Happy Boxing Day folks! The holidays means days where I have nothing to do but play FIFA 08, so the Virtual Season got some work put into it. Now, in our last episode,  Arminia had just lost a home match against Werder Bremen which denied them the top spot in the Bundesliga, going into a stretch of matches which could make or break their season: at Bayern, home to high-flying Hansa Rostock, at slumbering Schalke, and home against Hamburger SV. If they could survive this stretch, they could be heading into the transfer window looking to fill gaps for a title run; if not, they could be drug into a dogfight for a UEFA Cup. Sure, it would be a remarkable season nonetheless, but a title would sure look nice in the trophy room.

Match #11: Bayern Munich 6-6 Arminia Bielefeld 

Scoring: Bayern Munich: Altintop (12'), Toni (44'), Ribery (60'), Klose (63'), Schlaudraff (72'), Schweinsteiger (78'); Arminia Bielefeld: Masmandis (20'), Zuma (48'), Marx (56'), Eigler (66', 90' [Penalty]), Leonidas (84') 

What Happened: Simply the best Bundesliga match of the season, and perhaps in the past several seasons. Arminia came out with all guns blazing, putting Bayern under serious pressure until Bayern finally got a break, which they capitalized on with a goal by Hamit Altintop. Undeterred, Arminia struck back on a great volley by Ioannis Masmandis in the 20th minute. Right before injury time Luca Toni ran right through the Arminia back line to give the German Giants a 2-1 lead at the half. On the opening kick off of the second half, Sibusiso Zuma went right through the Bayern defence himself and drew level at 2-2. Thorben Marx then gave them the lead with a fantastic volley that Oliver Kahn could merely wave at as it passed him by. Almost immediately after Bayern struck twice with Franck Ribery and Miroslav Klose giving them the lead. Substitute Christian Eigler drew Arminia level at 4-4 immediately after with a wonder goal of his own after stealing a poor pass by the Bayern back line. The scoreline once again proved to be short lived as Jan Schaudraff did his own fly-by of the Arminia back four, followed 6 minutes later by a free kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger. In an act of desperation the Arminia manager brought on Leonidas and changed formations to a 4-2-4, which put Bayern right back on the back foot. Despite this Bayern almost made it 7-4 when a poor clearance by goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez found Klose, who easily rounded Fernandez. However his shot flew high to the chagrin of over 70,000 supporters at the Allianz. On the ensuing Goal kick Fernandez found a wide open Leonidas Kampantis, who went in one-on-one and made it a single goal deficit. Arminia almost drew level twice after hitting the post, but their opportunity came in injury time when Christian Eigler was brought down in the area by Lucio, who was not amused by the decision. Eigler slotted home the penalty to put both sides level to end the match.

*phew*

Match #12: Arminia Bielefeld 3-2 Hansa Rostock

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Leonidas (8', 16'), Eigler (64'); Hansa Rostock: Kern (45', 70')

Sendings off: Arminia Bielefeld: None; Hansa Rostock: Orestes (68' [Professional Foul])

What happened: Arminia started right where they left off with a quick goal by Leonidas Kampantis in the 8th minute, and a backs-to-the-wall defencive stand 7 minutes later where Jonas Kamper cleared the ball off of the line. Two quick passes later Leonidas made it 2-0 with a nice shot. Hansa tried to match blow for blow with Arminia, but couldn't match their pace. Kern made it 2-1 right before halftime to make the match interesting. Christian Eigler made it 3-1 in the 64th minute, and almost made it 4-1 whenOrestes Alves brought him down on the edge of the penalty area, earning him a straight red card. Siyabonga Nkosi hit the post with the resulting free kick, and Kern took the rebound all the way down the pitch to make it 3-2. Despite this Rostock did not threaten again as the woodwork proved to be Arminia's toughest opponent.

Match #13: Schalke 04 2-2 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Schalke 04: Kuryani (55'), Altintop (76'); Arminia Bielefeld: Nkosi (45', 81')

What happened: Unlike other previous matches, Schalke kept Arminia on the back foot for most of the first half, but despite this could not get more than 2 shots on goal. Arminia struggled to get forward from midfield, and finally succeeded in injury time, where they forced a corner which resulted in Siyabonga Nkosi heading in the kick from Artur Wichniarek to give Arminia the 0-1 lead at the half. Schalke drew level in the 55th minute and then took a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute, putting Arminia's back to the wall like at Bayern. Nkosi responded with an incredible free kick goal in the 81st minute to draw level, but Schalke held the midfield to hold onto the draw.

Match #14: Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Hamburger SV

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Zuma (29', 44'); Hamburger SV: Chopu-Moting (57')

What happened:  It is becoming apparent that, despite Arminia's goal scoring pace for this season that they are in dire need of a clinical finisher up front, along with three new defenders. Arminia could have easily won the match 4-1 or 5-1 if not for poor final moves and shooting  on the strikers' part. Sibusiso Zuma scored both of Arminia's goals in the first half with great individual efforts, but Hamburg stayed in the match mainly because of shocking misses by the Arminia strikers. HSV pulled a goal back in the 57th minute but rarely threatened after that.

With the win Arminia moved 5 points clear at the top going into their DFB-Pokal match at Erzgebirge Aue. Here's what the table looks like:

For the stats geeks, here's the Top 10 for goal scorers, assistmen, and clean sheets for goalkeepers 

Top goal scorers:

Top Assistmen:

Top Clean Sheets for Goalkeepers:

One last thing, check out the English page for Arminia on the Bundesliga's website for a review of the first half of the season, both good and bad. See you on Saturday! 

In the last edition of the Virtual Season, the 3-5-2 formation instituted by the manager worked as he hoped, as Arminia went 2-1-0 with a +7 goal differential, allowing them to shoot up the table to fifth, only 2 points behind leaders and local rivals Borussia Dortmund.  We pick the season up there.

Match #7: VfL Wolfsburg 0-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: VfL Wolfsburg: None; Arminia Bielefeld: Eigler (54'), Leonidas (68', 75 [Pen. Miss]), Kauf (76')

What happened: Despite the manager putting in a second string squad against the struggling Niedersachsen side, Arminia destroyed Wolfsburg in an affair that was surprisingly scoreless at halftime, mainly because Arminia hit the post an incredible 4 times. The second half opened with yet another post shot, but Christian Eigler finally opened up the scoring with a nice shot form 10 yards in the 54th minute. Pressure continued to mount until Leonidas Kampantais was brought down in the penalty area. Leonidas' attempt was blocked (Sound familiar?), but the rebound came to the feet of Rudiger Kauf, who once again scored from a 20+ yard volley to finish up the scoring. Best part of the match? EA actually thinking that having the Wolfsburg crowd chanting "V!-F!-B!" would be authentic.

Match #8: Arminia Bielefeld 4-0 1. FC Nürnberg

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Zuma (3' [Penalty], 7'), Böhme (57'), Wichniarek (88'); 1. FC Nürnberg: None

What Happened: Another match, another thumping by Bielefeld. Sibusiso Zuma took the opening kick off down the pitch and earned a penalty, which he coolly took to give Arminia a quick 1-0 lead. He did the same thing 4 minutes later, albeit from the edge of the penalty area that time. Jörg Böhme made the lead insurmountable with a fantastic volley from outside the area early in the second half, and Artur Wichniarek finished off the scoring with a slick move to put the ball past the goalkeeper. Kicker pronounced the match as a "Goal Festival," but der Club's manager was less impressed. "Call me when they beat a club in the top half of the table," he quipped, "They will be lucky to not lose by a couple of goals when they go to Dortmund." Luckily for him, that happened to be the next match.

Match #9: Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Borussia Dortmund: Frei (25', 89'); Arminia Bielefeld: Nkosi (14'), Kamper (61') Gabriel (88')

What Happened: After Nürnberg's latest loss, a reporter asked their manager if he saw the scoreline in the Westphalian Derby (Borussia is Arminia's derby club in FIFA 08), and after answering that he had not, was shocked to see Arminia's win. He refused to believe it until he saw the highlights himself, and what he saw was a giant step toward cementing themselves as a title contender at this point of the season. Arminia opened up the scoring with an incredible diving free kick from 35 yards by Siyabonga Nkosi, which completely baffled the Dortmund goalkeeper. Alexander Frei levelled the score shortly after, and both sides settled into an exchange of chances to be stopped by the opposing defences. The score remained the same until the 61st minute when Jonas Kamper took a pass from Artur Wichniarek, charged in on goal, and let loose an unstoppable shot from 25 yards that went in the top corner of the net. Dortmund picked up the pace even more, but it was Arminia who sealed the deal with a header from a corner by defender Petr Gabriel. Frei made it interesting a minute later with a fantastic goal of his own, but Arminia iced the match to put them atop the Bundesliga, facing Werder Bremen the next week at the Alm. A win would put some cushion between them and the rest of the pack going into a DFB-Pokal weekend...

Match #10: Arminia Bielefeld 1-2 Werder Bremen

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Böhme (34'); Werder Bremen: Rosenberg (28'), Hugo Almedia (76')

What Happened: If Arminia loses out on the title by 2 points or less, they will point to this match as a lost opportinuty. They outshot Werder 21-3, with an incredible 12-3 advantage in shots on goal. Both Werder goals came against the run of play, as Rosenberg converted on a defencive error, as did Hugo Almedia. Jörg Böhme scored the only goal for Arminia on a good pass from Sibusiso Zuma that put him behind the Werder defence. Supporters criticized the manager for his switch from a 3-5-2 to a Diamond 4-4-2 formation for the match in an attempt to limit the Werder attack. By the end of the match, this was tossed in favour of a 4-2-4 formation which on several occasions very nearly scored an equalizer. The next league match isn't any easier as Arminia travels to face Bayern Munich at the Allianz.  But before that was a 2nd Round match in the DFB-Pokal

DFB-Pokal 2nd Round Match: Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-4 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Borussia Mönchengladbach: Neuville (16', 42'); Arminia Bielefeld: Gohouri (23' [Own Goal]), Zuma (33', 56'), Wichniarek (79')

What Happened: The opening 25 minutes of the match were dominated by ghastly errors by defenders from both sides. Borussia opened up the scoring when Oliver Neuville took a poor clearance in the penalty area to score past a shocked Rowen Fernandez to give the home side a 1-0 lead, only to watch it evaporate when one of their defenders attempted to block a Jonas Kamper shot, only to watch it deflected into the net. It was all the break Arminia needed to take control with a Sibusiso Zuma goal 8 minutes later. Neuville drew Borussia level shortly before halftime, but on the other side of the break Zuma put Arminia up for good. Artur Wichniarek iced yet another match with a fantastic run in the 79th minute.

With the win, Arminia advanced to the 3rd Round to take on 2. Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue, who knocked off Bayern Munich 1-0 in a memorable win in Munich.

Going into the match against Bayern, Arminia sits in second, only a point behind leaders Werder Bremen.

Bundesliga League Table, after Matchweek 10

See you later this week! If there isn't a post before Tuesday, make  sure you folks have a Merry Christmas! 

The Virtual Season is off and running, and the last time we checked in on our pixellated heroes, they were 1-1-1 after three matches, coming off of a 5-3 thumping at the hands of Karlsruher SC. It was time for a serious change after the back line was savaged by an admittedly-mediocre KSC strike force. Whilst playing Football Manager, the manager found success with the virtual virtual Arminia in a 3-5-2. So, during the week's practices, the team was forced to change from their traditional 4-3-1-2 formation to a 3-5-2 formation. In addition, goalkeeper Mathias Hain was replaced by South African international Rowen Fernandez. Going into what the manager called a "critical" match against defending-Bundesliga champion VfB Stuttgart, the lineup looked like this:

Goal: Fernandez

Defence: Kucera, Gabriel, Moises

Midfield: Böhme, Marx, Kauf, Kamper, Nkosi

Forwards: Wichniarek, Leonidas

Was it a success? Well... 

Match #4: Arminia Bielefeld 5-2 VfB Stuttgart

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Wichniarek (18', 67' [Penalty], 72' [Penalty Miss], 72'), Nkosi (59'), Kauf (78') VfB Stuttgart: Cacau (45', 85)

What Happened: The struggling title holders were completely steamrolled by Arminia, who outshot the Swabians 20-8. Shots came from all angles, and Stuttgart was constantly trying to unlock the midfield, with limited success. Despite this, when the Stuttgart attack did break through, it was all hands on deck for the back line, who were barely able to contain them, as witnessed by Cacau's two brilliant runs. Despite these gaffes, the manager was happy with their performance. "Can't complain too much about the win," he said "But Artur's getting extra penalty practice this week." he said with a laugh.

Match #5: Hertha Berlin 2-2 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Hertha Berlin: Pantelic (21'), Lakic (90') Arminia Bielefeld: Zuma (19'), Leonidas (79')

What Happened: This match was actually the second replay of the fixture, as I had to restart it twice because of some absolutely horrific calls made against me that simply required me to restart them. The first match got a restart when Andre Mijatovic got a yellow card on a play. The problem was that there was no foul, and his only crime was deflecting a pass past the end line for a corner kick. Considering he was already on a yellow. I was down to ten men for literally no reason. The second gaffe in the replay was at the halftime whistle, a shot for Hertha Berlin was in mid-flight from about 10 yards. All of the players began to walk off and the shot went in as a result of the goalkeeper not being in front of goal (it's automatic). On the splash screen of the halftime score, it showed 2-1 Hertha. I could have sworn I was playing Dynamo Berlin back during the Cold War after seeing that.

No shenanigans on the third try, unless you count the continued horror show that is the back line. Zuma scored on a nice volley to make it 0-1, only to see Pantelic walk through the defence to tie it up. After much consternation at the finishing ability of the forwards, the manager took off Wichniarek for Leonidas, and he immediately took a pass from Kauf and made it 1-2. The 3 points were in the bag until Lakic scored on a play in which he somehow evaded all three defenders which surrounded him. In the postgame press conference, the manager commented that Lakic must have had the wrong shirt on, as he should have had one with "Houdini" on the back. The press corps didn't get the joke, unfortunately.

Match #6: Arminia Bielefeld 4-1 Eintracht Frankfurt

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Kauf (27') Wichniarek (32' [Penalty Miss], 32') Zuma (35'), Nkosi (45') Eintracht Frankfurt: Amanatidis (55')

What Happened: In the most dominating Bundesliga match to date, Arminia simply beat Frankfurt to a pulp. At the end of the match Arminia put 15 shots on goal to Frankfurt's 2, and at the time of Kauf's 35-yard volley, the shot count was 12-1 for Arminia (it ended up 22-6). Nearly immediately after, Wichniarek drew a penalty, which he missed once again. Replays showed that he didn't  get all of his foot on the shot, but he got the roubound to make it 2-0. Zuma made it 3-0 after a 50-yard dash left the Frankfurt defence in his wake, and on the stroke of halftime, Nkosi got a hold of a poor clearance, and chipped a shot past the shocked goalkeeper from 40 yards (A rather fortuitous shot on my part. I pressed the wrong button!). After halftime Arminia did their best to kill the clock, but the Frankfurt captain intercepted a pass and put a shot past a shocked Rowen Fernandez to make it 4-1. The rest of the half was set to the soundtrack of "Auf Wiedersehen"s and plenty of "Ole!'s, which actually began after Zuma's goal.

Going into their seventh match, Arminia sat in fifth in the table, only two points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund with a game in hand. The switch to a 3-5-2 has been successful so far, as Arminia lead the league with 17 goals for, but despite 12 goals against, their +5 goal differential is joint-best in the league.

Bundesliga League Table, during Matchweek 7

Until next time!

I've tried more than once to sneak a preview of this, but with the Winter Break less than a week away, it's a great time to unveil the centrepiece of our Winter break discussions (That is, other than transfers and the search for a new manager). Yes, I'm trying my hand at running the club this season, albeit on FIFA 08.

Now, before we dive into the season, I just need to make sure everyone knows that I am hopeless at this game. I've tried to play it on normal difficulty, but despite my best efforts I can only win when it's Arsenal-TuS Koblenz or some other ridiculous mismatch. As a result, I have to take it back a notch to Easy difficulty, which means that if/when I get the lineup like I want it and start rolling up the score, it isn't because I'm that good, but rather I've gathered enough talent to finally get the leg up on the AI to compensate for my ineptness.

So with that said, let's look at the financial situation as well as the Board's expectations:

Opening Budget: $1.3 million

Sponsor: $120,000 per match with 50% win bonus 

Expectations: 

(1) Don't get relegated

(2) Don't spend more than $920,000 on player transfers 

(3) Sign Jonas Kamper to a 3 year extension 

(4) Get to the 2nd round of the DFB-Pokal 

Yikes. Financially we're in good shape, especially if we get on a good run with the win bonus. However, being handcuffed on transfer spending is not good (albeit pretty realistic), so if I want to get some players, it's going to have to be on some free transfers. And yes, I'm looking to shake up the squad a lot. Like in real life, priority one is to fix the back line, which is old, slow, and not that great.

With the advent of friendlies in Manager Mode, I'll see exactly how bad they are and try to get some players before the transfer deadline. As a result, I scheduled four friendlies with some pretty straightforward opposition.

Friendly #1: Rapid Wien 0-2 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Rapid Wien: None Arminia Bielefeld: Christian Eigler (17'), Sibusiso Zuma (90')

What Happened: Arminia controlled the flow of play against the T-Mobile Bundesliga's 4th Place team from the previous season for the entire match. The score could have been 0-5 if anyone from Arminia could hit a barn door from three paces, which is proving to be an issue already. 

Friendly #2: Columbus Crew 2-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Columbus Crew: Rogers (45'), Moreno (55') Arminia Bielefeld: Robert Tesche (8', 47'), Zuma (41')

What Happened: The match was nowhere near as close as the scoreline indicated, as Arminia put 11 shots on goal to Columbus' 3. Robert Tesche put Arminia up in the 8th minute with a shot from 35 yards which beat goalkeeper Will Hesmer. Two more goals had Arminia up 3-0 shortly before halftime, and Columbus got one back shortly before halftime after walking past a stoic defence (Get ready to hear this a lot...). Despite Columbus cutting the lead down to one in the 55th minute, Arminia faced no further challenges for the rest of the match.

Friendly #3: Arminia Bielefeld 1-0 Los Angeles Galaxy 

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Eigler (75') Los Angeles: None 

What Happened: The Galaxy, ever looking for new and exciting ways to make money off of David Beckham, came to Bielefeld to take on Arminia in a friendly. The match was quite chippy, with tackles flying on both sides. Beckham wowed the crowd with two sensational free kicks from 30 yards, both hitting the crossbar despite beating Rowen Fernandez. Unlike LA, Arminia converted on their chances when Christian Eigler scored from a pass from a Jorg Bohme free kick. After the match, Galaxy manager  Frank Yallop complained about Arminia's incessant tackling against Landon Donovan. Arminia's manager quipped "Landycakes needs to man up and take his tackles like a man."

Friendly #4: Arminia Bielefeld 5-1 Slavia Prague

Scoring:  Arminia Bielefeld: Leonidas Kampantais (11', 60' [Penalty]), Tesche (38'), Artur Wichniarek (44' [Penalty]), Jonas Kamper (66') Slavia Prague: Vicek (57')

Sendings off: Slavia Prague: Brabec (44')

What Happened: Evidently Slavia Prague were looking ahead to their Champions League Qualifying Matches against Ajax Amsterdam, as Arminia pounded Slavia Prague 5-1 in their final preseason friendly. Leonidas scorched the Slavia back line with a 40 yard run to score in the 11th minute, and Arminia did not look back. It was 2-0 in the 44th minute when Artur Wichniarek was taken down by a professional foul, resulting in a red card for the Slavia defender. Wichniarek converted the penalty, and after that Arminia dominated possession despite Slavia getting a goal back. All and all, a great way to end the preseason.

With the preseason done, I tossed the three youth team members that I had signed (All with forgettable names) and shipped them off on loan deals to 2. Bundesliga sides. Knowing how players fatigued, I levelled my medical staff up three times, and looks to start bulking up my squad. I placed a $900,000 bid for Munich 1860 striker Markus Schroth, only for 1860 to turn me down. Looking around on the Free Agents list, I saw striker Nicola Amoruso (Reggina) and Moises Hurtado (Espanyol) sitting there. Amoruso would provide me with a real striker with pace that would be a great stop-gap whilst I look for some younger striker since Zuma and Wichniarek's days are numbered. Moises, despite being sent off in last year's UEFA Cup Final, would be a great fullback who's young, fast, and still has room for improvement. In the end, I was only able to sign Moises, and only after the third match of the season. To finish up the transactions, VfL Osnabrück offered nearly $500,000 for defender Markus Schuler, a full $100,000 over his listed value. Considering I has just signed a defender 4 years younger than him with a better rating, he was sent packing.

The Bundesliga's season opened up with Arminia on the road for two of its first three matches. As of now I've just finished the third match.

Match #1: Hannover 96 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Hannover 96: Pinto (47') Arminia Bielefeld: Zuma (20')

What Happened: Arminia had shown in its friendlies that they were going to be a side with a relentless attack, since its back line had proven to be weak against weak opposition, much less full Bundesliga sides. They established this right off the bat with three corners within the first 10 minutes. Zuma made it 1-0 with a great pass from Siyabonga Nkosi, leaving Arminia in control at halftime. Immediately after halftime Hannover levelled as Pinto walked past the Arminia back four. *ugh* Despite Arminia's best efforts, the match ended 1-1.

Match #2: Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Energie Cottbus

Scoring: Arminia Bielefeld: Leonidas (68') Rudiger Kauf (78') Energie Cottbus: Aloneftis (26')

What Happened: A packed Alm were shocked as Cottbus pressed the Arminia defence, ending up with a 1-0 lead after Mathias Hain let in a soft goal, which lasted well past halftime. As the second half wore on, the crowd became more and more dejected until the manager switched formations from a 4-1-2-1-2 to a 4-3-3 and brought on Zuma to help out Leonidas and Abdelaziz Ahanfouf. It worked as planned as immediately after Zuma fed Leonidas a sweet pass which he converted into a goal. 10 minutes later a gaffe by a Cottbus defender put the ball at Leonidas' feet, who passed it to Kauf, whose volley from 25 yards would not be denied. Of course, the crowd treated the manager like the genius he is as Arminia took the 3 points.

Match 3: Karlsruher SC 5-3 Arminia Bielefeld

Scoring: Karlsruher SC: Iashvili (18', 50' 68'), Timm (53', 61') Arminia Bielefeld: Leonidas (39'), Kauf (56'), Eigler (76')

What Happened: The good feeling from the previous week's win were washed away in a hurry as KSC went up 1-0 on the first of five occasions where the back line simply let a player walk through them and score on a shocked Mathias Hain. Arminia leveled up from Leonidas via a great pass from Wichniarek, but two goals in a 3 minute span made it 3-1. Yet another volley by Kauf made it 3-2, but another pair of goals in a short span made it 5-2. In a desperate bid to draw level, the manager took off Kauf and brought on Zuma in the 70th minute, switching from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-4 formation last seen in the 1950s by the Mighty Magyars. It seemed to work as Eigler made it 5-3, but Eigler missed two more sitters in the final 15 minutes to ensure KSC's victory.

After three matches Arminia sit in midtable with 4 points, and the manager is at a loss as to how to fix the leaky defence. Part of the problem is unavoidable (The defencive AI is shambolic), but I'm still looking for a solution. There's plenty of depth in midfield so I may be tempted to go to a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3 to keep opposing attackers from the back line. We will see.