KlaaZ

Posted the list on Saturday, you can find it a bit higher up on this page! 🙂

Oh, and another year, another new affiliate club: Sparta Prague is added to the list!

Transfer news Two more departures: Cvitanovic threw a fit when we rejected an offer from City, so after some tough negotiating he's gone for a deal running up to 106M. Not bad for a player who never made the first team. Milton Bravo is also out, we were looking to offload him as we promoted both Samaras and Binder to the first team and in the end found a solution when Arsenal came knocking, for 64M. A solid profit for the Peruvian who joined us for 825k back in 2027. Apart from that, the following players are loaned out to get some more game time: Helgesson (Chelsea), Versavel (Kortrijk), Fernandes (Roma), Hertner (Vigo), Javaux (Nice) and Tshimanga (Leicester). Project spotlight: August and september The pick of the lot for the first two months is Abdollahi, by far. The young attacking midfielder has given Beiersdorf a run for his money. He got his first start in the cup against Bergisch Gladbach, returning the favour with four goals, and also scored twice in the league. Also, an honourable mention for Lukas Binder who scored his first goal for Die Werkself away at Barcelona, securing an invaluable 1-2 win, and new signing Otto who's done well at the back.

Academy linkup against the (surprising) leaders, Freiburg! Binder playing in Abdollahi, who squared it for Parreira to tap it in.

It's a starting eleven consisting only of German and Austrian players! Not how I'd play all season because some of these are not ready to carry the team yet, but there's a LOT of potential.

A good preseason marred by a very unnecessary loss against Bayern in the Super Cup, with the usual suspects (Mavinga and Ülshofer) who didn't turn up. Not sure if I should be worried about this, but it's starting to be symptomatic at least.. Also turned the midfield triangle around due to the abundance of talent in defensive midfield.

Affiliate clubs: Overview As stated several times now, we've worked very hard over the past few years to set up a wide array of feeder clubs, which I feel is having a substantial impact on the quality of the youth intakes. Saint-Etienne France Ligue 2 Good youth facilities Good academy coaching Good youth recruitment Club Brugge Belgium Jupiler Pro League Excellent youth facilities Good academy coaching Exceptional youth recruitment EA Guingamp France Ligue 1 Good youth facilities Good academy coaching Above average youth recruitment FC Kobenhavn Denmark 3F Superliga Excellent youth facilities Excellent academy coaching Exceptional youth recruitment FC Tokyo Japan J1 League Good youth facilities Adequate academy coaching Excellent youth recruitment FK Austria Vienna Austria Premier Division Excellent youth facilities Excellent academy coaching Excellent youth recruitment Granada Spain Second Division Excellent youth facilities Good academy coaching Excellent youth recruitment Hannover Germany Bundesliga 2 Great youth facilities Adequate academy coaching Above average youth recruitment Maritimo Portugal Premier League Average youth facilities Adequate academy coaching Average youth recruitment Partizan Serbia SuperLeague Excellent youth facilities Good academy coaching Exceptional youth recruitment Rosenborg Norway Premier Division Great youth facilities Excellent academy coaching Excellent youth recruitment SM Caen France Ligue 2 Good youth facilities Good academy coaching Good youth recruitment As you can see, a lot of these clubs have a more than decent youth setup, which is the prime factor in deciding who we make arrangements with. Another thing to consider is always reputation as more reputable clubs tend to have priority on good talent.

Three new signings when the transfer window opens. Tobias Otto I mentioned already, for 7.5M from Bayern. Jonas Hertner is the biggest one, 67M to Leipzig for an 18-year old that needs a lot of work. After all these signings, we still have nearly 500M in the bank though, so we got the money to burn and might as well make the most of it. I'll probably loan him out if possible. Finally, Mateo Picci joins for 13.5M from Bayern. At 16, he'll spend one or two years in the youth team before we make up our mind about him. On the outgoing side, there's much interest but only a few leavers so far. Rotini joins Everton as his contract ran out, and Telehovschi goes to Sasuolo for 7.5M.

Two players who came through my youth ranks at Leuven in the same intake, and who I brought with me to Leverkusen a few years later. Now the staples of my team.

About the project: Up front IF(A) Ülshofer, obviously. Record signing from Frankfurt for 93M last year, and had an excellent debut season. I promoted Böhmermann to be his backup after Kroupi left, with mixed results for now but he's still young. I have other options as well but none of them have the right nationality so I'll slowly phase them out of the club. In the academy, 15-year old Felix Dreien came through the last intake and is currently the biggest prospect for the position. IF(S) Two players competing for the starting position here, neither of them German or Austrian. On top of that,very little perspective from the academy. Schumksi looked fenomenal when he came through the academy but he's barely made any progress. I'll try loaning him out in the hopes that that kickstarts him but otherwise we'll have to hit the transfer market. T(A) The other position where we probably will never replace our main starter. Lafaye is just too good. Just like Mavinga he's part of the golden generation from Leuven, and he's made some phenomenal progress. His standin, Micky Steele, is German and came over from Bayern for 20M a few years ago, and is also a very reliable option for goals. That said, I might play him more on the right and promote young Perreira from the academy, who made his debut in the Bundesliga last year at Union Berlin.

About the new project: Midfield DM The position where we have an abundance of choice for now. Awuah is our main starter. Coming from the academy, he was the only prospect with any clear ability when I took over at Leverkusen. Milton Bravo was his replacement option, with the Peruvian also being able to play in other midfield positions. He's allowed to leave when a good offer comes in though, as we have at least two other prospects who fit the bill: Croatian/German Cvitanovic and Lukas Binder (born in a suburb of Leverkusen, Solingen). We also brought in Tobias Otto from Bayern but he looks more like a central defender. And then we haven't even mentioned Charalabos Samaras, only 19 and returning from Groningen a better player. DPL(S) Enter Cardo Mavinga, Leuven academy product, vice captain and leader in the dressing room. And quite possibly one of the most complete midfielders in the world at only 22 years of age. There was interest from Manchester City but I managed to talk him out of wanting to leave by pointing out his leadership qualities. Will be one of the few players that I will probably never replace as he's just too good. I'm in the market for a German backup though, as Matias Sarue is just not up to it. He's missed out on matches and training five times last season due to nighttime activities, and barely made any progress. It's also possible that I'll push Samaras up to central midfield. CM(A) Young Beiersdorf, joined from Leipzig a few years ago, has been gradually replacing Acuna as a starter over the past year. Both fit the role very well either way, with excellent movement off the ball and good finishing. This is another position where some German blood would come in handy. Although we have two players in the academy who could fill the gap as well, with Abdollahi being closest to a spot in the big boy squad. Next to him, Armenian/German Grigoryan could be the next prodigy if he can improve his personality. I'm tempted to promote him to the first team for mentoring although the mentor group I've set up for him in the U19 already improved his determination a little. And there's also Noa Versavel, Belgian/German, who has been progressing surprisingly well.

About the new project The tactic This is how we lined up last season, tactics-wise. Nothing fancy, except for the trequartista up front. I actually played him on the left but it didn't really seem to work, with a CF(A) up front. Not set in stone, still working on perfecting the setup of the front three; The rest works quite well, including the IWB(S). Might change Ülshofer to a W(A) but I feel it would be a bit of a waste. Setting him up as a playmaker is also an option, as he's an excellent dribbler, with good flair, 20 vision and great passing/decisions/composure. Alternatively, I could pull Lafaye to the left and play Ülshofer in the treq role up front. Decisions, decisions.. Goalkeeper I replaced Seimen between the stakes last year, bringing in Serbian prospect Sreckovic. He did very well and made some excellent process, but if we want to Germanize it means we'll give Seimen another chance. Aleksandar has a backup role, so he won't be disappointed, and Seimen is also happy being a cup goalkeeper. Despite having great predictions when it comes to goalkeepers for two years in a row, we've yet to get a decent prospect from the academy. IWB(S) January signing Zehnter will be our main man for the foreseeable future. Next to him, both Helgesson and Borgporsson are optional replacements but neither of them are German unfortunately. In the academy, we have a young high potential in Japanese/German Tetsuya Nakamura, probably a result of our affiliation with Tokyo. Central defense I'll handle both my CD and my BPD together here, for the simple reason that I train all of my defenders as the latter. Our starting duo currently sports one German, Yannick Jarosch, who we signed from Bayern for 56M two years ago. Originally a full back, but had all the required attributes to be a central rock, so that's where he went. Next to him, Rachid Chentouf, who joined from Caen for 13M in 2027, is absolutely number one, no discussion. It'll take someone very special to replace him unfortunately. Funnily, just like Jarosch, he can just as well play at right back. Slovakian left footer Vesely turned out very, very well too. And then there's Van Den Broeck returning from loan at United. There's also a possibility to drop Awuah (who will be discussed at length in the DM slot) back a spot as well, and we have a few prospects both from the academy (Austrian Heger, and through a new signing. WB(A) Possibly the hardest position to Germanize at this point. Serrano, who we brought in from Leuven, is by far our number one starter, with Manuel André providing a very reliable backup who has made some excellent progression. Nelson Javaux, Belgian/German from the academy is the most likely prospect to fill in the position in the future but he's not ready yet, maybe another year on laon will change that.

January transfer window As I seemingly forgot this yesterday, there were a few roster adjustment during the winter break. Junior Kroupi developed really well but unfortunately, he lot his spot in the team when Ülshofer arrived. Up front, Lafaye and Steele are first choice as well, so he was getting very little playtime. He moves off to Freiburg for 46M, a healthy profit on the French lad we once signed from Napoli for 10M. Van Den Broeck was also complaining about his playtime so he went out on loan to Manchester United as a first team regular. Finally, Mastoras lost his rotation spot to Manuel André, so when the desert called through Al-Ahli for 24.5M, we let him go as well. Only one transfer on the incoming side. As Helgesson is out on loan and Scatolaro wasn't really performing up to the required standard, we brought in transfer listed Aaron Zehnter from Dortmund. As I launched Aaron's career when I brought him to Leuven, where he enjoyed some of his best performances, he was more than happy to be reunited. Fun fact, he actually went from Leuven to Manchester City but then left them after only two appearances to move back to Dortmund, where he racked up 100 games including sub appearances in three and a half seasons. Another fun fact, he'll be the oldest player in the squad at 27.

That's a very good point, I didn't. Added it now but it'll only adjust in the summer of '33 unfortunately. We already have a quality player that we picked up from Salzburg in 2029 if I'm not mistaken. He's been out on loan to Estoril, Hull and Villareal for the past few seasons, but we recalled him during the previous winter break to provide cover. Which makes me realize I forgot the winter transfer update, will do that now. I absolutely agree that it's sensible and doable too, with us being the most reputable club in Germany right now and probably one of the biggest in the world. On top of that, I've only expanded my already quite long list of feeder clubs abroad (which I'll touch in a separate update), and it looks like the Leverkusen board will allow me to keep doing this so it's only going to get better.

First order of business in that regard is bringing Charalabos Samaras, on loan at Groningen this season, into the squad to replace Bravo if I can find a team to move him to. Samaras was signed from Union Berlin in January 2031 and has been making steady progress, especially physically. He could become an excellent playmaker in front of the defense if all goes well. Secondly, academy players Abdollahi and Parreira, both on loan in Germany this year, will also be rotated into the first team squad. Both have German as a second nationality too, so even if no academy players they would have been eligible. Two other academy products, a little older, will also be used: Christoph Heger at the back, and Lukas binder in central midfield.

With that said, I've been thinking about the future and about setting a challenge for myself to make it more interesting as I really like it in Leverkusen for now (and I want to see how far I can take Lafaye and Mavinga). So I've come up with the following plan: I want to Germanize the squad. Practically, that would mean bringing in more German and Austrian talent and slowly phasing out the foreign nationalities. The only exceptions will be the two players I brought with me from Leuven, Lafaye and Mavinga (if I can hang on to them that is), and players coming through the academy of any nationality, so I can keep profiting from the club network I've set up.

Season recap Bundesliga Another year, another title. For the first time with a better goal difference than Bayern as well, and our best GD to date. Lafaye ended up as league top goalscorer with 18 goals, which is a solid return considering he only played 28 games due to rotation. DFB Pokal We succeed ourselves as cup winners with, for once, an easy run, including the final against our affiliate team from the Bundesliga 2, Hannover. Champions League An unlucky draw in the league phase with games against Tottenham, Inter, Sociedad, Dortmund, PSG and Vigo. Ironically, this turned into a boatload of draws as we didn't lose once. Because of all those draws, we had to face the knockout round first where we eliminated Dortmund, before doing the same with United in the round of sixteen. We did more than enough to beat Arsenal in the quarter final, but just like against Barça last year, we didn't take our chances and got completely driven over in an even game..

That's nice, but it would be better if you just did your jobs on the pitch.

Not sure what to do here. On the one hand, I've got an excellent team now, probably the best in the league. On the other hand, we often play against a bunch of chokers in Europe when it's money time. Just went out of the CL, again, like this.. Ulshofer, Lafaye and Mavinga are by far my best players but they barely ever turn up in the big games and I have no idea why. All three of them are world class with excellent personalities and two of them relish big matches.

Really unlucky with the Champions League draw as well this year, could it be any harder?

Looks like we have a troublemaker..

It is what it is sometimes. Thanks!

No joke, but they AI does tend to do a lot better after you leave a club in 24 imo. I won three titles in Belgium with OHL before moving on to Leverkusen and after finishing third the first year, they won the title in the next two and did well in Europe, making it to the round of sixteen in the CL once too. 🙂

A lot of outgoing transfer news as we overhaul the squad a little, especially the rotation options. Simsek moves to Porto for 48M, Buitraogo signs for Inter for 43.5M and Caprile goes to Manchester United for 45M. All three are a hefty profit, for players that never really made it into the starting eleven except as a rotation option. Finally, Helgesson moves on loan to Berlin as we signed a new left back. On the incoming front, four new players: A goalkeeper (hurray), a central defender, a right back and a player who can do the entire left flank. Aleksandar Sreckovic, 15.5M, Crvena Zvezda Denilson Fernandes, 15M, Havre AC Manuel André, 14.25M, Vizela Bayron Scatolaro, 4.2M, Colo Colo

Not a bad way to introduce yourself.