[FM23] Meet Florian Hangl

[Jogo Bonito]

This challenge is turning out to be much harder than you or we would have expected. But actually that makes it a real test, and it will be more satisfying when you do get it right. At the moment you're being punished for everything, hopefully it won't last and steady progress will boost the confidence of yourself and the players. Hope you will hang in there!

[Rikulec]

8 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Agree with this - especially if you're under performing your xG then you probably just need to stick it out 

Or just bring in better strikers, although given our strategy on the marker that's unlikely to happen in the winter window.

17 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

This challenge is turning out to be much harder than you or we would have expected. But actually that makes it a real test, and it will be more satisfying when you do get it right. At the moment you're being punished for everything, hopefully it won't last and steady progress will boost the confidence of yourself and the players. Hope you will hang in there!

I love and hate it at the same time. It reminds me of my FM16 save where it took me something like 8 or 10 seasons to win the league title in Iceland, I even had 4 or 5 years of mid-table mediocrity at one club before moving to a bigger one and finally succeeding after a couple more seasons. It felt absolutely glorious when I finally got there after so much frustration! FM23 is the first one in a while for me where I don't have more or less instant success at every club and it's a fun and realistic challenge (at least when I'm in a good mood!). It's also still quite early in the save, so the AI squad building stupidity and the ability to buy heaps of cheap wonderkids haven't kicked in yet. I'd say there's a lot to enjoy about this kind of a save, even if I do want to throw my monitor out the window at times.

[Jogo Bonito]

5 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I love and hate it at the same time. It reminds me of my FM16 save where it took me something like 8 or 10 seasons to win the league title in Iceland, I even had 4 or 5 years of mid-table mediocrity at one club before moving to a bigger one and finally succeeding after a couple more seasons. It felt absolutely glorious when I finally got there after so much frustration! FM23 is the first one in a while for me where I don't have more or less instant success at every club and it's a fun and realistic challenge (at least when I'm in a good mood!). It's also still quite early in the save, so the AI squad building stupidity and the ability to buy heaps of cheap wonderkids haven't kicked in yet. I'd say there's a lot to enjoy about this kind of a save, even if I do want to throw my monitor out the window at times.

Absolutely agree with that. Instant success in FM is far too frequent and these tests are much more rewarding. For that reason, whilst Feyenoord is 'fun' due to the budget allowing the realistic players being recruited to make a difference, my four years of steady progression with Stuttgart was much more satisfying.

I'm sure you will get it right soon enough!

Edited July 9, 2023 by Jogo Bonito

[Rikulec]

32 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Absolutely agree with that. Instant success in FM is far too frequent and these tests are much more rewarding. For that reason, whilst Feyenoord is 'fun' due to the budget allowing the realistic players being recruited to make a difference, my four years of steady progression with Stuttgart was much more satisfying.

I'm sure you will get it right soon enough!

Cheers mate!

[Rikulec]

A significant sale for us, and one I'm happy with. He lost his place in the starting XI and was one of our highest earners. It's good that we got decent money for him.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - January 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Friendlies

That's a very Balkan-looking scoresheet.

Transfers

Lucas Copado - a talented striker joins us on a six-month loan from Hoffenheim.

We also promoted Luka Izderic to the first team.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Rikulec

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - February 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Friendlies

We finish the off-season period on a high note with a big win.

Bundesliga

Two good performances and two high scoring wins, although we keep conceding goals. I know better than to get carried away, especially given our next two opponents. We're just one point away from the elusive 6th place, but it's going to be very difficult to get there.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - March 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

We did it! We beat WAC for the first time since joining the club and it turned out to be enough to elevate us into 6th and secure a place in the championship group in a last ditch effort. The season has officially been saved.

Bundesliga Championship Group

Altach are doing inexplicably well this season, we were helpless in this game. Or maybe we're just falling apart again.

Youth Intake

I like the look of Degenhardt, very lightweight but more than able technically. Almost like Hangl in his youth days!

Timo Dabrowski

Johannes Wilhelm

Svetozar Pešić

Noah Grabenbauer

Eren Grubmüller

Christopher Degenhardt

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - April 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga Championship Group

Finishing 5th or 6th will force us to play at least one more game this season and I'm not a huge fan of this idea.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - May 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga Championship Group

Turns out the playoff doesn't work the way I thought. Actually the 5th placed team goes straight into the final and there's a semi final between 7th and 8th. Oh well.

[Rikulec]

 

Florian Hangl's Management Career - Season Review - 2024/25 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga (regular season) - Bundesliga (championship group) - Bundesliga (relegation group)

Results (July-November) - Results (December-May)

Competition Performance: 6th

What a weird season. We got off to a shockingly bad start and at no point really found our feet ever since. 55 goals scored is the 2nd best in the league (which feels like 1st given the obvious circumstances), but at the same time we conceded 56, which is more than anyone else. At least a short burst of form came exactly when we needed it to secure a place in the championship group, otherwise who the hell knows what might have happened. I'm just glad it's over.

ÖFB-Cup

Competition Performance: Third Round

It was not the kind of season where you win penalty shoot-outs.

UEFA Europa Conference League

Competition Performance: Third Qualifying Round

Two poor performances and two deserved defeats. We have to do better when we get another chance.

Squad (1) - Squad (2)

Somehow we ended up with no real quality full backs, which might have largely contributed to our trouble this season. The front line also needs some reinforcements. We have a few high potential players and academy products in the squad, which is always positive. We're releasing Ivkić, Weimann, and Tabaković.

Transfers - Finances

We're breaking all sorts of club records for transfers out, which is definitely good for the club given our financial situation. Most of the incomings were more or less disappointing though, Horvath being pretty much the only exception.

We're in the black thanks to the money made from selling players. This is a strategy we're realistically going to have to maintain for a few more years.

Player of the Season

1st - Marcus Martin - it might surprise someone that I decided to choose a centre back as our best player following a season like this, but here we are. Our academy product is growing like crazy, he's beginning to look like a proper wonderkid. I'm surprised he's not attracting much interest so far, I can see him becoming our new record sale... or maybe a club legend in the making?

2nd - Haris Tabaković - one of the very few players who didn't disappoint me this season. In fact, he broke into the team despite initially being a bench player and ended up the league's top scorer with 18 goals to his name, famously finishing the campaign with a hat-trick in the Vienna derby. Unfortunately he's on the wrong side of 30 and he's demanding silly wages, so with a heavy heart I'll be letting him go. Best of luck mate, wherever you end up.

3rd - Sascha Horvath - the returning academy product did a very good job, ending up very close to a double-double in his first season back at the Generali Arena. 9 goals is still the best result of his career so far, hopefully he can maintain his good form in the upcoming campaign.

Next Season

Honestly I can't tell, it feels like we could finish 2nd or get relegated, both seem equally as likely. The free transfers I've already secured make me optimistic, but I thought the same thing last year and you see how that went. We'll see, I guess.

[warlock]

9 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Somehow we ended up with no real quality full backs

Hard to find this year - it was a constant problem for me at Brentford. Even for rich clubs, the good players get unaffordable in hurry.

And sorry Weimann didn't work out. Time catches up with everyone, I guess.

Good luck next time.

[Rikulec]

7 minutes ago, warlock said:

Hard to find this year - it was a constant problem for me at Brentford. Even for rich clubs, the good players get unaffordable in hurry.

And sorry Weimann didn't work out. Time catches up with everyone, I guess.

Good luck next time.

I've got two shiny new full backs joining on 1st July, hopefully they can help solve our problems. Cheers mate!

[Rikulec]

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - Season Preview - 2025/26 - FK Austria Wien

Board Expectations:

Bundesliga: Reach Championship Group
ÖFB-Cup: Quarter Final

My Expectations:

Bundesliga: I just want to do better than last season.
ÖFB-Cup: It would be nice to finally meet the board's expectations.

Budgets:

Transfer: £1,711,733
Wage: £110,887 (currently spending £105,293)
Balance: £16,149,888

[Rikulec]

The Young Violets are back in the 2. Liga! I'm giving the manager a big raise if they can finish above Admira.

[SixPointer]

any plans to change tactically to try and shore up a leaky defence? As you said finding the back of the net isn’t a proBlem

 

[Rikulec]

4 hours ago, SixPointer said:

any plans to change tactically to try and shore up a leaky defence? As you said finding the back of the net isn’t a proBlem

 

I don't want to rush into drastic tactical changes just yet, first I want to see how we can improve our performances by getting better quality players on the market.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - Pre-Season - 2025/26 - FK Austria Wien

Friendlies

Just the one goal conceded, though I'm mad we couldn't score against you-know-who.

Transfers

One significant sale, I wasn't planning on selling Svoboda, but when the offer came in and nearly met his release clause, I felt like it was a good time to make room for Dinçbudak to play alongside Martin and form an academy-made CB pairing.

Majeed Ashimeru - a well rounded, hard working midfielder to boost our quality in the centre of the park.

Issa Kaboré - with his blistering pace and all-around ability he's a huge upgrade on Stoll and Ivkić on the right side of our defensive block.

Richairo Živković - at just 28 he's going to play in a seventh different country. Never lived up to the hype in his Ajax days, hopefully he can do well enough for us.

Nikolas Nartey - although he insisted on getting the number 8 shirt, he's going to play left back.

Dapo Afolayan - this guy surely isn't going to give up on any loose ball! Should really improve our quality up front.

Aleksandar Dragović - we bring in another academy product. With 100 Austria caps to his name, he returns to hopefully retire at his home club and until then serve as a third choice centre back.

We promoted Jona Eisfeld, Steffen Nollenberger, and Roland Michels to the first team as well.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Rikulec

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - July 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

Last season it took us five games to get three points, so it's nice that we've already got that out of the way.

ÖFB-Cup

We could have scored more, I can't complain about the clean sheet though!

We host a 2. Liga side FC Dornbirn in the next round.

[karanhsingh]

I really like that you are getting in ex academy boys and Dragovic I remember used to be a wonderkid all those years ago. 

Regarding wing backs they are a huge problem because for years there are basically no good newgen wingbacks being produced, only defensive full backs. 

[SixPointer]

5 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Florian Hangl's Management Career - July 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

Last season it took us five games to get three points, so it's nice that we've already got that out of the way.

ÖFB-Cup

We could have scored more, I can't complain about the clean sheet though!

We host a 2. Liga side FC Dornbirn in the next round.

Hopefully you can use the start to build some much needed early momentum! 

[Deisler26]

I think this will be a successful season for you!

[Rikulec]

6 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

I really like that you are getting in ex academy boys and Dragovic I remember used to be a wonderkid all those years ago. 

Regarding wing backs they are a huge problem because for years there are basically no good newgen wingbacks being produced, only defensive full backs. 

 

5 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Hopefully you can use the start to build some much needed early momentum! 

 

1 hour ago, Deisler26 said:

I think this will be a successful season for you!

Cheers everyone! We have a new problem though, namely injuries.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - August 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

Although it's a mixed bag in terms of results, the quality of our play has vastly improved compared to last season. There are some teething problems: Wolfsberger being Wolfsberger, against Austria Lustenau we dropped two points as Früchtl dropped a simple cross to allow an open net tap-in in the 94th minute, and against Sturm we gave away an early penalty and couldn't get back into the game despite dominating. The two wins were two proper dominant performances, which makes me cautiously optimistic.

Transfers

Eli Wissa - we spent actual money on a player! TP Mazembe received £575K for their star striker, on paper it looks like we could make a big profit on him in the future.

We also promoted Harald Mathis to the first team following a deadline day sale of Jona Eisfeld.

[Rikulec]

Marcus Martin becomes our first newgen academy product to earn a senior Austria cap. The lad's still only 18. What a glorious feeling.

[Rikulec]

Florian Hangl's Management Career - September 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

No, seriously. This makes no ****ing sense. I thought Martin gifting the ball directly from a free kick to a striker for a wide open 20-yard thunderbolt straight into the top corner to give Amstetten the win would be the uncontested winner for the stupidest goal I've conceded in a while contest. Well, step up Früchtl, who might have let in the stupidest goal I've conceded on FM23 against Altach when he literally fell over instead of catching a mishit header that was slowly floating straight towards his chest. Oh, and that also came right after we had a goal disallowed by VAR. We seem to get back on track and then we don't.

Sorry guys. I haven't been able to properly get a save going on this year's game. I just can't seem to get any tactic to work and avoid all the stupid **** that loves to happen to us players during matches. This has been my best attempt at an FM23 save so far, but that's it. I ragequit after we drew 0:0 against LASK on matchday 10 despite dominating the game and creating numerous chances, for me there's no coming back from this. Maybe I'll start another adventure in a few days, maybe I won't. We'll see.

Thanks for your support and your numerous comments throughout the thread, I really appreciate those. Until next time!

ÖFB-Cup

Oh, I almost forgot. Hooray, I guess.

[SixPointer]

2 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Florian Hangl's Management Career - September 2025 - FK Austria Wien

Bundesliga

No, seriously. This makes no ****ing sense. I thought Martin gifting the ball directly from a free kick to a striker for a wide open 20-yard thunderbolt straight into the top corner to give Amstetten the win would be the uncontested winner for the stupidest goal I've conceded in a while contest. Well, step up Früchtl, who might have let in the stupidest goal I've conceded on FM23 against Altach when he literally fell over instead of catching a mishit header that was slowly floating straight towards his chest. Oh, and that also came right after we had a goal disallowed by VAR. We seem to get back on track and then we don't.

Sorry guys. I haven't been able to properly get a save going on this year's game. I just can't seem to get any tactic to work and avoid all the stupid **** that loves to happen to us players during matches. This has been my best attempt at an FM23 save so far, but that's it. I ragequit after we drew 0:0 against LASK on matchday 10 despite dominating the game and creating numerous chances, for me there's no coming back from this. Maybe I'll start another adventure in a few days, maybe I won't. We'll see.

Thanks for your support and your numerous comments throughout the thread, I really appreciate those. Until next time!

ÖFB-Cup

Oh, I almost forgot. Hooray, I guess.

Nightmare bud!!! I think you will have another go at something though. Don’t be defeated. 

[karanhsingh]

Ouch!! Some of those goals sound diabolical. I can totally sympathize with the rage quit. 

[Deisler26]

Sorry for this, dude. It's a bugger

[Rikulec]

5 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Nightmare bud!!! I think you will have another go at something though. Don’t be defeated. 

 

3 hours ago, karanhsingh said:

Ouch!! Some of those goals sound diabolical. I can totally sympathize with the rage quit. 

 

51 minutes ago, Deisler26 said:

Sorry for this, dude. It's a bugger

Thanks guys. I was going to take a few days off FM anyway with a study visit at the Dunajska Streda academy in Slovakia coming up for me. Maybe the trip can inspire me for the next adventure!

[warlock]

3 hours ago, Rikulec said:

Maybe the trip can inspire me for the next adventure!

Here's hoping - I enjoyed the ride (even if you didn't )

[Rikulec]

16 minutes ago, warlock said:

Here's hoping - I enjoyed the ride (even if you didn't )

I did... at times.

[SixPointer]

11 hours ago, Rikulec said:

 

 

Thanks guys. I was going to take a few days off FM anyway with a study visit at the Dunajska Streda academy in Slovakia coming up for me. Maybe the trip can inspire me for the next adventure!

Perhaps a Slovakia save 😁

[Rikulec]

38 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Perhaps a Slovakia save 😁

Can't rule anything out at this point, we'll see.

[Jogo Bonito]

Just seen the update as having a busy week here. Luckily we have a fun and free work event tomorrow afternoon & evening to put all that to one side 

Sorry to hear that everything you tried, with good thinking processes, just didn't seem to work. You gave it a good crack, and fully understand why you decided the fun wasn't there anymore. And it was enjoyable following your journey.

Hope you enjoy your trip to Slovakia and come back refreshed. A save in Slovakia does sound like it could be a good solution maybe.

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Just seen the update as having a busy week here. Luckily we have a fun and free work event tomorrow afternoon & evening to put all that to one side 

Sorry to hear that everything you tried, with good thinking processes, just didn't seem to work. You gave it a good crack, and fully understand why you decided the fun wasn't there anymore. And it was enjoyable following your journey.

Hope you enjoy your trip to Slovakia and come back refreshed. A save in Slovakia does sound like it could be a good solution maybe.

Thanks for the encouragement. We'll see how much time for FM I'm going to have when I get back, the pre-season starts for us and there's a lot of stuff to do.

[Jogo Bonito]

7 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

Thanks for the encouragement. We'll see how much time for FM I'm going to have when I get back, the pre-season starts for us and there's a lot of stuff to do.

It's all about priorities! Interested what age groups you'll be studying and working with whilst over there. Enjoy anyway.

[Rikulec]

13 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

It's all about priorities! Interested what age groups you'll be studying and working with whilst over there. Enjoy anyway.

I'll mostly be observing U19 and U15, unfortunately I'm not quite high profile yet to be allowed to be with the first team. I'll probably post some pictures and impressions in the general discussion thread, so stay tuned.

[Jogo Bonito]

9 minutes ago, Rikulec said:

I'll mostly be observing U19 and U15, unfortunately I'm not quite high profile yet to be allowed to be with the first team. I'll probably post some pictures and impressions in the general discussion thread, so stay tuned.

Nice, should be a good experience to observe those age groups. We've had the U19 Euros over here in Malta this month, so have been watching as many games as possible.

[Rikulec]

33 minutes ago, Jogo Bonito said:

Nice, should be a good experience to observe those age groups. We've had the U19 Euros over here in Malta this month, so have been watching as many games as possible.

That's so cool, in Poland we're going to host the WU19 Euros in 2025 as well. Hopefully this should help with the development of women's football here.

[KristianT]

For what it's worth, @Rikulec, you inspired me to start an Austria Wien save. Played the first season now and honestly I have never played a save that is so cramped financially. Really excited by the challenge. Now, before the second season, I managed to improve the squad a bit while reducing the wage bill through the maximum allowed number of loans and making profits on transfers.

Looking forward to your next adventure!

[Rikulec]

4 hours ago, KristianT said:

For what it's worth, @Rikulec, you inspired me to start an Austria Wien save. Played the first season now and honestly I have never played a save that is so cramped financially. Really excited by the challenge. Now, before the second season, I managed to improve the squad a bit while reducing the wage bill through the maximum allowed number of loans and making profits on transfers.

Looking forward to your next adventure!

That's great to hear, best of luck with your save!

[Fire_03]

Am 1.7.2023 um 23:46 schrieb Rikulec:

And finally, this is how our finances look like. There probably aren't many clubs in the FM database that are as deep in the **** as Austria Wien. With a net debt of a staggering £71M, most of which are long-term loans, this club needs serious restructuring just to become sustainable. This will probably involve a policy heavily based on youth development and making the absolute most of having one of the best academies in Austria (although we do have a huge rival in Rapid, whose academy is probably better IRL, although FM doesn't seem to reflect that). It also doesn't help that we're currently £19K p/w over our wage budget. So, unless a saviour tycoon decides to bail us out, we're in for a proper challenge.

No, is not correct.
Rapids Academy isn't better than the Austria Academy. They are close to similar, with a small plus for Austria Wien because of their Academy facilities.
This changed now with the new Rapid Academy (Körner Trainingszentrum) and will be reflected in FM24.

[Fire_03]

Am 4.7.2023 um 12:57 schrieb Rikulec:

Thanks for this screenshot. You have spotted a data mistake in the database 

[Fire_03]

Am 7.7.2023 um 02:26 schrieb Rikulec:

Basically a friend I met at a coaching conference put me in touch with the Admira first team analyst. Then I helped him with opposition analysis for roughly two months, he seemed happy with my work and kept giving me positive feedback and promising an opportunity to visit them during that season and potentially even getting a permanent position at the club. Then he ghosted me, and a month later, to my great satisfaction, they got relegated despite having a five point advantage over the relegation spot with two games left. They were close to another relegation this season, although this time they won their final game (a defeat would have sent them down). So yeah, basically **** Admira.

I've played two of the four games remaining until the end of the season and things are getting very interesting, we might still finish anywhere between 2nd and 4th. We desperately need to beat WAC though, and we've been unable to do so in all our encounters so far.

Welcome to the world of Austrian Football.
This is absolutely common in Austria. I did a similar job in 2018 for Rapid and at the end, I was seen as a treat for their Chief Scout because of my relation to their DoF.

[Rikulec]

1 hour ago, Fire_03 said:

No, is not correct.
Rapids Academy isn't better than the Austria Academy. They are close to similar, with a small plus for Austria Wien because of their Academy facilities.
This changed now with the new Rapid Academy (Körner Trainingszentrum) and will be reflected in FM24.

I formed this opinion based on both clubs' results across the three Jugendliga age groups and a conversation with a Red Bull Salzburg youth coach I had last year. Obviously my knowledge on the subject is limited, so thanks for clearing things up. 

Interesting to hear about the new training centre, I hadn't heard about it before. I've just looked it up and it looks really nice, plus the location is amazing. I'd surely love to visit the place one day!

1 hour ago, Fire_03 said:

Thanks for this screenshot. You have spotted a data mistake in the database 

I knew there was something wrong with the (EXT) tag, probably should have reported that. Sorry!

1 hour ago, Fire_03 said:

Welcome to the world of Austrian Football.
This is absolutely common in Austria. I did a similar job in 2018 for Rapid and at the end, I was seen as a treat for their Chief Scout because of my relation to their DoF.

Yeah, that sucks. Would have been a great way to get into this closed world of football, I guess we have to keep working hard to get there!

[Fire_03]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Rikulec:

Yeah, that sucks. Would have been a great way to get into this closed world of football, I guess we have to keep working hard to get there!

No, I've stopped to do this. Have passed my FIFA Agent exam last April and will have my MBA Graduation in Sports Management this November, so this train went out of the train station for all the clubs in Austria.

If close to 20 years of experience in Football and as HR from Austria, with several scouting courses (+Pro licence in 2017) are not enough, I don't know what to do, to be honest.

[Jogo Bonito]

Interesting chat @Rikulecand @Fire_03. My experience working around pro football (which was not coaching/playing) ended some time ago but there was also an element of power games which led to me rejecting the new proposal they put my way. Wish you both success in your future endeavors. 

New comments in this thread remind me how close I was to taking on the challenge of either FK Austria (because of the obvious challenge) or SK Rapid (because their barren spell on winning the title is even longer). But then I very much enjoyed my five year thread in here on FC Wacker Innsbruck, so at least I have those memories. Maybe I will finally get to Vienna in FM24