The Next Jurgen Klopp - A Journeyman

Welcome to my first ever Football Manager story. Since English is not my first language there might be some grammar, vocabulary or spelling mistakes here and there. In this story, you will be able to follow the career of the young manager Lukas Muller. We are going to try to work our way up from the Second Polish League to the Champions League.

Let me introduce you to the next German manager wonderkid: Lukas Muller. Muller was born in October of 1991 in Hanover and has been playing football for the youth academy of Hannover 96 since the age of 13. At the age of 18, Muller was signed by the Berliner AK and played two years in the German Regionalliga (4th tier). After a career-ending injury at the age of 20, Muller decided to study sports psychology at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Another three years later, Muller took his first coaching job as the Berliner AK Under 16s Coach. After two successful years as a Youth Coach, he got signed as the new Hertha BSC Under 17s Coach. And finally, after only one year at Hertha, now being 26 years old, the German wonderkid gets his first Head Coaching job at GKS Katowice in the Second Polish Division.

Best of luck, starting in Poland will be very interesting to say the least!

You write English better than most English people do

Interesting team selection and I’m looking forward to learning about the side as the story develops. Best of luck!

Now this is something that excites me! A rise through the Polish leagues would certainly be a fantastic start to Muller's career, good luck!

Thank you for your very nice comments! Now, I will be updating you about the tactic that Lukas Muller wants to establish at GKS Katowice. I hope that I will be able to provide some background information about GKS Katowice in the next couple of days.

The Tactic

In terms of tactics, Muller was mostly influenced by Jurgen Klopp’s Gegenpressing and by Mirko Slomka’s counter-attacking football that led Hannover 96 to a 4th place in the Bundesliga in 2011. In the long run, Lukas Muller wants to establish a 4-2-3-1 system with high-intensity counter-attacking football. At Berliner AK however, Muller has also shown that he is able to adjust his system based on the opponents and on the players available.

At his inaugural interview with Przegląd Sportowy Muller says: "Obviously, I first have to meet the squad before I can say anything about the tactic or possible lineups. However, I can tell you that I've a clear vision of how I want to play football and how I would like to see us succeed in the future. For me it is not only about immediate success but also about creating a club's philosophy."

Good to see a manager step in and demand more than just immediate success. A successful season makes you a hero. A successful era makes you a legend.