Career The Inter Milan 3 Germans challenge

[Madferit25]

My career thread for the following challenge

@danovic78

Internazionale - Die Deutsche Trio-Herausforderung

Credit to @danovic78 for creating this challenge.

In 1988, Internazionale signed German duo Lothar Matthäus and Andreas Brehme from Bayern Munich, shortly followed by Jürgen Klinsmann from Stuttgart a year later, and set about on their own quest to bring as much silverware as possible to their half of the city of Milan. Was it an attempt to replicate what Milan did with the Dutchmen a year before? Possibly, but whereas Milan had bought champions on the international stage, Inter about to make them.

The first through the door was Matthäus, someone who is inexplicably overlooked when speaking about the all-time greats of the game. The term ‘all-round player’ is something that has lost meaning in recent years, but Matthäus is the embodiment of the perfect player. He had the defensive capabilities to play a holding role in midfield, he could make late runs into the box and score his fair share of goals and, despite his small stature, he was impressive in the air. There was nothing Matthäus couldn’t do.

Alongside him in a few of those Bayern Munich sides was left-back Andreas Brehme, another legend of the game whose impact is often forgotten. A Hamburg native, Brehme first made his mark on the game at Kaiserslautern, where he would play 154 games between 1981 and 1986. Much like Matthäus at Mönchengladbach, this would be where Brehme learnt about the game and developed as a player before making the big jump to Bayern. His versatility and ability as an all-round defender was unmatched, being just as good with his right foot as he was with his predominantly stronger left.

In 1988, while Matthäus and Brehme were lifting the Scudetto, Jürgen Klinsmann was helping Stuttgart reach the UEFA Cup final and winning the German Footballer of the Year award. He wasn’t the most physically imposing striker in the world, often looking like a gust of wind could cause him to hit the deck, but what he lacked in physical prowess he more than made up for with intelligence and a great sense of anticipation for a chance at goal. Klinsmann moving to Inter seemed like a logical step in his career, leaving a team that had just reached the UEFA Cup final to a side that had just won the Italian top flight and was looking to make an impression in the European Cup.

Challenge Rules

• Load Italy and any other countries you wish.
• Take control of Inter Milan.
• You must sign a three German players. One central defender/midfielder, Left Back and a Striker.
• Over the next four seasons rack up as many points as possible based on the scoring system below.

Scoring System

Serie A:
1st – 25 points
2nd – 20 points
Top 4 – 15 points
5 - 6th - 10 points
7-8th – 5 points
9th - 15th – -10 points
15th - 17th – -20 points
Relegated - -50 points

Sacked: -25 points (and the challenge is over)

Italian Cup:
Winner - 25 points
Runner Up - 20 points
Semi Finalist - 15 points
Quarter Final - 10 points
Fourth or Fifth Round Exit - 0 points
Third Round Exit - -10 points

Italian Super Cup:
Winners – 25 points 
Runners Up - 20 points

Champions League:
Winners – 50 points 
Runners Up - 25 points
Semi Finalist - 20 points
Quarter Finalist - 10 points
Knockout Rounds - 5 points
Group stage - 0 points

Europa League:
Winners – 50 points 
Runners Up - 25 points
Semi Finalist - 20 points
Quarter Finalist - 10 points
Knockout Rounds - 5 points
Group stage - 0 points

European Super Cup:
Winners – 25 points 
Runners Up - 20 points

FIFA World Club Cup:
Winners – 25 points 
Runners Up - 20 points

Rivalries: (Competitive Only)
Beat AC Milan - 5 points
Beat Juventus - 5 points

BONUS: 
Win Serie A Manager of the year – 5 points
Serie A Player of the year (Won by one of your German Players) - 5 points
Serie A Top Goalscorer (Won by one of your German Players) - 5 points

And so it begins! 

I was unveiled as the new coach of Inter, with one simple strategy! Sign three German's, a LB, a CB/CM and a striker and deliver success back to Inter! I implemented my tactics and deploying a RWB meant there was no place for any RM/RW's so Candreva was quickly moved on to Bournemouth for £12.5m. 

Jonas Hector became the first German arrival, the LB joining for £16m with Facundo Colidio, a young striker who was going to struggle for game time moving in the opposite direction! With the club now heavy with quality LB's, Kwadwo Asamoah was sold to Sporting Lisbon for £18m.

CM Reinhold Yabo, the next German arrived for £6m with Felice D'Amico, another teen who wouldn't get close to first team action heading the other way.

The final German acquisition was made to suffice the Inter board, striker Davie Selke arrived for £12m, with young attacking Mid Ray Manaj heading to Germany!

With the board happy with Inter's German spine, I was ready to deliver!

[Madferit25]

Davie Selke was relatively young, quick with good movement, he could finish and was good in the air! He was also very aggressive and I expected big things from him! I planned to play him up top with Icardi with Perisic playing off them on the left! The board demanded one of my German's finish the season as top goal scorer, and with how I set my teams up, I expected Perisic to score goals and seriously threaten Selke's chances of taking this award, but as long as we are scoring we should be successful!

Yabo, who I felt was the weakest of the 3 German's, would play as a play maker in a 3 man midfield with Nainggolan the ball winner in the centre and Gagliardini the box to box man to the right of the 3!

Jonas Hector was good enough to hold his own at LB in Italy I felt!

The GK position at Inter was a little worrying with Handanovic a decent keeper but coming towards the end of his career! I decided to give him until the January transfer window before assessing whether to replace him.

The season was about to get under way...

[Madferit25]

The season started well, the opening 8 League games won with the highlight being a 3-1 away win at Juventus (and our first challenge points picked up)! The only disappointment was throwing away a 3 goal lead away at A Madrid to draw 3-3, but an away point to the group's strongest side was acceptable! 

Yabo picked up an injury which kept him out for a few months but in Mãrio and Brozovic we were well covered!

We had made a good start

[Madferit25]

Our first League points dropped in draws with Fiorentina and Torino but we were beginning to open up a gap at the top of Serie A! Champions League knock out stages were also achieved by virtue of winning our group!

Selke after a sluggish start was finding his feet also and beginning to score goals

Up next, the Milan derby and the possibility of some more challenge points

[Rob]

That’s a good start. Keep it up. 

[Madferit25]

 

1 hour ago, Rob said:

That’s a good start. Keep it up. 

Thanks Rob

A good victory over rivals AC milan to gain some more challenge points and every game won after that bar a draw as we wrapped up top spot in our champions League group, and face Juve in the Italian cup semi finals! 

As we approached the winter transfer window Chelsea offered around £42m for Perisic which was rejected! He had been doing well and scoring goals but he was almost 30 and I would have accepted a bigger offer! He wasn't happy at not being allowed to move and clashed with me! He was sold in the window for £70m along with Nainggolan who had also just hit 30, he moved to Real Madrid, also for £70m! Quality replacements were needed and after Memphis Depay refused to move as Perisic's replacement, money was spent on Quincy Promes and Amadou Diawara! Quality replacements were hard to come by but hopefully they will settle in and the good form will continue.

[Madferit25]

After a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg of the Italian cup semi final with Juve the second leg and possible elimination was a concern! A bizarre League win over Juve followed when we were 6-2 up and it finished 6-5! A good 3-1 win in the second leg of the Juve tie meant a place in the final (and more challenge points) and Valencia were successfully defeated over two legs to make the next round of the champions League! Two goals in the last 7 minutes saw us fight back from 2-0 down away to Roma and keep our unbeaten League start going! 

25 wins in the league, 3 draws and no defeats sees us heading towards the title with a cup final to come and hopefully further progress in the champions League!

[danovic78]

Great start in a tough league.

Selke has always been a favourite of mine over recent years, always delivers and decent squad member in any team. 

[Woody]

Great start mate and some interesting player choices. Never used Selke before but i do know of him.

Keep up the good work.

[Rob]

Wonderful start in a difficult league.

[Madferit25]

Thanks guys, been going well! Selke has been banging them in, Yabo has probably been the most disappointing of all the signings but I have to persevere with him for the challenge! 

Just an edit, I posted the wrong League table in my last post, should have been this one

Edited December 24, 2018 by Madferit25
Spelling mistake

[Madferit25]

End of first season

A good first season with the three trophies we entered won and only a single defeat over the entire campaign!

The league was won at a canter with the only disappointment coming near the end with a 1-0 defeat against Sampdoria, Reinhold Yabo getting sent off in the first half! 

Spurs and PSG were comfortably disposed of as we made the final of the champions League, defeating Porto 3-0 to lift the trophy!

Serie A manager of the year was won and Davie Selke won top scorer to bag some more challenge points, Gonzalo Higuain of AC picked up the player of the year!

With regards reinforcements for next season, Memphis Depay finally agreed a summer move after rejecting the chance to join us in the winter window! Ajax keeper André Onana also agreed a summer switch to challenge the ageing Handanovic for the number 1 spot! We also bought out the loan agreement for regular right back Sime Vrsaljko after he did well this season!

Serie A winners - 25 points

Italian cup winners - 25 points

Champions League winners - 50 points

Serie A manager of the year - 5 points

Serie A top scorer - 5 points

3 wins over Juve - 15 points

1 win over AC - 5 points

Total for first season - 130 points

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by Madferit25

[topline]

what a great idea.... i will definitely try this out

[topline]

this was a great challenge! i sold up a bunch if squad players in the first window and somehow convinced Passlack (re-trained to LB), Geiger and Werner to sign on. lots of fun