Hello once again from Düsseldorf, in this, the final update on Frank Athlete’s career in Football Manager 22. Having made such strides in the Bundesliga last season, finishing in 3rd place and qualifying for Champions League football, Frank had his work cut out to prepare and strengthen his squad for what looked set to be his toughest test yet. How he faired took even himself by surprise, as he truly announced his arrival to the footballing world on the biggest stage. It was a great season to end on, and I’m looking forward to bring you up to speed with how it all panned out. Let’s get in to it…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2032/33
Players in: Benjamín Hernández, América (€9.75M); Valentino Anyoy, Racing Club (€6.5M); Ionuţ Dogar-Cernat, SC Freiburg (€5.75M)
Players out: None

Last season’s 3rd place finish and the resulting qualification for Champions League football, meant Frank really needed to focus on adding strength in depth so as to cope with the increase of games to the fixture list. Since the team had performed so valiantly to get the side into the top 4, it made sense to build on what was there rather than make wholesale changes. No departures from the first team meant the focus was entirely on who would be brought in.

Argentinian centre back, Valentino Anyoy (20), would act as understudy to the three more experienced central defenders (Rekik, Leković and Nakisa) ahead of him in the team, while Dogar-Cernat brings Bundesliga experience with him, and offers a deeper, more defensive option in central midfield if needed. He’s also versatile enough to play as a CM-A and even AP-S should the need arise.

The icing on the cake was the arrival of Mexican forward, Benjamín Hernández, who at first glance looks like an excellent acquisition and arguably one of the best False 9's on the market, even at the age of 20. He would bring some much needed creativity and deft finishing to the front line.

The media’s expectation was 8th, where they clearly saw last term’s league performance as something of a fluke. Frank and his team set out to prove them wrong.

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As is customary in the Bundesliga, the season kicked off with the first round of the DFB Pokal. Düsseldorf were drawn away at lower league side, Plauen, and made short work of it, going 7-0 up in the first half and eventually winning 9-3 to set up a Second Round tie against Eintracht Frankfurt in October. The rest of August featured three league games, where the Fortunen managed 6 points from 9, beating Hertha Berlin and Kaiserlautern at home, and losing away to Darmstadt 98 in a shock result. That defeat would be the last until mid-October, with the side managing to go unbeaten in their next five league games to take them up to 1st place on 19 points.

September also saw the launch of the team’s Champions League campaign, with the group stage draw placing them alongside European heavyweights AC Milan, Arsenal and Villarreal in Group H. A narrow 2-1 defeat away at AC Milan was followed by a hard fought bore draw at home to Villarreal, before the side travelled to London to play last season’s Europa League winners, Arsenal. As expected, this was a tough test where the Gunners took an early lead through Bukayo Saka, and despite being pegged back in the 51st minute, regained the lead again in the 69th. As we entered the last ten minutes, all seemed lost, but a quick fire double salvo from Burbano and Alair put the Fortunen in front and on course for their first win in the competition. Sadly, it wasn’t to be though, as Arsenal new boy, Daniel Maria, bagged his second goal of the game in the 89th minute and rescued a draw for them. Düsseldorf could take heart from their performance, but a win was what was needed to keep pace in the group.

Back in Germany and the extra travel and bitterness of dropping points seemed to have an effect on the side, as they lost at home to Wolfsburg and slipped to 3rd in the league. A narrow win in the DFB Pokal next set up a Third Round fixture against Darmstadt 98 in the New Year, and that was followed by a 2-1 away win at SC Paderborn 07 to round off October’s fixtures.

November began with more Champions League action as Dusseldorf welcomed Arsenal for the return fixture in the group. They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but Arsenal weren’t about to roll over too easily. Twice Fortuna took the lead and twice Arsenal equalised, but it was the German side’s turn to break hearts as Hernandez bagged his second of the game and secured victory in the 70th minute.

Bayern Munich in the league were the reward for their hard labour and once again they proved why they are favourites for the league title, comfortably winning 3-1 at Stadion München. Next up was Borrussia Dortmund who were yet another side not to be trifled with, and yet Fortuna proved their worth with a thrilling 3-1 victory of their own, with Dortmund never really looking like they were at the races. A crushing 2-1 defeat to Villarreal in the Champions League gave way to an even more disappointing loss in the derby against FC Koln with the scoreline at 4-0 and the side looking utterly devoid of ideas.

As it turned out, that loss proved the catalyst for the team to go on an incredible run of form, notching up seven wins and a draw in the league through to the end of January, and up into 2nd place, hot on the heels of Bayern Munich. Sandwiched in amongst those league games was the final group match in the Champions League, a home tie aganst AC Milan who had already won the group. Arsenal sat two points ahead of Düsseldorf in 2nd and would host Villareal at home where a point would be enough to see them qualify for the next round. Fortuna took an early lead but were pegged back at half time, with their lead restored in the 54th, only for it to be cancelled out again a minute later. What followed was frankly incredible. Four goals in the last 30 minutes saw Düsseldorf emerge as 6-2 winners against last season’s Europa League runners up. F95 had done all they could, but Arsenal once again returned to spoil the party, their game ending with a 3-1 victory and condemning Fortuna Düsseldorf to demotion to the Europa League.

As January drew to a close, Frank once again fended off interest in his players over the Transfer Window, and apart from one or two fringe players departing on loan, the core squad remained intact.

February saw the return of the DFB Pokal as Düsseldorf contested an away tie to Darmstadt 98. In truth it was a tough watch and Darmstadt’s 11th minute goal proved to be the only noteworthy action as they knocked out Fortuna. In the league, the good run continued with four more consecutive wins including a pleasing 3-0 battering of RB Leipzig on their patch. Düsseldorf had also drawn Italian outfit, Atalanta, in the First Knockout Round of the Europa League and over the two legs, the Fortunen were worthy winners, winning 5-1 on aggregate to set up a Second Knockout Round tie against Rapid Vienna. 5-2 was the aggregate score this time, and that would mean a Quarter Final match against PSG next month.

Before that though, Wolfsburg would take full advantage of the team’s focus being elsewhere, and promptly dispatched Düsseldorf 4-0, the side’s first defeat since late November. Usual order was restored in the next league match, a 4-3 win against SC Paderborn, and that was followed by a well deserved 0-0 draw at home to Bayern. Still in 2nd place, the title was a highly improbable target, although a 1-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund did mean that it would be a race between the top two come season’s end.

By strange coincidence, both Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bayern Munich would play four of the same teams in their last five games of the season, but despite wins against FC Koln (5-0), Stuttgart (3-2) and FC Nurnburg (3-1), a draw at FC St. Pauli and defeat to Monchengladbach would assure Bayern of the title once more, their 21st consecutive triumph in this competition.

Meanwhile, back in the Europa League, Fortuna had been handed the all but impossible task of defeating PSG to progress in the competition. As if to cast a dark shadow over the contest, striker Daryl Dike broke his leg in training two days before the first match and ruled himself out for the remainder of the season. In typical fashion, the French side took control of the first leg on the stroke of half time through João Félix, while Camavinga bagged another one, early in the second half. On 78 minutes, Alair came on as a substitute and instantly vincidatced Frank’s decision with an 80th minute consolation goal. Could that prove crucial?

A week later, it was Fortuna’s turn to do the hosting and despite some nerves in the opening exchanges, it was the Bundesliga side that took the lead through Hernandez. A 68th minute penalty to the visitors poured controversy into the tie and the resulting conversion from Vitinha meant that PSG were on course to progress. With the clock ticking, and time evaporating, it would take something special to salvage a result. Enter Samuel Burbano, who’s 87th minute winner sent the fans into raptures as a 2-1 victory cancelled out PSG’s win in the first leg and would mean the game would be decided via extra time and potetnially penalties. The following 30 minutes were a nervy affair, but it would be the latter course of penalties that would decide the fate of this tie with neither team able to find the net in extra time. Perhaps it was good luck, or maybe a sixth sense, but Frank had had the team practicing penalties the day before and evidently that extra training would prove to be the difference. PSG would see two of their penalties saved by cult hero Charlie Setford, while Fortuna Dusseldorf scored all four of theirs to ensure victory!

Up next was another tricky opponent, Benfica, who were eager for silverware having endured a five year barren spell. Once again the first leg would be played away at their ground, and sure enough it was an extremely tense affair. Defensively Fortuna were solid, but they offered very little by way of attack and in the end, the 0-0 scoreline was reflective of neither team willing to put on a show. The return leg was a similar story, although at least this time there was some goalmouth action, albeit no actual goals. 0-0 after a second 90 minutes meant another round of extra time and potentially more penalties, but a twist in the tale would ensure there’d be no shootout agony tonight. A loose ball from Jaramillo’s tackle was picked up by Burbano who’s driving run forward culminated in an inch-perfect through ball for Alair to fire in the winner on 108 minutes! Fortuna Düsseldorf, had found their way into a European Cup Final!

The other Semi Final had been played out between Marseille and Ajax, with Marseille drawing first blood with an impressive 4-2 win away from home, before then being left utterly perplexed at a 3-0 defeat on their own soil as Ajax came back fighting to lead 5-4 on aggregate.

So here it is, a mouthwatering Final between European supremes, Ajax, and little-league minnows, Fortuna Düsseldorf. The venue for such an occasion? According to the organisers, it’s a neutral ground called the Johan Cruijff ArenA, which you might recognise as the Netherland’s national team home ground. It’s also where Ajax play their home games!

Aside from the obvious issue that one team knows the ground signifciantly better than the other, UEFA did at least insist that both teams should have equal support and so just over 32,000 of the Fortunen faithful travelled to the Dutch capital for a once in a life time opporutnity at glory. Aside from the Bundesliga 2 championship in 2023, Fortuna Düsseldorf hadn’t won a trophy since the DFB Pokal win in 1980, over 50 years ago, and they had never reached a European final either, let alone won a trophy. Could this be the day that history is made?

By 8pm, the stage had been set, the anthems had been played, and the game kicked off. Early chances for both teams helped settle the nerves, but it was Fortuna Dusseldorf that broke the deadlock with Burbano turning in Renan’s stunning long shot from outside the box on 19 minutes. Ajax were unperturbed by going a goal down and their patience paid off as they equalised with a lovely team goal on 42 minutes. The second half had more of the same, with both teams creating chances but neither able to find the net. Tiredness was becoming a factor for Fortuna after such a long season, but the adrenaline was getting them through so far. With the referee blowing for full time at 1-1, the game would go to Extra Time with Düsseldorf looking increasingly likely to concede as their lack of fitness showed.

Extra Time began with both sides being slightly more reserved in their approach, but as tensions began to fray, Ajax’s former Arsenal centre back, Gabriel, committed a cynical foul on the edge of the area at 99 minutes, and was lucky to only receive a yellow card. Peruvian playmaker, Renan, placed down the ball and after a brief pause, rifled it straight into the top corner. A sumptuous goal, worthy of any trophy win, and despite Ajax’s best efforts to equalise, the damage was done and Fortuna Düsseldorf saw out the remainder of the match to be crowned champions.

And so there you have it, Fortuna Düsseldorf win the Europa League, and Frank Athlete bags his first trophy after 12 years in football management. Having started out at FC Dordrecht in the Dutch Eerste Divisie and seeing them promoted to the Eredivisie, he then moved on to Sparta Rotterdam before taking charge at Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga in 2027. In five and a half years, Frank has worked to establish the Fortunen first as a top half team, and more recently as contenders for European qualification and now the Honours to go with it. Whether Fortuna Düsseldorf can go on to usurp Bayern Munich as league champions is a question we can only guess at, but it’s clear, for now at least, that Frank M. Athlete can be very proud of his accomplishments.

Results Overview

Bundesliga

Expectation: 8th

Actual: 2nd

Summary: Another incredible season, where for certain periods it looked like we couldn’t lose and our run just went on and on. Bayern are tough though, and we’re still some way off their level.

Best moment: Might be odd to pick out a draw as the season highlight, but our 0-0 result against Bayern was the first point Frank secured against them during his tenure.

Low moment: Losing a derby to FC Koln is always disappointing, but getting thumped 4-0, especially by an opponent we should be beating, is really unforgiveable.

DFB Pokal

Expectation: 3rd Round

Actual: 3rd Round

Summary: I genuinely thought this would be our best chance of silverware this season, and so to be knocked out by Darmstadt 98, a side we really should be beating, was quite a disappointment.

Best moment: The season opener where we scored nine goals, seven of which came in the first half, was quite special. There were six goalscorers in the match as well. Impressive!

Low moment: As I’ve already alluded to, the defeat in the Third Round was hard to take. At the time we had been flying in the league and so to lose our form for one match was something of a shock.

Champions League

Expectation: Group Stage

Actual: Group Stage

Summary: Our first foray into Champions League football and we always knew it would be really tough, but in the end we can be very proud of our performance and were unlucky not to progress.

Best moment: The 6-2 demolition of AC Milan was very special, especialyl as Benjamin Hernandex bagged four goals on his own and recorded a 10.0 rating along with the PoM award.

Low moment: The Arsenal draw felt so unjust at the time, having done so well to get back into the game, and then to concede so late was a really bitter blow, and ultimately cost us qualification.

Europa League

Expectation: Quarter Final

Actual: Winners

Summary: This victory was the absolute highlight and pinnacle of Frank’s career, full of drama and near misses, and not to mention wins against some of Europe’s elite teams.

Best moment: It’s hard to look past Renan’s winning free kick goal from the Final as the highlight of the competition. The inch-perfect placement is sublime and fully deserved to be the match winner.

Low moment: I’m not sure there was a low moment in truth, the defeat to PSG was justified, and we got our own back in the return fixture anyway. Can’t be disappointed when we won it in the end!

Frank’s Favourites

FM22 has been a brilliant edition from my point of view. I really enjoyed building Fortuna Düsseldorf into a formidable side, although I probably leaned a little too heavily on South American signings, especially since byt the time of the final season, I actually didn’t have any German players in the match squad! This was something I had started to address in recent years, but none of the German youth players are ready for first team football yet.

The tactic is mainly intact from when I moved from Sparta Rotterdam, but with a few tweaks to the Team Instructions. The key factor is the mentality has remained cautious throughout. This was something of a neccessity at first, since we were largely outlcassed in the Bundesliga at the beginning, but even as we began challenging for European places, it continued to serve us well, drawing teams on to us and then hitting them on the counter.

Most of the roles and duties are fairly standard, but I was susprised to find such success using this particualr midfield pairing. An Advanced Playmaker alongside a CM-A might seem too attacking, but in fact with the cautious approach, it seemed to balance it quite well and rarely were we overpowered in the middle by our opposition.

Since this is the final update, I have highlighted a few of my (Frank’s) favouritie players below from our recent Europa League winning side. There are a couple of newgens in there, but also a couple of real world players as well, in case anyone wants to share their own stories on them.

Name: Charlie Setford

Nationality: English

Position: Sweeper Keeper (De)

Bought for: €3M

Current value: €38M-€45M

Manager’s remarks: Charlie is easily my favourite player of the entire save. Mr Dependable, I signed him intitially while at Sparta Rotterdam for just €14.5K from Ajax, before resigning him at Düsseldorf for €3M. He’s spent the last seven years as my first choice keeper and despite attempts at various points to “upgrade” him, I honestly couldn’t find anyone that offered what he does. I hope his real life career can emulate what he’s done for me in FM22.

Name: Mehran Nakisa

Nationality: Iranian

Position: Central Defender (Co)

Bought for: €325K

Current value: €62M-€78M

Manager’s remarks: Mehran is an incredible player. At 22, he’s still expected to improve on where he’s at right now, and yet his attributes are amazing. He is on the small side for a central defender, and that’s reflected in his limited jumping abilaity, but it was rare that this ever caused real problems, and he more than makes up for it with his speed, positioning and bravery. I’ve loved having him in the side and would be curious to see what he does in the next 10 years.

Name: Isak Hansen-Aarøen

Nationality: Norwegian

Position: Central Midfielder (At)

Bought for: €3.9M

Current value: €60M-€66M

Manager’s remarks: Hansen-Aarøen is another early signing from my time at Fortuna. He joined for the start of Frank’s second full season and quickly became indespensible, consistently delivering at least a dozen goals and assists a season, and doubling that tally in the last year with 15 goals and 8 assists in all competitions. He’s another player that on paper is clearly decent, but his on pitch performances prove that he’s more than just attribute ratings on a page.

Name: Benjamín Hernández

Nationality: Mexican

Position: False 9 (Su)

Bought for: €9.75M

Current value: €56M-€64M

Manager’s remarks: It was a struggle to replace Rodolfo Gomez when he departed the club and it took a couple of seasons to find the right player in Benjamin. His arrival changed everything. He contributed 33 goals and assists in his first season with us, and boasts a 7.18 average rating across 46 games. His attributes are to die for, but the highlight is definitely in his traits, with “tries killer balls often” and “likes to beat opponent repeatedly” bith in there.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

Northern Boys - Finale (Part X) - Madd FM presents his final update from his FM22 series. What a journey his Newcastle team have been on, a great end to a brilliant story.

Why AD Ceuta FC in #FM23? - Hard not to be excited by what FM Grasshopper has planned for next year - make sure you’re up to speed with his FM23 save

RCDM: Finding The Key - FM Adventure’s last update shares some recent successes from Mallorca and teases a potential for one final update for FM22

The Nigerian Gunman - Botev Plovdiv - FM Eadster returns with another update from the Efbet League as he looks to go one better than last season’ Europa Conference League qualification.

Ten years with Warta Poznan - It doesn’t seem five minutes ago that FM Rensie began his career with Warta Poznan, and yet here we are, a deacde on and still learning from the master!

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for reading this update, I really hope you enjoyed it. You’ll find more updates from me, as well as blogs from some other fantastic writers at CoffeehouseFM so make sure you check them out. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can message me @fm_athlete if you feel like getting in touch.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘drinking champagne from a dusty old cup’. See you next time.