FM22 Save Ideas - Germany

So you've probably experienced the frustration of loading up a game of Football Manager and not progressing past the first screen, not even sure what leagues to load nevermind what club you might take charge of. Well in this new series we're gonna have a look at some of the stories that might tempt you to start a save in FM22. If videos are more your thing you can follow along on the FM LLama Youtube Channel instead or simply scroll down for the embedded video. Thanks alot to FM Llama for sharing this create content with us 🙂

After our looks at save ideas in France and in Spain we take a look at some clubs you could manage in Germany in FM22.

Let's check out our first two choices. Two very different clubs from the same City offer a brace of enticing options for an FM22 adventure. Welcome to Hamburg, Germany's second largest city and one with a reputation for doing things differently. A counterculture city, a port city, a city renowned for its night time economy, a city of vice, of music, of the beatles, of punk, of rave and a city with two popular football clubs with very different histories.

The German “Dinosaur”

First Hamburger SV known in German football as the dinosaur. Hamburger are one of Germany's oldest clubs and a successful one to; 6 German Championships, 3 German Cups, European Cup Winners Cup and the greatest title of all, the 1983 European Cup.

But Hamburger also had an honor for which trophies are not awarded. Since the founding of the Bundesliga in 1963 Hamburger were the only mainstays. Even Bayern and Dortmund had spent time in Bundesliga too but not Hamburger, an achievement they were so proud of they installed a clock at their Volksparkstadion displaying how long they had spent in the top flights.

But their fortunes had been in decline for much of this century and survival was becoming harder to achieve each season. Brushes with the drop and relegation playoffs became the norm and then in 2018 the clock stopped. The fans responded with songs inside the stadium and riots in the city.

The Ultimate “Cult Club”

But for their rivals St Pauli it meant the prospect of a humble derby next season. St Pauli is a district of Hamburg located on the Elbe River and home to the notorious Reeperbahn known as the Sinful Mile. A fitting home for St Pauli. A club with zero league titles, without a cup triumph and only a handful of seasons playing in the Bundesliga. But St Pauli do have one of the most distinctive cultures in German football. Founded in 1910 the club became more widely known during the 1980s when St Pauli became a “cult club”.

The 1980s was a period in which many clubs attracted far-right nationalist supporter groups but St Pauli were different. The club's location near the docks and Reeperbahn district meant they began to attract an alternative support from punks, intellects, artists, free thinkers, radicals, non-conformists and squatters, they became the ultimate counter culture club. From here the legend of St Pauli grew. They became a club that championed diversity where fan welfare became central to decision making and where do these supporters come together the Millerntor, a place where football is peripheral to having a good time unless it's derby day.

Where once Hamburger fans would watch their team on a saturday and lend their support at the Millerntor on a sunday, now tensions between the two run high which brings us to FM22 where these two Hamburg residents both start in Bundesliga II.

Whilst one offers you the opportunity to rebuild a former European Champion the other is a club with ideals but no trophies. Do you favor history on the pitch or cultural ideals off it? Either could provide the backdrop to an epic FM22 adventure but is either right for you?

So Hamburg is a city boasting two possible destinations for fans of Football Manager but what if you're looking for an adventure that starts out in the bottom playable division? Well for that we need to check out our third save suggestion.

Both one of the oldest and one of the newest teams in Germany

From Germany's second largest city to the capital and Berlin. Currently the home of two Bundesliga clubs. But whilst Herther and Union compete to be the capital's top club. In the third tier lie Viktoria 1889, formed in 2013 but nonetheless one of Germany's oldest clubs. The club is the product of a merger between BFC Viktoria 1889 and Lichterfelder FC, two historic clubs from the region that had fallen on harder times and were competing in the regional leagues.

But the origins of Viktoria date back to 1889 and at the start of the previous century they were one of Germany's leading clubs; they won the German championship in 1908 and 1911, but their decline began with the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. At the time football in Berlin was not as strong as in other regions of Germany but the authorities felt it important that a club from the partition city be represented in the newly formed league. Viktoria were overlooked in favor of Hertha and they gradually made their way down the German pyramid. But since the merger in 2013 the sky blues have made progress on the field and having won the Oberliga Nord last season they are back in the third tier of German football for FM22.

Berlin clubs have won relatively few honours in German football and this is your opportunity to take a club from the lowest playable level in Football Manager and take them all the way to the Bundesliga. Can you become the capital's top club before taking the fight to Bayern, Dortmund and Leipzig? This would be a challenging proposition but might it be the fm 22 challenge you
are looking for

So there's three suggestions that might inspire your next FM 22 adventure. Be sure to let us know down in the comments the teams that you've managed in Germany and that you've had great adventures with in the past. I will see you very soon for another episode of FM22 save ideas.