[FM23] - sexy football in Saxony - Eintracht Braunschweig FC

[karanhsingh]

So for a variety of reasons - work, family, etc. - I've not been able to get going with FM this year at all. Had a couple of short saves recently, and incredibly this is my first thread in FMCU for this edition, at the end of April . I am hoping this is the one that sticks. Reading about a bunch of other people's saves has certainly whet my appetite again.

I am trying to combine everything I love most about FM in this save to hopefully make it last -

- take over a modest club outside the top division

- in a league which will provide a challenge in terms of having a dominant force

- having to manage the financial side of the club as well

- scour regions like Africa, South America and Eastern Europe for cheap, young talent

- loads of transfers - keep moving players on when good offers come in and replacing them

The leagues I considered were primarily Germany, Netherlands and Belgium, and I have finally landed in the first of those 3 because it would provide the biggest long-term challenge presumably. However, I did not want to take over one of the many clubs with those massive stadiums and amazing fan bases as then the money comes in too early and easily in Germany. So, that brings us neatly to the choice of club - note I holidayed a year into the save just to mix things up a little.

[karanhsingh]

And the chosen club for this adventure is Eintracht Braunschweig. While that is quite a mouthful to pronounce, they seemed to tick all the boxes.

They are a small-ish provincial club from Lower Saxony, currently in 2.Bundesliga having been recently promoted from the third division. They do have a rich history, having been one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and even won it in 1967!

The club has a nice 23k cap stadium and a very passionate local fan-base, averaging around 20k per home game even when in the lower leagues. And of course, I do love the "Ukranian" colours as well.

The aim of this save is not just to eventually challenge and hopefully topple Bayern as the numero uno club in Germany - that too of course if we can get there - but mainly I want to convert the club into an enviable conveyor belt of talent. I'd like to set up a global scouting network, picking up hidden gems from around the world and then selling them on after developing them in our system. I think that's the part of the game I find the most exciting anyway. It would be a bit similar to what Leverkusen have done in Germany over the years, or more recently Brighton of course is a great example in the EPL.

For the first season, the objective is simply to try and get promoted, and start bringing in some promising young talent. So with that, here we go!

[Ronaldo Beckham]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on in your German league save. Looking forward to seeing what hidden talents you unearth.

 

[Carambau]

Good luck in Braunschweig  

They are a classic fallen giant of the Bundesliga!

[warlock]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

I am hoping this is the one that sticks

Good to have you back, and fingers crossed for optimal stickiness 

[rich ruzzian]

Interesting to see how sexy football will turn out in Germany! 

[karanhsingh]

28 minutes ago, Carambau said:

Good luck in Braunschweig  

They are a classic fallen giant of the Bundesliga!

 

18 minutes ago, warlock said:

Good to have you back, and fingers crossed for optimal stickiness 

 

18 minutes ago, rich ruzzian said:

Interesting to see how sexy football will turn out in Germany! 

Thanks fellas! 

[Hootieleece]

Great to see you back at it! The club has a good mascot.....so there is that! Now it will be time to make that Lion Roar!

 

[karanhsingh]

2 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Great to see you back at it! The club has a good mascot.....so there is that! Now it will be time to make that Lion Roar!

 

Cheers, what are you up to these days?

[Hootieleece]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Cheers, what are you up to these days?

Been playing and lurking. I had a few starts at CU's but ran out of steam.

I think I am going to return soon with PNE save.....sort of like yours, but England.  (because there aren't enough English Saves! LOL) 

[karanhsingh]

26 minutes ago, Hootieleece said:

Been playing and lurking. I had a few starts at CU's but ran out of steam.

I think I am going to return soon with PNE save.....sort of like yours, but England.  (because there aren't enough English Saves! LOL) 

Lol, but always love an EFL adventure though! By PNE you mean Preston? 

[Hootieleece]

1 hour ago, karanhsingh said:

Lol, but always love an EFL adventure though! By PNE you mean Preston? 

Yes. Preston. The object of the save will be to emulate the "Old Invincibles" (1888-1889) using only British Players. (So, I can check off the British Steel Achievement) Because that team was mostly Scottish "Professionals" I will also try to build up the Scottish National Team.

[SteinkelssonFM]

Let's go! Good luck mate, will be following along.

[karanhsingh]

14 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Yes. Preston. The object of the save will be to emulate the "Old Invincibles" (1888-1889) using only British Players. (So, I can check off the British Steel Achievement) Because that team was mostly Scottish "Professionals" I will also try to build up the Scottish National Team.

Great choice of club to do that with! Funny enough, i just had a season with Preston before this save. 

12 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

Let's go! Good luck mate, will be following along.

Thank you mate!

[TheGoodRebel]

Good luck, looking forward to seeing your progress and how your scouting network comes along. 

[13th Man]

Good to see you back!  Oh that pesky life/work/family.

The club seems like the right mix of solid foundation but plenty of challenge as well.

[karanhsingh]

23 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Good to see you back!  Oh that pesky life/work/family.

The club seems like the right mix of solid foundation but plenty of challenge as well.

Tell me about it!

Thanks, i indeed had to scour Germany before settling on this club. 

On 29/04/2023 at 13:32, TheGoodRebel said:

Good luck, looking forward to seeing your progress and how your scouting network comes along. 

Thank you!

[karanhsingh]

Okay so my manager is modeled after one of my favorite players/ characters from Ted Lasso - here we go!

[karanhsingh]

The first season report is going to be very summarized since I pretty much rushed through it. These were the transfers - all loan or free signings along with a couple of promising youngsters coming in.

And here is the tactic that we settled upon for the season :

[karanhsingh]

We have 3 youngsters now in the team that I have high hopes of:

Immanuel Pherai has been at the club since the start of the game, and looks like quite a good technical player. He has become our first choice IW and most creative outlet in the squad.

Luca Unbehaun was spotted by my DoF as available on a free after being released by Dortmund. We immediately pounced, and he has already improved a lot during his time with us.

Ziad el Sheiwi is probably the most exciting of the lot, an Austrian/Egyptian flying full-back. He initially joined on loan but with an option to purchase which has since been exercised.

[karanhsingh]

As mentioned, I'll keep the first season summary on the shorter side. It did not take the squad long to click and the new tactic seemed to be working a treat - we flew into a sizeable lead at the top of the table. Then after winter we had a horrible run of 5 games without a win and seemed to be totally bottling it. However the guys then hit form again just at the right time, and managed to hold off the challengers to secure the 2.Bundesliga title.

We were rewarded with a rather modest budget as below - not going to be easy to be competitive in the Bundesliga with this!

[rich ruzzian]

Oef, challenge set bij the board with that transferbudget. 

[karanhsingh]

1 hour ago, rich ruzzian said:

Oef, challenge set bij the board with that transferbudget. 

No worries, back to the bargain basement we go !

[Jogo Bonito]

Welcome back! Germany does seem to be very popular at the moment, there and Belgium. Actually they're also the two places I have been looking to take on.

Well done on the promotion and good luck with the challenge ahead!

[warlock]

10 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

managed to hold off the challengers to secure the 2.Bundesliga title.

Well played, that man! As for next season, remember it's a process - you don't have to win it first time of asking 

[karanhsingh]

8 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Welcome back! Germany does seem to be very popular at the moment, there and Belgium. Actually they're also the two places I have been looking to take on.

Well done on the promotion and good luck with the challenge ahead!

Thanks! And join the fun!

4 hours ago, warlock said:

Well played, that man! As for next season, remember it's a process - you don't have to win it first time of asking 

Thanks! Yes I'll do well to remember that, can be a little impatient sometimes

[Carambau]

Congrats on promotion! A dominating performance it seems! Looking forward to see you in the top tier  

[karanhsingh]

2 hours ago, Carambau said:

Congrats on promotion! A dominating performance it seems! Looking forward to see you in the top tier  

Thanks bud!

[karanhsingh]

Summer transfer window - 2024

A busy window as we get ready for life in the Bundesliga. The focus definitely on bargain signings but with a view to getting in young players who can progress at the club and hopefully bring in a good fee at a later date.

I will deep dive into the young players who I believe may have a bright future at our club. First up, we "smashed" our transfer by shelling out a whopping 1.7m for Uros Miladinovic, who was heavily recommended by the scouting team. He will become our new first choice IW on the left, with Pherai moving to the Mezzella role to replace Enzo Millot who goes back to his parent club.

The rest are all good old-fashioned free transfers.

I really like the look of Merveille Papela, he is being groomed as our box to box midfielder and has already put in some good performances both in training and in matches.

Shawn is our new first choice CB coming in from the Netherlands, again he has made a solid start to life in Germany.

Another defensive signing, this time promising 20 year old Janitzek joins from Bayern in search of regular game time, which is something we can provide.

And a new right back to replace de Medina who kicked up a fuss and left -Sambo is another import from the Netherlands - I will be looking to develop the attacking side to his game if possible.

Finally Rasmussen is yet another import from the Dutch league (our scouts there have been busy clearly) and he will start off as back up for Sinani on the right wing.

[Jogo Bonito]

Nice recruitment, or it seems that way. I have Papela and Sambo on my monitoring list, but like the look of Adewoye, Rasmussen, Janitzek and Miladinovic too. Good luck for the new season

 

[13th Man]

Excellent first season! Do you think you can carry on into the top flight? Lots of solid signings will hopefully keep you safe.

[SteinkelssonFM]

I have a good feeling about next season, most of your signings have strong mental profiles which will most definitely be an asset in a tougher/faster league in which their cognitive abilities will be needed. 

[Sahaj Oberoi]

Interesting save. Also I like the way you're building your squad.

[SixPointer]

Catching up. Great start!

[Hootieleece]

Great Work getting promoted. Now the goal is to survive the Bundesliga and "blood" the new signings. 

[karanhsingh]

20 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Nice recruitment, or it seems that way. I have Papela and Sambo on my monitoring list, but like the look of Adewoye, Rasmussen, Janitzek and Miladinovic too. Good luck for the new season

 

Thanks! I was surprised that this was the first time I came across all these guys tbh. 

12 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Excellent first season! Do you think you can carry on into the top flight? Lots of solid signings will hopefully keep you safe.

Cheers! Safety would be the minimum requirement. I'd be aiming for mid table. 

6 hours ago, MattyLewis11 said:

I have a good feeling about next season, most of your signings have strong mental profiles which will most definitely be an asset in a tougher/faster league in which their cognitive abilities will be needed. 

Thank you, that's actually a good point which is a happy coincidence as i didn't scout for that. 

5 hours ago, Sahajpal Oberoi said:

Interesting save. Also I like the way you're building your squad.

Thank you!

4 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Catching up. Great start!

Thank you!

3 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

Great Work getting promoted. Now the goal is to survive the Bundesliga and "blood" the new signings. 

Thanks! Absolutely that's the aim. 

[karanhsingh]

So the first Bundesliga season (2024-25) is done, and it has been one for the books! This is how the final league table turned out.

Yes, we have somehow managed to finish in 3rd place (!!) and qualify for the Champions League. Beyond my wildest expectations for this season.

Although I must say, the position flatters us. Our points tally would have only been good for 6th and 7th place the previous two seasons. The reality is that the stronger teams in the division apart from FCB and BVB have all had very average seasons. Which is why we find ourselves where we do, despite a season with probably as many good performances as bad.

On another note, we also had a good cup run reaching the quarter finals but crashing out away at Leverkusen on penalties.

Our fantastic return was thanks in no small part to Evann Guessand who we actually got in on loan one day before the season started when Ujah our previous top scorer got a long term injury. And what an inspired find he turned out to be by our DOF! He actually finishes as top scorer of the Bundesliga with a 24 goal tally.

Apart from him, the best performers were new club captain Daniel Sinani, Shawn Adewoye, Ziad El Sheiwi and Merveille Papela. Pherai had a very disappointing season, while Miladenovic has shown some flashes of his ability.

[Hootieleece]

Fantastic Progress! 

[KlaaZ]

Impressive!

[Carambau]

Wow! What a debut season! Congrats  Hopefully you can make the loan permanent!

[karanhsingh]

Ka-ching! Look at that bank balance -

And this time we get a proper budget to play with - first order of business will be to sign Guessand permanently.

On a related note, I actually did some reading up yesterday on the crazy prize money in the Bundesliga. Interestingly, it turns out that this is essentially how they split their TV money, which for the league adds up to an impressive 1.1 billion per season. 70% is split evenly between all the clubs, while the balance goes as per the respective league positions. That's how the final "prize money" gets calculated.

[karanhsingh]

2 minutes ago, Carambau said:

Wow! What a debut season! Congrats  Hopefully you can make the loan permanent!

Definitely, they included a 3.9 optional clause to buy luckily

[karanhsingh]

Apart from the afore-mentioned Guessand, below are the 3 players I would say have made the most progress this season ability wise.

Unfortunately, and this may be a buggy part of the game, there is little to no interest in any of my players at the moment. Only Empoli are showing some interest in Immanuel Pherai. I would really like to be in a position to field some offers over the summer and start rotating the squad a bit. But of course I don't want it to come down to transfer listing players and moving them on for cheap prices.

[warlock]

2 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Beyond my wildest expectations

Very, very impressive 

You might need to be a bit patient on the transfers. Players won't be keen to leave a Champions League squad, especially for what they'll likely see as a step down.

[Jogo Bonito]

Wow. Stunning performance after promotion.

So basically if I don't get at least 3rd with Stuttgart, I'm a failure. Marvellous!

[warlock]

23 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

basically if I don't get at least 3rd with Stuttgart, I'm a failure

That's why they pay you the big bucks 

[13th Man]

Wow! Even if the other big clubs do a bit better next season and you regress a bit, the bank balance from a dabble in the CL is a platform that’ll help you build the club. Who knows, maybe you’ll just go on to surprise everyone in the CL too?

[SixPointer]

Magic season! That money is incredible!! 

[karanhsingh]

7 hours ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Wow. Stunning performance after promotion.

So basically if I don't get at least 3rd with Stuttgart, I'm a failure. Marvellous!

Ha! No pressure then

6 hours ago, warlock said:

That's why they pay you the big bucks 

Also true!

4 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Wow! Even if the other big clubs do a bit better next season and you regress a bit, the bank balance from a dabble in the CL is a platform that’ll help you build the club. Who knows, maybe you’ll just go on to surprise everyone in the CL too?

Yes definitely not expecting the same again this season! But will give it out best of course. As for the CL need to keep things respectable at the very least. 

2 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Magic season! That money is incredible!! 

Time to start paying those big wages! Guessand is already demanding 40k per week

[karanhsingh]

The summer transfer window of 2025 was a busy one, as we went about spending proper money for the first time in the save.

One major departure in Pherai, who did not seem to be progressing much and had a very average season last time around. Here are the key players coming in:

Enzo had of course been on loan with us during the promotion season, and we were finally able to afford him. He should be our new first choice Mezzalla in midfield.

We also have a badly needed new DM in Tim Breithaupt who's relegation release clause got activated. He seems a good all rounder and is also very strong in the air.

This is more one for the future but I liked the look of young Ada and also his versatility. A bit of a luxury signing.

And of course, we signed our top scorer Guessand by activating the clause in his loan deal. He scored a brace on his second debut for us, and then I promptly got this message.

Yikes! And of course by this time, we are all out of funds as well. So for the second time in as many seasons, our DOF had to pull a rabbit out of the hat with a loan signing for the central striker role. And he seems to have found another gem in Garang Kuol below: