Vladis
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Posts posted by Vladis
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Started save with Freiburg few days before it was announced that Christian Streich will retire at the end of the season after 29 years at the club and more than 12 years of managing main team. So, good time for the start.
SC Freiburg is pretty unique team in modern football. This video explains why. I want to translate some core principles into this save such as loyalty, consistent development, youth focus.
Board and supporters also expect brave high-tempo pressing football from us. And my goal is to find balance between this model and more possession oriented stable tactic. I think I`ve found this balance in 3-4-2-1 formation (or 5-2-2-1). I absolutely love how we are sound defensively with extremal limiting of space and time for our opponents in our own half. In creating quality chances and scoring we still have room for development though.
Season 2023-2024
Results
Bundesliga
We are best of the rests and it`s very good result for the first season. Gap between us and 6th place is pleasing.
UEFA Europa League
Quarter-Final is a success of course. We know how Borussia plays but the quality of players was decisive in this battle.
DFB-Pokal
Dortmund…again.
Transfers
Whole January we were under attack by Saudi clubs with offers for our key players. As a result, we lost Doan (good price tbh), kept Lienhart, rejecting 70M+ offer, also kept Sallai and Kyereh but made them unhappy (luckily for the short time) and as result they requested to prevent any discussions about new contract at least until the date of expire (30/6/25).
Just one player was signed - Marco John. We needed young and offensive minded wing-back in company to our experienced Gunter. And Marco seems like the player we were looked for. Good personality, big potential. My only concerns are susceptibility to injuries and average speed (but it could be improved through the training).
Squad and season stats (click to enlarge)
I like the balance we have in the team. Some very handy talents like Atubolu, Schmidt, Sidillia, Rohl etc. alongside with experienced Hofler, Gunter, Grifo, Ginter, Holer who are also team leaders at the moment.
I`m more than satisfied with season performance of all the lines except attacking trio. Goalscoring was the problem but maybe it`s more to the tactic flaws. I think I was too focused on supporting functions of our number 9. Anyway, Gregoritsch was the most clinical with 12 goals in all competitions.
Youth Department
Freiburg II
U19
Awesome performance from our youth teams. Important note that they use identical tactical system as the senior team.
Youth Intake (click to enlarge)
Jason White | So Tanaka | Amer Serdarevic | Jeff Stewart | Kevin Ridl | Pascal Schuhmacher | Nassim Hermach
Great intake. Hopefully 2-3 players from this list could become star players in the future.
Next season
Main goal is to keep all our leaders in this summer. And hopefully with few good additions to the squad we could challenge for UCL spot. In Europe we will try to progress too.
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@_Ben_ Really like your thoughts process on tactical side of the game. I`m in one boat with you in developing 4231 with my Freiburg side.
Our princips of 3-2 build-up are very similar though I`ve found for myself a little trick to make it more dinamic and at the same time not losing its defensive efficiency. Instead of standard IFB-L-BPD-IFB I went with IFB-L-BPD-FB(S) with PI for FB sit narrow, hold shape, run wide with the ball. It looks like this in early phases. Though sometimes depending on situation FB acts like more traditional fullback running down the side leaving 2-2 rest defense (which is ok unless you are facing top class opponent who has high numbers in attack and wanting to hit you on counter). It also allowed me to use IF on that side instead of winger as I got more width.
But generally It doesn`t help me with results
. In Bundesliga first season all opponents geggenpress you like mad and It`s quite annoying. We don`t have time and space for creating good number of quality chances unless we hit opponents on counter-attacks.
Anyway I think you are doing great job here. Patience and tactical consistency will be rewarded.
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16 hours ago, TCSSkin said:
This has been fixed for an upcoming update
Great, thanks!
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Any way to edit appearance of newly created stadium in fixture review news? Stands are dark blue as it`s shown at club info panel, but the pitch is black.
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Welcome to our new home!
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Player Stats | Finances | Youth Intake (awful)
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Our debut in the top division is definitely a success. The 10th place is above even my most optimistic expectations. With a squad of Serie B's mid-table level at our disposal, we managed to climb so high - that's something to be proud of. Van Hooijdonk turned out to be a real discovery for me. With 26 goals he became the second scorer in the league after Vlahovic.
We have a quite difficult task for upcoming summer - with very tight wage budget (180k p/w) and 5M on transfers we need to find the way for strengthening the team. But there will be some great news in June. New stadium! And upgraded training facilities.
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Great month for us. We`ve almost guaranteed for ourselves retention in Serie A by winning all 3 home games in March.
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I`m really glad that we took points in matches against the teams at the bottom of the table. At the same time we looked solid in match with Inter and could afford some tactical experiments against Lazio. Our run in Coppa Italia ended at Renato Dall`Ara where we didn`t play the strongest XI.
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January transfer window was not reach for big deals. Nevertheless, we managed to make four fairly decent purchases.
Hadj Mahmoud | Manolo Portanova | Emerson | Alessandro Vogliacco
I would pinpoint Portanova transfer as he should become one of the most important players in current squad.
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Another sensation at Giuseppe Meazza/San Siro. This time we defeated Inter in cup game. Good revenge for 1-7 in September. In the league we are ok, sitting clear out from relegation zone. Van Hooijdonk unstoppable.
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Following the home win over Roma, we made an even bigger sensation by beating AC Milan at the San Siro. And then after losing to another top clubs Juve and Napoli we took crucial 3 points in match against Verona. Also, we go further in Coppa Italia after beating Lecce. Next opponent is Inter.
So, we are in one game from finishing the first leg of the season. We are 10 points clear from relegation zone which is very pleasing. To ensure that we will stay in Serie A I guess we need 40 points. It means that in the second leg we should at least keep the current level in terms of points.
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The month of ups and downs. We had a brilliant and sensational win over Roma, drew with the strong Atalanta and Bologna sides, but lost in the matches where I would have expected points. Hooijdonk and Omeonga are among the best in the league for goals and assists so far and honestly we are very dependable of their form.
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Not bad so far. We managed to get draws against much stronger sides like Torino and Lazio and took important 3 points in Parma. Hooijdonk is on fire.
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Our historical start in Serie A officially happened. And we are ok even with 1-7 from Inter. We took 4 points and lost games we should have lost. Van Hooijdonk is our main man in attack so far. Also, we successfully passed through the first round of the Coppa Italia and will compete against Lecce in December.
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Just wanted to show you how far we are from Serie A wage standards
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First top-tier season in Trento history is going to start. Summer transfer was a little bit chaotic because of poor scouting knowledge of top Italian and global markets but anyway we made a lot of signings and strengthened (hopefully) every line of our squad (except goalkeepers where we are in good shape). If you want any screenshots of new signings - free to ask.
Odds say we have no chances for survival, but we know how to surprise people. I have hope in our ability to stay in the league. But if not - we will still have good benefits in terms of finances.
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11 hours ago, keysi said:
As I replied on Twitter today morning, I don't have this issue and it works as it should.
I'm not sure why it happens for you, it works as it should for me. But: open the skin folder/panels/team, delete the 'training overview panel' and restart the game.
Thanks @keysi, works fine now.
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Crash when clicking on training button in sidemenu. I`m using 2560x1440 resolution. Could it be the reason?
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Players Stats | Best Eleven | Record Brakers | Youth Intake | Fabio Verdiani
It's hard to imagine how much we've exceeded expectations. I myself during the season thought only about securing ourselves from relegation and any thoughts about promotion only appeared in February, when the team started to show a simply outstanding performance. In the aftermath, it's hard to say exactly what was the reason for this success. Most likely it is a mix of team cohesion, strong tactical approach and a lot of micromanagement.
I don't want to single out anyone in particular from the team, but it is worth mentioning how important Zefi and Nissen, who were loaned in the winter, were. Our goalkeeper Russo was also at an extremely high level.
I still don't fully understand how we will build the team for the upcoming season, but it is obvious that we will be in the status of the main underdogs again.
The board has provided us with an acceptable budget, given that the club's financial situation is not the best at the moment. The main task now is to decide who to sign and re-sign key players. And then we will probably look for good loan deals and free players again. Most likely at least half of the transfer budget will be transferred to the wage budget.
Well, one more historically significant news. Looks like Trento's gonna have a new home. If all goes according to plan, we'll be playing in a new 12,000-seat arena within a year. The only downside is that the club has taken on a significant loan of 19.5 million euros.
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9 hours ago, theBlackPrince said:
What a way to finish the season, think you have thrown it away and then save it in the last game!! Congrats on the promotion!!!
Thanks;) Yes, it was real emotional swings. Playing last round against Venezia I followed the score of Sampdoria match vs. Catanzaro and they were leading comfortably most of the match. So I knew that every single mistake could cost us 2nd spot.
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You can have a heart attack with this game. I'm just speechless. Probably the most epic and tense ending to a season in my fm history. We missed a few seconds to secure promotion against Sampdoria and thus gave ourselves and the fans a ton of stress in the last round. But a miracle did happen. Trento in Serie A!!! I will stop here for now, summary of the season will be a little bit later, but for now I will go for a validol.
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Firstly we were better on derby against Sudtirol, then suddenly lost at home to Palermo but next two matches we special as we got crucial 6 points in fixtures with our main competitors for direct promotion. Another pleasant news is Del Piero made his debut on international level (U19 team).
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What a month! 20 goals in 5 matches with only 2 conceded. Biggest ever win with 5 goals from our new signings Zefi and Nissen followed by another 4 wins in a row including one over promotion contenders Genoa. Wow! Completely unexpectedly, we're in the race for promotion now.
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Two signings we made in January. Very talented guys arrived on loan deal. Central defender Fredrik Nissen (from Monza) and Irish/Albanian Forward Kevin Zefi (from Inter). At the same time 3 players left the club (also on loan deals). Barison and Di Cosmo lost their place in squad and young Del Piero left for more playing time in Serie C.
Not too much to say about these 3 matches. Deserved win at home over Feralpisalo and a bit of luck in clash with Frosinone.
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December was marked with the return of the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol derby. However, match was boring, not the best game from our side. But there was an impressive win in Sicily against Palermo.
We finish the first round in the playoff zone, which can still be seen as overachieving. The last two months were not so outstanding, but the main thing is that the relegation zone is far away and judging by the xg table we are playing very well.
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Bundesliga
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UEFA Europa League
DFB-Pokal
. In Bundesliga first season all opponents geggenpress you like mad and It`s quite annoying. We don`t have time and space for creating good number of quality chances unless we hit opponents on counter-attacks.
The board has provided us with an acceptable budget, given that the club's financial situation is not the best at the moment. The main task now is to decide who to sign and re-sign key players. And then we will probably look for good loan deals and free players again. Most likely at least half of the transfer budget will be transferred to the wage budget.
FM24: German leagues - Bundesliga and beyond
in Good Player & Team Guide
Posted
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Full table | Fixtures 1 | Fixtures 2
I could find a lot of parallels with Xabi Alonso`s Bayer in our Bundesliga campaign. Main ones are the first title in club history, similar tactical philosophy and 3-4-2-1 formation. Though in terms of attacking play we were not so impressive like Leverkusen this season IRL. A lot of tight 1-0 wins, 0-0 and 1-1 draws. However, we still finished in the top 5 for goals scored. Anyway, result is great. We are no longer a "small" club, and we must realize that next season will be much more difficult for us because we will be treated as one of the leaders.
I expected better performance in Europe, but we have what we have. Hopefully this experience will help us in UCL campaign next season.
We were not so lucky with the draw. Our quarter-final vs Bayern ended with one of the longest penalty series in my experience and unfortunately, we lost it.
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Transfers
We made few additions to the squad in the summer. Assan Ouédraogo is the most expensive purchase in Freiburg history and not so typical signing for the club who focus on producing own talents and searching for bargains. But I just couldn`t go from opportunity to sign such gem who could become star player in few years. Felix Uduokhai from relegated Augsburg added some quality depth to our defense. Also, we returned to the club Janik Haberer who previously spent 6 years in Freiburg before moving to Union Berlin. Nadiem Amiri is a real bargain deal. We got him for free from Bayer. Two players were given a chance in the first team after good loan spells: Keven Schlotterbeck (Bochum), Hugo Siquet (Cercle Brugge), Junior Adamu (Las Palmas). And also, some youngsters were signed for the second team.
Sallai and Kyereh didn`t see future in Freiburg and I let them find a new club. Selling Kübler is my decision. Makengo, Röhl, Weißhaupt and Baur (in January) were sent on loan to gain more match practice.
Squad click to enlarge
Season Stats
I`m absolutely satisfied with all our defense and may could single out only our GK Atubolu whose performance was outstanding. Lucas Höler spent his best season so far with 18 goals in all competitions. Young Adamu progressed really well but he is still lacking in stability. Ouédraogo debuted in Bundesliga with a decent performance. His potential is enormous.
Club Vertical
Our “system” works. Another great season from 2nd team. And decent performance from juniors after promotion to the top youth league.
Youth Intake
Holguin is presented like the main talent in this intake but with unambitious personality I have some doubts about his future. Saier seems like a good shadow striker or deep-lying forward in the future.
Matsuda is another prospect with low determination that could slow down his development. Ngwem and Pawlik are decent ones.
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Maintaining the level is key task alongside with further development of talented squad.