Mats Kool | Football Koolture

I guess you can say you can't wait till your off to the races with Racing Union!

They seem to have had a fair bit of success, despite being a relatively young club. Good luck!

Plenty of history to be made at the club. Hopefully you can be the one to usher in a new glory age for Racing.

Arriving late in the summer transfer window, I couldn't really manage to do everything I wanted to. The club had very few players so I needed to make some quick moves. I couldn't sell anyone, not because they were all good, but because we needed to have at least one player to backup every position. We made 11 transfers, 4 of which happened before I got hired. We got some much needed depth in our squad, almost in every single position. I don't know how much some of them will be used, as I don't know how often I'll rotate the starting XI.

The player I think will contribute most is Jerome Simon. The 24 year-old French joins from Greek side Chania-Kissamikos, who interestingly signed him in the same transfer window. Nevertheless, he joins after a promising season with Belgium side RWDM where in 10 appearances he netted the ball 3 times.

Another great signing is Ismaël Bouzid. The 35 year-old Algerian has been capped 14 times by his country while also playing for the likes of Galatasaray and Hearts. Remarkably, we are his 15th club but that is not bad at all since he will be bringing some experience in our squad.

Transfers In

Thomas Birk (Profile)

Arthur Ataide (Profile)

Sebastian Szimayer (Profile)

Jérôme Simon (Profile)

Sabri Haddadou (Profile)

Ruben Gatta (Profile)

Anthony Brydges (Profile)

David Silva (Profile)

Thomas Chesneau (Profile)

Ismaël Bouzid (Profile)

Dylan Deligny (Profile)

Transfers Out

N/A

Comment Replies

Balik: You know it! (I couldn't think of a proper pun)
ScottT: I just put the info FM gave me. From what I read in wikipedia they have been reformed/renamed many times so I don't know if the trophies are from the Racing-Union era.
Justice: We are hungry for silverware this season.

There seems to be a good mix of youth and experience in those signings. The likes of Bouzid will be integral to aiding younger players. A fair few ex-PSG youth players join the club... naturally, I'm led to believe they could have a bit of potential given they were once on their books. I guess we'll find out soon!

It was just after Friday's afternoon training when me and Samir Kalabic (my assistant manager) decided to discuss how our pre-season went and what we learned from it. We managed to grab 3 wins and 1 loss in the 4 games we played. Our first pre-season game was before I was hired so I didn't think about it too much. In the 3 games I managed, I tried three different tactics. A 4-2-3-1, a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2. All three tactics proved to be good as we showed a lot of positive aspects in our game. We shot a lot and passed around the ball well. But me and Samir concluded that our primary tactic should be the 4-3-3 as it was the most common one with the players and also, it was the one which gave us our best result. No standout players really. Different XI every game so I could see who would play when.

The league is starting in about a week from now and I have mixed emotions about that. On one hand I am really excited to manage my first official game. I am ready for us to throw everything we have on the other teams and hopefully, defy some expectations. On the other hand, I am extremely anxious. I am always thinking like "What if we lose? What will that do to our momentum?" or "What if I make a mistake? I'll make a fool out of myself". Mentally, I am not prepared at all. But you know what? Everything will be good. I just need to take some deep breaths and relax. So what if I lose my first managerial game? I think I read somewhere that 32% of football managers lose their first game in charge. That doesn't mean I won't ever be good. I need to be calm. I'm just gonna go home and watch some TV. That will take my mind off this for now.

Comment Replies

Scott: That's true. I was surprised too by the number of ex-PSG players I had signed. I'll do it more often I guess.

A fairly decent set of pre-season results. Hopefully Mats can get a positive result in his competitive debut!

Some good looking players in there and the Pre-Season results are certainly of a good standard. Hopefully Mats and his new team can get a good start to the season.

Some strong signings made to bolster the ranks ahead of your first season in charge. Your pre-season was rather impressive. Hopefully you can carry the same form into the competitive season.

Today was the day. We were playing Victoria Rosport away. This would be the official start of my managerial career. As the match started at 3:00 pm, we left at around 12:30 pm. Thankfully it was only a 40 minute bus drive so we did get a chance to rest for a bit. We stepped on the pitch and saw it was in poor condition. I told the players that we should play long balls as the pitch would make the ball bounce around and it would be difficult to control it. Since I didn't speak any Luxembourgish, I had Samir (my assistant manager) help me out. The players seemed to understand my thinking. Around 1:40 pm I invited the players to the locker room so they would find out about the game plan. I went with a 4-4-2 and my strongest possible XI. After a good 15 minutes of talking the players went out for the warm-up.

Time passed and eventually it was 2:50 pm. I was starting to get anxious, just like in training about a week ago if I am remembering correctly, as I felt all eyes were on me, criticizing me. I felt my neck sore and had a bit of difficulty in breathing. I asked Samir to take my place for a short while so I could go to the locker room and wash my face and so I did. Immediately afterwards I called my father and told him that I couldn't bear it. I had anxiety attacks happen to me a lot these past years, but dad always knew how to help me calm down. He told me to quit the shit and do what I worked so far for. That I should forget about everyone and everything and focus on my own damn thing. The players, the staff, the board and the supporters were all counting on me so I couldn't let them down. I couldn't let myself down. I immediately calmed down. I wonder how he was that good at helping me in these situations. I guess 24 years of being a single father taught him everything needed to succeed. He was the person I could always count on.

I hung up after telling him I loved him and went out. The match had just started. Samir asked if I was okay and I let out a weak yes. Then, I started concentrating on the match. The first 10 minutes went by fast with each teams trying to hold possession of the ball. I don't like keeping the ball and doing nothing with it, so I shouted that we needed to create shots. And boy did they listen. We bombarded them with shots after shots giving everything we got. We had a corner at the 26th minute. Jérôme Simon, one of our new signings, stepped up to take it. He whipped the ball into the near post where Florik Shala came out of nowhere to head the ball into the bottom left corner. The first ever goal of my manager career. Shala ran all the way to the bench and celebrated with everyone. The first half then ended and our performance showed how dominant we were. We had shot almost 11 times without them shooting once. I told the boys to continue doing what they were doing as I was very happy with it. Nothing interesting happened in the second half apart from some chances from us. The match ended with us being victorious with Shala's header 0-1.

I called my dad and told him about the match. He told me he found a livestream on some site on the internet. He gave me a few pointers here and there but he told me he liked what he had seen. He told me he was proud of me, something I have heard many times in my life, but also something that I will never get bored of. After we talked about stuff like how's he doing in Holland alone, if he needs more money etc. I hung up as I had arrived at the hotel. An exhausting but impressive day had come to an end.

Comment Replies

Scott: Already guiding the team to victory.
Seb: We aiming at least top 3 this season!
Justice: I liked that I brought in a mix of youth and experience. Pre-season certainly played a part in our first game.

Good to get under way with the first win! Hopefully that will settle Mats nerves.

Disappointed that your dad didn't have the courtesy to come over and watch the game in the flesh! But seriously, a fantastic opening result for Mats' managerial career.

Not a good start to my managerial career at all to be honest. Grabbing only two wins in six league games sure is disappointing. We weren't playing good. Maybe it's my tactics. Maybe they're too complex. One thing I know is I'm gonna do my best and whatever happens happens. Right now we are sitting 10th in the league table, just 5 points off relegation zone. We desperately need to improve if we're to fight for silverware this season.

Cup wise we progressed to the next round after beating 3rd division side Union 05 6-2. Ricardo Dionisio scored a hat-trick this match, while David Silva had one goal and two assists. David Silva has so far proven to be a quality backup to the left midfield/left winger position. He always performs well whether he plays as a starter or as a substitute. If he continues like that I'll have to drop our captain, Daniel da Mota. We got drawn against Progrès Niederkorn in the Coupe de Luxembourg 3rd round. Last time we met them was at the 15th of September when they beat us 1-3, on a match that took place in our stadium. We'll be playing them on the 28th of November so if we improve until then, I say we have an excellent chance to qualify to the 4th round.

No player was that good to stand out in our bad performances these past two months. But one has been trying his hardest to earn a starter spot. David Silva, a player who was signed as a backup and nothing else. He's also on a non-contract, but if he continues putting impressive performances he'll surely be offered a new one. In his 4 appearances so far he has scored 1 goal and has given 2 assists as well.



My Thoughts:

Anxiety is getting to me. I knew it would be tough in times like this, but this is unbearable. I can barely concentrate on the matches anymore. Training is hard. Going on matches is hard. I consulted a doctor. He gave me some pills that I need to take immediately when I feel like an anxiety attack is about to happen. I talked to my dad. He's worried about me and I would be too if I were in his position. One thing I know is I need to try and calm down. It's just a job. Managers get sacked all the time. I'm not saying I'll get sacked but I won't try to. I'll try and perform better. The players don't respect me. I need to work on that if we are to compete this year. Anyway, it's late. I'm going to sleep.

Comment Replies

Seb: If the wins would continue.
Scott: Dad is busy with work mate. I invited him to come but he couldn't. Mats' career took of well but we hit a bump. We continue though!

The effect this is having on Mats mental-health isn't healthy at all and he needs to surround himself with the support he needs, immediately. This is a huge test for him and whether he has the mental resilience needed to take the club forward. The initial results could be better, but it's important to note that a couple of the defeats came against some of Luxembourg's finest, therefore you can take those results with a pinch of salt. I'm sure things will pick up in all regards soon!

Some Kool graphics. Results have been mixed, but it is still early days. Time to dig your heels in and continue to fight for positive results.