Der Bär Wird Wieder Brüllen, A Recap & 10 Years later

As I usually do with my saves, I simmed ahead 10 years to see if the team and coaches that followed have continued to build upon the foundation I left. This is sometimes a very hit or miss proposition, especially when you tend to use a ‘non-standard’ formation that you have the squad for. One of my best examples of this was my FM17 save, where we won multiple Champions Leagues and Ligue 1’s as USL Dunkerque using a 3-4-1-2, and after I retired the next coaches tried using a 4-2-3-1 and didn’t have any of the success I did. 

Seeing as how my last formation was a 4-1DM-1-3-1, I am slightly concerned.

In Dynamo’s case, they have hired some coaches that have had some good results, but have not come close to what we accomplished:

The Multiple League wins are nice, but the lack of European success is, to be frank, galling, so lets take a look at that.

• 2041 – Lost in the Quarter Finals to Barcelona
• 2042 – Lost in the Quarter Finals to Barcelona
• 2043 – Lost in the Semi Final to Spurs, after beating Bayern in the Quarters
• 2044 – Lost in the Quarter Finals to Milan
• 2045 – Lost in the Quarter Finals to Athletico Madrid
• 2046 – Lost in the Round of 16 to RB Leipzig
• 2047 – Lost in the Finals to PSG
• 2048 – Lost in the Semi-Finals to Chelsea
• 2049 -Lost in the Semi-Finals to RB Leipzig
• 2050 – Lost in the Quarter Finals to Sheffield United

Not a bad run, but it’s frustrating to come so close and not win it all again, and as we can see from the following, the club has stayed strong:

And I am not going to begrudge them a 4th place finish this season, they finished with 74 points, RB Leipzig finished with 79.

If there is one thing I am very proud of in this save, it’s the scouting. I will admit I hit quite bit more than I missed, but as I like scouting, for my longer, more detailed saves I tend to spend a lot of time with it, and for whatever reason, my FM23 Scouting setup worked very well in conjunction with my screen flow, and I was able to find a lot of good players early, Luca Montanaro as an example. I wanted to see how well I did, so I added a new coach and turned the editor on. In saves like this I always enable it, then the first thing I do when I get in the save is remove it from the toolbar so it’s not tempting me.

This is the current Dynamo Senior Squad. A note, not only am I using the Mustermann Skin, but I have altered the ranges as well, where:

• Poor (RED) is 1-7
• Average (ORANGE) is 8-12
• Good (Blue) 13-16
• Excellent (Green) 17-20

An older squad now, but still some familiar names:

• Andrey Stefanov, my Bulgarian WB, 150 CA / 160 PA
• Carlos Navarro, whose personality went from Driven to Professional, and has never has less than a 7.4 Average rating over the seasons, 178 CA / 180 PA.
• Polat Kaya, my first good Youth Intake player, 179 CA / 185 PA
• Constantin Ulreich, my second best Youth Intake player, 4 years after Polat, 158 CA / 164 PA.
• Dragan Grčić, 13 seasons as the Dynamo Keeper, 173 CA / 174 PA.

And those are just the players still on the squad. If I go and take a look at the who’s who of players who have been thru the club it’s pretty wild:

2029/30 Transfers:

• Luca Montanaro D(C), was found in Serie C, and I signed him for €400K ‘In’ this save, with the expectations he wasn’t going to stay long. He stayed 2 Seasons before Leipzig activated his release clause, and ended up in Man City (AKA Dynamo B). When Nicholas retired in 2040 he was 180 CA / 180 PA.
• Mbaye Fall (M/AM(R) is one of the first bricks in the ‘Find a decent Scout for Africa and put them to work immediately. Signed on a Free, went to Bournemouth 3 years later for €40M, a very good winger 140 CA / 158 PA

2029/30 Transfers:

• Dragan Pavlović (GK) was our first really good keepers (sorry Owusu, but RNG screwed you over this save). 172 CA / 176 PA.
• Santiago Barros D(C) our first ‘Big Miss’. Never improved in training, was mediocre at best on the field, left Dynamo to play in the English Lower Leagues before ending up in Ireland. In 2040 he was 81 CA / 180 PA. One of FM’s mysteries… 
• José Luís Gomes (Striker) was my first ‘Wonderkid Striker’. 18 goals his 1st season, the next season he didn’t want to renegotiate his contract and went to Brentford on the cheap, €3.4M. Several solid seasons there led him to Stoke, and then Man United. 146 CA / 156 PA.

2030/31 Transfers:

• Christopher Essomba (D(L), my next West African Wonderkid. Signed on a Free, in 2040 was in Liverpool after stops in Milan, Monaco, Villareal and BvB. 148 CA / 155 PA.
• Alexandar Petrov (Striker), my Gomes replacement had a somewhat similar career path. Played 1 1/2 seasons for us, then went to England, but instead of going to Brentford for €3.4 he ended up at Spurs for €74M. 164 CA / 174 PA.

2031/32 Transfers:

• Jon Jiménez (DM/M(C)), our first ‘Big Buy’ at €17.75M. 4 Seasons with us before he moved to Angers for €47M, then to Dynamo B for €203M(!). 176 CA / 193 PA.

2032/33 Transfers:

We spent €81M, and while most were solid, veteran players, we took some risks, several of whom paid off, and some who didn’t.

• Mantené Sountoura D(L), another African find, this time from MAli. Signed on a free, went to Porto and then to Athletico Madrid. 159 CA / 168 PA. Always Scout West Africa friends. Always.
• Mirko Tulli (Striker), “Mercurial Mirko” popped up very early, an Italian wonderkid picked up by Inter from Cremonese who never cracked the starting lineup but avoided signing with the bigger teams. We had him for less than a calendar year, in for €14M, out for €21M to Monaco, where he spent a year, then back to Germany (he signed with Eintracht instead of us), and then to Tottenham, where he and Gomes are a pretty goos 1-2 up top. 171 CA/ 179 PA.
• Jakov Popovic (GK) was signed to replace Pavlović. Six good seasons with us before going to Dynamo B for €52M, 160 CA / 169 PA.
• Jeppe Vinterberg (M/AM(L)), after Barros, our next “Miss”, but in his case, it was injuries. Signed in Jan of 33, in Feb he had a hip injury and was out for 4 months. In ’34 he was out a total of 3 months with various heel and leg issues, in ’35 it was Groin strains, twisted knees and tight hammy’s. By ’35 it was obvious the injuries had done him in, his Physicals had declined enough that he was just ‘Decent’ IMO and we moved him on. He’s at Rangers in 2040, with a 134 CA / 166 PA. Which admittedly is good, but he could have been great IMO.
• Carlos Tenorio (M(C)/AM (L/C) is one of, if not my favorite, players of the save. Signed for €25K, when he came back from his parent club he immediately stepped in at AM(C) and made his presence felt. An All around threat, he moved to Chelsea for €120M at the end of the ’39 Season. 181 CA / 181 PA.

2033/34 Transfers:

After spending so much money the previous season, we regressed a little in the league, but the good news was with the foundation of the club we had, and the recent signing, we were on solid footing. This however, was probably our worst year for signings in or Bundesliga era. 

• Jean Cédric Baffouman (DM/M(C)/AM(C) an Ivory Coast product could never break into the starting lineup, and I thought I had better options, and he left for €145K to København, and recently moved to Werder in 2 Bundesliga. 128 CA / CA 158 PA.
• Dylan Maclennan (Striker). Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane. I thought I was getting a decent striker with potential, 32 goals 84 games is OK, but Attributes wise he was very comparable with other, better strikers who had played for us. And the problem was he would have a 3 or 4 goal game than disappear for 5-6 games. It was annoying to say the least, and I about fell out of the chair when I saw he was 145 CA / 159 PA.
  

2033/34 Transfers:

We signed 8 players this transfer window, and 5 of them were bangers.

• Boris Castillo (D(C/R, DM, M(C) signed for €2M, then went to Dynamo B before moving to Nottingham Forrest. 144 CA / 152 PA
• Santiago Viveros (AM (RLC), M(L/C), DM was poached from Bayer for the low fee 0f €2.1M, then moved to Hertha in 38/39 for €41.5M. A very good player for us until his attitude tanked, 147 CA/PA.
• Angelo Bolzan (D(RC), another Italian Defender find, gave us 2 1/2 solid seasons before moving to Real Madrid for €76M. One of the games elites as it turns out, 196 CA / 198 PA. €76M seems cheap now…
• Abdoulaye Traoré (AM(RLC), Striker) is yet another Ivorian Wonderkid, who spent a productive 2 1/2 seasons with use before moving to Juve for €26.5M. He’s been a quality player for them and with his 152 CA /159 PA that’s not surprising at all.
• Osman Cengiz Buğdaycı (Striker, AM(R)) I was so thoroughly disgusted with Maclennan I went out of my way to find a replacement ASAP, and was able to sign Osman for a very nice fee of €13M. 2 1/12 seasons later (I’m sensing a theme here) he went to Man United for €75M. 179 CA / 180 PA.

2035/36 Transfers:

Another ‘Quiet’ window where we signed 3 players, but 2 of them are absolute world class.

• Tim Schau (DM. M(C), AM(C)) we signed for €13.5 from QPR. A Season and a half later, Real Madrid signed him for €47.5, then in 39/40 Dynamo B signed him for €174M(!). 171 CA / 171 PA.
• Lucas Curbelo (DM, M(LC), AM (LC), Striker) is a Uruguayan via Bulgaria, and we paid €7.5 for him. He went to Dynamo B in 38/39 for €83M. 186 CA / 187 PA.

2036/37 Transfers:

This was the year we ‘Broke the Bank’ for one player, but he was worth it IMO.

• Andrey Stefanov was signed this window from Levski for €3.9. 158 CA / 161 PA.
• Tatsuki Yoneyama (Striker) – More on him in a few.
• Zori Eliyahu-Coracos (DM, M(C)) we signed for €41.5M from Norwich, where to be honest he had an underwhelming season. But he had two very good seasons for us before moving to Crystal Palace for €64M. 169 CA / 178 PA.
• Junior Méyé (AM(RC), Striker) from Gabon. A steal at €135K when you consider he’s 135 CA / 157 PA at 21 y/o in 2040.
• Casper Koch (D(RC), WB(R) I was looking at him to hold the fort down on the Defensive right, and that we poached him from RB Leipzig was very cool as well, but Wolves (who are a pretty good team in this game) offered us €30.5M and he jumped all over it. A 159 CA / 165 PA player.
• Claudio Tessari (D (RC) from Italy, another world class find from the Italian Lower leagues (Serie B Palermo in this case) and a steal at €6.25M when you consider in 2040 he’s 171 CA / 180 PA.

2037/38 Transfers:

• Sagi Ohayon (Striker) A bit of a journeyman career, but one of the players I signed to be part of my Striker rotation has been very good so far. 142 CA / 144 PA.
• Ben Dahan (Striker, AM(C), M(C) More on him in a few.
• Omar Mchedlishvili (D(RL), WB(R), M(R), AM(RC) A very good player who was so fed up with the coaches at Hertha he demanded a trade, and we were only too happy to oblige. Two very good season for us until Sheffield United came running. 157 CA/PA.

2038/39 Transfers:

• Dragan Grčić (GK) With Popovich moving to Dynamo B, and with the luck I’ve had signing keepers from this Region, Grčić certainly looked like he had a big future ahead of him, and he did. As we saw above, in 2050 he’s still with the club, but in 2040 he was a 159 CA / 174 PA player.
• Alban Lüthi (D(C), DM, M9C), AM(C)) could find a spot at Liverpool (or the other teams he was at), but the 157 CA/PA player will have a future here.
• Carlos Navarro (M(C), AM(C)) is one of the reasons I stuck with my 3 AM(C) formation. He was already a 4 star player when I signed him, he was a 5 star player when I retired, and with a 178 CA / 180 PA it’s easy to see why.
• Pietro Rotunno (D(R)) had an interesting start to his career. My Italian scout found him at Renate, a Serie C team, and he let his contract run out. We signed him on a free, beating out a bunch of other teams, because his attributed looked pretty good, and on a free, why not? As you will see, he turned into a very good player, but in 2050 he’s a 123 CA / 171 PA Player.

The 2039/40 transfer window was my last as head coach, so I am not too invested in the players, although there are a couple I want to look at.

Marco Munoz, who we bought from PSG for €33M, had a series of loan spells, two good half seasons, then went to Benfica for €11.5M. With 136 CA / 173 PA I think this is a miss by the coaching staffs who followed mine. Hossam Yehia was a young Egyptian Keeper with an intriguing attribute set. With Grčić on the roster (and in danger of being poached), having a young talent on the bench could be handy. When we signed him he was 91 CA / 159 PA, in 2050 he’s 107 CA. Ole-Christian Berntsen was on an Amateur Contract at Arendal in Norway, and had Youth Caps. I took a flyer on him because hey, what’s to lose? The coaches following me found out, as he bounced around on loan spells (and had a good couple IMO) with only a few first team starts being moved to Norwich in 2046 for €5.25M. He’s a 140 CA player, who had a 180 PA ceiling. 

Ben Dahan

Signed for €3.5M in 2037, I found Ben thru Screenflow. I didn’t have him full scouted when I did, but holy cow, was I ever surprised. I went from a 4-2-2-2 Box to the 4-1-1-3-1 to get him on the field, and boy howdy, did he ever perform. He was one of the players I wanted to follow up on after retirement and simming forward, and I am glad I did. This is Ben at 30 years old. This was his 2nd Season at Athletico Madrid, he moved for €107M.

Remember, because I modified my attribute range, those Green Circles are all 17 or better.

This is his career so far. What isn’t included, and this is frustrating, are his International numbers as well:

As an example, in 2045/46 he had 22 goals and 19 assists across all competitions. In 2046/47 it was 19 and 18. In 47/48 it was 26 and 21.

He is the 3rd 200 PA player I’ve found thru scouting in six years of FM. Part of me wishes I had found him ten years earlier, but had I done that, he’d have been playing for Dynamo B by 2030.

Tatsuke Yoneyama

Signed for €2.3M from Kobe Leone in 2036/37, Tatsuke had 5 Seasons at Dynamo, before being signed in the 2041/42 season for €201M by Dynamo B. I am reasonably sure had I remained he would have stayed in Berlin for the rest of his career. As it stands, he’s had a pretty good one:

A 187 CA / 189 PA Striker. Although if I am being honest in the 2043/44 season Dahan started at Striker and made the best XI with 26 goals, 10 assists and a 7.37 rating. Dahan and Yoneyama up top? in something like a 3-4-1-2…Hrrm…

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This was a fun save, this was my sort of save, taking a club that’s in the lower leagues and trying to bring them to the top. I wanted to do something different as well, some storytelling to help drive the narrative along, and I think for the most part I succeeded. Eventually though, the game was getting rough to play. Not because we kept on winning (which we weren’t), not because we kept getting the best players (Which we didn’t), but because I was spending way to much time fighting the board. 

From the beginning it seems as if I was constantly at loggerheads with them, sure getting promoted out first season was unexpected but then going €20M+ in debt to get a new stadium built while trying to stave off relegation? It took me an inordinate amount of begging to get facilities upgrades, coaches and scouts expanded. For about 10 years our only affiliate was a RegionalLiga team so bad none of my players wanted to go there, and the two years I had a loan manager were the worst because he was constantly screwing me out of deals. It took me threatening to quit my job to get an affiliate, a good one in Heidenheim, and to get youth recruitment expanded. In the real world I would have quit much sooner, as it was the goals of the save were met: Win the Bundesliga, and Win the Champions League. It was a very good save, and very fun save, and I cannot thank everyone enough for following along.

Up next, something a little different for me, 2024 being the year of change and all that. Watch this Space!