As I told you in my last post I was going to face Benfica in a tough  Europa League 1st knockout round, my young team played as an experienced one and we were  through to the next round, a solid home win was enough to secure our success.

I was really surprised cause we’re still fighting on several fronts: Bundesliga, German cup and Europa league, we’re too much dependent on Naki and Goncalves, but I can’t rotate them at the moment, they’re giving something special to our team and their backups seem like useless dwarves.

Europa League next round is a good example of what I said, we taught a hard lesson to Tottenham, killing them in their home ground and reaching Europa league quarter final.

Watch the video and enjoy some Naki-Goncalves magic!

In the league we gained some places, but the table is too tight to make predictions, it’s a key moment of the season and everything could happen, we’re punching clearly above our weights so it’s time to cross your fingers…

By the way, this time penalties were on our side in the German Cup, we’re in the final after two wins on penalties!

Next: the third season finale, stay tuned!

If you thought that my third season in charge at St. Pauli would have been a difficult one you’re right.

Two main issues disturbed the first half of our season: fixtures congestion and injuries.

The first problem derives from Europa league, of course I’m proud to take part in it, but playing every 3 days it’s exhausting for my players and injuries make everything more complicated.

• Edgar Prib (winger) 3 months out
• Nan Tae Hee (winger) 6 weeks out
• Brian Kopplin (right back) 1 month out
• Johannes Geis (right back) 3 weeks out
• Felipe Bastos (central midfielder) 3 weeks out

Edgar Prib injury was the most annoying, he was my summer star buy and he can’t give the expected contribute to the team.

I had to bring in two new players on loan in January: a left winger, Alexander Buttner, and a Finnish trequartista from Schalke 04, Teemu Pukki.

 Bundesliga from 11.08.2013 to 01.02.2014

We’re 4th in February, some  ups and downs but I’m still satisfied, I firmly established the club in the top half of the table, I don’t forget where we come from.

We’re battling, my aim is to improve last year 7th place, a top four position seems possible but I don’t believe Dortmund can keep playing so poorly, so my 4th place is in danger.

Two players are emerging in St. Pauli team : Naki and Goncalves, once again, are  working amazingly on the pitch, I rarely saw a so well intergrated attacking couple, loads of goals and assists.

• Naki: 7 goals & 21 assists in 24 matches
• Goncalves: 25 goals & 5 assists in 24 matches

Europa League

We finished second in our group, gaining a historical qualification to the 1st knock-out round, Benfica will be our opponent.

]]> http://elenganche.org/2011/11/23/2571/feed/ 13 FM 12: St.Pauli paine FM 12: St.Pauli Bundesliga1 Table Europa league table http://elenganche.org/2011/11/18/2545/ http://elenganche.org/2011/11/18/2545/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 21:10:36 +0000 Paine http://elenganche.org/?p=2545 Continue reading →]]>

Everything is ready at Millerntor stadium for a new season, my third managing St. Pauli in Football Manager 12, my second in Bundesliga.

Last year we had a great  finish (7th place) for a newly promoted team, an Europa league spot was gained too, so my main aim for the summer market campaign was to improve the team adding more quality players, Europe will surely be a huge progress for my small club.

• Transfer budget: 5.5 M
• Yearly wage budget: 11,8 M

Players bought

Edgar Prib is my most expensive signing so far, a huge investment for a tiny club, 6 M, he will become my regular left winger, even if he’s not his preferred position as he likes to run with the ball through the middle, his stats should suit well the role I have in mind for him

Alexander Callens is a Peruvian Centre-back I snapped for free from Real Sociedad, it seems to have a big potential, will provide competition for Pandza and Wormgoor.

I had to pay 2,3 M to Werder Bremen to get Bjorn Kopplin (24) a quick German defender, will rotate with Geis in the right back position, another man to bolster my defensive line.

Patrick Funk (24) has been at St. Pauli since the start of my adventure, but he was just on a two years long loan, it was time to buy this guy, a perfect ball winning midfielder that already showed his skills with us.

Roni (22) is a young Brazilian right winger , he had a decent debut season at St. Pauli this year, so I decided to buy him back having a 1.8 M agreed price for him.

Other players:

• Pape Souarè (23) left defender, free
• Bongani Khumalo (26) central defender 1.6 M
• Franck Julienne (22) striker, free
• Felipe Bastos  (24) Mc, 425 k
• Davy Klaassen (20) striker, loan

In my last post I talked about my huge list of annoying draws, I also added that my team was lacking something, a leader, a man to follow, suddenly a hero emerged.

Esmael Goncalves came on loan last year, a rough diamond that did well in the last part of the season, but we were in Bundesliga 2, no one could predict about his future in German top football league.

This year I signed him for free when his loan finished and due to Hennings poor form I decided to give him a chance, I thought he had massive  potential, some months later his performances showed I was right: 24 goals in 27 matches with 6 Mom’s and 2nd best Bundesliga goalscorer after Podolski.

• E. Frankfurt (H) 1-1 : Goncalves
• Hoffenheim (A) 2-2 : Naki, Goncalves
• Hannover (H) 3-1 : Goncalves (3)
• Kaiserslautern (A) 1-0 : Goncalves
• B. Leverkusen (H) 4-2 : Goncalves (3), Wormgoor
• B.Dortmund (A) 1-2 : Goncalves
• HSV (H) 0-0 : none
• Hertha Berlin (A) 4-0 : De Pauw (3), Hennings
• Werder Bremen (H) 2-0: Naki, Goncalves
• B. Gladbach (A) 0-2 : none
• Mainz (H) 2-0 : Fathi o.g. Goncalves

End of May: St. Pauli bank balance

The team comparison screen could explain better how well we did this season, we’re the youngest team in the league with the lowest average wage.

We spend 10% of Bayern wages' budget

A final note about two key members of my defensive line, two players I bought this summer: Vito Wormgoor (Dc) and Brian Hamalainen (left defender).

Wormgoor was, by miles, my best defender, solid at the back and dangerous upfront (38 games played, 7.04 avg. rat. and 5 goals scored).

Hamalainen smartly patrolled the left flank, 2.50 tackles per game and a passing ratio of 81%.

In the middle of the pitch Pekalski and Issah formed a great partnership, their main duty was to screen the rearguard and recycle possession and they did it quite well: 9,60 tackles per game overall for them.

As usual, you could find all my season stats here.

DFB Cup Final

Last but not least there’s St.Pauli  German cup final vs. Werder Bremen, an unpleasant opponent for us.

The match is a sort of rollercoaster, after 41 minutes we’re 2-0 down, our defensive line and our keeper make some silly mistakes, we’re playing nervously, we clearly can’t cope with pressure.

My team talk is not so inspired, I say to my men to play their natural game, I know everything is lost.

I leave my usual counter strategy, we need to attack and I change. An obvious and simple move when you’re 2-0 down.

Sometimes simple moves work, sometimes they don’t.

Naki-Goncalves show begins.

• 47 min. Naki with a delicious cross form the right, Goncalves attack the far post, 1-2
• 82 min another cross form the right, always from Naki, this time he chooses the near post, Goncalves with the header 2-2

Extra-time

• 93 min. Hamalainen with a low first time cross from the left, hat-trick Goncalves! 3-2
• 96 min. Schafer upends Nam Tae-Hee in the box, it’s a penalty. Patrick Funk scores 4-2.

Enough? No, it was not enough

• 107 min. Ben Haim’s lazy cross hits casually Boris Pandza’s back, it’s an own goal 4-3
• 108 min. Jonsson, Werder striker, climbs upon Wormgoor and heads the ball, 4-4

Penalties needed.

Werder Bremen miss two, we miss three.

Damn Bremen won the cup.

I’m lost for words.

Football Manager is a cruel game, sometimes when you think you’re going in the right direction, having found a balanced and organized tactical asset, it starts putting doubts into your head.

Am I doing something wrong?

This is the question that suddenly arose when I saw my last results, 7 draws, 3 losses and only 2 wins in the league, a bad period, the worst since I’ve been managing St.Pauli.

We lost some positions,  actually we’re 9th in the league and the future doesn’t look so bright, I feel like I’m walking on the  line that divides success from failure and that’s a thin line.

Matches played from 11.11.2012 to 02.03.2013

• Dortmund (H) 1-1 : Juhar
• HSV (A) 1-1 : Nam Tae-Hee
•  Hertha Berlin (H) 1-1 : Goncalves
• Werder Bremen (A) 3-3 : Wormgoor, Juhar, Naki
• B. Gladbach  (H) 1-1 : Naki
• Mainz (A) 0-0 : none
• Stuttgart (A) 0-2 : none
• Koln (H) 1-1 : N’Diaye
• Schalke (A) 3-2 : Goncalves (2), Fuchs o.g.
• Bayern Munich (H) 0-2: none
• Nurnberg (H) 3-0 : Goncalves, Nam Tae-Hee, Hennings
• Wolfsburg (A) 0-3 : none

Our lost consistency in the league is more surprising compared to our run in the German Cup, where we reached the final after battering teams like Bayern Munich, Mainz and Hannover.

• DFB cup 3rd round vs. Aue (H) 2-1 : Juhar, Riederer o.g.
• DFB cup Qtr. final round vs. Mainz (A) 2-1 : Goncalves , Geis
• DFB cup semi-final vs. Hannover (A) 2-1: Goncalves, Moran

How to change Steam’s password?

It’s simple, open you Steam client, open the Steam drop-down menu (in the top left corner of your screen) and choose Preferences, then you should see something like that

Pick change  password option then follow the instructions, Steam will send you a code via mail, insert that code when required and change your password.

Thanks for your attention.

Happy birthday Capitano.

What is the Gegenpol?

Back in 2010, when St.Pauli was promoted to the Bundesliga, the club build a weird supporters box, the Gegenpol ( counterpole or anti-box), made of three container boxes placed on a steel scaffold between the north stand and the back straight.

Fancy a beer?

Inside there was the Spiegelsaal (Mirror hall), a visual homage to the club and district with thousands of newspaper clippings, autographs, posters. A terrace with 26 seats was installed on the outside of the upper container with the best view of the pitch.

Each seat had a beer barrel under it and a television screen for replays of crucial scenes.

After one year in the Bundesliga 2, St.Pauli is back and our fans could be proudly watch us playing in German top professional football league, from the Gegenpol, once again.

Matches played from 12.08.12 to 04.11.12

• Stuttgart (H)  1-3 : Kruse
• Koln (A)  3-4 : Nam Tae Hee, Wormgoor, Hennings

I’d have liked a better debut, but this is another league and another story from last year, when we were favorite to get promoted. Things could only improve.

• Bonlanden (A) DFB Cup 6-0 : Juhar, Moran, Sunjic (2), Hamalainen, De Pauw.
• Schalke (H) 1-0 : Wormgoor
• Bayern Munich 0-0 : none
• Nurnberg (A) 1-0 : Mike Frantz o.g.
• Wolfsburg (H) 0-1 : none
• E.Frankfurt (A) 3-1 : Schwegler o.g. De Pau, Schindler o.g.
• Hoffenheim (H) 1-0 : Elizeu o.g.
• Hannover (A) 4-0 : Goncalves, Sunjic, Nam Tae-Hee, Moran
• Kaiserslautern (H) 1-0 : Wormgoor
• Bayern Munich (A) DFB Cup 2-1 : Thorandt, Roni
• B.Leverkusen (A) 2-2 :  Goncalves (2)

Things changed dramatically afterwards, just one loss and a brilliant away win to Bayern Munich in the German cup.

But we need to be humble and stay with our feet on the ground, it’s undeniable we’ve been  lucky, 4 own goals helped our progress, meanwhile my regular poacher, Rouwen Hennings scored just one in eight games, missing badly some easy chances, I’m starting to think the Bundesliga could be a bridge too far for him.

To be fair upfront Naki dind’t score at all, but I have no worries about him,  he already set up 7 goals, always a creative force.

I’m almost convinced to play Esmael Goncalves more regularly, he seems to have better potential in that role and did well, scoring 3,  when he was employed so far.

Our win over Bayern Munich was nothing less than surprising, our deep defensive line obliged their attackers to make long shots only, with poor results.

Bayern shots vs. St.Pauli

Possession domination  was key to win that match and watching my players easily control the ball vs. superior opponents was a great satisfaction, we always try to play our own style, in spite of the other teams.

Before the end of this post I’m going to show you our best match in the league, an impressive 4-0 win to Hannover, annihilated by our system of play.

I was forgetting the table, my bad, we’re 5th, with the top not too far, of course it’s not our place but it’s surely a comfortable start. Up die Paulaner!

Improvements over last 5 weeks

I was having a look at my pagewies stats regarding these last weeks and I saw something great and surprising.

EL ENGANCHE.org is growing fast and I’m delighted so many people appreciate this site.

Thanks, to all my readers.

I was still celebrating St.Pauli promotion to the Bundesliga in Football Manager 12, when I found this reminder from Hans Visser, my assistant manager.

I knew about that, of course, just thought I had more time to cope with such an annoying issue.

The board wasn’t so generous and money is still a major problem, managing football team in modern days is not so easy, but we’re not so modern, correct?

St Pauli: 2012-13 budget

What’s worst we have no more than 10 M to spend on wages, last year in Bundesliga 2 we had 12 M…

As a manager I’m not used to be blackmailed by my players (or their agents) and when I realized they had no intentions to renew for a reasonable amount of money I released all of them for free.

Only two players showed some signs of loyalty, Markus Thorandt, my experienced centre back and my backup keeper, Pliquett.

Tyron Loran (Dc), Fabian Boll (Mc), Fin Bartels (Mr), Ralph Gunesch (Dc),Moritz Voltz (Dc), J.P. Kalla (Dl), Kevin Schindler (Ml), Dennis Daube (Mc), to cite the most important, will leave the club for free.

If you ask me that wasn’t a great start for our debut season in German top flight football but there were no other available options.

FC St. Pauli missing players

I needed to find 6 Bundesliga level players in a month with 1 Million; however to make a long story short, it’s time to show you what I was able to put together (click on players links to see full details).

• Ismaila N’Diaye (Mc) 200 k from KV Kortrijk
• M.A. Issah (Mc) 220 k from Rosenborg
• Vito Wormgoor (Dc) 950 k from De Graafschap
• Yoann Andreu (Dr) free  from St. Etienne
• Esmael Goncalves (St) free from Nice
• Nill De Paw (St) 275 k from Lokeren
• Brian Hamalainen (Dl) 300 k from Zulte Waregem
• Luis Moran (St) on loan from Sporting
• Johannes Geis (Dr/Mc) 2 M from Furth
• Nam Tee-Hee (Mr) free from Valenciennes
• Martin Juhar (Ml) on loan from Sparta Prague
• Boris Pandza (Dc) 625 from Mechelen
• Roni (Mr) on loan from Santos

All these thirteen players’ fees will be paid over 48 months: a hard-working market session, I had to look for players with low wage requests, from clubs well inclined to accept monthly payments but at the end of the day I’m quite satisfied,  more German players would have been better, but they cost too much so this year St.Pauli will definitely rise its multi-cultural flavor.

Will I survive in my first Bundesliga season?

Next: our season debut, more troubles to come…