleration - Breaking away from the opposition and moving into space as quickly as possible could unlock a passing opportunity.
• Pace - The most obvious Attribute and exactly what it says on the tin, I want players who as fast and can hit top speeds on the break.
• Stamina - Counter-attacking is hard work and players will cover a lot of ground, Being able to run all day is important as I'm looking for players who can give me everything for 90 minutes.

Technical

• Dribbling - If we're going to play counter-attacking football then we need players who can take on the opposition and confidently dribble up the pitch.
• First Touch - Once we've won possession of the ball, we can't afford to have the transition breakdown and lose the ball.
• Crossing - I believe crossing is vitally important to a counterattack, the ability to play a cross behind the defence can easily catch defenders out of position and create goal-scoring opportunities.

Mental

• Bravery - I want players who are willing to go and win the ball back, tough in the tackle, and strong Defenders in the air.
• Concentration - Giving up possession means focusing more on being a cohesive defensive unit, and cannot allow players to switch off or give up cheap goals.
• Off the Ball - When we win the ball back, I need players moving in the right places creating space and moving into positions to make attacking runs.
• Work Rate - Players are working hard in the Defensive and Attacking phases of play.
• Teamwork - Possibly one of the most important Attributes, Working cohesively and not having any weak links mentally, Union Berlin scored well as a unit in this category.
• Determination - It's important we put out a team that is always fighting until the end, never giving up, and always a threat to attack.

OBJECTIVES

There's a lot I want to accomplish in this save with the main aspect focusing on the city of Berlin and developing Union Berlin as a top-tier club and the city as a whole becoming a more prominent place for footballers to develop. Below I've listed some objectives I'll be hoping to tick off the list as I continue on with the save, but there are some other personal objectives that I might be able to tick off also, I may even be tempted to take the Australian National team job for a run at a World Cup if the opportunity arises but for now the focus is on achieving success with Union Berlin.

🔍 Develop a stronger Youth Academy and improve Youth Recruitment at Union Berlin

⚽ Establish a B team to help develop players, and develop more players from within Berlin

🤝 Create local Affiliates with football clubs within the city to raise the standard of football in Berlin helping them rise up the divisions

🤴 Have an academy player from Union Berlin capped for the German national team

🏆 Win the DFB Pokal, Bundesliga and Champions League trophies

If you've managed to read down this far I appreciate the feedback and support as a lot of time and research went into putting this all together, so feel free to leave a comment and I'll try to respond as quickly as possible, If you are interested in keeping up to date with this save feel free to leave a like and follow along, alternatively, you can find me on the View from the Touchline Discord channel or on Twitter where I’m happy to chat all things Football Manager.

Edited January 17 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

Why was Union Berlin so successful in 2022/23?

 

TACTIC: THE ACCORDION

I’m far from an expert on tactics, I've enjoyed watching matches of Union Berlin this season in the Bundesliga and I want to achieve the same success in Football Manager with the same principles of current manager Urs Fischer, so for what it’s worth maybe take this thread as me openly discussing my thoughts about the 5-3-2 system and how it made Union Berlin so successful in the 22/23 season, and your welcome to suggest any tweaks or tactical input.

In a league primarily known for its open attacking play, Union has risen up the ranks with a defensive approach. Operating primarily out of a 3-5-2 formation, Union expands in attack and contracts in defence, much like an accordion opens and closes. Instead of pressing heavily, Union focuses on preventing progressive passes, leveraging the ball out of dangerous central areas, and keeping numbers behind the ball and in attack, they don't mess around!

They created the most counter-attacking shot opportunities in the league last season and continue to hit teams on the break this season. They don't create a ton of shots (they were 12th in shots per possession last season), but the shots they do create are typically great as 60% of their shot attempts came from inside the defence's box, the most in the league.

SYSTEM OF PLAY

Union Berlin had maintained a succinct style of play that drastically differed from the other German teams in the Bundesliga. At the top end of the pitch, the team lost their top scorer in Taiwo Awoniyi, whose goals have been replaced by Sheraldo Becker – a man who has already bettered his goal tally from 2021-22. American striker Jordan Siebatcheu had also joined from Young Boys to be that Max Kruse-esque bullying figure from the front, and has provided a wonderful partner to bring the best out of Becker’s pace and mobility in behind. The rigidness of the system and ferocity in attack means that Union Berlin has achieved a clear sense of what they strive to accomplish on the pitch and an over-arching identity of defence first football.

ATTACKING PRINCIPLES

Union Berlin has clearly emphasised the defensive side of the game where they can then explode on the counterattack options Jordan Siebatcheu and Sheraldo Becker. Jordan Siebatcheu is a threat in multiple areas of attack, aerially, with his back to goal, and has the pace to get in behind and become an instant threat. 

Union Berlin has clearly emphasised the defensive side of the game where they can then explode on the counterattack options Jordan Siebatcheu and Sheraldo Becker, Jordan Siebatcheu is a threat in multiple areas of attack, aerially, with his back to goal and has the pace to get in behind and become an instant threat in attack. 

Beyond their counter-attacking play, Union have achieved much of their potency by the way of their mix of width and verticality. Their attack can quickly become a 3-1-6 in the blink of an eye, with the central midfielders pushing forward in tandem, and the wing-backs stretching the field. Captain Christopher Trimmel has also been one of the best right-wing-backs in the league a few seasons running, which is quite some accolade for a 35-year-old, and continues to add pace, width, and experience to this compact Union Berlin side. 

Niko Gießelmann occupies the left wing-back role and works up and down the pitch using a combination of deep crosses and crosses from the byline, he will often even use that to his advantage in faking one, cutting inside and then gaining space closer to the goal. Julian Ryerson provides a nice contrast as someone who constantly wants to cut inside on his right foot from that left-wing-back slot, pushing his defenders against the run of play.

At times Sheraldo Becker will drift into the wide area creating space and also offering a quick out pass from the keeper or defender creating a one-on-one against his devastating pace, I've selected the 'Stay Wider' to create this with the thinking that the Wing Back (Support) will offer and a passing option if needed. Once Sheraldo Becker moves into the wider areas it also offers a chance for the midfield to charge forward and creates a scoring opportunity by dragging defenders out of their natural defensive shape. Sheraldo Becker may also consider strikers swapping roles with the other striker at times to confuse the opposition.

  

While they can be effective in driving the team forward, the central midfielders ahead of Rani Khedira typically remain uninvolved as passes are more likely to be played directly into the strikers or wide to the wing-backs. Union Berlin is built out from the back, Goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow remains involved throughout the initial stages of play creating a diamond shape that sees Rani Khedira at the top. As soon Frederik Rønnow comes under pressure, he is not afraid to go long and clear the ball for a striker to run on to, or look for hard-hitting Centre Forward options Jordan Siebatcheu or Target Forward Kevin Behrens to win the header, you can select this option in your tactic in the 'In Transition' section and clicking Distribute To Position instead of Distribute to Area.

    

Keeping hold of the ball has not been the greatest strong suit of Union Berlin, they thrive in the direct approach rather than keeping the ball for long periods of time. The direct and defence-first approach has resulted in many unwanted statistics, including the lowest pass completion and the lowest amount of possession, which is very different from the modern-day football philosophies of creativity and keeping control in possession.

DEFENSIVE PRINCIPLES

One word that sums up the 'Eisern Union' rigorous defensive system is 'organization' they thrive on not conceding, just as they do in attack, Union Berlin is quick to regroup and get several men behind the ball. From the front, Jordan Siebatcheu and Sheraldo Becker will take turns pressuring the opposition’s Center Backs as they work the ball around in defence, desperately trying to find a route forward against Union’s rigid system. The other striker then falls back slightly to either cover or screen the opposition’s Defensive Midfielder while patiently waiting for a misguided pass to a Defender making it incredibly difficult for a dangerous player to receive the ball. They won’t follow their man around everywhere they go, instead getting tight whenever an opposition player enters their space. The recognition of when to press the opponent and when to stay put allows Union Berlin have become experts at successfully clearing the ball out of danger and defending passes that somehow find a way into their penalty area.

The core of the defense lies behind the strikers, where the trio of central midfielders shuffle with the play. They will usually swing their shape from side to side with the nearest midfielder pressuring and closing down opposition fullbacks or wide situations, allowing the back five to hold that narrow shape. The work rate and stamina that this requires is quite demanding but it allows Union Berlin to stay compact and keep their 3-5-2 shape and also creates opportunities for the strikers.

Despite the lowest amount of possession they have the highest number of fouls (89) as they will often swarm dribblers in numbers, and this sometimes causes niggly fouls in non-dangerous areas of the field, I haven't got 'Get Stuck In' permanently selected as I will most likely be switching between Cautious and Defensive mentality and I don't want players being over aggressive, instead, I've told both midfielders to Trigger the Press more often and Tackle Harder to harass the ball carrier as much as possible in non-threatening areas. This is something that will need to be looked at and tweaked after playing a few matches. Playing on a lower mentality will naturally invite pressure on the midfield and defence it may be better to use it situationally as it could result in too many cards.

 

Not only are Center Backs Diogo Leite, Robin Knoche, and Timo Baumgartl strong in the air they're also mentally intelligent and uncompromising in defence. The three Center backs stand respectively at 6'2, 6'3, and 6'4 and all share strong marking and heading attributes, The job is very simple, but important to the team that they are always aware of danger and can clear the ball by head or by foot.

The team must act as one defensive unit, with a strong emphasis on teamwork and concentration. The Defensive line is set to lower so the only way through is via a nicely played-through ball as we welcome crosses, Rani Khedira will be the wall shielding the defense in the DM role and although slow has rejuvenated his career at Union Berlin with his ability to read and react to situations.

 

What has gone wrong for Union Berlin in 2023/24?

Suppose you want an example of how quickly things can change in football. In that case, we are still in the same calendar year in which Union Berlin qualified for the Champions League for the first time, signed Leonardo Bonucci and Robin Gosens, and Urs Fischer was given the Football Manager of the Year award in Germany. Now, in mid-November, Fischer and the club agreed to part ways Just six months after improbably qualifying for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history, Union Berlin are at the bottom of the Bundesliga and has dismissed beloved boss Urs Fischer. 

Where did it all go wrong? Well, everything really, a combination of bedding in recruits among them Leonardo Bonucci, Chelsea loanee David Fofana, Leeds loanee Brenden Aaronson and Germany internationals Robin Gosens and Kevin Volland, some bad luck and injuries to key players – namely to Rani Khedira have contributed to the poor start to the season. I also think loaning out key player Morten Thorsby was possibly another squad managing mistake.

 

Having reached the promised land with a squad of lesser-known players, it seemed like Union were trying to make that next step in the summer, adding Bonucci as well as Germany internationals Gosens and Kevin Volland, with Portuguese centre-back Diogo Leite also arriving from Porto. They also sprinkled some interesting loan players into the squad signing David Datro Fofana on loan from Chelsea for the season as well as Brenden Aaronson from Leeds United and Alex Král from Spartak Moscow.

Their fourth-place finish last season was largely thanks to excellent home form. Union were undefeated at Stadion An der Alten Försterei in the Bundesliga, the only team to achieve that feat in 2022-23 That would be manageable if Union were at least solid at the back, but that also hasn’t been the case despite the high-profile signing of Bonucci from Juventus in the summer. The Italian’s wealth of experience has not had the desired effect, though it is far from just his fault. It simply hasn’t worked, though. It may have simply been too much change, too fast, or perhaps Fischer’s influence on the team had just run its course, which can happen after so many years at one club. It famously happened twice with arguably Germany’s most famous manager Jürgen Klopp both at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.

The save will begin a few days after Urs Fischer departs Union Berlin in his final press conference Fischer said:  

“The last few weeks have taken a lot of energy. We tried a lot, and the team put in a lot, but it didn’t pay off in results. I am very grateful for the trust that I have always felt here. Nevertheless, it feels right when a change happens now: sometimes a different face, a different way of addressing a team helps to trigger development.”

 Eisern Berlin!

Edited January 16 by Matty Aqua

[Deisler26]

Good luck with this! I had a fabulous career on 22 with Viktoria Berlin and I hope yours is as good!

[Oppiiz]

What some great opening posts! Really looking forward to see how it goes! 
After reading I had to search Union up on YouTube. Totally understand why you went with them now! 

[MattyLewis11]

First and foremost, what a book! I read it this summer and thought long and hard about starting a Union Berlin save.

Have a document full of quotes which I thought I could pull for the save to add useful context about the club...happy to share. 

Keen to see how the tactic plays out, are you instructing those wing-backs to deliver their crossed at anywhere specific? Have seen to find within my save that adding this as a PI makes a real difference.

Will this save take centre stage now? 

[Matty Aqua]

On 27/11/2022 at 19:58, Deisler26 said:

Good luck with this! I had a fabulous career on 22 with Viktoria Berlin and I hope yours is as good!

Thanks, I did read it you did about 14 seasons with Viktoria Berlin, will be trying to take care of clubs in Berlin in this save - I just scheduled an away friendly against them to help their finances

On 27/11/2022 at 21:34, Oppiiz said:

What some great opening posts! Really looking forward to see how it goes! 
After reading I had to search Union up on YouTube. Totally understand why you went with them now! 

Thank you kindly, more to come! - Incredible club on and off the field!

Edited January 4 by Matty Aqua

[SixPointer]

Really enjoyed the write up! Great depth and looking forward to more 
 

love the club. Their stadium is fantastic in the forest. It’s gave me one of the best football experiences ever. Being from Edinburgh we don’t get treated anywhere near as good as football fans do in Germany. 
 

me and my wife visited Berlin when they were still 2.bundesliga and watched a game against Bochum. Free travel to the game the journey through the woods to the group was magical and the atmosphere was incredible at the game. Throw in some German pints and it was the best place I’ve been to for a game. Hands down beats anywhere else I’ve visited for games.  

Edited November 28, 2022 by SixPointer

[Chris_ANZFM]

Matty, mate, wow! What a read that was. The passion you have for German football makes this a must read. Very much looking forward to seeing what you achieve. 

[vara]

yeh this is excellent, Matt! well done, looking forward to following. 

[Matty Aqua]

@SixPointer @Chris_ANZFM @vara thanks!, such a great club with incredible history it's almost impossible to not appreciate Union Berlin!

next update should be added on the weekend!.

thanks all for reading so far!

[Matty Aqua]

Preparing Union Berlin for the Season!

So you've received the job, shaking hands with the chairman, posed for your announcement photos, and done your media duties, now you're in the driver's seat and ready to guide the club to success! but where do you start? Football Manager sometimes isn't the clearest for instructions - how to actually play Football Manager!, this isn't a 'what you should' and 'shouldn't do' blog, but more, how I will handle my first day on the job at Union Berlin, after all, you can leave majority of this stuff to your backroom staff and spam that space bar if you choose to do so, but running a well run club requires attention from top to bottom and as the saying goes - "failure to prepare, is preparing to fail". 

                                                                                                                                           

COACHES

Luckily, I have a small but decent backroom staff to get me started, it feels like a necessary place to introduce some key backroom staff members who will be helping me for the upcoming season. Long-serving staff member Sebastian Bönig is my assistant manager and will be my right-hand man throughout the season. The backroom team is an area I will look to expand when the finances are in better shape, I know some FM players brutally wield the axe and immediately terminate members of the backroom team, but I do not!

The first thing I want to do is gain the support of the playing group and supporters and firing staff can lead to upset and disgruntled players before I have even played the first match! Also, amortization!  there's a financial aspect most people don't consider, and that's amortization, mutual termination fees are very costly, and replacing them with new staff on potentially higher wages, means you're paying both old and new staff members to do the same job, so amortization is something to consider especially if you're managing a club with debt!. I personally let contracts expire if the staff member isn't someone I deem useful for the long-term plans, as most likely there will be a changing of squad players after the first few seasons anyway, so why pay more to train players who might not be here in the future? just food for thought.

I want to focus on helping veteran players transition into life after football by becoming part of the club as a backroom staff. There's nothing more satisfying than having a player join the backroom team and then go on to forge his own managerial career in your universe. Just as players have current ability and potential ability so do your coaching staff and often you will receive an inbox message notifying you that a member of staff is studying for a coaching course, this will increase their attributes as a staff member. Occasionally a player will make a start on gaining his coaching badges while he is still active as a player. Christopher Trimmel is the perfect candidate for a future staff role, and you can even have the conversation gauging a player's interest in a role for the future. I don't have any evidence as to what makes a coach's attributes improve over time, perhaps a combination of coaching courses and potentially allowing the coach to manage academy matches is all the knowledge have, but I figure it's a great place to document the Union Berlin backroom staff development as the save progresses as we can now see the attributes development of coaches.

 

 

Edited January 16 by Matty Aqua

[Vico Vito Pep]

 

That clip is pretty indicative of how Union Berlin play irl lol. 

What I like about your tactic, Matt is that it has pretty minimal instructions throughout the tactic. Like the training setup (especially for Low Block training)  you created for pre-season as well.

In a Union Berlin save I did recently, I had the Haberer role more of a MEZ-S or CM-A bc of his support of the strikers in the final third &  late runs to the box. But i'll try the regular CM-S role since he & either Thorsby or Schafer are  the swarming central mid pair. 

[SixPointer]

Berliner derby to kick things off! Love it!! I love derbies, football rivalries especially from the same city are something very special! 

[Jogo Bonito]

A great write up, a long but enjoyable scene-setter, and passion that really comes through. A perfect fit for Union Berlin and a club that does deserve the attention you're giving them after their wonderful progression in recent years. Agree on what is said above, no better way to start than with a spicy inter-city derby!

[Matty Aqua]

On 03/12/2022 at 04:59, Vico Vito Pep said:

 

That clip is pretty indicative of how Union Berlin play irl lol. 

What I like about your tactic, Matt is that it has pretty minimal instructions throughout the tactic. Like the training setup (especially for Low Block training)  you created for pre-season as well.

In a Union Berlin save I did recently, I had the Haberer role more of a MEZ-S or CM-A bc of his support of the strikers in the final third &  late runs to the box. But i'll try the regular CM-S role since he & either Thorsby or Schafer are  the swarming central mid pair. 

@Vico Vito Pep Thanks!, the tactic is mostly focused on defensive shape, there's not a need for a lot of instructions - I recently actually made a change to the tactic and wanted to see more attacking threat from the midfielders, so I changed the CM to CM-Att for more attacking threat!, so maybe you were onto a good thing all along!.

On 03/12/2022 at 14:54, SixPointer said:

Berliner derby to kick things off! Love it!! I love derbies, football rivalries especially from the same city are something very special! 

@SixPointerthanks for reading as always!, I have a write up coming up next on the Derby!.

5 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

A great write up, a long but enjoyable scene-setter, and passion that really comes through. A perfect fit for Union Berlin and a club that does deserve the attention you're giving them after their wonderful progression in recent years. Agree on what is said above, no better way to start than with a spicy inter-city derby!

@Jogo Bonito maybe a bit long, but I wanted readers to understand the club for what it is!, and once you understand Union Berlin you cannot help but be passionate and give the ultimate attention to detail! - thanks for reading and bring on the Derby!.

[Matty Aqua]

'THE HISTORY OF THE BERLINER DERBY'

Perhaps the biggest match on our calendar is the Berliner Derby, which is when I will be making my official Bundesliga managerial debut, so it feels necessary to dive deeper into the origins of the Berliner Derby.

I think it's important to give some context to the derby as there is just so much history within Berlin to go alongside the Football Manager aspect of this thread, so I hope you enjoy the history lesson and can learn a little more about football in Berlin, as in Berlin, politics is inextricably linked to football.

The city of Berlin was the epicentre of not only one of the most venomous fascist uprisings in human history, but also the symbolic political division of West versus East, 'America versus the Soviet Union' or, 'capitalism versus communism'. The political history of Berlin has shaped the football culture of its people too. It’s evidenced in the vastly differing Hertha Berlin from the west, and Union Berlin from the east.

  

During the Second World War, Hertha Berlin was the club endorsed by the Nazi party. The 74,000-seater Olympiastadion was built by Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer in 1936, and the club’s president in the pre-war era was Hans Pfeifer who was a member of the Nazi party installed by Hitler to maintain ideology. Before the reunification of the East and West in 1989, Union and Hertha were effectively located in different countries, Hertha Berlin from West Germany and Union Berlin from East Germany, they were divided into East and West Germany by the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall ran through the heart of the city, splitting communities, families, friends and, of course, football clubs. The Berliner Derby doesn't just include Hertha Berlin, it also includes BFC Dynamo an East German football club who are currently playing in the fourth tier of German football.

The rivalry between BFC Dynamo and Union Berlin began in the mid-1960s and intensified in the 1970s as players of Union Berlin would often insult BFC Dynamo players with slurs such as "Stasi-pigs", the Stasi was the Ministry of state security also known as the 'Stasi secret police'. The Stasi was a highly effective secret police organization within East Germany and it sought to infiltrate every institution of society and every aspect of the daily life of people in East Germany, including intimate, personal and familial relationships. The "Stasi" is short for the term Ministerium für Staatsicherheit and was one of the most hated and feared institutions of the East German communist government. Erich Mielke was the Head of State Security (The Stasi secret police) and also the president of BFC Dynamo. Between 1979 and 1988, the East German juggernauts BFC Dynamo won 10 straight league titles and twice reached the European Cup last eight, BFC Dynamo were the Bayern Munich of the East. 

During the 1970s, the best team in East Germany was Dynamo Dresden, who had won five Oberliga titles, so Erich Mielke forced their players to move to the capital and turned BFC Dynamo into an overnight success. Players weren’t transferred between teams in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) but delegated. You could leave your club at any time, but you’d need permission from the GDR to sign for a new one. BFC Dynamo always got the best players and if you were too good to play against them, you joined them, It was that simple.

If a successful team hoovering up all the top talent from their rivals sounds familiar, it was small fry compared with BFC Dynamo's other alleged infringements. BFC Dynamo played all of their games at the same ground, it didn’t matter what the fixture list said – home or away, they played at Stadion der Weltjugend. Other teams would have to travel to Rostock, Magdeburg, and Dresden but everyone had to play at BFC’s ground of choice twice. And if they weren’t winning, the games were extended and referees were ordered to keep adding time on until BFC Dynamo scored.

For a long time, Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin were not always fierce rivals, they were considered "friends behind barbed wire" as a lot of people on both sides longed for a united Germany while the Berlin Wall was standing and even used to show great support to one another on match days. Some Union fans even listened to Hertha’s matches on transistor radios and celebrated whenever a goal went in and there is still a fan friendship group called 'Hertha Union Fruende', as traditionally Union Berlin's rival is the other Eastern Berlin club BFC Dynamo.

On 27 January 1990, just 79 days after the wall fell, Hertha played Union for the first time. It was only a friendly, at the Olympiastadion, but there was no hatred, no violence, no cross-town abuse. Instead, fans congregated communally, symbolically paying their entrance fees in different currencies, and singing songs of a reunified city. This was the start of a divided city uniting. Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin didn't actually play a competitive match against each other until the 2010/11 season after Hertha Berlin got relegated to the 2.Bundesliga, Union Berlin fans sang songs mocking the Hertha's relegation but they managed to get promoted that season. Sparking small signs of rivalry Hertha would again be relegated in the 2012/13 season which meant two more derby days!. If Berliners could point to a day when the friendship was destroyed forever, it might be September 3, 2012. That marked the third competitive clash between the teams. An early-season showdown at a full Försterei and the day Union Berlin midfielder Christopher Quiring decided to get personal. The winger notched Union Berlin's consolation goal in a 2-1 loss, and he then gave an explosive interview after the game.

“They cheer in our stadium,” he spat at TV cameras post-defeat. “That makes me puke! I don’t give a s**t about my goal. When the Wessis cheer in our stadium, I get sick.”

Christopher Quiring was born after the wall came down in a unified Berlin, so it was a change in the way the younger generation was starting to see the derby between the two clubs, no longer with the same global political view of we are fighting the same enemy but a politically football focused view of, you are from the West and we are from the East, and we are different!. He was also talking about ‘Wessis’ which is a semi-derogatory term for those who hail from West Germany and are deemed a step too far.

As with everything in Berlin, the football culture is rapidly changing. Hertha and Union are the two big teams nowadays in the Bundesliga, but the clubs around them are consistently emerging. The number of teams founded by ethnic minorities is exceptional, there are Turkish clubs, Türkiyemspor Berlin and AK Berliner 07, a Jewish club, TuS Makkabi Berlin, a Polish club, FC Polonia Berlin, and a Croatian club, SD Croatia Berlin. Although some of these were founded nearly a hundred years ago, they add to the new face of Berlin, defined by the cohesive diverse ethnicities of a once-broken city. 

The football culture in Berlin is like no other city in the world, seemingly divided and united at the same time, where there are things more important than red versus blue it’s not everywhere that the games of a cross-city rivalry can be counted on one hand, but this is the uniqueness of Berlin.

No city has been torn apart more than Berlin in the 20th century.

                     

Edited October 31, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Chris_ANZFM]

21 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

'THE HISTORY OF THE BERLINER DERBY'

Perhaps the biggest match on our calendar is the Berliner Derby, which is when I will be making my official Bundesliga managerial debut, so it feels necessary to dive deeper into the origins of the Berliner Derby.

I think it's important to give some context to the derby as there is just so much history within Berlin to go alongside the Football Manager aspect of this thread, so I hope you enjoy the history lesson and can learn a little more about football in Berlin, as in Berlin, politics is inextricably linked to football.

---

The city of Berlin was the epicentre of not only one of the most venomous fascist uprisings in human history, but also the symbolic political division of West versus East, 'America versus the Soviet Union' or, 'capitalism versus communism'. The political history of Berlin has shaped the football culture of its people too. It’s evidenced in the vastly differing Hertha Berlin from the west, and Union Berlin from the east.

  

During the Second World War, Hertha Berlin was the club endorsed by the Nazi party. The 74,000-seater Olympiastadion was built by Hitler’s chief architect Albert Speer in 1936, and the club’s president in the pre-war era was Hans Pfeifer who was a member of the Nazi party installed by Hitler to maintain ideology. Before the reunification of the East and West in 1989, Union and Hertha were effectively located in different countries, Hertha Berlin from West Germany and Union Berlin from East Germany, they were divided into East and West Germany by the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall ran through the heart of the city, splitting communities, families, friends and, of course football clubs. The Berliner Derby doesn't just include Hertha Berlin, it also includes BFC Dynamo an east German football club who are currently playing in the fourth tier of German football.

The rivalry between BFC Dynamo and Union Berlin began in the mid-1960's and intensified in the 1970's as players of Union Berlin would often insult BFC Dynamo players with slurs such as "Stasi-pigs", the Stasi was the Ministry of state security also known as the 'Stasi secret police'. The Stasi was a highly effective secret police organization within East Germany and it sought to infiltrate every institution of society and every aspect of daily life of people in East Germany, even including intimate, personal and familial relationships. The "Stasi" is short for the term Ministerium für Staatsicherheit and was one of the most hated and feared institutions of the East German communist government. Erich Mielke was the Head of State Security (The Stasi secret police) and also the president of BFC Dynamo. Between 1979 and 1988, the East German juggernauts BFC Dynamo won 10 straight league titles and twice reached the European Cup last eight, BFC Dynamo were the Bayern Munich of the East. 

During the 1970s, the best team in East Germany was Dynamo Dresden, who had won five Oberliga titles, so Erich Mielke forced their players to move to the capital and turned BFC Dynamo into an overnight success. Players weren’t transferred between teams in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), but delegated. You could leave your club at any time, but you’d need permission from the GDR to sign for a new one. BFC Dynamo always got the best players and if you were too good to play against them, you joined them, It was that simple. If a successful team hoovering up all the top talent from their rivals sounds familiar, it was small fry compared with BFC Dynamo's other alleged infringements were. BFC Dynamo played all of their games at the same ground, it didn’t matter what the fixture list said – home or away, they played at Stadion der Weltjugend. Other teams would have to travel to Rostock, Magdeburg, Dresden but everyone had to play at BFC’s ground of choice twice. And if they weren’t winning, the games were extended and referees were ordered to keep adding time on until BFC Dynamo scored.

For a long time, Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin were not always fierce rivals, they were considered "friends behind barbed wire" as a lot of people on both sides longed for a united Germany while the Berlin Wall was standing and even used to show great support to one another on match days. Some Union fans even listened to Hertha’s matches on transistor radios and celebrated whenever a goal went in and there is still a fan friendship group called 'Hertha Union Fruende', as traditionally Union Berlin's rival is the other Eastern Berlin club BFC Dynamo.

On 27 January 1990, just 79 days after the wall fell, Hertha played Union for the first time. It was only a friendly, at the Olympiastadion, but there was no hatred, no violence, no cross-town abuse. Instead, fans congregated communally, symbolically paying their entrance fees in different currencies, singing songs of a reunified city. This was the start of a divided city uniting. Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin didn't actually play a competitive match against each other until the 2010/11 season after Hertha Berlin got relegated to the 2.Bundesliga, Union Berlin fans sang songs mocking the Hertha's relegation but they managed to get promoted that season. Sparking small signs of rivalry Hertha would again be relegated in the 2012/13 season which meant two more derby days!. If Berliners could point to a day when the friendship was destroyed forever, it might be September 3, 2012. That marked the third competitive clash between the teams. An early-season showdown at a full Försterei and the day Union Berlin midfielder Christopher Quiring decided to get personal. The winger notched Union Berlin's consolation goal in a 2-1 loss, he then gave an explosive interview after the game.

“They cheer in our stadium,” he spat at TV cameras post-defeat. “That makes me puke! I don’t give a s**t about my goal. When the Wessis cheer in our stadium, I get sick.”

Christopher Quiring was born after the wall came down in a unified Berlin, so it was a change in the way the younger generation was starting to see the derby between the two clubs. He was talking about ‘Wessis’ which is a semi-derogatory term for those who hail from West Germany and deemed a step to far. As with everything in Berlin, the football culture is rapidly changing. Hertha and Union are the two big teams nowadays, but the clubs around them are consistently emerging. The number of teams founded by ethnic minorities is exceptional; there are Turkish clubs, Türkiyemspor Berlin and AK Berliner 07, a Jewish club, TuS Makkabi Berlin, a Polish club, FC Polonia Berlin, and a Croatian club, SD Croatia Berlin. Although some of these were founded nearly a hundred years ago, they add to the new face of Berlin, defined by cohesive diverse ethnicities of a once broken city. The football culture in Berlin is like no other city in the world, seemingly divided and united at the same time, where there are things more important than red versus blue. It’s not everywhere that the games of a cross-city rivalry can be counted on one hand, but this is the uniqueness of Berlin.

No city has been more torn apart than Berlin in the 20th century.

 

---

AUGUST 2022

An early pass at 7' by Khedira to Sheraldo Becker proved all the work in the system during pre season was paying off as we launched a counter attack early, however Becker was flagged offside and the fans of Union Berlin had to take a breather and calm down....So did I!.

But not for long!, as we continued to break up play scrap for set peaces, Sheraldo Becker leapt up above the pack like a salmon!, scoring a nice header off a corner routine!.

But the elation wasn't for long with Hertha equalizing a few minutes later with a GK mishap we went into half-time 1-1, frustrating!

We broke almost even on possession at half time, so I decided to drop the mentality from Cautios down to Defensive to focus less on retaining the ball and more on shape and quick attacks, until Niko Gießelmann got a red card early in the 2nd half which through all my tactical plans into disarray.

The intensity of the derby was obviously making an impact as Morten Thorsby got show a red card 66' leaving us to 9 men!, followed by an unbelievable 3rd red card of the game this time to Hertha Berlin as Suat Surder takes an early shower, Feisty game indeed!.

But wait there's more to this crazy opening match, as Hertha in all sorts of unorganised defensive chaos play a long goal kick, Diogo Leite heads it on and András Schäfer quickly flicks it onto none other than Sheraldo Becker - who bangs home a wonderful goal! giving us the 2-1 win!

We won the match!, and I am happy with the victory!, naturally momentum charts and XG charts will sway against us in most cases, as we don't focus on possession or retaining control of the ball.

We won the match!, and I am happy with the victory!, naturally momentum charts and XG charts will sway against us in most cases, as we don't focus on possession or retaining control of the ball.

After doing some post match analysis, I thought the defensive line was a little high and possibly could sit deeper at times considering I am playing on cautious or defensive mentality at times, but the image on the right shows promising signs we are winning tackles in wider areas and keeping the area in front of our box clear from play making threats.

AVERAGE POSITION WITHOUT THE BALL vs TACKLES WON

  

Thanks for reading, I feel as though I have given a good amount of background information into the club and can now start to focus more on the season and matches!

Matty, mate. Wow. What a sensational update. The way you’ve been able to combine the real life stories and history with the action in the game has made this a must read. 
 

I was so enveloped in the history section of this that I’d even forgotten there was a game to play and a congratulations on the result. 

[MattyLewis11]

Managing to win The Berliner Derby' with only nine men on the pitch is a serious feat. Think you are already on a path to go down in the history books.

[SixPointer]

That Berliner posts is one of my favourites ever on the forum.

I love city Derby's and you’ve capitulated it perfect in your update!!

what a result as well and even more so what a bloody battle!

[_Ben_]

This is sensational writing Matty! Loving every minute of it.

[FM Eire]

Loving this. ❤ 

 

I think it's nearly everyone's dream to find a club through FM and develop a deep attachment to them. Sadly, I haven't found mine yet but it's great to hear people write about theirs! 

[Matty Aqua]

On 09/12/2022 at 02:47, SixPointer said:

That Berliner posts is one of my favourites ever on the forum.

I love city Derby's and you’ve capitulated it perfect in your update!!

what a result as well and even more so what a bloody battle!

@SixPointerthanks that's a very big compliment!, I spent a bit of time reading up on it and took a bit of time to write a piece like that!.

 

On 09/12/2022 at 05:12, _Ben_ said:

This is sensational writing Matty! Loving every minute of it.

Cheers @_Ben_ , now to try and incorporate some stats into the save to make it all come together! Appreciate you reading

On 09/12/2022 at 06:29, FM Eire said:

Loving this. ❤ 

 

I think it's nearly everyone's dream to find a club through FM and develop a deep attachment to them. Sadly, I haven't found mine yet but it's great to hear people write about theirs! 

@FM EireI know what you mean, I've had my moments where I have felt a bit directionless with FM. I planned on this save for FM22 and never got around to it, so I had almost an extra 12 months of research into Berlin to make this all come together.

@MattyLewis11 I hope so! Imagine a team from Eastern Berlin, given all the context of what the city has been through becoming a Champions League winner?...the power of fantasy in Football Manager hey? haha

Seems readers have enjoyed some history incorporated into the writing, I'll punch out a few updates with the season kicking off now, but I'll try and add in some more fascinating and educational writing within the thread as I've enjoyed learning the history of the city too, and find writing about it cathartic!.

Appreciate all the thumbs up and responses! 

Edited January 7 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

 

reserved

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[SixPointer]

Union Berlin Vs hearts. Now that’s the game I want to see. My team and my favourite German team!!

Nice to see your tactics giving you a clear identity!! Really love your writing!

[Matty Aqua]

Thanks, appreciate the support from everyone who has read the thread so far!

Edited January 12, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[MattyLewis11]

Plenty of games played, you had quite the baptism of fire. How reliant do you think you are on the goals of Becker? 

Enjoying the detail and seems like you are also buying into what looks like will be a good long term project. 

[Carambau]

Fantastic read! Wishing you good luck for your career with die Eisernen  😀

[Matty Aqua]

On 11/12/2022 at 20:48, MattyLewis11 said:

Plenty of games played, you had quite the baptism of fire. How reliant do you think you are on the goals of Becker? 

Enjoying the detail and seems like you are also buying into what looks like will be a good long term project. 

Given the tactic, I'm very reliant on Becker and Siebatcheu, tho a few role adjustments in the next update will add some more threat from others!

I'm fully invested!, I want this to be a long term save as there are objectives I want to achieve outside of Union Berlin, I would love to see other sides from Berlin start to rise up the ranks also!.

On 11/12/2022 at 21:37, Carambau said:

Fantastic read! Wishing you good luck for your career with die Eisernen  😀

Thank you kindly!.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

Reserved

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Matty Aqua]

JANUARY 2023

 

We came out of the World Cup break firing on all cylinders, picking up five wins on the bounce and progressing through in DFB-Pokal and we're still in the Europa League, Jordan Siebatheu found incredible form scoring 6 goals in 3 games and picking up a hayrick against Hoffenheim. I also made some transfers looking to sure up the defence for the future. Unfortunately the squad is just to big and some players will have to be moved on this window or in the summer transfer window.

 

 

TRANSFERS OUT

 

TRANSFERS IN

 

I feel pretty happy with the business we got done, Patric Pfeiffer was dominating the 2.bundesliga and Leandro Morgalla is an 18 year old Model Citizen from 1860 Munich and definitely one I will try to develop for the future, I did try and bid for Ronnie Edwards from Peterborough United but he joined Newcastle as they offered a larger transfer fee.

 

We currently sit 7th in the league but I suspect Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig will have strong finishes to the season. Jordan Siebatcheu has picked up 6 Man of the Match awards already!.

That catches it up on the Project re-start, I'll hopefully be able to blog more consistently.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[SixPointer]

1 hour ago, Matty Aqua said:

---

DECEMBER 2022

The World Cup has been and gone, it came home finally to England and Harry Maguire was the key player...who knew!.

As league football starts to resume around the globe it's also that time of year, the January transfer window!, so I'll be writing about the details of january as they come up as I play through the save!.

 

---

JANUARY 2023

Typically Union Berlin don't spend outrages amounts of money, and the club still services a heavy debt so it's common for Union to sell and replace players. I have sent my scouts to collect data on leagues in Poland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and England which are usual territories Union look to explore, and new scout Eric Gerets is gaining knowledge of Croatia and Hungary which are also areas I will start exploring for young player with potential. The club currently has a few players on higher wages that I will look to move on through out the transfer window as they are not contributing enough to warrant a place in the squad anymore, bigger clubs have started to take notice to a few players within the squad, being the financial position we are in we may have no choice but to sell some key players to generate money and also cut down the debt.

Backup Goalkeeper Lennart Grill on loan from Bayer Leverkusen on decent wages €15,250 per week which is a lot to sit on the bench. There's no termination option in his contract although he could develop into a decent keeper in the future should Frederik Rønnow decide to not sign a new contract or request a transfer.

   

---

We managed to catch Dortmund off guard early but Jordan Siebatcheu couldn't capitalise on two early chances, and although we managed 13 shots to vs Dortmund's 14 we didn't really get many opportunities on target.

The Pass map above reflects how we got caught in Dortmund's press often and created little.

---

As mentioned above, the financial side of Union Berlin is something that needs to be monitored as the club carries a lot of debt which also makes us a selling club, Paul Jaeckel was a player I wanted to keep, he initially wanted a new contract but wanted over €30,000 per week which was far to much for someone who hadn't locked down a spot in the starting 11, he decided he wanted a transfer once contract negotiations broke down and our financial situation leaves us with little transfer budget as the board only initially gave me €549,000 to spend and no room in the wage budget.

Arsenal we're sniffing around but it was rivals RB Leipzig who came forward with an offer €6.25M which was an offer I accepted as his contract expires in 2024, the board added €3.2M of the sale to the transfer budget.

Kevin Möhwald also joined San Jose Earthquakes for €600k as there was no real future for him at Union Berlin, with two quick sales done at the beginning of the window I had a bit of financial wiggle room to maybe get some deals done. There are areas of the squad that need some attention particularly Left back, Right Back, and Defensive Midfielder as there is a lack of youth coming through in those positions.

---

Having progressed a few days it was time to make the first signing for Union Berlin, I had been tracking Patric Pfeiffer all season so far and he was the best candidate financially available.

€1.8M potentially rising to €3.2M I felt was a good deal and fits the tactic nicely

• Great height for a CB - 6'5
• Determined - 17
• Consistent Performer
• Enjoys Big Matches
• Has decent passing, vision, and dribbling for a Center Back
• Very Strong Left and Right foot!

---

A match we needed to win, rarely do we win the possession battle, XG and shots on target, and despite conceding two goals we controlled the momentum of the game.

Interestingly we seem to concede almost directly after we score, and this has happened in multiple games I've noticed. A good 3 points after the Dortmund loss!.

• Jordan Siebatcheu picks up another MOTM 
  • Average Rating 9.0 
  • 1 Goal and 1 Assist
  • 13.7km covered
  • 76% Aerial battles won (13 attempts)

---

Continuing the good form with a classic Union Berlin victory away from home, despite conceding (again, directly after we score!) it as one of the best performances tactically we have given.

Conceding 60% possession and scoring two goals with an XG of 0.76, Sven Michel scored his first Bundesliga goal for the season and Sheraldo Becker scored his 11th and is still leading the goal scoring in the Bundesliga in scoring.

Six points from two games shoots us right up the table!.

---

Derby Day!, I wrote extensively on the history of the Berlin Derby in earlier post.

A good performance but again scoring and then conceding leaves us coming out of the Olmpiastadion with a draw, and potentially three points dropped here.

Timo Baumgartl scored a header of a corner, which is something I am tinkering with as we haven't taken advantage of set piece situations this season.

---

Unfortunately I had to make the tough cal to sell Genki Haraguchi, the Japanese International has made quite an impact since arriving in Union Berlin becoming a fan favorite, he was in the final year of his contract and only managed 5 games this season. I accepted the offer as I wasn't planning on re-signing him. Looking ahead to the future I still had some funds left over from the Paul Jaeckel sale and there is currently no real prospect in the defensive mid role as Rani Khedira is 29 and Paul Seguin is 27 and wanted a massive contract to re-sign. I've been scouting the Championship and League One in England for some potential players, as it seems a realistic pathway for young English players caught between - not being good enough for the Premier League, but to good to be left developing in the lower divisions, and came across Peterborough's Ronnie Edwards.

Listed as a Center Back but capable of playing in the Defensive Midfield role, he was a bit short at 5'11 to be a Center Back but already has 15 composure, I think he could develop nicely into a DM and worth the €2.8M investment, he will be mentored by Morten Thorsby.

---

DEADLINE DAY DEAL

A rather quiet deadline day for Union Berlin but managed to get one final deal over the line signing released Manchester United Center Back Axel Tuanzebe on a free.

With Timo Buamgartl and Diogo Leite on loan I opted to have some security at the CB position going into next season as there release clauses are unlikely to be met due to limited finances.

At 25 years old, I'm giving Axel Tuanzebe a lifeline after a rather injury ravaged career, and could be sold for a good profit in the future.

---

PLAYERS OUT

   

PLAYERS IN

    

---

That concludes January, three players out and three players in!, a decent first window in my opinion, topping it off with 35 year old club captain signing on for another year!.

Looking forward to getting the players settled in and hitting the back half of the season!.

Next update will be the February/March period, as we prepare for the run into the end of the season!

Thanks for reading!.

I snapped up pfeiffer on a free for Sv Ried second season and he looks a great bit of business. Ronnie edwards as well is someone I see popping up all over the forums.

Have you any ideas why you concede right after scoring? They do say it’s the weakest moment and highest chance to concede. But so regularly I wonder if you could do something tactically and set up a match plan for it. 

[Matty Aqua]

@SixPointerPatric Pfeiffer has been a good signing, I scouted him extensively. Ronnie Edwards is kinda new to my knowledge as I haven't done a Peterborough save since FM20!, his development will be key!.

I honestly have no idea!, I think it may be a factor with Team Cohesion not being very strong. I will try and come up with a solution!

[SixPointer]

52 minutes ago, Matty Aqua said:

@SixPointerPatric Pfeiffer has been a good signing, I scouted him extensively. Ronnie Edwards is kinda new to my knowledge as I haven't done a Peterborough save since FM20!, his development will be key!.

I honestly have no idea!, I think it may be a factor with Team Cohesion not being very strong. I will try and come up with a solution!

Intrigued to see what you come up with. I always find it useful watching back goals conceded. Without the emotion of the match in real time i tend to notice more. Sometimes I switch it to 2d as well to look at positioning and patterns 

[Matty Aqua]

34 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Intrigued to see what you come up with. I always find it useful watching back goals conceded. Without the emotion of the match in real time i tend to notice more. Sometimes I switch it to 2d as well to look at positioning and patterns 

Not bad ideas there mate!

[Matty Aqua]

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Edited January 5, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[Carambau]

Finally a nice win again Köln! Let´s go Union!

[_Ben_]

On 25/12/2022 at 12:12, Matty Aqua said:

Not a lot to write about to be honest as the Youth Intake was below average. which sums up the current state of youth football in Berlin and also a bit of 'meh' in terms of results over the last two months.

I'm still really enjoying the save tho and looking towards the off season to move on some players and bring in some new players!

Thanks for reading!, here's to a strong end to season one!.

...Eisern Berlin!

Through the natural ups and downs of the season, you keep your posts informative and great to read. I know you’ll come back stronger. Keep it up Matty!

[MattyLewis11]

Those momentum visuals in the latest update 😬 any reason why your right hand side is performing better than the left? I may well be reading too much into the visual. 

[Matty Aqua]

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Edited January 5, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[argento]

Received the same book for Xmas and look forward to reading it alongside watching your exploits here!  Will be following, good luck 

[Matty Aqua]

7 minutes ago, argento said:

Received the same book for Xmas and look forward to reading it alongside watching your exploits here!  Will be following, good luck 

I really need to finish that book! 😅

[Matty Aqua]

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Edited October 20, 2023 by Matty Aqua

[SixPointer]

21 hours ago, Matty Aqua said:

Apologies for lack of updates, I've hit a bug in the save and it wont progress past a certain date so i have to go back and replay fixtures from before the World Cup!

 

 

 

Nightmare Matty. Takes a lot of energy to do this when it happens so much respect. I’ve seen me throw saves away when it does it. 

[Matty Aqua]

1 hour ago, SixPointer said:

Nightmare Matty. Takes a lot of energy to do this when it happens so much respect. I’ve seen me throw saves away when it does it. 

Very annoying, thankfully I had a back up save from just before the transfer window, so I'll have to re-write some updates!

[Swaban]

Is this save still going? If so, in hoping for  future updates haha