Austria Salzburg, Season 12, 2035/2036
Season Recap:
The season recap is a bit misleading because it takes the positions after the first phase.
That first phase was the best we ever did, but Salzburg was only 1 loss away from the perfect season so we did not close the gap there. Austria Wien had a really good year also and they were not too far from us, on top of this they were the only team to beat Salzburg.
This is how we began the second phase:
Over the last 10 games, we only managed to win 4, draw 1 and lose 5, so we did not take advantage of Salzburg's slow end of the season (3 draws, 3 losses in the title pool). Wien leapfrogged us and Rapid were just 1 goal away from kicking us out of the podium so this was quite disappointing. Salzburg only got 15 points out of a possible 30, so getting 20 or 21 would have meant a possible challenge for the title.
There are still 6 Austrian clubs playing in Europe but Hartberg lost against 7-th placed Altach who will play in C4.
In the Cup, we lose in Semis against Wien at their place.
For our first season in the Champions League, we could have had a worse draw. Molde was probably the worst team in that phase, Anderlecht & Metz were OK to deal with. We even managed to win in the Salzburg derby away from home !
We qualify for the elimination barrage and draw Liverpool which was far from the best possible match-up. After drawing at home we lose at Anfield but I am nonetheless quite happy with our performances for a first appearance on the big scene.
Transfers:
We did not renew Bandlow, who was now basically our 4th best right winger after Ciric and our 2 strikers, Walter & Domke, but still asked for top-5 wage.
We also say goodbye to our last non-regen player, Fötschl & Engl, a young defender who had very slim hopes of cracking into the first team.
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Finances:
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We started the year with 26M€ in the bank and got close to 40M€ in prize money with our Champions League run, so now we are up to 56M€.
Squad:
My 3 favorite tactics are still 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 & 4-4-2, seems like this year we used 4-4-2 the most. Very happy with my front 4, Ciric is my best player and probably the best player to ever play for us, but he does not want to renew his contract and wants to play for a bigger team...
In midfield, I managed to extend Mohr after last season, when we play in 4-2-3-1 Bauer plays AMC & Neumann plays next to Mohr. Mohr attracts interest from the best teams and has been seen twice "leaving a nightclub in the early hours of morning" but so far he has not asked to be transfered. Hermann Diegmann from our class of '33 is making good progress and he could become our next AMC. From that class, Nico Lang is also progressing well, that is why I let Fötschl walk at the beginning of the year.
From the next class, our wonderkid Beuth is now our best full-back, I trained him to play on the left side since Aksu is a lot better than Bah. I believe our two worst positions now are second CB (but I think Böhmer from the '35 class is progressing quickly and I am optimistic he can dislodge Bah / Imamovic as the second-best CB next season) and... GK. Kovacic is seen by my coaches as an OK-starter for Bundesliga but some youth prospects seem to have the potential to become better than him.
Admin & Facilities:
Nothing to note here, I still cannot ask for improvements for my youth facilities despite them being stuck at "superb" for 4 seasons now. Our new stadium also helps with the finance side of things and it is only full in Europe and for derbies, we have room to spare for the lesser games.
Bonus:
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Still 5th best youth setup in the world, with 3 of the 4 best graduates playing for us.
And 3 of the top-20 wonderkids ! Which is both good and bad, because they tend not to stay with us.
Youth Intake:
Not the best of preview, but we finally get a left-back !! Only 5 players worthy of a screenshot though, 2 elites & 3 top.
Richard Kurz :Alleluia ! A real left-back ! Now that Beuth is natural at this position it's not a top priority but we still lack depth. And Kurz does not have to become better than Beuth to make the first team, only better than Aksu which would then mean that Beuth would go back to his initial position on the right.
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Tim Ameskamp:Good second striker who can bring depth on the wings as well, his versatility is really an asset considering the number of strikers we have, he may end up like Hartmann or Domke and find his playing time more on the wings.
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Samuel Adler :We have had numerous CM coming through our ranks in recent years with Mohr (33), Lopez (34) and Wurm (35), so that makes it 4 years in a row. With Adler getting "only" 4 stars in potential I would not bet all my money on him becoming better than the 3 elite talents that came before him but we never know.
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Mathias Bornemann :We now only have Hartmann (who plays out of position) and Lang as left wingers, so the path to the first team is easier for Bornemann. I will obviously train him to play a little higher on the field but I still like the fact that he is natural as a wide midfielder.
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Adi Seferovic:Like CM, we have had elite AM coming up in the past 3 years with Diegmann (33), Decker (34) & Rabl (35) being seen as elite talents, so like Adler, Seferovic has his work cut out for him, all the more considering we only ever play with (1) AM when we line up in 4-2-3-1, so it is a tough battle ahead.
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A quick look at what our 2029 youth became. This was our first intake in Bundesliga, so supposedly the stars should have been harder to get than when we were in 2. Liga, but that did not stop Sabic from considering that a whopping 9 players were elite talents at the time...
And well, it did not turn out this way at all. Let's get to the ones who are still with us.
Kenan Todorovic, CD :He is still with us, but it is probably a question of months before he leaves us. Todorovic was supposed to become Bertram's partner in defense, but so far it seems like he is still behind Imamovic & Bah and barely better than Kiene. He spent the last 2 seasons on loan in the second division and has not been particularly exceptional. Böhmer from the class of '35 seems to be making good progress, and his 2 buddies from the same year are not far behing, so this could spell the end for Kenan.
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Harm Domke, ST turned RW:With Todorovic likely out in a few months, the only player that might stick around with us is Domke. He is kind of a late bloomer, becoming really relevant recently, but he is our best right winger behind Ciric, and likely one of our best False Nine or Second Striker, which allows him to play behind Walter or Gül in a 4-4-2.
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Those who left us :
Peter Albl, GKwas for a while supposed to become better than Kovacic, but then Kevin Schwab (31) came up and he became our bench GK. Albl left us for free at the end of his youth contract having played 5 games for us, all in his first two seasons. He is now playing in for Altach's reserve side, so no regrets.
Bozenko Stokic, RBalso left after his youth contract and signed in Croatia, where he plays in the 2nd division.
Julian Frede, RBleft us in July 2032 for 115K€ and joined Wolfsberger, one of the best 2. Liga teams, where he starts as a WB in a 5-2-3 DM formation. He was more suited to WB than RB so that makes sense.
Henrik Berger, LBhas retired and cannot be found in my save, so it is safe to assume he had very low potential considering he played in a position of need for us.
Lucas Rosch, RWleft us in July 2032 for 835€ (yes, that is the right amount) and joined Bregenz, a team that pops up every once in a while in 2. Liga only to get relegated a few years after. He did not make a single first team appearance and now plays in amateur Austrian leagues.
Pasko Stipica, RWhad very good potential and was almost first-team ready but his favorite role was playmaker which is not something really suited to the tactics I play, considering I already have one or 2 playmakes in midfield. He left for free and went to SV Ried, where he has barely played for the first team.
Patrick Galm, LWleft us in August 2032 for 150K€ and joined Sturm Graz, where he has made a single apparition for the first team in 4 years (but registered an assist, so his average grade in the Bundesliga is 7.4, not bad !)
Game in a nutshell:
Edited by Gonner
