Hey Guys, I’m back with another story on Football Manager. Now, I’m not exactly known for my stories. In fact, I don’t even want to count how many stories I started and didn’t continue on FM14. FM15 is a new year though, and I’m determined to start a story that both you and I will enjoy. I also don’t claim to be the best FM player. I’m sure for some of you LLM guys, I will seem like a total idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing, so don’t expect me to take the footballing world by storm. I’ve chosen a side that will be a challenge for me, but will hopefully also make for a fun save/story! Without further ado, here is the beginning of the story.

I will be managing Hertha BSC! Hertha are a club based in the capital of Berlin, and they play at the Olympic Stadium, one of the most beautiful grounds found in all of Europe. The club was founded 122 years ago, and have won the Bundesliga on two occasions, in 1930 and 1931. My goal is to bring the title back to Berlin, where it truly belongs. 2 years ago, Hertha were promoted back to the Bundesliga under current manager Jos Luhukay. Last year, Colombian tailorsman Adrian Ramos led the side away from the relegation zone and to 11th place. Unfortunately, Ramos was sold this summer to giants Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee. Luhukay invested wisely however, signing former Lille striker Solomon Kalou and promising Swiss winger Valentin Stocker. With the Brazilian veteran Ronny in midfield and the up and coming John Brooks shoring up the back line, Hertha have their strongest side since around the turn of the century, where the team were stalwarts on the European scene. Led by Michael Preetz and Marcelinho, the club started a streak of 5 straight European qualifications in 1998-1999 season. At one point, Hertha even reached the last 16 of the Europa Leaue. Preetz is the clubs all time top scorer with 93 goals, but when presented with a chance to lead Hertha as a manager, he failed miserably. Another member of Hertha’s top 11 of the century is Marcelinho. He was one of the best playmakers in the Bundesliga during his time at Hertha and Wolfsburg, and still plays today at Fortaleza at the age of 39. During his time at Hertha, he scored 65 goals and will go down as one of the best players in Hertha history. As of October 19th, 2014, Hertha are 13th, 12 points off leaders Bayern and 2 points off the Relegation playoff zone.




For this save, I will be managing with club legend Marcelinho. Marcelinho was born on May 17th, 1975 in the town of Capina Grande. He started his career as an attacking mid with Campinense, and went on to win two league titles there before leaving for Brazilian powerhouses Sao Paolo. Again, he led the team to two more league titles before moving to Marseille. Unfortunately, Marcelinho didn’t adapt to football in France and after a failed spell in which he scored 3 goals in 19 games, he returned to Brazil to play for Gremio. He played for just a short time for Gremio, but he still managed to be top scorer in the Brazilian cup competition “Campeonato Gaucho.” Right after winning that competition with Gremio, Marcelinho signed a 5 year deal with Hertha BSC, where he quickly became a fan favorite and one of the most talented players on the team. The Brazilian was the playmaker in the side, playing in the advanced position behind the striker and scoring 65 times in 155 appearances. During his spell at Hertha, Marcelinho was known not only for his technical skill but also for his wacky hair and vibrant cleats. Despite his odd look, He was capped 5 times during his spell at Hertha, scoring in one of those matches for Brazil. Despite a great career in Germany, Marcelinho left after 5 years and his career deteriorated with age, but he will always be remembered by Hertha fans for his brilliance over his 5 years in Berlin. Now, at the age of 39, the legend is back in Berlin!

Good start, good luck

Great start to the story, good luck my friend

Good luck Jason, I'll be following eagerly! Hopefully you can develop Johnny Brooks well for the USMNT

Alex/Niko- Thanks for the support and good luck with your own stories!

Neal - Thanks Neal! I hope to develop Johnny Brooks for the team and I might just have to apply for the U.S. job if it becomes available!

Good luck Jason

Excellent! Will be very interesting to see what you can do with Hertha Berlin this time.

Great start, interesting team choice, this could be very good!

Good luck!

Good start Jason! Good luck man!

Nice start mate, I'm sure this will be really interesting!

Hertha Berlin have kicked off what looks to be an exciting window for the club with a move that had seemed inevitable. An exit for one of the club’s best ever strikers, Colombian Adrian Ramos. Ramos has signed for Dortmund for an undisclosed fee and will report to the club after a World Cup that promises much for the Colombian side, and Dortmund will undoubtedly hoping that their new asset can make a name for himself on the global stage. Even though the chances of Ramos staying at the Olympic Stadium were slim from the start, Hertha fans will still grieve over the loss of their top scorer and tailorsman. Ramos played in Berlin for 5 years, playing over 33 games in each season and eventually leading the club to promotion from the 2.Bundesliga and an impressive 11th place finish last year. Adrian played 157 matches and scored 58 goals for Hertha, and earned his move to Dortmund after tying for joint 4th top scorer by scoring 16 goals in the Bundesliga. Current Hertha manager Jos Lukukay expressed his regrets at letting the striker grow in a press conference this morning. “Of course, we were reluctant to let he [Adrian] leave after 5 great seasons here in which he’s been a top contributor, but he made it clear that he wanted a bigger challenge, and Dortmund were able to offer him that in Champions League football. We wish him all the luck in the world with Colombia in the World Cup, and with Dortmund in the upcoming season.” That was all Lukuhay had to say about Ramos’s transfer away, and instead used the press conference to look to the future and unveil two new signings that may help void left by the sale of the Colombian.


The first new signing Jos Lukuhay chose to unveil was the signing of Valentin Stocker from Basel. The left winger was signed for a reported fee of 5 million euros, a bargain to many experts throughout football.
Stocker, who has made 24 appearances for the Swiss national team, is leaving the Swiss League for the first time after a highly successful 6 year spell for the senior side. Valentin scored 41 goals in his 162 matches with Basel, and along with the other new signing should go a long way to help provide the goals and assists lost by the sale of Ramos. Stocker is a winger with excellent dribbling and pace, and at the young age of 25 still has his prime in front of him. To add to that, Stocker has plenty of European experience. In fact, he captained the side during their aggregate victory against Dnipro during the Europa League last 16 in 2012-2013. If Hertha are to progress further and finish in a position that would allow them to play in Europe, Stocker would be a key figure and perhaps even a potential captain. Lukuhay had this to say about the signing. “Stocker has been a key figure at Basel for many years, and I think that making the next step and signing for a Bundesliga club is the right decision for his career, and I’m proud that he chose Hertha over other interested parties such as Borussia Munchengladbach. I look forward to coaching a player with his ability, and I’m sure his performances on the pitch will help to propel us to a strong finish this year.


The last signing revealed by Lukuhay in this morning’s conference was the acquisition of experienced striker Salomon Kalou from Lille. The Ivorian was signed on a 3 year deal for an undisclosed fee, allowing him to play in Germany for the first time in his career. Kalou captured the attention of football fans everywhere during his 6 year spell at English giants Chelsea. After signing for a fee believed to be around 9 million pounds, Kalou quickly became a key figure in the side and ended up scoring 60 goals and assisting 40 times over 251 matches before leaving on a free transfer for French side Lille. In France, Kalou continued scoring at a rapid rate, and ended up scoring 34 goals and assisting 11 times in 74 appearances for the French side. Now, at the age of 29, Kalou has a chance to add to an already great career with Hertha. Despite having a great scoring record at Lille, Kalou was never really happy with Lille and considers Berlin to be a better fit for all parties involved. Lukuhay was thrilled with this signing, telling reporters this at press conference this morning. “Although Kalou has had problems regarding personal happiness in the past, Salomon have made it very clear to me that he [Kalou] feels Berlin is a great fit for him and that he feels welcome here in Germany. With experience all over Europe and with some of the top clubs in the world, I believe Salomon will make an instant impact. I’m confident he’ll do a great job replacing Adrian here at Hertha.”

Needless to say, Hertha fans are thrilled with the new signings, which represent an increase in the club’s stature throughout Europe. This year, Jos Lukuhay has a great chance to take the next step with Hertha and help the club push up the table.

*Obviously, this has already happened in real life, but this is just some background to Hertha’s window so far before Marcelinho takes over.

Feliks - Thanks!

Akash/Tallery - Thanks for the compliments, and I'm hoping Hertha will make for a fun save!

Josh - Thanks man, good luck with your United one as well.

Joe - Thanks, I'm hoping it will be an interesting read for all.

Kalou & Stocker will add a lot to the team!

Great start Jason, I think Stocker will do very well, it'll be interesting to see who, if anyone can live up to Ramos.

Most of us put the German match-fixing scandal of 2005 in the back of our minds long ago, but It seems a ghost has come back to claim another victim, now Hertha manager Jos Luhukay. Back in 2005, Paderborn, who Lukuhay were managing at the time, took part in a questionable Dfb.Pokal match in which his side defeated heavy favorites HSV by a score of 4-2. 2 of Paderborn’s goals were scored off penalties and a dubious red card was awarded to Emile Mpenza for protesting to the referee. The match was found to be fixed by the ref, who was paid by organized criminals in Croatia. At the time, Jos Luhukay feigned innocence in the scandal that nearly stripped Germany of the 2006 World Cup. Unfortunately, it now appears that Luhukay was in on the fix and was paid along with the referee and Hamburg manager Thomas Doll. Former Paderborn player Rene Muller told the press exactly what happened on Kicker this morning. “When Hamburg arrived, the manager, instead of preparing us for the match, went over to talk to Thomas Doll and the referee, Robert Hoyzer. He talked to them for a long time and when he came back, he told us that we were going to win 4-2, no more, and no less. I talked with one of the Hamburg players after the game, and he told me that Thomas Doll gave the same speech to his side.”

Although this new twist in a very old tale was big news, the headlines today were all devoted to another fixed game. During the 2005/2006 season, Paderborn were at home to recently relegated Hansa Rostock in a 2.Bundesliga match. Rostock were huge favorites coming into the game, but ended up fielding a weaker side and paying for it. The lethargic away side were given a 3-0 walloping by Paderborn in an important match for the home team. At the time, new manager Frank Pagelsdorf was criticized for his poor tactics, but it now appears as if Pagelsdorf’s tactical shortcomings were motivated by a third party, a Malaysian fixing ring. Again, it was Rene Muller who was the informant. “The week before the Paderborn match was supposed to be very important, but training was light and without purpose. The night before the match, Jos came to us and gave us an unusual speech. He produced a team sheet prediction for Rostock, as usual, but none of the names we associated with Hansa were on there. He then continued to tell us that he expected us to beat the rotated side 3-0, and that when we reached that point, we were to stop pressing for goals and look to retain possession. The actual team sheet produced by Rostock with the exact same team Jos had predicted would be fielded, and he reminded us multiple times that he expected a 3-0 win. Sure enough, we ended up winning 3-0, and at the end of the match Jos chatted with Pagelsdorf and the referee, and there was money exchanged. They did this right in our changing room, and the exchange of money was there for everybody to see.” The German FA are reopening their investigation of the Pokal exchange between Paderborn and Hamburg as well as opening up a new investigation on the match between Rostock and Paderborn. Even if Muller’s claims are not immediately proved, the blow to Luhukay’s reputation will not simply go away, In fact, Jos is now officially unemployed, as Hertha chose to terminate the contract after Muller’s interview with Kicker.


What started out as such a promising summer for Hertha and their fans has now becoming a mess that assistant manager Markus Gellhaus will have to sort out. However, Hertha are making it very clear that they are looking for another manager to take over at the Olympic Stadium. It hasn’t yet been a day since Muller’s comment and the firing of Luhukay, but two managers are already being named as favorites for the job. Michael Laudrup and Thorsten Fink are already being named as potential candidates to take over in Berlin, with the latter looking to get back into football management after being sacked by Hamburg two years ago. With plenty of Bundesliga experience, some say he is the ideal candidate. The former has been linked to several jobs throughout Europe, and some say Borussia Dortmund is keeping tabs on him if Jurgen Klopp chooses to leave the club. Fans of the German National team will hope that the scandal at home won’t affect the team too much at the World Cup, who have been placed in the so called “Group of Death” with Portugal, Ghana, and the United States.

*Jos Luhukay chose not to comment on this article.