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OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 4 | A Significant Step Up In Quality Ruprecht Prusseit had enjoyed unexpected success in his first season as a Football Manager, leading SV Dessau 05 to an unexpected promotion led by the incredible goalscoring exploits of star striker Branden Stelmak. But the hard work began now as his semi-professional side made the step up to tier five with only a bunch of kids to work with. Worryingly, the Dessau board had unsubstantiated lofty ambitions, advising Prusseit they expected a mid-table finish while playing defensive, counter-attacking and direct football. Furthermore, the club went into the new season £200,000 in the red, despite paying barely any wages - and was seemingly all due to paying staff wages and near-enough zero income. Better news was that they offered their manager a new one-year contract until the end of the 2023/24 campaign on £700 per week. Which was about £700 more than all of his remaining players. The start of season two saw Dessau's three senior players Stalmek, who was earning £375 a week, goalkeeper Zicos Resvanis and midfielder and coach Robert Römer all depart the club. Probably worse than that, he also released his entire backroom staff as they were either overpaid or terrible, and in most cases both, which meant a painful process of piecing together a new one. That included bringing in Toni's brother Felix Kroos as his only coach on £25 per week. The lack of staff meant that, for the first three weeks of pre-season, Prusseit couldn't see how good any of his players were. And when he eventually could, he was slightly alarmed that recent academy graduates striker Tom Berg and goalkeeper Frank Sander were his best two players. While only those two and Koffi Laba are considered good enough to be of tier-five standard. Prusseit did, however, make his first signings as a Football Manager, snapping up holding midfielder Tobias "Clubber" Lang and goalkeeper Ralf Wölk on free transfers. They were added to by new Director of Football Carlo Schmidt bringing in centre-back Jean-Pierre Saba. Into A Strange German Tier Five The step up to tier five saw Dessau enter the German Division North East-South (whatever that means!) division of the Oberliga tier. Strangely, all of the divisions at this level have different numbers of teams, for example, Dessau's division had 16 teams, others had 20, some had 19, some had 17. It was all very strange! What wasn't strange was that Dessau were expected to struggle, with the club predicted to finish bottom of the table with odds of 150/1 to win the league. This time, only the winner gets promoted into Regionalliga with three teams being relegated. So it wasn't looking good for Prusseit. Last year's fellow promoted side Magdeburg II are again title favourites at 1/25 (even though they only have 13 players) followed by fellow East German side Wismut Gera (11/4). Dessau began life at the new level by welcoming fellow East Germans and one of the top six promotion favourites VFC Plauen. They got battered in the early stages but took the lead against the run of play as winger Aluong Yaak sent Berg through for his debut goal, becoming the club's youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years and 35 days. But Plauen scored a very dodgy penalty then Yaak got a ridiculous red card and they lost 3-1. Another defeat followed in their first away day, 2-0 at Bautzen, before picking up a very lucky first point with a 1-1 draw at home to Eilenburg, despite being dominated by 23 shots to three! A first win followed at Rudolstadt as Berg headed home the opener then curled home a delicious 30-yard free-kick. However, the striker got sent off after 54 minutes, the hosts got a goal back then centre-back Kevin Wolf got a second yellow card. But Prusseit's ultra-defensive tactics saw them just about hold on. But that proved very much the outlier as they struggled with the step up in quality. One shard of optimism was a 1-1 draw at home to Wismut Gera amid a five-game winless streak. Prusseit decided to forget the negative tactics he'd been forced into, which worked as a balanced approach saw a better defensive performance as midfielder Wael Salhi nicked the only goal after half an hour. And that lifted them out of the relegation zone for the first time in six weeks. Morale was strangely strengthened by only losing 1-0 to Magdeburg, which showed as Laba laid on goals for Yaak and a Berg brace to earn a 3-1 win at mid-table Nordhausen. And that was backed up by a first home win as midfielder Marc Kauffmann's first senior goal and a tidy Yaak finish sealed a 2-1 comeback victory against Fahner Höhe. A 1-0 defeat followed at Oberlausitz but Berg's second-half strike earned a vital 1-0 win at 12th-place Inter Leipzig. That victory saw Dessau climb above Inter in the league, up into 12th place at the 15-game halfway mark of the season. Their games had been highly uninteresting, with Dessau scoring 14 and conceding 20, which meant the defensive football Prusseit's board wanted was well and truly being delivered on. Despite Dessau's struggles, several Regionalliga (tier four) teams offered Prusseit interviews to fill their vacant managerial roles. However, none of the clubs that approached him, for now at least, were based in East Germany. Furthermore, it turned out the club had built a significant compensation fee into Prusseit's contract that saw BFC Dynamo reject the opportunity to interview him for their vacant position. However, Prusseit was happy at Dessau considering the significant potential in some of his exciting young prospects, considering 18 of the first-team squad have 5-star potential as do 17 more players in the youth squads. Could Prusseit lead his young Dessau side to an unlikely survival? We'll be back on Monday to find out!

Hertha Berlin isn't considered as the club isn't based in Eastern Germany. The West/East divide split through the middle of Berlin (hence the Berlin wall) and Hertha was based on the Western side. Yea, we're gone miss Stalmek a lot with the step up to the next level!

OstDeutscher Sieg | Part 3 | Sensational Goalscoring Exploits Ruprecht Prusseit enjoyed a strong start to his new career as a fledgling Football Manager, leading SV Dessau 05 to six wins in his first 10 games in charge. The challenge now was to maintain that form and push for promotion by finishing in the top two of Verbandsliga Saxonia-Anhalt. Having been thrown straight into the thick of league action, Prusseit eventually settled on a fairly standard 4-3-3 formation that gave star striker Branden Stelmak, who's considered a leading player for the tier above, freedom to do his thing. And that had seen him plunder 23 goals in his last nine games. However, one slight issue with being a semi-professional club was that all but three players had non-contract status and were only being paid appearance fees. That meant any team could swoop in and steal his players for free at any time, which they soon did for holding midfielder Iskilou Akakpo and centre-back Mohamed Ibrahim. While the club's dwindling finances - due to losing about £20,000 per month - were a problem that Prusseit decided to blindly ignore as he couldn't do anything about it. Stelmark's Sensational Goalscoring Continues Prusseicht knew he was going to be reliant on Stelmak, and so it proved as he scored the only goal at home to Emseloh then the second after an own goal in a 2-0 win at home to Sangerhausen. That sent them into the toughest test in the league away to Magdeburg, which the media described as Dessau "facing the impossible" and they were 17/2 to win. But they went close to the impossible with a great defensive performance to draw 1-1. That result saw Dessau climb into the top two for the first time, ahead of Lok Stendal on goal difference. Stelmak continued to score goals for fun as Dessau went six games unbeaten. He also scored twice as they lost 4-2 at Weißenfels then bagged his fifth hat-trick of the season in a 3-3 with third-place Haldensleben. Another Stelmak brace earned a 3-1 win at Fortuna Magdeburg, which took him to 35 goals for the season in early December! But he wasn't done there as another hat-trick led a 4-0 thumping of Bernburg, which sent Dessau into the winter break in 2nd place. Normal service was resumed as Stelmak scored the second in a 2-0 over Cöthener, in which exciting winger Koffi Laba scored the opener, and two more in a 2-2 at Bitterfeld to move past 40 goals for the season. But he really hit top form as he hit his second double hat-trick of the season in a 6-1 romping of Barleben. That was part of a streak of goals in 10 consecutive games as a brace in a 5-2 win over Preussen saw him hit the 50-goal mark in mid-February! Elsewhere, Magdeburg II booked promotion in early March and led 2nd-place Dessau by 20 points. While Dessau had built an eight-point lead over 3rd-place Stendal. But a 10-game unbeaten streak ended with a 1-0 loss at home to 6th-place Tangermünde. And a potentially pivotal clash with Stendal, which was strangely a third league meeting, ended in a dull 0-0. But they boosted their promotion hopes with Laba and Stelmak braces in a 4-2 win at Farnstädt moving them seven points clear of 3rd. Promotion Battle! Dessau kicked into top gear as right-winger Aluong Yaak scored twice before Stelmak smashed another five-goal haul to down Amsdorf 7-1. But a couple of draws weren't punished by their rivals as they took a six-point lead into the final four games. The season conclusion started with a tough test at home to runaway winners Magdeburg II, which wasn't helped by Laba getting sent off after an hour and they lost 2-0. But luckily, Stendal also lost so they remained six points clear with three games remaining. Next was a tip to 18th-place Thalheim and they dominated the early stages with Stelmak missing three great chances. But he eventually took one, then went on to bag yet another hat-trick while Thalheim scored from two goalbound shots. Stelmak added another with a brilliant volley and Thalheim obviously scored their next shot on target, but midfielder Wael Salhi scored an even better volley and his midfield partner Robert Römer tapped home from a corner to secure a wild 6-3 victory. That meant Dessau were virtually promoted, bar a 32-goal difference swing. They could book promotion with a point at home to Weißenfels and started well as Stalmek headed home after 11 minutes but the visitors obviously scored their only shot on target of the half. And despite 23 shots to eight they only drew 1-1, but that was enough to confirm promotion. Dessau 05 secured promotion to Oberliga!! They wrapped up the campaign with a 2-1 win over Haldensleben on Prusseit's 39th birthday, with Stelmak bagging a ridiculous 65th league goal of the season. Unsurprisingly, he was the league's top scorer and Prusseit felt a little sorry for Bernburg's Usman Taiwo, who scored an impressive 41. Stalmek had the best average rating of 8.16 and a superb 18 player of the match awards, while Yaak topped the assists chart with 18 with Laba in second on 13. Verbandspokal Sachsen-Anhalt Latter Stages Stelmak brought his league goals into the cup as his double led a 3-2 win over Haldensleben to reach the semi-final. But the run ended there with a 3-0 defeat to Wernigerode, who were from the tier above and massive favourites for the tie. Excellent Season Ends With Exciting Youth Intake Prusseit was delighted with his team's efforts this season. However, he was under no illusions about the mammoth task awaiting them with the step up. Stelmak had been responsible for 65 of their 94 goals and they couldn't afford to resign him and the only other two players on contracts next season - and Stalmek agreed a move to the US. Hilariously, Stalmek had only scored 40 league goals in his 10-year career prior to this season, so his 65-goal tally increased his career total by 162%. But he preferred to focus on the positives, the main one being Stalmek smashing an incredible 69 goals and seven assists in 42 games. He was the only player to reach double figures for goals with Laba next on nine then Yaak on six. Yaak led the way with 19 assists followed by Laba (15) and Salhi (10). However, the loss of Stalmek was tempered by a youth intake that looked pretty impressive on paper. Prusseit's first official youth intake delivered 14 players with at least 4.5-star potential and nine with 5-star potential. That was led by striker Tom Berg, who could be the ideal replacement. The intake also included goalkeeper Frank Sander, which was much-needed as number one Zicos Resvanis will also be leaving. Other players to keep an eye on include wingers Oliver Büscher, Moritz Schüssler and Mohammed Al-Zidani, midfielders Marc Kauffmann and Finn Schorch and centre-back Kevin Wolf. Up in Bundesliga, there was no danger of a team upsetting Prusseit's pipedream of becoming the first manager to lead an East German team to glory just yet. Bayern won Bundesliga with eight games remaining, completed an unbeaten season and finished 22 points clear of Leipzig. How big a challenge will it be to keep Dessau in the fifth tier of German football? And would Prusseit's achievements at the bottom of German football attract bigger teams in East Germany? We'll find out on Friday!

Yeah, solid start, and we pretty much stick with the 4-3-3 approach that seems to work at this level

Our mission to lead an East German club to Bundesliga glory begins here as OstDeutsche Sieg kicks off in the full version of Football Manager 2023. Find out all about the revamped save concept in Part 1 here. Ruprecht Prusseit – which translates to “Robert a Prussian” – fell into football management when he picked up a nasty ankle injury during a Sunday League match near his home in Dresden. His team had been trailing 2-0 after an hour when he picked up the injury and the manager was so exasperated with the team’s efforts that he walked off for a cigarette and to read the daily edition of Bild. 38-year-old Prusseit dusted himself off, popped a bandage around his poorly ankle and threw himself into managing the team. He took to management like a duckling to water as his tactical changes inspired a superb comeback, and his team won 3-2. His teammates encouraged him to hang up his boots and take control of managing the Sunday League side full-time. And, after being slightly offended by their eagerness to see him retire, he eventually agreed and swiftly led his pals to the local league title. Prusseit took his boys down the local beer hall and it’s safe to say the celebrations got a little out of hand. But his brief spell as a Sunday League manager gave Prusseit a real taste for football management. So he wasted no time in visiting the German FA website and putting his name down to attend the course to obtain his National C Licence. Armed with that licence, he bid "auf wiedersehn" to his former teammates and set about pursuing his dream to become a real-life Football Manager. The Job Hunt Upon loading up FM23, two playable East German clubs had job vacancies. So Prusseit dusted off his CV and submitted applications to fifth-tier side 1. FC Frankfurt and sixth-tier SV Dessau 05. To his delight, his mobile phone was quickly buzzing away as both sides were keen to come in to attend an interview. First up, on 10 July 2022, was Dessau, who seemed relatively pleased with his responses and shared vision for the club. Later that day, FC Frankfurt got in touch and seemed equally pleased with Prusseit's interaction. Four days later, it was Frankfurt that got back in touch first, asking Prusseit for his suggested staff changes, which he submitted having removed a few of the pointless roles - having noted that none of the sackings would render any compensation necessary. And Frankfurt only took one day to agree to those changes and offered Prusseit his first-ever job as a football manager. However, he was keen to see if Dessau were also interested, so he delayed the offer for a week. On 21 July, Dessau eventually did make him an offer. So Prusseit now had a decision to make, but he couldn't find Frankfurt's offer in his inbox to compare the two, so he delayed Dessau too. And, as he had suspected, when Frankfurt came back he realised they weren't offering him a wage and were massive favourites to be relegated. So Prusseit made the unusual decision to choose the club in the lower tier. He negotiated a contract worth £700 per week and signed on the dotted line. Who are SV Dessau 05? SV Dessau 05 is a semi-professional club based in the town of Dessau in the Saxony-Anhalt state. The club's claim to fame is being the winner of the inaugural FDGB-Pokal, or East German Cup, in 1949. Die Nullfuenfer (The 05's) club play at the 5,000-capacity Sportplatz Schillerpark. They also have terrible facilities with 2s across the board and £5,000 in the bank and no transfer budget but a £3,200 weekly wage budget of which they were spending just £1,200. Dessau play in the German Verbandsliga Saxonia-Anhalt, which is one of the many divisions in the sixth and final playable tier of this German database. The top two teams get promoted into Oberliga and the bottom two... well, based on what happened in the previous OstDeutscher Sieg, it's probably best not to think about that. Meet The SV Dessau 05 Squad Prusseit was a little alarmed that, upon arriving at Dessau, there were just seven players in his first-team squad, and one of those could be leaving. However, he was thanking his decision to "add players to playable teams." That essentially meant the club had a youth intake in the summer of 2022, which delivered 15 "elite talents!" So Prusseit promoted a host of those prospects The best players at the club are 25-year-old goalkeeper Zicos Resvanis, 33-year-old American striker Branden Stelmak and 36-year-old midfielder Robert Römer, who doubles up as a coach, And those are the only three players at the club who earn a wage. After that, they were reliant on newgens led by winger Koffi Laba, holding midfielder Iskilou Akakpo, attacking midfielder Wael Salhi, striker Thabang Ntsele, right-winger Aluong Yaak, versatile defender Karamoko Sylla and right-back Agostinho Mendes. However, 15-year-olds can't be registered for the league squad. Straight Into German Verbandsliga Saxonia-Anhalt Dessau are fancied as a decent bet to achieve promotion with an expected 6th-place finish and odds of 33/1 to win the league, along with the teams predicted to finish 3rd to 9th. Magdeburg II are massive favourites at 1/91 followed by fellow East German side Lok Stendal at 25/1. Upon Prusseit's arrival, Dessau were already three games into their season and had won one, drawn one and lost one. So his first-ever match as a Football Manager took place just two days after he was appointed. And truth be told, he didn't really know what formation to play or which players to select, so he initially went with a 4-4-1-1. But that didn't work as they wasted chances and gifted Bitterfeld a goal with their only shot of the first half. So he moved to a 4-4-2 and they just about nicked a 2-2 draw. His first away game followed at Barleben and they were a little unlucky to lose 2-1. A switch to 4-3-3 at home to Gardelegen worked wonders as Stelmak scored a penalty after seven minutes, hit a 30-yard screamer two minutes later and wrapped up his hat-trick with another penalty inside 15 minutes. Not done there, Salhi teed the striker up for a 4th after 35 minutes then he latched onto a Resvanis clearance to slam home a fifth! The second half was quieter but Stelmak added a superb sixth as he curled home a 25-yard free-kick for a 6-2 victory. Stelmak was at it again next time out at Preussen, scoring a hat-trick inside 18 minutes and added a late fourth to cap a 4-1 victory. He slacked off at Tangermünde, taking 29 minutes to score a hat-trick then again scoring a late fourth in a 4-1 win. So that was 14 goals in three games! He then shockingly only scored once as Labba scored his first two goals and the club's youngest-ever goalscorer aged 16 years 45 days in a third-consecutive 4-1 win over Ammendorf. Next up was Prusseit's first all-East German clash at home to Lok Stendal and Stelmak again stepped up with a double to inspire a 2-0 win. The winning streak ended with a 0-0 at home to Blau-Weiß Dölau ten they strangely played Stendal again, this time a little unlucky to lose 2-1. But that man Stelmak got them back on track with a brace in a 3-0 win over bottom side Farnstädt and his fourth hat-trick in nine games as Dessau thumped 8th-place Amsdorf 5-1 away. So in Prusseit's first 10 games of football management, he'd led Dessau to six wins, two draws and two defeats, sitting in 4th place only three points off the second promotion spot. Stelmak leads the goalscoring charts with 23 in 13 and Yaak has the second-most assists with seven. Away from league matters, Prusseit took control of his first cup game as Dessau entered the preliminary round of Verbandspokal Sachsen-Anhalt against Tangermünde. And they had Römer to thank as he scored one and made another to inspire a 3-1 victory and Prusseit's first-ever win. That sent them straight into the quarter-final much later in the season. Could Prusseit maintain his strong start to life as a Football Manager with Dessau? We'll find out on Monday!

It'll definitely run for longer than the last time

Thanks, appreciate it! Tell me more about the crown of Aragon?

At the very start of the Football Manager 2023 cycle, we began a series that took you behind the Iron Curtain in an adventure that aimed to work through the German football system in a bid to become the first-ever Bundesliga winner from East Germany. However, that plan went very wrong very quickly, as we were given the sack after just two seasons. But, having really enjoyed the original concept, I decided to revive it. As a reminder, in OstDeutscher Sieg (East German Victory) we can only manage football teams based in former East Germany. Our aim is to become the first-ever Bundesliga champion to hail from the former Soviet-ruled area by working our way from the bottom to the top of the German football system. However, this time around I've given the save a bit of a revamp in order to make it more interesting. Firstly, FM23 restricts you to managing in the top three divisions of German football so I've used a custom database from FM Inside to extend the playable leagues to six tiers of multiple divisions. A Brief History Of German football Football first arrived in Germany courtesy of English ex-pats, who brought the sport to cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and Stuttgart. That spawned the start of various academic, city and regional leagues before the formation of Deutscher Fußball Bund (the German FA) in 1900. In 1903, the first recognised national championship match saw VfB Leipzig (now Lokomotive Leipzig) beat FC Prag 7-2. That spawned an annual knockout tournament to decide the champion of Germany, which ran until 1944. But the aftermath of World War 2 saw organisations dissolved by Allied authorities until a new format, the Oberligen, was created in Western Germany in 1948. The regional league and national playoff formats remained until 1963 with the creation of the Bundesliga, which saw German football go professional. The original Bundesliga was formed of 16 teams from Oberligen and introduced the more familiar round-robin format. However, clubs in East Germany, which was occupied by the Soviets after the war, competed in a separate championship, which continued through to 1991. Since the formation of Bundesliga 59 years ago, 11 different clubs have been crowned German champions: Bayern Munich (31), Borussia Dortmund (8), Borussia Mönchengladbach (5), Werder Bremen (4), Hamburg (3), Kaiserslautern and Köln (2), and 1860 Munich, Eintracht Braunschweig, Nürnberg and Wolfsburg (1). A common anomaly there is the lack of an East German club, as no team from East Germany has ever been Bundesliga Champion. So that's the task that awaits us in OstDeutscher Sieg. As long as Leipzig don't beat us to the punchline in the time it takes us to get there! Which East German Teams Are Playable On FM23? Expanding FM23 to the six-tier German football system opens up a wealth of playable clubs behind the top three tiers. Luckily, the lower leagues are organised by location, which makes it a little easier to understand which clubs are based in former East Germany. However, the geography of the region and the fact that some of the clubs are a little all over the place in the lower tier makes it slightly tricky to decipher. So, as far as I'm aware, the playable clubs now available to us on OstDeutsche Sieg are: Tier 6: German Thuringia League Wismut Gera Tier 6: German Division North-East VFC Plauen Tier 6: German Verbandsliga Saxonia-Anhalt 1. FC Lok Stendal Magdeburg II SV Dessau 05 Tier 5: Oberliga Nordost Hansa Rostock II Rostocker FC 1. FC Frankfurt Tier 4: Regionalliga Nordost SV Babelsburg 03 Berliner FC Dynamo Carl Zeiss Jena Chemie Leipzig Chemnitzer Energie Cottbus Lokomotive Leipzig Rot-Weiß Erfurt 3. Liga Dynamo Dresden FC Erzgebirge Aue Hallescher FC FSV Zwickau Bundesliga 2 1. FC Magdeburg Hansa Rostock Bundesliga RasenBallsport Leipzig 1. FC Union Berlin Who Are The Playable East German Football Teams? So who are these football teams based in East Germany? Here's a brief history of our potential playable clubs in this adventure and what to expect if, or possibly when, we eventually take charge of them. Landesliga (Tier 6) Wismut Gera: The original club SPpVgg Gera was formed in 1922 but first played in the German "top flight" in 1939 which, confusingly, was one of 16 top-tier divisions devised under the Third Reich. The club was dissolved at the end of the war then went through multiple name changes, which included playing in the inaugural DDR-Oberliga campaign as Gera-Süd. The name Wismut Gera was adopted following reunification in 1990 as they entered the new-look system in the fourth tier. But they soon slipped into the fifth tier and went bankrupt in 2003. But a merger saw the current club created and a change to BSG Wismut Gera in 2008. VFC Plauen: Plauen enjoyed early success by winning Vogtland titles in 1930 and 1931. But, in what may become a familiar story, they were dissolved by Allied authorities and reformed in 1945 then went through multiple name changes. They struggled for decades but enjoyed a resurgence after reunification as they won the fifth tier Landesliga Sachsen, then got relegated from Oberliga conceding 108 goals and scoring just 12. But in 1996 they rose as high as the third tier, before dropping down the divisions and suffering with financial issues in 2014. 1. FC Lok Stendal: The club started out as Viktoria Stendal in 1909 but went through numerous changes post-war. It spent most of the 1950s and 1960s as a lower table side in East Germany's top tier before a decline through the 70s and 80s. Its biggest claim to fame may be a 1995 cup run that ended with a penalty shootout defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. But financial issues struck in 2002 as the club went bankrupt, but revived through a union with local club FC Stendal. Magdeburg II: The second team of second-tier side Magdeburg, which I'm not 100% sure is playable yet! SV Dessau 05: Dessau was founded in 1905 as FC Adler but went through various mergers and unions in the next few decades. It was part of the odd 16-division Third Reich system and performed well, winning three divisional titles between 1937 and 1939 and three more between 1942 and 1944. After dissolution, it reformed various times before finally becoming SV Dessau 05 in 1995. It has largely played in the fifth tier since the 2000s with two seasons up in Oberliga and one down in Landesliga, before promotion in 2014. The club's most significant claim to fame is winning the inaugural FDGB-Pokal, the East German Cup, in 1949. Oberliga (Tier 5) Hansa Rostock II: The second team of second-tier side Hansa Rostock, also not sure if this team is playable. Rostocker FC: Rostocker may have a claim to being the oldest German football club - which is held by BFC Germania 1888. However, Rostocker FC was reportedly founded on 20 June 1895 before going through multiple mergers. Its greatest achievement may be reaching the final round of the German national title in 1942, only to lose a preliminary round against Holstein Kiel. It was promoted to Oberliga in 2020, 125 years after it was founded. 1. FC Frankfurt: FC Frankfurt was founded as the army club SV VP Vorwärts Leipzig in August 1951 and it's had an "interesting" history. The club was relocated to East Berlin mid-season in 1953 and underwent multiple name changes over the next few years. A successful spell began by winning FDGP-Pokal in 1954 before becoming East German champion six times between 1958 and 1969. In 1971, the club relocated again to Frankfurt an der Oder, which is on the Germany-Poland border, replacing the secret-police-sponsored team SG Dynamo. More success followed in the 1980s as it enjoyed four UEFA Cup campaigns. The army affiliation was dropped after reunification, the club dropped down the leagues and merged with MSV Eintracht Frankfurt to come 1. FC Frankfurt in 2012. It won the Brandenburg-Liga in 2015 to reach Oberliga for the first time in 12 years. Regionalliga (Tier 4) SV Babelsburg 03: Babelsburg was founded as Sport-Club Jugendkraft in 1903 and briefly refuonded as SG Karl-Marx Babelsburg in 1948 among various name changes. It was largely a second-tier club through the 70s and 80s before adopting the SV Babelsberg 03 name post-reunification. It enjoyed a surge in the late 90s, winning promotion to tier three in 1999 then promotion to 2. Bundesliga in 2001, only to be immediately relegated, fall through the leagues and go bankrupt in 2003. But it recovered to reach 3. Liga again in 2008 and 2010, but has remained in tier four Regionalliga since 2013. Berliner FC Dynamo: Berliner FC Dynamo (or Dynamo Berlin) is one of the most successful East German sides, winning a record 10 consecutive titles between 1979 and 1988. It was founded in 1966 and has a strong historical rivalry with Union Berlin and Dynamo Dresden. Historically, the club's supporters have had serious problems with violence and far-right affiliations, which are discussed in depth on Wikipedia, and it's fair to say they are "passionate." Carl Zeiss Jena: Carl Zeiss Jena was founded in 1903 by workers at the Carl Zeiss AG optics factory. The club was one of the strongest in East Germany through the 60s, 70s and 80s, winning three Oberliga titles and three East German cups. It also reached the Cup Winners' Cup final in 1981. However, it's not played any higher than 2. Bundesliga since reunification. It was also involved in a betting scandal in 2009, which saw the club accused of match-fixing in a game against Meuselwitz, and subsequently suffered financial issues before relegation to tier three in 2012, promotion in 2017 and another relegation to tier four in 2020. Chemie Leipzig: Chemie Leipzig has a slightly confusing history that involves new clubs and mergers popping up all over the place. But the current club was founded in 1997. The confusion comes in the form of Sachsen Leipzig, which folded in 2011 then Chemie Leipzig and rival teams saw themselves as the rightful successors. But Chemie began way down in the 12th tier of German football and battled their way up to tier four for the first time in 2017. Intriguingly, Chemie are noted to have an expressly anti-fascist, left-wing ultras known as Diablos Leutzsch. Chemnitzer FC: Chemnitzer was officially founded in 1966 but has its roots in two previous clubs founded in 1933 and 1899, which was a founding member of DFB in 1900. It went through various changes post-war, including a spell as FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. The club was largely a lower-table Oberliga side but became East German champions for the only time in 1967. It also reached the UEFA Cup round of 16 in 1990 but lost to Juventus. Post-reunification, Chemnitzer joined 2. Bundesliga and reached the DFB Pokal semi-finals in 1993, but were relegated in 1996 and dropped into Oberliga in 2006. It rose again briefly but was relegated back to tier four in 2018. Energie Cottbus: Energie Cottbus is probably the most famous East German name outside the top three tiers. The club has its roots in a side formed by coal miners back in 1919 but was banned by the Nazis in 1933. It reemerged in 1949 and went through various names before becoming SC Energie Cottbus in 1963 then FC Energie after reunification. It gained promotion to 2. Bundesliga in 1997 and became the first former East German team to play in the DFB Pokal Final the same year. More success followed as it was promoted into Bundesliga in 2000 and stayed there for three years. Financial issues followed before a Bundesliga return in 2006, followed by a club-record top-tier points tally of 41, only to be relegated in 2009. It dropped into 3. Liga in 2014 then Regionalliga in 2016 and 2019, where it remains. Interestingly, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, is an honorary member of Energie Cottbus. 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig: Lokomotive Leipzig can also claim to be one of the oldest teams in Germany as it began life as VfB Leipzig in 1896. It became the inaugural German national champion in 1903 and, in its various previous guises, won five FDGB Pokal cups and was Cup Winners' Cup runner-up in 1987. The good times continued after reunification as it reached Bundesliga in 1993 but soon declined and fell through the leagues. It was reformed as 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig in 2003 and began climbing back up the leagues, reaching Regionalliga in 2021. Rot-Weiß Erfurt: Speaking of Germany's oldest clubs bring us to Rot-Weiß Erfurt, whose roots can be traced back to a cricket club created in 1895. The club was a DFB founding member in 1900 and went through various name changes post-war. In one of those guises, BSG Turbine Erfurt, it won consecutive East German titles in 1954 and 1955 before bouncing between the first and second tiers. However, the club flourished post-reunification, reaching 2. Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup in 1990, where they defeated Groningen before losing to Ajax in the second round. But they spent the 90s and 2000s in the third tier before promotion to 2. Bundesliga in 2004, then got relegated to Regionalliga in 2018. Financial difficulties struck in 2020, which forced the club to reform in Oberliga, but was promoted in 2022. 3. Liga (Tier 3) Dynamo Dresden: You've probably heard of the 8-time East German champions and 7-time cup winners as they have a bit of a hipster following. Dresden qualified for the first unified Bundesliga in 1991 and stayed there for 4 years but the debt-ridden was demoted to the third tier in 1995 then dropped into the 4th tier a few years later during a restructuring of the league pyramid. They've crawled their way back up led largely by their fanatical supporters and came close to reaching Bundesliga in 2017, were relegated to tier 3 in 2018, but got back to the 2nd tier in 2020. FC Erzgebirge Aue: Erzgebirge Aue was in Bundesliga 2 for six years before being relegated last season. It plays in the city of Aue-Bad Schlema, which has a population of around 20,800 and is one of the smallest cities to ever host a second-tier German club game. Looking further back in time, the club was dominant in 1950s East Germany, winning 4 titles and an East German Cup. They're not without a little controversy as in February 2015 fans unfurled two banners that compared opponents RB Leipzig (who we'll discuss shortly) to the Nazis. Hallescher FC: Also known as Chemie Halle, the club was in East Germany's top tier and won it twice before the reunification. But it suffered with financial issues as a result of the economic decline in the region, falling into the amateur leagues in the 1990s. But it climbed its way back up the ladder to return to the professional leagues in 2012. FSV Zwickau: Zwickau has the honour of being the first-ever champion of East Germany in 1950, under its former name ZSG Horch Zwickau. The club has undergone various name changes and mergers through the years, which are a little too confusing to jot down here. But found itself in tier 3 after reunification and was promoted to Bundesliga 2 in 1994. That lasted for four seasons and two more relegations saw financial issues strike in 2005, which sent them into tier 5. But they climbed through the leagues to reach tier 3 again in 2016. Bundesliga 2 (Tier 2) 1. FC Magdeburg: Some might say Magdeburg is the most successful "modern-day" East German side. That's because it's the only team based in East Germany to win a European trophy, beating AC Milan in the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1974. However, the club has struggled to hit those heights since reunification, spending most of its time between tiers 3 and 4 and struggling financially. But it was promoted to tier 3 in 2015 and reached Bundesliga 2 for the first and only time in 2018. Hansa Rostock: Hansa Rostock was the final-ever East German champion in 1991, which saw it moved into Bundesliga with runners-up Dynamo Dresden. Since then, it's been one of the most successful of all the East Germany-based sides, including being in Bundesliga from 1995 to 2005. It suffered a decline that culminated in being demoted to tier 3 for only the second time in 2012, but was promoted back to the second tier as champions of 3. Liga in 2021. Bundesliga (Tier 1) 1. FC Union Berlin: Union Berlin was technically formed in 1906 with the formation of FC Olympia Oberschöneweide but only became 1. FC Union Berlin (and, incidentally, the 1. at the start of a club name indicates it was the first to be founded in a city) in 1966. Union nearly suffered financial collapse post-reunification and was denied a license to play in 2. Bundesliga following promotions in 1993 and 1994. But it eventually got promoted in 2001, also reaching the Final of the German Cup but losing 2-0 to Schalke, which saw Union play in the UEFA Cup. But it slipped into tier three in 2005 and Oberliga in 2006 before becoming a founding member of 3. Liga in 2009. It won the inaugural league to reach 2. Bundesliga in 2010 and spent 11 years in the division before beating Stuttgart in the Bundesliga relegation playoff to reach the top flight for the first time in 2020. RasenBallsport Leipzig: RB Leipzig was founded in 2009 when Red Bull purchased fifth-tier SSV Markranstädt with the aim of getting the club into Bundesliga within eight years. The club is operated by a spin-off company called RasenBallsport Leipzig GmbH, hence not explicitly using the Red Bull branding like other clubs around the world. It achieved Red Bull's ambition by gaining promotion to Bundesliga in 2017, then reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2020 and won its first major trophy when it won DFB Pokal in 2021. The city of Leipzig and its people were at the forefront of bringing down the post-war Communist government prior to reunification. So, while it's a "plastic club" - according to Eintracht Frankfurt board member Philip Renschke - that's hated by many German fans, RB Leipzig has to be included in this challenge. How Will OstDeutscher Sieg Work? Just like the previous iteration of the save, it wouldn't be an overly fun challenge if we jumped straight into managing Union or Leipzig. So those two jobs are going to be viewed as the holy grail of our mission to win Bundesliga with an East German club. Instead, we will begin the save unemployed and try to get a job with one of the East German sides in the lower reaches of the German football ladder. The aim will be to work our way up by any means possible, be it by getting our first team promoted through the leagues or by earning a job with one of the higher-ranked East German sides. So there you have it, OstDeutscher Sieg is back up and running! But who will be our first club? And who will be the protagonist of our new Football Manager adventure?

Quick spoiler for you... The OstDeutscher Sieg save will be restarting and returning here! It'll begin again with a new save at the start of May (after our ongoing save has finished).

Robinho Lazaró's focus on youth development at Colombian wonderkid factory Envigado FC was undeniably yielding results. After four years in charge, he'd led the club to its first Colombian title with a Finalización win, three Apertura runner-up finishes, a Súperliga success and three straight Copa Libertadores campaigns. The main man behind that success to date had been striker Diego Rodríguez, who'd become the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 99 goals in 167 appearances. However, with one year on his contract, he was off to pastures new as he joined Brazilian side Fortaleza for £775k. The main reason for allowing that move was homegrown superstar Marcelo Guzmán. At the age of 18, Guzmán had already scored 56 goals in 90 league games and beat Rodríguez's club record for goals in a season with 38 in 2025. He was now considered the best player at the club along with fellow homegrown players Josep Mejía and Colombia international Juan Manuel Zapata. However, he began dropping hints that he wanted to play in a strong squad, while his agent keeps locking a minimum fee release clause of just £1.6m into his contract negotiations. So it looks like he won't be here much longer. Good news was that James Rodríguez, who began his career at Envigado and rejoined last season, could now be registered for what would be the final season of his career as he announced he'll retire in November. And the potential around Rodríguez was clear as 14 players had 5-star potential led by newly promoted José María Romero, who's being retrained as a centre-back, Ronaldo Bermudez and Ubaldo Venecia. That potential was added to by a fourth-successive stellar youth intake with seven elite talents! The pick of this intake is goalkeeper Roberto Torres, who comes in as possibly the best keeper at the club at the age of 15. Other players to keep an eye out for are striker Fernando Carvajal, who scored a hat-trick against the U20s, and midfielder Diego Mena, along with two more strikers in Jhon Rodríguez and Francisco Ocampo and two wingers in Michel Vélez and William Guzmán. That means Envigado have produced eight 5-star potential strikers in four years! It also takes the club to 29 players with 5-star potential and eight more with 4.5-star potential. Copa Libertadores Qualifiers Last season's efforts apparently weren't enough to reach Copa Libertadores proper as Envigado had to enter the qualification phase. Lazaró still had no idea how it worked, but his team began with a two-legged second qualifying round tie against Argentine side Alte. Brown. They started well as a brace from exciting 17-year-old striker Jhoao Trivino earned a 2-0 home win. And a 3-2 loss in Argentina, courtesy of a Rodríguez penalty, was enough to sneak through 4-3 on aggregate. Next up was Universidad de Chile with a place in the group stage up for grabs. They again started well, winning 3-2 away thanks to goals by Zapata, Rodríguez and winger Diego Betancourth. And they backed it up with an impressive 4-1 thumping at home with braces from Mejía and Trivino - although it was 1-1 until the 84th minute! In other news, Envigado U20s reached the Copa Libertadores Final but lost to O'Higgins 3-2. And promising striker Lucas Florez was top goalscorer and player of the tournament. Súperliga Defence In amongst the continental qualification and the league starting, Envigado had the two-legged defence of their Súperliga title, which is effectively the Colombian supercup, against Independiente. Lazaró had to rotate his exhausted side and they lost the home leg 2-1 then he threw all the kids in away and lost 3-0, but Mena became the club's youngest player aged 15 years and 148 days. Fixture Backlog As Apertura Season 5 Begins James Rodríguez's sensational return to Envigado kicked off properly as he made his second debut on Apertura opening day against Millonarios. He had a solid return, making four key passes, but Guzmán stole the show with a brace to seal a 2-0 win before Millonarios kicked him out of the game. And Rodríguez scored his first goal back at the club in a 4-3 win at Cortuluá led by another Trivino double. Lazaró handed Torres his debut at home to Tolima and they won 3-2, with centre-back Juan Luis Ortiz scoring his first senior goal. But the good start ended as Lazaró rotated players for the continental games and lost 2-0 at Cúcuta and 2-1 at home to Junior before a Trivino double both assisted by Luis Ángel Díaz earned a 2-2 at Deportivo Cali and a wild 3-3 at Magdalena. But fixture overload and fixture rearrangements due to international call-ups caused a massive backlog as while Envigado had played seven games, most other teams in the league had played 11! The plus side was that most of the squad got a 10-day break, which saw them return to action refreshed and Díaz and Mejía earned a 2-0 win at home to Pasto. That rare time off inevitably came back to haunt them as their final 11 games (and two continental games) were shoehorned into a six-week period. Díaz was in the best form of his career, and a brace in a 3-0 win over Bogotá saw him already surpass his goalscoring tally of last season. The fixture congestion forced Lazaró to rotate for three games in five days. A young rotated side drew 1-1 with rivals Águilas Doradas before the first 11 returned to win their game in hand 2-0 at home to Cartagena. That suddenly lifted Envigado to 5th in a busy mid-table. A backup 11 lost 2-0 at Bogotá, and they only dropped to 8th going into the final game. A week-long gap gave Lazaró a chance to rest players and that worked nicely as Guzmán, Mejía and Rodríguez downed América 3-0. That sealed a respectable 6th-place finish, while Envigado were second-top scorers with 34 goals. Copa Libertadores Group Simply qualifying for the group was a massive achievement but further progression might be tough as they drew Argentinian champions Talleres, Fluminense and Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle. They kicked off with a great 2-0 win at Valle thanks as Díaz scored then put in the cross for Jhon Banguera to head home. They couldn't compete with Fluminense, losing 2-0 at home then only 2-1 at Maracana, but did earn a strong 2-2 at home to Talleres with Florez grabbing a late equaliser and an even more impressive 1-1 in Argentina. A tight group saw Talleres draw at home and lose away to Valle, leaving Envigado second and level with Valle as the two teams met in a decider at Polideportivo Sur. Valle were the better team until the hour mark, when Lazaró made four changes that swung the game. They eventually made a chance count as centre-back Heidy Juliao turned home amid a goalmouth scramble late on. That was enough to send Envigado through to the knockout stages for the third year in a row. Considering they knocked out the champions of Argentina, that's some going, and Lazaró was chuffed to bits with his players' efforts. Apertura Post-Season Having snuck into the post-season, Envigado got a group alongside Tolima, Independiente and Petrolera. They started well as Guzmán scored the only goal at Petrolera and at home to Independiente before being denied by a late equaliser at Tolima. Two days later, William Hurtado, who'd scored one goal all season, smashed a hat-trick to inspire a 4-1 win over Petrolera. And Envigado wrapped up the group win with a game to spare as Díaz and Guzmán strikes defeated Tolima 2-1 at home. So Lazaró threw the kids in for the trip to Independiente and got thumped by a club-record 8-0! That teed up an unexpected Apertura Final against Junior. The first leg was at home and Envigado took full advantage, racking up 14 shots to six and Guzmán and Mejía sealed a 2-0 victory. Envigado started the away leg well and moved in front as Juliao headed home Rodríguez's corner. Junior came back into it after thje break but Lazaró went defensive to hold them off. And a 1-1 was enough to win their first-ever Apertura title. FC Envigado were Liga BetPlay Apertura Champions!! First Academy Colombia Call-Up Guzmán earned his first call-up to the Colombia squad in March alongside club captain Zapata, who now had three caps. However, he didn't earn his first cap. As a result, Envigado was now responsible for producing more Colombia players than any other club, with Zapata and Guzmán joining Yaser Asprilla and Parra, who's also just been called up. Other interesting news saw former club director Andrés Figueroa complete a long-rumoured takeover, replacing former president Ramiro Ruíz. And, predictably, he didn't offer any further investment. Gracias, Andrés. Lazaró was hoping for some kind of tycoon takeover as the club was losing money hand over first every month through no fault of his own but, alas, it wasn't to be. Could Lazaró's exciting young Envigado team carry their form into Finalización 2026? And who will they face in the Libertadores knockouts? We're taking a little break over the festive season (as I'll be away then flying to South America) so this will be the last in this series until 9 January! But enjoy your holidays and we'll be back with more Wonderkid Factory soon.

The brutal nature of the Colombian football season had seen Envigado FC play 38 matches at the halfway mark of the 2025 campaign. Robinho Lazaró's young squad was exhausted, so he gave them a week off training between the Apertura and Finalización stages. Unfortunately, the Finalización league began four days after the second leg of the Apertura final, which they lost to Independiente. Their preparations were further affected by losing goalkeeper Felipe Parra, who wanted outrageous money to renew his contract, for £550k to Mexican side Toluca. That saw 19-year-old Andrés Tovar become the club's number one and 16-year-old Jorge Bocanegra, who came through this season's youth intake, promoted to the first team. The entire first-choice 11 is now fully homegrown at Envigado with record goalscorer Diego Rodríguez and midfielders Julián Reyes, Agustín Obregón and Lorenzo Brun the only squad members who developed at different clubs. Finalización Defence Begins Lazaró hugely rotated his side for the first few games of Finalización to address the massive exhaustion. That saw them get battered 5-1 at home to Nacional with four players making debuts, including midfielder José María Romero becoming the youngest player in Envigado history aged 15 years and 220 days. The first team returned at home to Cali and won 2-0 thanks to youth academy graduates star striker Marcelo Guzmán and exciting midfielder Randi Redín's first career goal. The graduates were at it again at Pasto as midfielder Jafe Ostos opened the scoring, Guzmán doubled the lead and winger Felipe Toro - who was proving the value of 20 determination - bagged two in a 4-0 victory. Lazaró rested players for a big continental game (see below), which led to two more defeats including a mad 6-3 defeat at Tolima. And that left Envigado 15th after six games. But Heidy Juliao's goal earned a 1-0 win over Apertura champions Independiente and the centre-back scored again in a 3-2 win at rivals Águilas Doradas. And winger Luis Ángel Díaz scored the only goal at home to bottom side Patriotas, which swiftly had Envigado back into the top eight. But a defeat at Cúcuta, draw at Curtuluá and defeat at home to Millonarios saw them drop to 11th after 12 games. Tricky Copa Libertadores Draw Having qualified from their group for the second successive season, Envigado got another tough draw in the second round. This time, they were up against a South American giant in Boca Juniors. The home leg was up first and Envigado started superbly with Guzmán missing two decent chances. He made one count after half an hour, only for the ref to gift Boca a dubious penalty. Envigado continued to be much the better team but Boca moved 2-1 ahead against the run of play with a long-range strike. But an unlikely hero dragged them level as Jhon Banguera stabbed home. Lazaró made five subs and one of them delivered as Redín ran down the wing and put a second goal on a plate for Guzmán in the 89th minute. They went defensive and held on for what has to be the biggest win in club history! However, any kind of result at La Bombonera would far outstrip that victory. Lazaró rested the first 11 for the league game in between to keep them fresh. He took a more cautious approach that saw Boca have lots of shots but no major chances, while Díaz hit the post from a rare Envigado attack. But Boca eventually made the breakthrough, courtesy of a suspicious VAR call, quickly added another and got a third as Lazaró pushed for a late goal. But Lazaró was massively proud of his player's efforts against a far superior Boca, who have 17 players earning more than Envigado's top-paid player. James Rodríguez Comes Home Envigado hero James Rodríguez was repeatedly praising the club's youngsters, so when he was released by Inter Milan, Lazaró jumped at the chance to offer him a trial. And, for some reason, James was actually interested in signing. So Lazaró ripped up his youth development approach to bring him in as an inspirational mentor to the club's exciting youngsters. However, a slight admin issue due to signing outside the transfer window meant that Rodríguez couldn't be registered for the Finalización campaign! Rodríguez's presence alone had an instant impact as Envigado won 3-1 at Petrolera then a Guzmán brace led a 3-0 win at home to Once Caldas. That took the striker two goals behind D Rodríguez's club record of 36 goals in a season. He edged one goal closer with the second in a 2-0 win at Quindío but then picked up an ankle ligament injury that ruled him out for seven weeks. His replacement D Rodríguez reminded the fans what they were missing as he bagged a new club record four-goal haul in a 4-0 thumping of Cartagena that lifted Envigado back into the top eight. He scored again as Josep Mejía bagged a brace in a 3-1 win over Pereira, which suddenly lifted Envigado into a title race! A draw at Once Caldas left Envigado two points off leaders Tolima going into a thrilling final-day battle for top spot. Envigado were at home to Santa Fe and nicked a 2-2 in the last few minutes, which saw them drop to fifth place in the Finalización table. Finalización Post-Season Envigado got a tough post-season group alongside Tolima, Millonarios and Junior, which wasn't helped by several defensive injuries. They began by drawing 1-1 at home to Junior then lost 1-0 at Tolima and 2-1 at Junior, in which Guzmán scored on his comeback to equal Rodríguez's record. He scored his record-breaking 37th of the season at Millonarios, despite the team falling to a 3-1 defeat, then extended it with the opener in a 2-2 draw at home to Millonarios, which saw Envigado set a new club record seven games without winning. That streak was snapped as D Rodríguez came off the bench to bag a late brace that downed Tolima 3-2, in what could be his final game for the club. But Envigado finished bottom of their semi-final group as the Colombian season caught up with a young squad. However, they did top the overall Liga BetPlay Dimayor table for the first time, racking up 95 points and 106 goals from 54 games. And with 77 conceded, there's no denying that Envigado were a fun watch. Guzmán set a new league record with an average rating of 7.34 followed by Toro's 7.32, which equalled Mejía's previous record. Guzmán was second-top scorer with 32 in 41 and, as a result, was named Colombian Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. While Díaz topped the assists with 17. Academy Products Reaching New Levels Lazaró's achievements in developing his youth players were rewarded as Juan Manuel Zapata became the first Envigado player to be called up to the Colombia squad in August. And he made his Colombia debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw at Bolivia. Prior to that, Guzmán had been linked with a call-up, but at 18 it seems a little soon for him. That said, the striker has been exceptional this season. He scored a new club record 38 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions along with six assists and a 7.36 average rating. Not bad for an 18-year-old! D Rodríguez also did well with 23 goals in 43 games. While other key performers included Toro getting 16 goals and 12 assists, Mejía scoring 12 with 13 assists and Díaz a club-high 19 assists with five goals. William Hurtado got 11 assists from midfield and winger Diego Betancourth scored six and got eight assists, but was poor in the second half of the campaign. This was another slid season for Envigado, topping the Apertura league and coming runner-up in the post-season and reaching an eighth successive post-season in Finalización. Lazaró's efforts saw Envigado hand him a new three-year contract worth £2.5k a week until 2028. But, in a strange set of circumstances, the club President immediately began takeover talks with a local entrepreneur that swiftly collapsed. Would a takeover happen in the summer? And could Lazaró build on this success in 2026?

Robinho Lazaró and his young Colombian superstars paraded the Liga BetPlay Finalización trophy through the streets of Envigado as they celebrated the club's first-ever piece of silverware with their adoring fans. The club's young stars had done the unthinkable and won the league playoffs in the second half of the 2024 campaign. That success also saw Envigado qualify for Copa Libertadores for the second time, fresh from qualifying for the second round in what was a truly historic 2024 season. For the second summer in a row, Envigado's oldest player departed as 26-year-old centre-back Santiago Norena, who had less than 12 months on his contract, joined LA Galaxy for £1.3m. That took Envigado's bank balance past £10m for the first time and left Lazaró with a squad average age of just 19. 11 of the 25-man squad are teenagers, 22 of them are 21 or younger and 21 of those players have at least 4.5-star potential. That doesn't include the mass of talent in the under-20s squad, which was added to by a third stellar youth intake. The pick of this intake was attacking midfielder Ronaldo Bermudez, along with three further 5-star potential talents in striker Álvaro Pena, midfielder José María Romero and right-back Ubaldo Venecia. As a result, the youth team now has 23 players with at least 4.5-star potential and 14 of those have 5-star potential! Lazaró was sticking with his 4-3-3 formation that had worked so nicely through his first three seasons. Marcelo Guzmán is now firmly the first-choice striker with 4-star ability compared to Diego Rodríguez's 3.5-stars and he looks like a really special 17-year-old. New captain Juan Manuel Zapata and midfielder Josep Mejía, who's now the best player at the club, remain the crucial pieces that make this team tick. First-Ever Súperliga Final Envigado's Finalización title sent them into their first Súperliga BetPlay Dimayor Final against Apertura winners and bogey side Tolima. Ludicrously, but absolutely typical of Colombian football, the two-legged final was forced into the early Apertura fixtures with two days off between matches. The first leg saw Envigado at home and Rodríguez's late penalty earned a 1-1 draw from a tight game. Lazaró had to rotate for the return leg but they did well to hold Tolima to another 1-1 draw, largely thanks to 12 saves from Felipe Parra! So, for the second time in a few months, the two teams went to penalties. And again it was Envigado who held their nerve with Parra the fitting hero with two penalty saves. Envigado FC won their first-ever Súperliga BetPlay Dimayor! Liga BetPlay Apertura Season 4 Kicks Off Envigado are now predicted to finish ninth with odds of 50/1 to win Liga BetPlay Dimayor. While Guzmán and Parra are included in the media's dream 11. They began Apertura with a tough test at Nacional, who won the Finalización league last season. But their star strikers delivered as Guzmán scored the opener then Rodríguez nicked a late winner, with both goals created by 6ft 5in winger Diego Betancourth. Envigado's first chance to celebrate their maiden title at Polideportivo Sur came against Pasto. And they did so in style with a 3-1 win, which Zapata started with an early strike before Guzmán and Mejía wrapped up all three points. But they hit new levels at Bogotá as, despite going 1-0 down after 30 seconds, Guzmán bagged a hat-trick and Betancourth scored two and made another in a 7-2 away victory. That set Envigado up for a great start, which continued by beating Junior 2-1 and Guzmán scoring both in a 2-0 win at Deportivo Cali. Lazaró had to fully rotate for Tolima at home, which came three days after the Súperliga success, and another young starlet stepped up as striker Jhoao Trivino's hat-trick inspired an exceptional 4-3 win. But the unbeaten start ended as a rotated side lost 2-0 at home to rivals Águilas Doradas. Lazaró marked 200 games in charge of Envigado - in nearly three-and-a-half seasons! - with a pretty tame 0-0 at home to Cúcuta. And he was getting concerned that match overload was starting to catch up with the team. But Rodríguez returned to form by bagging a hat-trick and creating the other for Mejía in a 4-2 win over Cortuluá, in which last season's intake star midfielder Jafe Ostos impressed on his debut. They suffered their annual defeat at Millonarios but recovered with an easy 2-0 win over bottom-side Petrolera. Ostos scored his first career goal to nick a 2-2 at Once Caldas before a disappointing 3-1 loss at Patriotas. Nevertheless, Envigado had managed to hold onto top spot and led surprise package Cúcuta by four points and Millonarios by six points with five games remaining. A massively rotated side drew 0-0 at Cartagena before a terrible 3-0 defeat at home to América. But they recovered thanks to a Guzmán double to win 3-0 at Pereira, which left them two points clear with two games to go. Guzmán was the hero again as he scored the only goal to down Once Caldas 1-0 while Cúcuta and América drew, which handed first place to Envigado! Lazaró threw in the kids for the final game at Santa Fe and they still won 2-1 with Trivino scoring again. That saw them eventually finish a comfortable seven points clear of América with easily the lowest league-winning points total so far in this save. 17-year-old Guzmán was second-top scorer with 13 in 17 and got the highest average rating of 7.37 - what a player this kid is! Copa Libertadores Group Stage Envigado were in Pot 2 this time, which saw them drawn alongside holders Botafogo, Ecuadorian side Emelec and a qualifier that turned out to be Venezuelan team Deportivo Táchira. Their campaign began in Ecuador, where they absolutely destroyed Emelec with a club record 6-0 victory led by a Guzmán hat-trick! They backed that up with a 2-0 win at home to Táchira with goals by Mejía and winger Felipe Toro. Possibly the most high-profile game in Envigado history saw the South American champions visit Polideportivo Sur as Botafogo came to town. Could they win? Nope, Botafogo thumped them 4-1, with a brace from former Man UFC left-back Alex Telles and a goal from their £26m striker, then beat them 3-0 in Brazil. But with two games remaining, Envigado were four points clear of both Táchira and Emelec. Their qualification hopes took a blow with a 3-1 defeat in at Táchira. But they booked their place in the knockouts by defeating Emelec 2-0 with a Betancourth strike and homegrown centre-back Heidy Juliao's first-ever goal. Apertura post-season Envigado got a tough-looking post-season group of Millonarios, Nacional and Cartagena. They started it well by thrashing Cartagena 4-0 led by a Guzmán brace and Mejía and Juliao goals but the squad would be tested by some ridiculous scheduling. they claimed a surprise 4-0 win at Millonarios then two days later Toro's goal nicked a 1-1 at home to Millonarios. The first team got a few days off as Lazaró threw the youth team into a two-legged cup tie that was crazily scheduled in the middle of the post-season! And that helped them nick a 1-0 win at Nacional thanks to Toro's late strike, which moved them six points clear with two games to play. Another two days later they welcomed Nacional to town and a fully rotated side lost 1-0. The final game took them to Cartagena and a Guzmán double ensured they topped Group A. This time there was no final against Tolima, but only because they lost to in-form Independiente on the final day of Group B. The team was absolutely exhausted but Lazaró decided to go with his strongest available 11 for the away first leg. But it didn't work as they got dominated and lost 3-1. They couldn't get going at home and eventually lost 1-0 to a late goal, so Independiente claimed the Apertura title. Massive Youth Promise At Envigado The poster boy of Envigado's youth development efforts is Guzmán, who's already bagged 23 goals in 29 games this season. And he only celebrated his 18th birthday three days before the Apertura Final second leg! Wingers Luis Ángel Díaz and Toro have impressed, with the former getting 10 assists and the latter eight goals and six assists, while Mejía has seven goals and nine assists. Juliao joined Guzmán on the NxGn 2025 list, with Guzmán in 25th and Juliao 34th and the award won by 18-year-old Endrick. And the youth excellence is highlighted by Envigado topping talent production in Liga BetPlay Dimayor.

The depth of talent at Envigado FC could not be argued against. Robinho Lazaró's young charges qualified for Copa Libertadores for the first time in club history by winning the Liga BetPlay Finalización league stage in 2023 - but, crucially, not the playoff stage that sees the trophies handed out. The summer of 2024 saw plenty of change, starting with the club's oldest player Jesús Hernández departing as his contract demands were astronomical and swiftly retiring aged just 31. Six more players left along with a host of backroom staff, while River Plate came in with a £2m offer for right-back Santiago Jiménez, who only had 18 months on his contract. That, combined with bagging £2.6m for competing in Copa Libertadores, boosted the bank balance to a healthy £7m and slashed a further £10k off the weekly wage spend of £40k - which was half the £78k wage budget. Centre-back Santiago Norena is now the oldest player at the club at the ripe old age of 25, followed by three 23-year-olds in Juan Manuel Zapata, Felipe Parra and Diego Rodríguez. 20 of the 25-man squad are 21 or under, 11 are teenagers and there are four 16-year-olds in the first-team! For context, 3 stars is a good Liga BetPlay player and most of the first 11 have at least 3-star ability barring the full-backs. All of the first-team squad have at least 4-star potential, 13 have 5-stars and 11 have 4.5-stars. That promise was added to by another superb youth intake containing six 5-star potential "elite talents." The star prospect is supposedly midfielder Jafe Ostos but striker Jhoao Trivino bagged a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over the under-20s. Other names to keep an eye on are strikers José Ruiz and Carlos Mosquera, attacking midfielder Randi Redín and goalkeeper Jorge Bocanegra. Considering four 5-star strikers have come through the academy in the last two seasons, there could be a change of tactic required in the future. But for now, the tactic remains the same with Rodríguez flanked by 6ft 5in winger Diego Betancourth and newly promoted Luis Ángel Díaz. There's also new full-backs in 18-year-old Emanuel Londono backed up by Heiler Mosquera on the left and 16-year-old Malcom Mina Camacho supported by Julián Palacio on the right. But the key to the team is probably the rock Zapata in the Anchor role. Third Liga BetPlay Apertura begins Envigado's chances have improved with the bookies now backing them to finish 15th and 500/1 to top the league. Millonarios are title favourites at 15/8 followed by Tolima (5/1), Atlético (11/2), Junior fC (6/1) and Independiente Medellín (11/1). The new season began with a thriller at La Equidad, who twice led in the first half only for Josep Mejía to equalise both times. The impressive midfielder laid on Rodríguez to put Envigado ahead but the hosts quickly equalised and it finished 3-3. But they picked up a first win in their first home game as Mejía crossed for the giant Betancourth to head the opener then Díaz scored his first senior goal to seal a dominant 2-0 win over Santa Fe. Rodríguez picked up an injury but no worries as 16-year-old sensation Marcelo Guzmán replaced him and scored in a 2-0 win at Pereira. The strong start continued with consecutive 3-0 home wins against newly promoted Real Cartagena with goals from both centre-backs Norena and Jhon Banguera then Pasto inspired by Mejía's hat-trick. The midfielder continued his stellar form by scoring his seventh goal in seven games in a 2-1 win at Bogotá before a 2-2 with Cúcuta took Envigado to a new club record 12 games unbeaten in all competitions. But they weren't happy with that, extending the run with a 3-0 win at Petrolera then Mejía and midfielder Daniel Zapata's first senior goal sealed a 2-0 victory over rivals Águilas Doradas. They claimed a credible 2-2 at Atlético Nacional then Mejía scored the only goal at home to Jaguares de Córdoba and D Zapata and exciting winger Felipe Toro nicked a 2-0 win at Patriotas. After 13 games, Envigado were still unbeaten but behind Millonarios, who were in inspired form. Two big home games in three days tested their credentials as they earned a 2-2 with 3rd-place Tolima then fell to a first defeat 2-1 against Millonarios, who basically wrapped up first place in the league. Rodríguez ended the campaign in inspired form, scoring consecutive braces in a draw at Junior and a 2-1 home win over Cali then scoring the winner at Once Caldas. The league stage concluded with a disappointing 2-1 loss at home to 19th-place Patriotas, in which they rebroke their low attendance record as just 2,500 people showed up, but recovered with a 2-1 win at Independiente with goals from both wingers Betancourth and Toro. That sealed an impressive third-place finish behind the dominant Millonarios and Tolima. Mejía was the best player in the league with an outstanding 7.48 average rating from 18 games, in which he scored 12 and got seven assists. Apertura post-season The post-season group saw Envigado take on Millonarios, Independiente and Pasto, which looked tricky. It began with a tough test at home to league winners Millonarios but Lazaró's chicos did well to hold on for a 0-0 despite 38% possession. Guzmán scored the winner in a 3-2 win at Pasto as Lazaró rested Rodríguez, but the main man returned to bag a hat-trick at Independiente and send Envigado top of the group at the halfway mark. Rodríguez also came up with a huge goal to nick a 1-0 win at Millonarios. And that strike saw the 23-year-old become Envigado's record league goalscorer with 67 in his three seasons at the club. But he wasn't done there as he again bagged a hat-trick at home to Pasto to clinch the group with a game to spare! So Lazaró fully rotated for the final game and they lost 3-0 to Independiente. But topping this group was a massive achievement - while Millonarios' board was so incensed by finishing third that they sacked their manager after four years in charge! That took Envigado into the Apertura Final against Tolima, who they'd still only beaten once in 13 meetings under Lazaró. That streak continued as they drew the home leg 1-1 thanks to Rodríguez's late equaliser then lost 2-0 away, so the title continued to elude Lazaró. But they did earn £500k for reaching the Final. Meanwhile, Rodríguez's post-season goals saw become the leading league goalscorer with 18 in 26 and move top of the average rating (7.41) and player of the match award (7) charts. First-ever Copa Libertadores campaign Envigado went into the Copa Libertadores group stage draw in Pot 1, which saw a relatively favorable group alongside Peruvian team Municipal, Bolivian side Jorge Wilstermann and a qualifier that turned out to be Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC. Their first-ever Copa Libertadores game was at home to Municipal and they started well as a brace from midfielder Carlos Paternina and a late Guzmán goal sealed a 3-1 victory. They then had wingers Betancourth and Díaz to thank for goals that sealed a 2-1 win in Bolivia before midfielder William Hurtado and Betancourth claimed a point in Ecuador. That had Envigado topping their group at the midway point with two home games to come. And a dominant performance in the first of those sent them through, beating Barcelona 4-1 - although they had to wait as three goals came after the 88th minute! Envigado were one point away from qualification heading into the final two games, and they completed it at the first time of asking as Hurtado and Rodríguez downed Jorge Wilstermann 2-1. Lazaró rotated the side fully to give the first 11 a much-needed rest and it backfired with a 4-0 defeat at Municipal! But it didn't matter as they'd already wrapped up the group. The Future Is Bright At Envigado Midway through his third season at Envigado, there was plenty of exciting talent for Lazaró to work with. His first team was packed with prospects like the exciting Mina Camacho, Betancourth, Díaz, Mejía and Toro all getting regular football with even more to come. But the best prospect of the lot had to be Guzmán, who became Envigado's first player to be named on the NxGn list, making it to number 42 in NxGn 2024. Could Envigado take their good performances in Apertura into Finalización 2024?

Despite not signing any players, Robinho Lazaró was quietly building a squad brimming with potential at Colombian wonderkid factory Envigado FC. His young squad continued to defy expectations, securing a third successive post-season in the 2023 Apertura stage. But after 18 months in charge, the first signing of Lazaró's reign - and still the only one - was a controversial one as midfielder Juan Pablo Martínez arrived on a free transfer from rivals Águilas Doradas. Straight into Finalización Envigado had a one-week break to pick themselves up for the Finalización stage of the 2023 campaign. They began well with a solid 1-1 at Junior FC thanks to a penalty by striker Diego Rodríguez, who then scored back-to-back braces in home wins over Independiente Medellín and Petrolera. Rodríguez scored again in a 2-1 win in another home game against Pereira, in which Jesús Hernández nicked all three points with a 95th-minute strike. The strong start ended with a 2-0 loss at Tolima, who Envigado still hadn't beaten in 10 meetings! Hernández's early brace inspired a 2-1 win over Once Caldas then exciting striker Marcelo Guzmán scored and assisted the other on his second start in a 2-0 win at Bogotá. He's also scored 42 in 16 games for the under-20s and looks like being a special talent. Strong form against rivals Águilas Doradas continued with a 2-0 win that sent Envigado top of the league. And that inspired the young team onto a stunning run of form, beating Bucaramanga 1-0 then Cali and Patriotas 2-0 before a 2-2 at Águilas took them 10 games unbeaten - one short of the all-time club record. And they equalled the record with another 2-0 win over bottom side Quindío with winger Diego Betancourth and Rodríguez scoring the goals. But they faced a tough task to break it as they travelled to Millonarios and lost 1-0. That left Envigado 2nd with four games remaining, with four points separating the top four. They got back to winning ways as midfielder Carlos Paternina scored his first goal for the club as Rodríguez bagged his 30th of the season to down La Equidad 2-0. In that game, they set a new club record low attendance of 2,504 - but that doesn't come close to the league record low of 18 when Real Cartagena played Doradas in April 2011! A 4-0 hammering of América led by a Betancourth brace saw Envigado return to the top of the league with two games to go. Guzmán nicked a 1-1 at home to Atlético to tee up an exciting final day with Tolima leading the way on goal difference and Millonarios two points back - but those two played against each other. Envigado held up their end of the bargain by hammering Pasto 4-0 away led by a Rodríguez brace. While Millonarios did them a favour by beating Tolima 3-1, so Envigado finished top of the Finalización table! However, this being Colombia, that of course means absolutely nothing! However, this massive overachievement should mean that Envigado qualify for next season's Copa Libertadores for the first time in club history. Finalización post-season Envigado got a group with Junior, Independiente and, yet again, Tolima! They began with a 0-0 at home to Junior before the unthinkable happened - they beat Tolima 2-0 away with goals from Hernández and Guzmán scoring late off the bench. However, their final four games took place over eight days! First up was a big 2-0 win over Independiente with both goals scored by Rodríguez and assisted by Betancourth. Three days later, Carlos Bacca led Junior to a 3-0 win, but two days later 10-man Independiente were defeated by a Santiago Norena header and Rodríguez penalty. That put Envigado and Junior level on 10 points heading into the final game, but Junior had a superior goal difference. Another two days later (with one day of rest!) an exhausted team started terribly as Tolima scored after seven minutes. An angry team talk fired the boys up and Mejía got them level just after the break but they couldn't find a winner and Tolima scored anyway to win the group. Junior went on to lose to Millonarios in the Final. Envigado also finished the overall Colombian league in third place, some way behind Tolima - who presumably were absolutely knackered by the end of the season as they didn't win any of their final five games - and Millonarios, who both racked up over 100 points. However, the first-place finish in Finalización represented an all-time record high for Envigado, which is pretty impressive! Rodríguez finished the campaign as the second-top scorer in the league, with his 27 in 47 only bettered by Tolima's Rentería bagging 28 in 47. However, he won the second phase top goalscorer award with 19 in 23. Goalkeeper Felipe Parra topped the clean sheets chart with 25 and midfielder Juan Manuel Zapata got the second-most player of the match awards with six. Season Review For some reason, we don't get the end of year season review feature in Colombia, which is a little bit annoying. But this has been a fantastic season for Envigado - finishing in the top three overall and winning the second phase league tournament (which obviously doesn't count as a trophy success!) Rodríguez led the way with a new club record 36 goals in 56 appearances plus 6 assists and a 7.20 average rating. He was followed by Hernández scoring 9 and assisting a club-high 13 with a 7.11 average rating from 55 games. Behind them, midfielder Josep Mejía scored and assisted 7, most of which were in the first few games of the season, Hurtado scored 7 but only got 1 assist, Guzmán and Norena scored 5, and 6ft 5in winger Betancourth got 7 assists and scored 4. Guzmán, by the way, bagged 59 goals in 27 starts for the under-20s and will be pushing for more first-team minutes next season to try and fulfil his massive talent. Could Lazaró continue to overachieve with this exciting Envigado squad? And will there be even more promising youngsters following in Guzmán's footsteps?

Robinho Lazaró massively exceeded all expectations in his first season at the helm of Colombian wonderkid factory Envigado FC. His massive overachievement saw one of Colombia's top teams Junior FC offer him an interview in the summer of 2022, which he swiftly rejected. His first proper summer at Envigado saw several older players depart the club with Lazaró promoting a host of prospects to replace them, including winger Diego Betancourth, right-back Julián Palacio, midfielder Julián Reyes and 17-year-old left-back Emanuel Londono. He also focused on signing up top prospects like goalkeeper Andrés Tovar, centre-back Jhon Banguera and midfielder Josep Mejía to their first professional contracts. That youth focus was boosted by a stunning first youth intake containing 11 "elite talents," of which at least six had 5-star potential and five had 4.5-star potential. The pick of those players was apparently 6ft 3in striker Marcelo Guzmán, along with wingers Juan Carlos Sierra and Yohani Sequera, centre-backs Juan Luis Ortiz and Heidy Juliao and full-back Malcom Mina Camacho. Second Apertura kicks off The bookies no longer have Envigado as the favourites to go down, lifting their odds to 800/1 and predicting an 18th-place finish. Atlético remain favourites at 12/5 followed by Tolima (10/3), Millonarios (5/1), Junior FC (8/1) and América de Cali and Independiente (11/1). The season began very nicely as Lazaró showed Junior what they were missing out on with Mejía, striker Bryan Sinisterra and centre-back Santiago Norena sealing a 3-0 win. However, they then lost three on the bounce at Independiente, Petrolera and Pereira, although Mejía scored two more and striker Diego Rodríguez scored on his comeback from a four-month layoff at Pereira. And another defeat followed at home to Tolima with Mejía making it four in five from midfield. A late Rodríguez brace stopped the rot to earn a point at Once Caldas and they went one better at home to Bogotá as Betancourth's first senior goal and a Norena header sealed a 2-0 victory. That was backed up with a rival victory at Águilas Doradas then a solid 3-0 win over Santa Fe thanks to Majía, Rodríguez and Reyes' first senior goal. Envigado's form was a little all over the place but a 2-0 win on Lazaró's 40th birthday lifted them into 7th place heading into the final two games of Apertura. They nicked a point at underperforming Atlético then welcomed Pasto to town on the final day. Envigado dominated and took a deserved lead through a sensational William Hurtado goal, running from the halfway line to tuck the ball past the keeper. Lazaró made a big call with 20 minutes to go, bringing 15-year-old Guzmán on for his debut - and it worked as the striker scored the second goal! That saw Guzmán become both the youngest ever Envigado player and goalscorer aged 15 years and 338 days. That saw Envigado just about secure a third successive post-season semi-final group stage under Lazaró, finishing in 7th place with 31 points from their 20 games. Copa Sudamericana Envigado's overachievement last season saw them qualify for the Copa Sudamericana preliminary round. A massive rival clash with Independiente Medellín began with a 2-1 defeat in the away leg, but an early Rodríguez double was enough for a 2-0 win and progress to the group stage. And they got drawn in a group with Brazilian giants Santos, Peruvian team Cienciano and Bolivian side Oriente Petrolero. They began at home to Cienciano, who dominated the game and seemed to be cruising to a 1-0 win only for a defender to divert winger Jesús Hernández's cross into his own net and earn Envigado's first continental point. They did well to only lose 2-0 at Santos then a brilliant turnaround in Bolivia saw Rodríguez bag a hat-trick to inspire a 3-2 victory. But the squad was exhausted and Lazaró had to rotate, which saw them fall to a defeat at Cienciano then lose 4-1 at home to Santos to unsurprisingly be knocked out. Apertura Post-Season Possibly the toughest post-season draw so far saw Envigado take on Apertura league winner Tolima, Deportivo Cali and Millonarios. But they started well as Rodríguez's penalty edged a 1-0 win at home to Cali. They then had two games in three days against Tolima and lost both 2-1 but Guzmán and Mina Camacho made their full debuts in the second game, which saw Camacho usurp his fellow academy graduate as the club's youngest player aged 15 years and 220 days. A hugely rotated side pulled off a huge result by beating Millonarios 2-1 at home with late goals from Sinisterra and Mina Camacho, who scored a 93rd-minute penalty to also usurp Guzmán as the club's youngest goalscorer! But a 2-1 defeat at Cali and a 1-0 loss at Millonarios saw Envigado prop up the group. Promising youth to the forefront Lazaró's overachievements saw the Envigado board hand him a new three-year contract worth £2.5k-per-week, keeping him at the Wonderkid Factory until December 2025. They also agreed to send him on a course to study for his Continental Pro Licence for the next 12 months. The squad had quietly seen a decent overhaul in the last 18 months with Hernández, who just turned 30 and has been less impressive this season, now the only player aged over 25. 16 of the 24-man squad are now 21 or under and 10 are teenagers. While the club now has 14 players with 5-star potential, 21 with up to 4.5-star potential and nine more with up to 4-star potential. Now that's what Lazaró called a Wonderkid Factory! Could Lazaró's youthful squad continue to impress in the second half of the 2023 campaign?

Robinho Lazaró enjoyed a solid start to life in charge of Colombia's leading Wonderkid Factory. He'd led a young team fancied for relegation - which he thought was very much misguided on the media's part - into the top six halfway through Liga BetPlay Dimayor Apertura. Tricky conclusion to Apertura The good form continued with the best performance of Lazaró's tenure so far as 21-year-old striker Diego Rodríguez bagged a brace in a 3-0 win over fourth-place Independiente Santa Fe. English midfielder George Saunders scored in that game and did so again to claim a point at Once Caldas before a pretty dire 0-0 with Patriotas FC. They were much improved as Rodríguez scored the winner in a 2-1 success at Unión Magdalena, which lifted them up to 5th in an increasingly tight table. A really tough run followed, starting at home to fellow overachievers Jaguares de Córdoba, who were predicted to finish 15th but currently sat in 4th. But it was the visitors who edged a tight game 1-0 despite Lazaró throwing everything at them and getting no reward in the later stages. Another tight game saw Envigado go to one of Colombia's big boys and only lose 3-2 to an injury-time winner at Millonarios, which saw winger Juan Daniel Tegue score his first goal for the club. The goals flowed again in a wild 4-3 defeat to second-place Tolima, who'd led 4-0 after 51 minutes, before snapping a three-game losing streak with a stunning 5-1 win at struggling América de Cali led by a Rodríguez hat-trick. That lifted Envigado into the top eight heading into the final game of the Apertura stage, so a point at home to mid-table La Equidad would send them into the post-season semis. The visitors obviously scored their first shot, Envigado responded through two goals in a minute before the break from Saunders and Jesús Hernández then somehow managed to concede immediately. Rodríguez restored the lead just after half-time and swiftly doubled his tally to secure a huge victory. That victory secured a surprise 7th-place finish in the Apertura stage. Only Tolima scored more than Envigado's 33 goals and they only finished six points off 2nd place, which is quite the performance for a team massively fancied for relegation! Hernández was the league's best player with a 7.47 average rating and a league-high 11 assists. Exciting Apertura post-season Envigado got a semi-final draw alongside league toppers Atlético Nacional, Junior FC and rivals Águilas Doradas. They began at Atlético and played out of their skins to outshoot the league favourites by 13 shots to 9 and draw 2-2. The same result followed at home to Junior, who obviously scored both their shots on target to lead 2-0 before Rodríguez and exciting winger Déiler Córdoba's first senior goal grabbed a deserved point. And a late Hernández goal nicked a 1-0 win at home to Águilas Doradas to send Envigado top of the group at the halfway stage! Five days separated three games so Lazaró had to fully rotate for the trip to Junior, which they were unlucky to lose 3-2 to a brace from Carlos Bacca. THE Carlos Bacca of 52 Colombia caps fame, which Lazaró thought was a bit unfair! The first 11 returned at home to Atlético and a quiet game saw nothing happen until the 81st minute when Hernández won a penalty. Substitute Saunders took responsibility and calmly slammed it home before young striker Bryan Sinisterra sealed a famous victory. Junior drew at Doradas, who scored twice in the last three minutes, to put Envigado top of the pile heading into the final game at their rivals. Annoyingly, star defender Francisco Báez was suspended and it showed as Envigado lost 3-1. But luckily, Junior lost 3-1 at home to Atlético so Envigado just about won the tightest of semi-final groups! That took them into a massively unexpected first Apertura Final in club history against Tolima, who won all six games in their group. The home leg was up first and Envigado started well but got blown away by two goals in a minute before Hernández swiftly gave them some hope. And nothing happened in the second half! They played superbly in the second half to hold a dominant Tolima to 0-0 but couldn't find a way through as Lazaró went attacking late on. And Tolima won Liga BetPlay Apertura. First transfers ahead of Finalización stage The first transfer of Lazaró's reign saw holding midfielder Ivan Rojas join Pachuca for £1.2m, which just about cleared the club's rapidly accumulating debt. While Saunders' contract was one of many whose contract was expiring, he received offers from England and moved to Derby for £27k. But there were still no arrivals at the club. That was because Lazaró placed even greater focus on youth, having already seen exciting goalkeeper Andrés Tovar become the club's youngest-ever player aged just 16 years 12 days in a cup game. 18-year-old midfielder William Hurtado stepped up to the first team along with 19-year-old Santiago Duque. Envigado were still overwhelming favourites to be relegated going into Torneo Finalización. But they started well as Rodríguez's penalty nicked a 1-0 at home to Deportivo Cali before a 0-0 at Bucaramanga and another 1-0 at rivals Doradas thanks to Hernández's first-half strike. The games were coming thick and fast but Envigado continued to excel with a 4-1 win at home to Pereira led by a Hernández brace and both Duque and Hurtado scoring their first senior goals. Hurtado swiftly added his second to inspire a 1-0 win over Patriotas to temporarily take his team top of the league for the first time! But that didn't last as they lost for the first time 1-0 at Independiente Medellín and 3-1 at leaders Atlético. Rodíguez bagged a hat-trick to down Petrolaro 3-2 but then a fully rotated side lost 3-2 at Cortulúa with his replacement Sinisterra scoring both. But they largely relied on Rodríguez's goals, as the striker scored in three consecutive games in 1-0 home wins over Pasto and Once Caldas and a 1-1 at Patriotas. That began a run of six successive draws, including solid 1-1s at home to Millonarios then 2nd-place Tolima and a 2-2 at home to América thanks to a Rodríguez brace. That left Envigado clinging on to 8th place going into the final game of the season. But a Hurtado goal ended their six-game winless streak at La Equidad and sealed a 7th-place finish. Finalización post-season Envigado lost main striker Rodríguez to a torn calf muscle that ruled him out for four months in the final game of the season. They got a tough semi-final group alongside Tolima, Junior and Millonarios. They again fell foul to Bacca in game one as his brace secured a 2-1 win with Sinisterra scoring in place of Rodríguez. Star player Hernández also got injured and they struggled with the relentless games every three days. But 18-year-olds Hurtado and Josep Mejía earned a surprise 2-1 win at Millonarios, who went on to win the group and beat Independiente in the Final. Rodríguez finished third-top scorer in the league with 26 in 44 across both tournaments, trailing Bacca by four goals. That saw Rodríguez named the league's Young Player of the Year. While Hernández came second in Player of the Year and Lazaró picked up Manager of the Year! 2022 Season Review Lazaró was pretty happy with his first season in charge, claiming Manager of the Year and performing well beyond all expectations. As a result, he was already ticking off board objectives, establishing the club as a top-tier side and developing the best youth system in Colombia four years ahead of schedule after the board agreed to his request for new youth facilities. The star man this season has probably been Hernández, who scored 13 and got 16 assists from the left wing. But 21-year-old striker Rodríguez has led the line impressively, racking up a new club record 26 goals in 44 games. He was ably supported by Sinisterra, who scored seven in 44, of which just 10 were starts, while Hurtado scored five from midfield and Tegue got a decent nine assists. Developing youth is the main aim of this save and young players have been key this season. Three teenagers are already first-team regulars and more than half the first-team squad is 21 or under and several of the older players are leaving in the summer. While there's also supposedly an exciting first youth intake to look forward to. The challenge now was for Lazaró to continue developing his young prospects and he'd probably be promoting a few more from the under 20s over the summer break. Could he match the overachievement of season one?

In my series of "teams to manage" guides across various guises of Football Manager, one team has consistently popped up as the best team to manage in South America. So now, having failed in my first FM23 challenge, it's time to take my own advice and take control of production at South America's greatest wonderkid factory. During a previous incarnation, Robinho Lazaró had led a successful campaign dominating South American and European football. But now he had his eye very much on honing the promising youth in his homeland of Colombia. In that former life, Lazaró had excelled in spotting and developing wonderkids from all over the world. Now, he wanted to bring that expertise to one specific club. Decades into his previous adventure, Colombia became World Champions and Wonderkid Factory Envigado became one of the best teams in the country. So Lazaró's new challenge was to take control of the ultimate Wonderkid Factory, oversee the production of their prodigious youth development and snap up wonderkids from all around the world. The overarching mission is to take Envigado to the top of Colombian football, challenge in South America's continental competitions and build Colombia to become the best league and nation in the world. All of the above may be a tough ask, but it was a challenge Lazaró was very passionate about. Who are Envigado? Envigado Fútbol Club is a top-tier Colombian side based in the town of Envigado, which is located in the southeast of Medellín. The city is widely regarded for having some of the highest standards of living in Colombia and low levels of "people with unmet basic needs." Envigado FC was founded on 14 October 1989 and became the first team to be promoted to Colombia's top tier, Liga BetPlay, in 1991. The club suffered relegation from the top tier in 2006 but bounced back a year later led by the talents of a certain James Rodríguez. And it has remained in the top tier ever since. Envigado has never been champion of Colombia, with a record-high finish of 4th in Liga BetPlay in 2005. The club is best known for its strong youth development, bringing through the likes of Colombian internationals like James Rodríguez, Fredy Guarín, Juan Fernando Quintero and Mateus Uribe, which has led to it becoming known as Cantera de Héroes, or the Quarry of Heroes. But it also boasts eye-catching orange kits, for which it is referred to as El Equipo Naranja or The Orange Team. Envigado play at the 14,000-capacity Polideportivo Sur, which was built in 1978 before the club even existed! It also has a fierce local rivalry with fellow Liga BetPlay side Águilas Dorados and other rivalries with tier two side Leones FC and fellow top tier clubs Independiente Medellín and Atlético Nacional. In terms of club records, the highest fee received was the £2.58m fee that saw Yaser Asprilla move to Watford in January. But now a new regime is upon Envigado as they welcomed manager Robinho Lazaró, who hoped to rewrite the club's record books. Envigado in Football Manager 2023 Starting a save in Colombia in FM23 takes us all the way back to 20 December 2021, with Liga BetPlay Dimayor beginning on 23 January 2022. Envigado are massive favourites to be relegated from the top tier, with odds of 2000/1 to win the title compared to the next lowest odds of 1000/1 for newly promoted Unión Magdalena. Lazaró's board expect to become an established Liga BetPlay team, which seems a little vague. But, crucially, they expect him to work towards developing the best youth system in Colombia with the aim of having the country's best youth system by 2026. And that's the whole reason we find ourselves in Envigado. From a supporter point of view, the club has a core following of 38% and family following of 22% and casual supporter base of 15%. The fans also expect Lazaró to develop homegrown players and become an established Liga BetPlay team, but also want to forge a higher reputation that Águilas Dorados and better Leones FC when they play them. Envigado have limited finances for Lazaró to work with, as there was just £1.7m in the bank balance, an £87k transfer budget and £84,324-per-week wage budget, of which they were spending £83,542. Meet the Envigado squad The best player at Envigado is 24-year-old defensive midfielder Iván Rojas, along with midfielder Diego Moreno, Venezuelan winger Jesús Hernández, Paraguayan centre-back Francisco Báez and 21-year-old midfielder Juan Manuel Zapata. Other players to look out for are full-backs Santiago Jiménez and Daniel Londono, goalkeeper Santiago Londono and 20-year-old striker Diego Rodríguez. Bizarrely, the oldest player at the club is 32-year-old Englishman George Saunders, who's had a strange career that began at Villarreal in 2004 before moving to América de Cali in 2013 and staying in Colombia. He's not very good though. But what we all want to know is how good the young players are at Envigado. Well, the first-team squad has two more top talents in winger Déiler Córdoba and goalkeeper Felipe Parra. While the under 20s squad has six players with 5-star potential, 11 with 4.5-star potential and six with 4-star potential. The pick of those is 15-year-old goalkeeper Andrés Tovar, along with winger/striker Bryan Sinisterra, three 17-year-olds in centre-back Jhon Banguera, winger Luis Ángel Díaz and goalkeeper Santiago Asprilla, and 6ft 5in winger Diego Betancourth. Having assessed the players available to him, Lazaró opted to go with a 4-3-3 with a holding midfielder to protect his probably not overly strong defence. The key men in this team are likely to be Moreno, who Lazaró was hoping would bring goals from midfield, and Hernández playing as an inverted winger from the left. Life at the Wonderkid Factory begins If you're new to the Colombian leagues then strap yourself in for an almighty feast of football! Liga BetPlay begins with the 20-game Apertura stage between 23 January and 15 May, from which the top eight qualify for a six-game round-robin semi-final then the top two compete in a two-game final. That's followed by another 20-game Finalización tournament, which also ends in a six-game round-robin and two-legged final. So to win both competitions, a team would have to play 56 league matches! Lazaró's Football Manager career began with a trip to reigning champions Deportivo Cali, who had a player sent off for a shocking challenge then handed Envigado the lead with an own goal. Lazaró introduced a couple of youngsters and one of them delivered as Sinisterra scored on his senior debut after a brilliant run and cross by left-back Yeferson Rodallega to seal a strong 2-0 win. His first game at Polideportivo Sur saw Atlético Bucaramanga come to town. Envigado bossed the game with 59% possession and 15 shots to four but couldn't finish their chances and settled for a slightly disappointing 0-0. Then nothing happened except Deprtivo Pereira scoring a screamer in away day two, to complete the 1-1-1 start to the campaign. The second home game was a huge one against rivals Águilas Doradas. Striker Rodríguez made his first start of the season and scored 25 minutes into his debut, cue cries of "Diego, Diego, Diego!" erupting around Polideportivo Sur. They bossed the game and deservedly added a second as Zapata curled home a delicious 25-yarder before the midfielder created a third for Hernández, who'd also created the first two goals. And a 3-0 win quickly endeared Lazaró and his young team with the supporters. The solid start continued with 0-0s at Patriotas and at home to Independiente Medellín, predicted to finish 5th in the league. But a big test saw league favorites and early leaders Atlético Nacional, who took an undeserved lead only for Rodríguez to immediately equaliser. The visitors scored again after an hour and won 3-1 but Lazaró was fairly impressed with his team's efforts. Rojas nicked a point at Petrolera before Báez's injury-time winner nicked a 2-1 win at home to Cortuluá and Hernández scored the only goal in a tight affair at Junior FC, who were the media's fourth favourites for the title! The winger was also on form in a thriller at Deportivo Pasto, creating the opener for Rodríguez then scoring himself. Pasto equalised both times but Rodríguez stepped up again to nick the winner after 79 minutes. That lifted Envigado into an impressive sixth place with five wins, two defeats and 19 points from Lazaró's first 11 games in charge. Hernández has the joint-most assists (5) and the joint-best average rating (7.43) while Londono leads the way with six clean sheets. Could Lazaró continue Envigado's impressive overachievement into the second half of the season? And will any good youth prospects come his way in the first youth intake?

Yeah same, I lived the idea but it was impossible to find a new job. I might give it a go again some time

Afraid not, our manager was just too bad! It was an error to start without any coaching badges or experience...

Ruprecht Prusseit found himself on the managerial scrapheap within two years of starting his Football Manager career. The Dresden-born coach was unceremoniously sacked when his FSV Zwickau side was dumped out of 3. Liga in dramatic fashion by local rivals Erzgebirge Aue. It was safe to say that Prusseit didn't have the most appealing profile for clubs in East Germany. In 80 matches, he'd lost more than he'd won (36 to 28), had a win percentage of 35% and a goal difference of -5. But he did at least have a National C licence and two seasons of management under his belt. It took a while for relevant jobs to become available but when they did Prusseit wasn't considered, as Energie Cottbus and Magdeburg didn't even offer him interviews. A year on from departing Zwickau, he remained jobless and offerless, as even newly promoted Bayern II (who obviously aren't an available option) didn't offer an interview. Eventually, he was offered an interview by third-tier strugglers Hallescher who, despite the interview going pretty well, decided to look elsewhere. He even considered new approaches like international management or under 23 international sides purely to try and build his reputation and attributes. However, even Costa Rica weren't interested in his services, which tells you it's time to give up the ghost. The end of OstDeutscher Sieg This is a real shame, as I really liked the concept of trying to win a first title with an East German side. However, the decision to create a manner with such a poor reputation limited our effectiveness in the role and made finding a new job with a professional club absolutely impossible. Furthermore, even if we had found a new job - such as Hallescher - fighting against relegation would have been a really hard task and we probably would have been sacked again! Additionally, this save highlighted some of the severe shortcomings of FM23. For example, the new recruitment system is terrible and I honestly don't understand why they've implemented it. I wasn't allowed to use the player search screen so I could only sign players that had been recommended by my scouts and wasn't allowed to sign players I didn't have any knowledge of. That made discovering and signing players of sufficient quality almost impossible. So I will not be doing that ever again. Watching Zwickau matches was probably the most painful experience I've ever had in any Football Manager save. I don't know why they routinely conceded the opponent's first shot / first shot on target - and I tried multiple tactics, instructions and player roles to try and prevent it - but it was excruciating knowing it was going to happen in every match. So we have no choice but to call an end to OstDeutscher Sieg, for now. I do like the idea, so I might revisit it in the future, but for now it's time for a new challenge. And, luckily, I have one in mind that kicks off on Monday! The clues I'll give you are that if you like wonderkids, youth development and nation building, then is going to be the save for you!

Second season syndrome appeared to have struck for Ruprecht Prusseit as his FSV Zwickau flirted with the relegation places then clambered back into mid-table in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign. But luckily, he still had a B- rating with the board and C+ rating with the supporters. Prusseit now had a month-long break to reflect on a tricky few months and do a few deals in the transfer market. The first was forced by summer signing Daniel Kaladjdzic getting his knickers in a twist because he "hadn't played as an advanced forward" despite doing so in six of his last 10 games. And he joined Vorwarts Steyr for £59k rising to £82k, which could become the club's all-time record signing, surpassing the existing record of just £69k set back in 2013. Centre-back Robin Ziegele signed a deal with local rivals with Magdeburg in January, so Prusseit agreed to flog him now for £50k. Kalajdzic was replaced by former Dortmund striker Timo Bornemann on a free. Prusseit also loaned a couple of players he was looking at signing on permanent deals in the summer in centre-back Andi Hoti from Inter and midfielder Nathan Wicht from 1860 Munchen. He was also keen to keep strengthening the youth side, which included the free transfer of Leipzig winger Cedric Zajkowski. Looking to climb 3. Liga Zwickau somehow managed to suffer an injury crisis despite having a month off. But they started 2024 well as a brace from striker Marvin Pourié and a delicious Alexander Nollenberger free-kick earned a 3-1 win at home to Bayreuth. That took them to seven games unbeaten and up to 11th in the table. Prusseit then had TEN players injured for a trip to Dortmund II and they unsurprisingly lost to them yet again, but only 1-0. A rival clash with Energie Cottbus followed and they drew 1-1 in a fairly even game before surviving a battering from in-form Osnabruck to nick a 0-0. They then fell behind early on at bottom side Lubeck but raced into a 3-1 lead and, despite more defensive horrors, won 4-3 led by a Pourié brace. A decent run of form ended dramatically with a 3-0 loss at home to Ingolstadt and a 5-3 battering at Magdeburg, which saw promising striker Tino Kaufmann, who'd scored 27 in 11 for the under-19s, score his first goal for the club. Just what they didn't need now was games against the top two! Zwickau got robbed by a horrendous refereeing decision at home to 1860 Munchen who, with the score at 2-2, clearly fouled striker Luis Cortijo-Lange then went down the other end to score a winner. They then went to second-place Dresden, which saw an opponent score their first shot for what Prusseit guessed to be the fifth game in a row. But the hosts dominated and won 4-1. Dragged back into a relegation scrap That took Zwickau to four straight defeats and one win in eight, which saw them suddenly just four points above the relegation zone with eight games remaining. First up was a game at home to Meppen who, shockingly, didn't score their first shot on target. However, they did score an injury-time penalty to nick a 2-1 win. And Zwickau were now just three points above the dropzone. Prusseit decided to change things up by switching to a simplified 4-3-3 and dropping goalkeeper and captain Johannes Brinkies for 16-year-old Feisal Ali. The youngster did well to hold Elvesburg out until Bornemann scored his first goal, which meant Zwickau obviously had to concede the opponent's next effort. And they eventually lost a close game 2-1, which put them two points clear of the relegation zone. Next was an absolute must-win game against 19th-place Fortuna Dusseldorf II. They got a great start as Pourié drilled home after 20 minutes, Luís Júnior scored a brilliant volley and Noel Eichinger scored a bizarre third just before the break. Surely even Zwickau couldn't throw this away? They couldn't and Adriel smashed home a fourth from the penalty spot to seal a much-needed win and Ali's first career clean sheet. Next was a write-off against Freiburg II, who strolled to a 1-0 win in a terrible match. That dropped Zwickau to 17th but, crucially, five points clear of Erzgebirge Aue with four games remaining. Zwickau had a decent run-in with three games against teams also in the bottom six, but the season could easily hinge on a final-day Sachsen Derby. Game 1 - Hallescher (18th, home): The first game in the relegation scrap was a massive local derby as Zwickau hosted Hallescher. A dreadful game saw nothing happen until Pourié won a penalty that Adriel tucked home after 58 minutes. Pourié hit the bar and Hallescher offered nothing until the 92nd minute, when Zwickau's awful defence crumbled yet again to concede an equaliser. Erzgebirge won at Wiesbaden to close the gap to three points. Game 2 - SpVgg Unterhaching (8th, away): Prusseit brought Brinkies back into the team and immediately regretted it. Unterhaching scored their first shot from a direct free-kick and strolled to a 3-0 win without Zwickau laying a glove on them. Erzgebirge drew 1-1 with Bayreuth to move within just two points. Game 3 - Holstein Kiel (15th, home): This, as Sir Alex Ferguson would say, was squeaky-bum time. The first of two potential relegation six-pointers saw Zwickau entertain Kiel, with three points splitting 15th from 17th. Another change of formation saw Prusseit move to a 4-4-2 Diamond, as wingers clearly weren't working, and throw Kaufmann in to line up with four youth products starting. And that worked well as Eichinger scored his first goal in months after seven minutes then won a penalty that Adriel converted. But Kiel had dominated the game and got a goal back just after the break then predictably equalised. Zwickay were all over the place and, despite several changes found themselves 3-2 down late on. Eicinger though he'd equalised but it was ruled out for offside. Erzgebirge somehow drew 1-1 at Dortmund II to make it one point gap before a massive final-day Sachsen Derby clash. Game 4 - Erzgebirge Aue (17th, away): Probably the biggest derby clash in East German history saw Erzgebirge and Zwickau lock horns with relegation on the line. Prusseit reverted to his 4-4-2 formation for the biggest game of his career. An edgy start saw Erzgebirge firmly on top with seven shots to two in the first half hour then miss a huge chance just before the break. Prusseit thought he'd rallied the troops with a rousing half-time team talk, but they immediately conceded from an indirect free-kick. They then smacked the bar after an hour and Prusseit was seriously worried and desperate, so he made four subs and went to three up front. That nearly worked as Kaufmann immediately hit the post from 25 yards then Cortijo-Lange missed an absolute sitter at the back post in the final few minutes. But they couldn't find a goal and lost 1-0. FSV Zwickau were relegated from 3. Liga. And, as a result, Ruprecht Prusseit was sacked as Zwickau manager! Prusseit had been let down by some truly awful performances by his defenders, especially the full-backs. They only won one of their last 12 games and lost 10 of them! While they only won three times in 17 games after the league restarted in January. East German update Elsewhere in Germany, RB Leipzig finished fourth in Bundesliga and Union Berlin finished eighth. Hansa Rostock avoided relegation from 2. Bundesliga by a point. Dresden won 3. Liga and were joined in promotion by Magdeburg. Zwickau and Hallescher were both relegated with Erzgebirge and Cottbus avoiding the drop. So what now for Ruprecht Prusseit? Is this the end of the save? Or can he find himself a job elsewhere in East Germany?

Nope, they weren't available. I'm guessing they're down in Regionalliga now.

Ruprecht Prusseit massively enjoyed his first season as a Football Manager. But it took him some time to get over the carnage that unfolded at its conclusion in one of the tightest league finales ever. His FSV Zwickau massively exceeded all expectations in 2022/23, coming within one goal of promotion to 2. Bundesliga. But it wasn't to be and now a daunting rebuild awaited Prusseit in his first proper summer transfer window - especially considering he didn't sign a single player in his first season! Massive Summer Rebuild The summer break saw Prusseit take the first step towards becoming a proper manager as he gained his National C Licence. But on 1 July, a real test of his abilities saw 20 players leave the club on free transfers, two more retired and two were sold for minimal profit. However, Prusseit did make his first-ever signings as a Football Manager. The first players in were end-of-contract deals for strikers Daniel Kalajdzic (brother of Wolves striker Sasa) and Marvin Pourié, who scored 15 league goals for Meppen last season, and Dortmund centre-back Antonios Papadopolous. He took a bit of a gamble on Brazilian holding midfielder Adriel before adding winger Alexander Nollenberger, who should obviously be a right-winger, full-back Marco Muller, backup centre-back Tobias Weber, holding midfielder Lars Holtkamp and right-back Yanni Regasel. Then, just as the season had kicked off, the board agreed to grant Prusseit a senior affiliate and duly delivered Bayern Munchen, which could be a game-changer in the future! In total, 24 players left the club and 11 arrived, without spending a single penny. Prusseit also promoted several youngsters, including last season's youth intake prospects goalkeeper Feisal Ali and centre-back David Bangura, while 16-year-old Luís Júnior starts the season as first-choice in midfield. And the tactic for this season remains very similar to last, with the holding midfield role switched from a Regista to a Segundo Volante. Edgy. Into The Unknown In Season 2 The media predict nothing to have changed, again saying Zwickau will finish 13th with odds of 33/1 to win 3. Liga. Ingolstadt are 5/6 favourites followed by Dynamo Dresden (13/8), Holstein Kiel (13/8), 1860 Munchen (2/1). Magdeburg (10/1) and Erzebirge Aue (11/1). Magdeburg and Energie Cottbus joined Zwickau in the third tier, meaning six of the 20 clubs in the division are from East Germany - and Prusseit had half an eye on how Dresden and Magdeburg performed, in case an opportunity arose. In truth, Prusseit didn't quite know what to expect from his Zwickau side this season. He was fairly sure they were stronger in attack and defence, but he was worried about the midfield and lack of strength in depth. His new-look team, which included six debutants starting on opening day, began season two with a trip to Waldhof Mannheim. A poor game saw little happen until Júnior sent Pourié through to slam home the opener on his debut after 75 minutes, only for the hosts to equalise immediately. But two more debutants had the last laugh as Nollenberger created the winner for substitute Kalajdzic five minutes from time. Their first home game saw Wehen Wiesbaden come to town and dominate the first half only for striker Noel Eichinger to convert Johan Gómez's cross just before half-time. The same combination combined again in a devastating counter-attack just before the hour mark. And Zwickau strolled to a 2-0 victory. A dire run of form Gómez was at it again in the next game at Bayreuth, creating the opener for Nollenberger before Papadopolous also scored his first goal just after half-time, then scored the third. But Gómez and goalkeeper Johannes Brinkies picked up injuries, which saw Ali make his 16-year-old Ali debut at Energie Cottbus. The perfect start unsurprisingly ended with a 1-0 defeat after Adriel missed a penalty and the same result followed for an exhausted team at Osnabruck. They got back on track with a 3-1 win over newly-promoted Lubeck thanks to goals by Eichinger, Kalajdzic and his replacement Pourié, but the away struggles continued with a 2-1 loss at favourites Ingolstadt. Next up was a first clash with fellow East German side Magdeburg, who absolutely dominated with 26 shots to 10 but found Brinkies in inspired form. However, they eventually broke through after 85 minutes and won 2-0. And it didn't get any better with a 3-1 loss at 1860, which took them to three consecutive defeats and five in the last six. That forced Prusseit into a change of formation, switching to a 4-2-3-1 ahead of a big game at home to local rivals Dresden. And it at least stopped the rot with a 0-0 draw. What they didn't need next was Dortmund II, who battered them twice last season, and another goalless 90 minutes saw a 1-0 defeat. This was not looking good! But it got even worse as they conceded inside 30 seconds at Meppen and lost 2-0 then scored early but threw it away to lose 2-1 at home to Elversberg. Prusseit was getting desperate and switched to a 3-4-3 formation that started well at Dusseldorf II as Pourié scored after half an hour. And this time they held on for their first win in eight games! They backed that up by conceding in the 95th minute to lose 2-1 at home to Freiburg II, which set up a crucial trip to fellow struggling East German side Hallescher that the fans dubbed "season-defining." You'd think that'd fire the team up but it didn't as they conceded after 20 minutes. Pourié dragged them level but they immediately conceded again and looked to be drifting to yet another defeat. But in the 94th minute, Nollenberger curled in a delicious free-kick to claim a vital point. A 15-day break gave Prusseit a chance to rest players then drill them in training as he reverted to his preferred 4-4-2. It nearly worked as they led 2-1 at home to Unterhaching only to yet again concede in injury time then led twice at Holstein Kiel but also drew 2-2. That took them into another crucial rival clash in the Sachsen Derby at home to Erzgebirge, which saw 16th play 17th and it showed in a terrible game. But it swung on a special moment as young striker Luis Cortijo-Lange, who signed on a free transfer mid-way through October - scored his first senior goal to nick all three points. The year concluded with a 2-2 draw at home to Mannheim and a massive 2-1 win at Wiesbaden thanks to a brace from new hero Cortijo-Lange. That took them to six unbeaten and two wins in three to arrest a really shaky spell that saw the media speculating Prussiet would be fired. But as they headed into a month-long winter break, Zwickau looked relatively safe in mid-table. They had 26 points from 21 games and were seven points clear of the relegation zone and were just three points behind 8th position. But any chance of a surprise playoff push this season was well and truly out of contention. Nollenberg has the second-most assists in the league (8) and Adriel leads the way with bookings (10). Big East German cup clash Zwickau beat a team from a higher division for the first time as they beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 in the DFB Pokal first round. That set up a massive clash with East German giants Union Berlin, who finished 14th in Bundesliga last season, in their first game against a Bundesliga side. The game was also chosen for live TV, which saw Zwickau given £475,000! Union obviously dominated the game and scored a screamer, but Zwickau did well to hold them to just a 1-0 defeat. Could Prusseit continue to drive Zwickau up the table? Or was a relegation battle on the cards in season two of OstDeutscher Sieg? We will find out next time!

Well, the summer proves really tricky and things get much more difficult in season 2! I did try to loosen up the defensive approach though..

Thanks! In hindsight... I really should have started with Dresden!