January
So just 2 games. We dominated Hannover as the scoreline shows but Stuttgart managed to go toe-to-toe with us at home. We were down for most of the match and it took a stoppage time own goal from them to hand us the draw.
February
February was not a kind month to us. To their credit, Hoffenheim played well and held us back. We had a penalty on the 89th minutes, but Di Stefano mucked it up and we lost 2 potential points. After that we lost in the derby against second tier Koln in the quarter-finals of the German Cup. We will have to wait a little longer to win it, but I will not leave Germany until I do. We thrashed Dortmund in the other derby, with Reus scoring a second hat-trick of the season, but were shown a masterclass by Celtic. I did not think Celtic possessed that kind of ability, but in front of their Bhoys, they schooled us. I think our CL campaign might be over . . . Luckily we rocked the last 2 games of the month, with Lewis bagging his first goal in the close-ish game against Wolfsburg.
March
So another poor month. We started off with a loss at Nurnberg after Warner Horn received his marching orders and we were down a man. Like I predicted, after the next game we were knocked out of the Champions League. Celtic were too much for us to handle. I guess the team is still developing its mentality for «big games.» Nothing to talk about in the next two wins against Mainz and Bremen apart from Reus scored more. The last game was against Bayern who are languishing in 6th. We played evenly and made a breakthrough right after they had a player sent off early in the second quarter but they managed to equalize a little after 70 minutes. We shot ourselves in the foot after we gave away a penalty in the 87th minute and Lahm smashed it home, earning them all the points.
April
Ah, green circles what I love to see. We had a draw after Dortmund’s new signing from Man Utd, Paul Pogba’s stoppage time strike gave them the win. On its heels, during the busy month game an easy win against Frieburg and a monumental win against Schalke, whose title challenge is effectively ended. I guess the team talk I had after the draw with Leverkusen has spurred them on. Frankfurt were the better team in the next game, but super-sub Allagui finished them off for us. Reus scored yet another (his third or fourth) in the next game against Diusberg. After this game we WON THE BUNDESLIGA!!! We did it with 2 games in hand. It seems after that loss, Schalke just collapsed and no other team was able to adequately step up. Gladbach’s wait for a title is over!
The last match of the month was a victory lap, highlighting the scoring prowess and partnership of Reus and Benitez.
July
Just one game. A revenge win against Kaiserslautern. It didn’t matter because we already won the Bundesliga!
A decent 7 point cushion we earned :P I am so proud of these boys:
13 players breaking 7. Just phenomenal. Reus, off-course, had the season of his life and scored the most goals and had the highest rating. Abdulrahman once again led the team in assists. Let’s see how they stacked up with the rest of the league:
We led in goals, assists, and MotM awards! Not only that, but we dominated average rating!
Finances are looking terrific as well. I can’t wait to see what our budget is next season. Yep, I am staying for at least one more season at Gladbach. I said I wanted to win the main cup and the domestic league in the five biggest leagues in Europe and so far only half that objective has been completed in Germany. So next season expect to see me focusing on the German Cup and Champions League the most!
That’s all for now. I hope everyone enjoyed reading about my season. I look forward to all your feedback!
Laxeyman
14 января, 2012 at 11:56
Great season Bhargav, congrats on the league win! You also did well to get as far as you did in Europe, and I don’t think it’ll be too long before you get to the final of that competition, with the amount of quality youngsters you’ve got, your team should keep getting better and better :)
Bhargav
15 января, 2012 at 10:10
Thanks Laxeyman! I’m hoping for some improvement next season.
Johnny Karp
14 января, 2012 at 11:58
Congrats on the title, the team did really well in the league! The Champions League campaign was not bad either but I expected you to go past Celtic, that was a bit of an upset. I’m sure you’ll do better next season though, good luck!
Bhargav
15 января, 2012 at 10:13
Thanks Johnny! I think my youngsters might not be mentally ready to be on that kind of stage but next year as they gain more experience I expect them to fare much better.
Sears
14 января, 2012 at 13:08
Congrats on winning the title mate, that was really impressive. Like Johnny said, losing to Celtic was an upset but playing at Celtic Park on a Champions League night is extremely difficult with the support they have. Best of luck next season pal
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:16
Thanks so much Sears! I hope next season we go farther. Hopefully the draw will work in our favor again.
Darren Smith
14 января, 2012 at 13:23
Good season there mate and the title was well deserved. I agree with Johnny, that loss to Celtic seemed like an upset to me but your inspired Winter signings look very good for sure.
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:18
Thanks Darren! It feels like a revolving door sometimes, all these players coming and going.
Kevin
14 января, 2012 at 13:44
Hi Bhargav
Well done on winning the Bundesliga! Based on your results I wasn’t sure how this would end up as I was reading through but then a brilliant April saw you home! Too bad about the Champions League but I’m sure you will come back stronger next season.
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:18
Thanks Kevin! I Schalke were with me every step of the way but after that second loss to me, they just fell apart and the title was ours.
vaibhavc
14 января, 2012 at 18:24
Great season Bhargav, your first title! Unlucky in the Champions League, Celtic are a team you should beat, but upsets happen. Our Indian friends did not play too well, Prakash only played 5 games, and Hossain did not play much either.
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:20
Thanks Vaibhav. I was surprised that we couldn’t put any dent in them. And I figured that the Indian players wouldn’t do very well during the first season because they are used to a much lower quality of game but with the training that I am providing I think they will grow into phenomenal athletes.
Woody
15 января, 2012 at 08:45
great season mate
good to see you win the league this year
next year with the right team i think you’ll be able to win the german cup and maybe the champions league
anyway good luck
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:23
Thanks Woody! The German Cup will be my top priority for the sake of progressing through the pentagon challenge.
CsAtlantis
15 января, 2012 at 09:30
Wow congratulations Bhargav, not sure what Bayern were doing, they barely qualified for the Europa League, but to win with such a healthy cushion is great
Reus is just sheer class, and Christian Benitez had a fine season too
Not sure how Celtic thumped you over two legs so neatly, didn’t know they were that good
But man, that is sure a big payoff you pocketed from winning the league, added to the Champions League money next season you should be assured of having plenty of money (and perhaps a lot of players will consider your team now that you are league champions)
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:24
Thanks CsAtlantis! You raise some great points. Benitez was totally worth the 2mil loan fee, especially since I was only paying 40% of his salary. I was surprised by the margin I won by. It seems during the second to last month all the other teams who were around me collapsed.
nielsneutron
15 января, 2012 at 18:58
You really did a coup in finding that Indian boy Prakash.
Great season overall but you might need some more experince for the high-profile games especially in the champions league.
nielsneutron
15 января, 2012 at 19:01
ups did not see that Prakash have only played five matches.
At least your loanny did you great.
Bhargav
16 января, 2012 at 02:26
Haha, yeah Prakash only got to play while the others were injured. He was unfortunate that Benitez, Allagui, and Reus were in such sparkling form.
Nik
16 января, 2012 at 07:11
Congratulations mate! Great season.
Bhargav
17 января, 2012 at 03:22
Thanks a lot Nik!
Ana Garcia
16 января, 2012 at 22:16
Well done you!
I manged in Germany once a few games ago and for some reason didnt really enjoy it that much.
However I am really enjoying this story and its great to see you claim some success in winning the league!
Best of luck on next season, are you planning on making Benitez’s loan permanent? seems he did really well for you. :)
Bhargav
17 января, 2012 at 03:25
Hey Ana, thanks for your kind words. I’m sorry your experience with the Bundesliga wasn’t fun. I am actually having a great time because of the lenient transfer rules. I doubt I will keep Benitez because he is an expensive player and at 29 he doesn’t have too many good years left in him.