This is my NIU KQi3 Sport on the evening of July 2nd 2022 on its Maiden Voyage
Taken on a Samsung Galaxy S21+
And this is the same KQi3 Sport on the night of May 17th 2024 after almost 2 years of use and over a mile of total mileage.
Taken on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
And this is is my review of the ugly Middle Child of the 1st Gen KQi family that always stood in the shadows of the affordable KQi2 Pro and the perfromant KQi3 Pro.

Backstory - How did I even get here? What even is a KQi3 Sport?

Feel Free to skip this part but some people might be interested on why I even got this particular model.
First of all back when NIU first entered the eScooter business they started with only 3 models, the KQi2 Pro for 599$, the KQi3 Sport for 699$ and the KQi3 Pro for 799$. The KQi2 Pro got lots and lots of praise for being an excellent budget scooter, while the KQi3 Pro got lots of praise for its performance. But the KQi3 Sport? It got next to no coverage whatsoever. So what is it? Well it is a KQi2 Pro in a KQi3 Pro body. a single-motor 300W RWD scooter with 9.5" wheels, with the only benefits being a higher climbing strength and 120kg/265lb of max rider weight vs 100kg/220lb on the KQi2 Pro. (HOWEVER, this was changed, originally even the KQi3 Sport was listed as 100kg/220lb max rider weight). Technically there is 0 reason to get this scooter, you pay 100$ extra so you can have a KQi2 Pro in a larger, heavier less practical shell. So why did I even choose this model? Well, I didn't. I originally ordered a white KQi2 Pro for 450€ and was sent a KQi3 Sport instead. Given that this is a higher end model I called NIU about it and the extremely friendly NIU team told me to enjoy my free upgrade, my honesty about the matter apparently even made it all the way to their Reddit team, because when I posted about it everyone told me to just run away with it instead of telling them.
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The Scooter itself

As said, this thing is a KQi2 Pro in a KQi3 Pro body, assuming that NIU did only change some numbers of the website, you get 20kg/45lb of extra rider capacity, great for me as with my equipment I weigh more than 100kg. However because I bought this scooter before the numbers were changed, if they actually did modify something on later batches, I am left with pretty much no advantages. Other than that the build quality is jaw droppingly solid. the Kqi3 frame is heavy yet sturdy. I had quite a few accidents with this scooter and it still works without issue. the most vulnerable parts are the rear wheel reflectors which I managed to shatter both of, the rear fender, which fractured but didn't fall off after I got rear ended by a shopping cart and the front light and reflector - more on that later. What I also love is the wide deck, yes this scooter is so big that it is technically too large for me to take into public transit with me (at least from a policy standpoint) the wide deck especially makes it all worth it, this thing is extremely comfortable on the feet in that regard. However, this isn't exclusive to the KQi3 Sport as the Pro and Max models offer the exact same qualities.
The worst part about this scooter is of course the performance to weight ratio, with only 300W of power on a body that with the battery weighs a whole 18.4kg/40.6lb, this scooter is incredibly underpowered. NIU calls this "The SUV of scooters" but SUVs should be fitted with according engines, this is like an SUV fitted with the engine of a Tata Nano. Here in Austria, scooters are locked to a maximum of 25kph/15mph, anything above that requires registration and thus also a drivers license, which I do not possess, these external limitations make the scooter bearable as the theoretical max speed is barely any higher, standing at only 28kph/17.4mph. In the USA where scooter speeds are not limited, this thing would get smoked by every other scooter out there, especially in this price bracket.

Ride quality

The ride quality of the KQi3 Sport is about what you would expect for a scooter with no suspension. While my central European hometown is rather advanced in terms of being bike friendly (remember, in Austria eScooters with a max speed of 25kph and <600W motors are legally considered bicycles) a lot of the bike lanes are shared with the actual road. this makes the ride often bumpy and uncomfortable, the large deck is a bit of a saving grace here, I can imagine it being way worse of suspensionless scooters with smaller decks and worse, solid tires. This is where the vulnerability of the headlight comes in. This thing is annoying to ride at night. While having an amazingly strong headlight, because of the lack of suspension the bumpy roads keep making it face down, meaning the slightest bump makes even a somewhat decently lit road look like a black hole. Every attempt at tightening the headlight to remedy this has failed, it just is too loose. you basically have to readjust the headlight at the very best every 2-5 minutes. However if you are on smooth roads you can ride it for long periods of time without any fatigue.
Here's also where the scooter's underpowered motor becomes apparent, it accelerates very slowly and decelerates a lot when climbing, and because I am so heavy sometimes the scooter just doesn't make the 15% climbs, this is usually when the battery is low as the scooter loses lots of power when this happens. I once made a climb with only 2 of 5 dots and not only did the scooter barely make it, it gave me an overheating warning too!

Then vs now

So here comes the long term part, this scooter has endured a lot, minor and major accidents, one of them even hospitalizing me, and this did leave the scooter with scratches and shattered rear side reflectors and a broken charge port cover but otherwise this thing functions just like day 1, battery degradation is next to nonexistent. as someone who is pretty heavy I NEVER got more than 20km/12.4miles but then again NIU is very honest about how they took their range measurements (at least I read somewhere that the range is measured with 70kg/154.3lb at 15kph/9.3mph.) so this was to be expected. After 2 years it feels like the scooter is still capable of that, maybe I have not driven it far enough but so far I am pretty satisfied. The fact that NIU's 2 year warranty also covers battery shows that they really care a lot about the quality of their batteries and it shows too. Overall it still drives like day one if it wasn't for the fact that about a year of use my rear tire blew. I found a replacement but let me tell you replacing it was a nightmare of a process, NIU gets an absolute 0 in terms of self repairability here. However the rear tire blowing was a result of my negligence and not NIU's so I gotta mention that.

Pros & Cons

I will make a list here
Pros:

1. The Deck is really easy on the feet and not fatiguing
2. The headlight is bright, no aftermarket solution needed.
3. Amazing screen
4. Durable
5. Water resistance works amazingly.
6. 120kg/265lb max rider weight.
7. NIU has excellent support, most of my issues with the scooter were solved with a no-questions-asked approach.
8. Great companion app with an electrical lock

As you can see, absolutely NONE of the Pros are something exclusive to the KQi3 Sport in particular. However, all my cons are.
Cons:

1. UNDERPOWERED, thus slow and acceleration takes really long, climbing not as good as advertised.
2. No suspension
3. No blinkers (this is more of a 2024 problem, back in 2022 finding blinkers on scooters was an exception rather than the norm. But now lots of scooters, even from NIU itself have them. It is a must have as hand signals are dangerous on scooters and other traffic participants won't interpret foot signaling correctly either, this is also why in my country, rental scooters are now mandated to have blinkers).
4. Expensive for what it offers, still at 699$.
5. Unstable headlight and front reflector, constantly needs readjustment
6. I haven't mentioned this but this week I found out that my unit is totally miscalibrated and thus even SLOWER. It started from the very beginning when my scooter said 25kph but my phone only said 23. I disregarded it as my phone being wrong but over time I noticed lots of people overtaking me with their scooters, given all scooters are locked down to 25kph, I thought maybe they flashed a US firmware on theirs. But this week I drove past a speed trap with my scooter and it too, like my phone said 23kph. Given that this scooter is already slow and takes long to accelerate this is yet another low blow and I have no idea how to fix this issue, what to tell NIU customer service and what they could to to remedy this. I doubt that after 2 years they would replace this scooter.

Why I am abandoning it

I am not abandoning this scooter per se, I won't just drive it somewhere and leave it there, but instead my current plan is buying a new scooter once my next paycheck arrives and then hand this one down to my parents and sis who all live together. My dad especially loves this scooter despite all its flaws so him just getting one like that would surely make him happy. But why am I leaving it? Well the number 1 reason is actually not because of the flaws but because of the scooter's weight and footprint. Ever since I moved out of my parents I moved into a ground floor apartment that doesn't have an elevator. Meaning I have to constantly pull up and down my scooter across a small set of stairs. Given that I need my scooter multiple times a day and I wear out the battery rather fast due to the fact that I am an overweight idiot, this just becomes fatiguing. My apartment is also small so the blessing that is the wide deck became a curse. I also would love to have a scooter with blinkers, it was borderline impossible for me to find a set of compatible aftermarket ones. and of course, a scooter with a suspension.

What's next

I need a scooter with suspension, blinkers, more power and a smaller footprint and it also should have an electric lock with my budget being around 600€. having combed through the market, this leaves me with only 2 options. the Ninebot F2 Pro and the NIU KQi300P. I am tending more towards the Ninebot though because the issue with the NIU is that it is even wider and heavier than the KQi3 Sport. However it is a NIU and I really trust the brand as far as Customer Service and Experience goes. But the Ninebot F2 Pro just seems to be the better fit of the two over all. The KQi300P is also technically out of my budget but it is on sale right now, so it is sub 600€ here. If anyone has either of the two scooters PLEASE share your thoughts on them in the comments.

Conclusion

Buy a NIU but do not buy a NIU KQi3 Sport. It is just a waste of money and their worst product. There is a huge reason NIU's EU shop puts it at the very bottom of their page.
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I would either save the money and go for a KQi2 Pro or save up and go with the far more reasonable KQi300P, for only 100 bucks more you get a more powerful motor, blinkers, a disk brake for both the front and rear wheel, front suspension and longer range as well as better water resistance. NIU should discontinue the KQi3 Sport and offer the KQi300P for the same price as it. The last words I have are what someone else said. the YouTuber Ordinary things said in his video about eScooters that they'd only last for 2 years. And yes while they can technically last way longer, scooters in this sense are pretty much like phones and replacing it every 2 years might be something I will have to do if things keep going like this. Thanks for reading.

Well folks, the season is over, with the final whistle being blown on a 4-2 loss to Hoffenheim, and the remaining excitement now revolves around which manager will Bayern manage to pull in after the massive debacle this past season has been. There is much blame to go around, with Tuchel, many of the key players, and the supervisory board all failing in significant fashion as Bayern fall to third-place in the Bundesliga, and a very early exit in the Pokal in embarrassing fashion (though Bayern did manage to rally for a strong run in the Champions League).
Roberto de Zerbi in action.
At this point, Italian manager Roberto de Zerbi seems like the most likely candidate, which an announcement coming that he'll be leaving Brighton this season. However, some additional candidates remain available, as Erik ten Hag, Massimiliano Allegri, and some others are still out there and de Zerbi is not a lock to Bayern yet.
Ten Hag with Bayern II.
Either way, this post explores what I would largely do if the transfers were up to me at Bayern. While the specific manager does play a degree of importance in these decisions, part of this does extensively look at some options who could fit a number of schemes, styles, systems, tactics, and such. My slight preference is for Erik ten Hag, as I think his familiarity from Bayern II and his past success at Ajax would be easier to replicate at Bayern than it was at Manchester United, a club I find is more concerned with its branding than its footballing. But I think de Zerbi has a lot of potential, though I worry about whether Bayern's supervisory board would be willing to let de Zerbi do his own thing, and the lack of German is going to be a problem for that board. It's problematic that the board feels so much need to do things one way and operate in such a chaotic fashion, so whomever Bayern hires is likely going to be fighting an uphill battle.

Defense

Bayern's future keeper, Nubel (left) and current keeper, Neuer (right).
Let's start off with the goalkeeper position, a spot that Bayern are largely set at. Right now, Bayern is set at that spot, as Manuel Neuer continues to be an elite goalkeeper even at 38-years old. And while the Bavarians have Sven Ulreich as the immediate backup keeper, Alexander Nübel is the long-term successor being eyed and groomed for the role, recently extending his contract at Bayern, though he remains loaned out to Stuttgart. Then of course there's also Daniel Peretz, a 23-year old keeper that Bayern added this past season. He seems likely to head out to a club such as RSC Anderlecht for a loan period for awhile this summer. In the meantime, Bayern might have Johannes Schenk back from Muenster to fill that third keeper on the roster, or he might get loaned back out once more. Overall, Bayern appear to be in really good shape for the goalkeeper spot, with Neuer continuing to lock things down for another season or so, before probably passing the torch over to Nübel in 2025 or 2026.
Shifting to the centre-back position, Bayern right now seem to have a good deal of interest in adding another big time centre-back, with rumored links of varying degrees to Ronald Araujo and Virgil van Dijk. This would likely mean that at least one current centre-back would need to be sold, as Bayern have a decent enough set of four starting caliber CBs on the roster, headlined by Matthijs de Ligt, but also including Kim Min-jae, Eric Dier, and Dayot Upamecano. My guess would be that if any departs, Upamecano is the most likely, given his inconsistent play and limited role in the lineup these days. De Ligt is the leader of the backline and has had some terrific outings as of late. Min-jae was a big time signing this past summer from Napoli, but has had some bumps along the way adjusting to life in Germany, and meshing into the current defensive system, which is quite hectic from the frequency of errors committed as a whole. Min-jae was excellent at Napoli and so it would not be too difficult to project him returning to that level of form after additional time in Bavaria.
Eric Dier was brought in as a late in the window depth addition, but so far has become a very solid add, starting a good number of matches alongside de Ligt. And whether he projects to start or is a rotational player next year, Bayern have already triggered an option to keep him next season. He's a solid piece to the puzzle overall, capable of giving them some veteran experience, and another Englishman alongside Harry Kane.
If Bayern did opt to sell Upamecano, then they reasonably could take a look at some other options to add into the mix. The top end of options here probably starts with discussing Ronald Araújo further, a 25-year old Uruguayan star for FC Barcelona. He's been a long desired prospect for the Bavarians, but he'd cost a pretty penny no doubt, as some have projected it could be upwards of 100 million € to acquire the talented CB. That's a big price tag, especially after Bayern spent almost €60 million last summer to bring in Min-jae.
Riccardo Calafiori in action for Bologna.
Should de Zerbi take the Bayern job, it's already been rumored that he has some targets in mind, namely Bologna center-back Riccardo Calafiori, a 21-year old Italian talent who can also handle some duties at left-back. He's been excellent this past year under Thiago Matta, and could fill a very valuable role for Bayern, competing with Min-Jae and Dier for the starting position next to Matthijs de Ligt. He also happens to be a left-footed defender, something Bayern have been lacking there as of late.
Some more middle tier options that peak the interest could be Kevin Danso, a 25-year Austrian CB playing for RC Lens in France. He spent a handful of seasons at Augsburg, and so has a good deal of Bundesliga experience and 100 appearances for Les Sang et Or these past three seasons. He's projected to cost about €25 million, so a much cheaper option that could fit well. Another mid-tier option could be Maxence Lacroix, currently in the Bundesliga at Wolfsburg. He's valued at about €20 million, and is a very strong and menacing presence on the backline, still 24-years old. He did get cooked a couple of times against Bayern, which probably harms some appeal there for some, but week-to-week he's been a quality player for Wolfsburg. The third name I'd mention here is Feyenoord's Dávid Hancko, a 26-year old Slovakian talent. He's a smart, savvy defender, and also provides some versatility between centre-back and left-back, which could be quite useful going forward. Oh and I'd be remiss to not mention German national Malick Thiaw, currently at Milan, as another promising option there.
The other option is to go with a younger, less established talent, someone like Armel Bella-Kotchap, who landed on Bayern's transfer rumor threads a good deal in the winter circuit as they were searching for some defensive help.
At left- and right-back, Bayern are in another similar spot where they might be fine, as the Bavarians have a deep rotation of capable options, but positional versatility, injuries, and inconsistent play have caused varying levels of upheaval. Let's start with this one -- if Bayern's new manager is able to convince Joshua Kimmich to remain as a right back, that would be one of the biggest wins they could manage. Kimmich is an elite player at the position, and while he's certainly a high caliber midfielder as well, I think he's best at right back. Whether that's likely or not, is a to-be-determined piece, but it should absolutely a conversation a new manager has with Kimmich.
While Bayern has kept its contract offer on the table for Alphonso Davies, I must admit, whether this is a popular position or not, I would not be a huge fan of Davies remaining with the club at this point. Part of this is because it very much appears as though Davies largely checked out of the season, instead letting all the plotting of a Real Madrid move occupy his headspace, leading to some very uninspired performance. Essentially, I hate to put it so bluntly, but I have been unable to really see it any differently despite my best desires to, it really looks like Davies quit on his team midway through the year, dreaming of Madrid. Whether Madrid come in with an offer at this point or not remains to be seen, but I would look for a way to remove Davies. As much as he offers a lot of potential, any new project for Bayern is going to require players who are bought in to making it happen once against in München, and I just cannot see that happening with Davies at this point.
Behind him, we've seen some excellent play down the stretch from Raphaël Guerreiro and Noussair Mazraoui, tag teaming duties at left-back and left wing to various degrees. I think if Kimmich is willing to man the right-back position, then a trio of Mazraoui, Guerreiro, and promising youngsters like Frans Krätzig and Adam Aznou would be sufficient.
Milan's Theo Hernandez, potentially Bayern's new left-back.
Bayern have been linked, however, with major moves such as AC Milan's Theo Hernandez, a world class player with elite pace and ability. They've also apparently looked into hijacking a potential reunion of Ian Maatsen and Borussia Dortmund, as the Chelsea-owned talent was quite good in Dortmund on loan. BVB would like to get Maatsen permenantly, though Bayern could pull a heist there. I think Bayern could also look at some other German options, such as 27-year old Stuttgart left-back Maximillian Mittelstädt, who recently broke out to the tune of some national team call-ups lately, or perhaps emerging youngster Luca Netz, who looked very promising at Borussia Mönchengladbach this past season.
And then the final note here, but Bayern are likely set with their right-back room, as Joshua Kimmich, Noussair Mazraoui, Josip Stanišić, and Sacha Boey are all on the team. However, there have been rumors that Bayern are interested in Leverkusen's Dutch phenomenon there, Jeremie Frimpong. While he plays as a very forward-oriented RWB, he's a very prolific player outright, with tons of big moments for Leverkusen this past season and a big part of their success.

Midfield

Do not for this one, while the no. 10 position is classified as a midfield position, I am including it in attack, with this one more just focused on the no. 6 and no. 8 roles in the midfield.
Pavlovic had a breakout season in Bavaria.
Bayern's midfield is going to need a major reshuffle. The two most certain pieces to be kept around are emerging youngster Aleksandar Pavlović, an academy talent who has worked his way up to being a go-to starter late into the season, and Konrad Laimer, who is valuable due to his versatility, intensity, and toughness. Kimmich, we'll touch on more below, but in the mean time, one of the major questions for any midfield duo at Bayern is going to be who departs and how things align? I think the one guy probably on the outside looking in is going to be Leon Goretzka. He's had his moments, some ups and downs, but right now figures as the odd man out for assorted reasons, namely the need for more defensive help in the midfield. Goretzka would have a market too if Bayern opted to move forward without him, with teams such as Juventus, Manchester United, and West Ham all having interest over the past year. Unknown. I'd lean towards a departure, even if only because Kimmich in the midfield is a better overall asset, and Bayern would need to free up some funds to acquire a better midfield partner than Goretzka provides.
Then of course there is 29-year old Joshua Kimmich. Mentioned him earlier as ideally slotting in at right back for Bayern going forward, but he's also proven to be quite capable in the midfield. He's excellent at dictating the play going forward, with timely, precise passes, and an aggressive demeanor. He's not terribly reliable as a no. 6, and some of this was the source of the rift between Kimmich and Tuchel earlier this summer, where he and Tuchel were somewhat publicly feuding over whether or not Kimmich could handle that role. Ultimately, I do think Kimmich is better as more of a no. 8, with a more defensive-oriented type of player brought in to compliment him. I think in that role, Kimmich can be wildly successful for Bayern in the remaining years of his career, but a long-term extension is needed at this point. As I've said earlier, I would prefer to keep Kimmich as a right-back, but I am quite content keeping him in the midfield if Bayern can find that no. 6.
Everton's Amadou Onana is a tempting target for Bayern.
And speaking of the need for a defensively minded midfielder... I do believe there is one genuinely excellent option there, with Everton's Amadou Onana available. Onana is a Senegalese-born Belgian national, and came up playing in Germany, with time at Hoffenheim II and Hamburger SV. Thus, he's fluent in German and could integrate to life in München quite easily. He's a very disruptive defensive stopper, with excellent ability to make tackles, halt offensive build-ups, and then quickly turn and push the ball forward for his side to go on the counteroffensive. He's an ideal fit for the system, able to help turn defense into offense in a hurry. Another one for the no. 6 that's been mentioned for Bayern is Adam Wharton, currently at Crystal Palace. The 20-year old English midfielder had an excellent season this past year.
The other one that I would anticipate being a priority if we see ten Hag taking over is a ramped up pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, a fellow Dutchman who was at Ajax under ten Hag for awhile. De Jong's had some injuries issues plaguing him lately, but when he's on, he's an excellent possession-oriented central midfielder, bringing a very well-rounded game as well that includes some noteworthy capacity with dribbling, defense, and passing as well. De Jong also has a notable history/connection with Bayern's Matthijs de Ligt, which makes it seem more feasible that he'd integrate well into the team. In many ways, I think de Jong probably only makes sense as a replacement for Kimmich if he were to depart.
Additionally, while he has been mentioned more as a Tuchel target than anything else, Fulham's Joao Palhinha is an intriguing option as a defensive midfielder. He's an elite tackler and defender in the middle of the defensive half, and shows some solid ability to distribute the ball and lead the build-up. Personally, I think Palhinha is the ideal partner in the midfield to be paired with Aleksandar Pavlovic, whereas Onana next to Kimmich is more preferable there. So some options based on how Bayern wants to set-up. And one other name that could pop up here is Mats Wieffer, currently at Feyenoord, a central figure to Arne Slot's success there. A 24-year old Dutch midfielder, Wieffer has been an excellent option in Slot's midfield, and it seems likely he'll be pursued by Liverpool with Slot taking over there, but Bayern could perhaps try to hijack it.
While at this point, I think Bayern would probably add Onana or Palhinha, maybe de Jong if Kimmich leaves, and then call it a day with Konrad Laimer and Aleksandar Pavlovic there as well, with Kimmich maybe even splitting some time between right-back and midfield throughout the season, there could be room for more players to be added. For some additional depth in the midfield, I think Bayern would do well to go after former academy player Angelo Stiller, who appeared in almost 30 matches this past season for third-place Stuttgart. The 23-year old is an excellent passer, able to distribute the ball forward with precision and anticipation. He'd be a nice reunion for Bayern as well, as he's also born and raised in München, and was added to the national team roster for the EUROs. However, I think Stiller's probably one that Bayern does not really need at this point, though if additional midfield help becomes a need (say perhaps next winter), then he's one to continue monitoring. One other name here would be OGC Nice's Khéphren Thuram, a talented 23-year old midfielder who is quite cheap considering his talent. His brother played for several years at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Another younger option I'd love to add to the roster here would be 17-year old Sverre Nypan, a Norwegian midfielder who currently plays in-country with Rosenborg BK. I admittedly don't know much about Nypan personally, but am going off of something from I read earlier about Ten Hag and United already monitoring his progress. He'd be a nice piece to add to the mix with other young midfielders like Zovrenek and Wanner coming through the ranks. However, I think a loan for at least one of them would be worthwhile.

Attack

Simons has been electric this past season at RB Leipzig.
Looking at the no. 10 role for Bayern, I have some questions. Jamal Musiala is an exceptional talent, and at only 21 years old, Bayern need to be doing everything in their power to extend him and make him the central figure of the club in the years to come. But, as far as position goes, he's very versatile and that allows for Bayern to get very creative in how they configure their attack alongside him. And while Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz is a top target for the 2025 transfer window for Bayern, I do tend to agree with take from Complexes on Twitter, that Wirtz probably follows Alonso to Madrid in 2025, and thus I'd be very much in favor of Bayern opting to add Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig this summer. This isn't to say Bayern should abandon its pursuit of Wirtz, but rather that I'd say that Bayern should pursue Simons this summer and be quite happy/content to land him, lest they risk going 0-2 on both if Wirtz does indeed land with Madrid next summer.
The thing I love most about pairing Simons and Musiala together is the versatility and creativity. While both tend to occupy a spot more frequently as a central attacking midfielder, Musiala has played a decent amount of time on the left wing and Simons has also played over as a right wing. Add in Bayern's current right winger, Leroy Sané, also showing some versatility between right wing and occasionally cutting in and operating centrally, and you have the recipe for a versatile, ever changing, flexible attack that can advance the ball. Overall, I think Simons addition into Bayern's attack would unlock a new level of effectiveness for the incoming regime.
The other one to mention here is Schalke academy product Assan Ouédraogo. At just 18-years old, Ouédraogo has already landed on the monitor of Bayern and RB Leipzig, and the two clubs appear to be battling for his signature. A move to acquire Ouédraogo and then loan him back out for more experience, whether back to Schalke or moving him up to the Bundesliga, would seem to be a solid plan for the Bavarian giants to see if Ouédraogo could become a long-term fixture in their lineup. If a move for Ouédraogo falls through, another young attacking midfield with immense promise that I think Bayern should look at is 16-year old Polish midfielder Jakob Adkonis, currently at Legia Warsaw. He'd definitely be a development piece long-term, but the upside is very high.
Then looking at the wing spots, Bayern are in an interesting spot. Jamal Musiala and Thomas Müller have interchangeably slotted in as attacking midfield types with the ability to spell time out on the wings. Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman are both very talented options there, but suffer from a lack of reliability with their frequent injuries.
Fuhrich is a very solid player who could be a strong add for Bayern.
This section thus deals with a lot of ifs. I think Bayern could theoretically look at it and say Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Müller and then maybe some Mathys Tel, as well another who can play wing at a good level, and be content. But, if they choose to sell one of Gnabry or Coman, which I think they should, Bayern could be in the hunt for a replacement there. They've already been linked with German international talent Chris Führich. He has been very good for Stuttgart this past season, and would only cost Bayern a fraction of some bigger names. At 26-years old, Führich could still give Bayern a solid run of play, and has shown some versatility to alternate sides or even drop into the midfield as required. He's a steady and solid player, not a superstar by any means, but could serve as a valuable rotational piece if Bayern do move on from Coman or Gnabry.
Another option would be the speedy Nico Williams, a 21-year old Spanish winger playing for Athletic Bilbao. He's going to be in the very expensive price tag range, but with his combination of potential, production thus far, and excitement, he could be well worth the cost. Another younger option here, and a more affordable one, would be Brajan Gruda, a 19-year right-side winger playing for Mainz. He infamously had the jersey swap photo already with Thomas Müller and seems like a rising talent with 27 appearances for Mainz. While Gruda statistically hasn't had much production thus far, at just 19-years old, he's given some very promising performances against the likes of Bayern and Dortmund as well while getting acclimated to life in the Bundesliga.
If Bayern continues to play Tel more as a winger than a true no. 9 striker, which I think is also the correct call, then Bayern are going to need to be in search of a strong replacement for Eric Chuopo-Maxim after this season, a genuine backup to Harry Kane. There are two routes they can go which is to either find a youngster who could theoretically take over for Kane in 2-3 years (as most of the reports indicated he'd probably want to return to the Premier League before the end of his career to chase the all-time EPL goal record), or a veteran looking to milk the last couple of years out of their career and be a part of a championship squad. If Bayern go the youngster route, two names that stick out are Leipzig's Benjamin Šeško, a towering 20-year old Slovenian who has looked really sharp in Leipzig spelling Lois Openda. Sesko would likely cost a pretty penny, but if Bayern are willing to pay it, I think they should make that move. If they want a more budget friendly option than perhaps angling for Hoffenheim's recent DFB call-up, Maximillian Beier as a promising up-and-comer could be in the cards. Beier scored against Bayern in the final match of the season. Not as young, but Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind, a 25-year old Danish talent, could perhaps fit nicely, as he can also operate as a second striker and produced 11 goals in the Bundesliga this past season.
If Bayern want a veteran option, Serhou Guirassy has been a player that Bayern are already linked to. He's also got some interest from Dortmund and Tottenham as of late. While Guirassy is a fun player, and a talented one, as he was second in the Bundesliga in terms of goals scored, I don't think that he should be a significant priority for Bayern, as they need to allocate funds to other positions before coming around to landing a backup striker to Harry Kane. And since we've mentioned significant versatility for a lot of others, both Mathys Tel and Thomas Müller could certainly be able to fill in situationally, though if there's a major injury to Kane that becomes more problematic.
Personally, the move I think is much more likely is finding a veteran striker on a lower level squad who might be interest in chasing some titles with a bigger club. Bayern added Chuopo-Maxim as a 31-year old, albeit from PSG rather than a smaller club, but I do think it's a decent example of a reasonable move Bayern can make to shore up their depth without breaking out too much spending. Two names I think really intrigue in this kind of mold are Hoffenheim's Andrej Kramarić, a 32-year old Croatian forward who scored 15 goals this past season for Die Kraichgauer, including a hat trick against Bayern in the season finale as well. The other one is Tim Kleindienst, a 28-year old German who has played largely in the 2. Bundesliga but has spent a few seasons in the top league at Heidenheim and Freiburg during his career. He had an excellent showing in Heidenheim's upset win over Bayern earlier this season, netting himself a brace, two of his twelve total goals this season. Both are veteran, experienced strikers with some capacity, but might be open to a diminished role behind Harry Kane in order to potentially get some bigger opportunities with Bayern's pedigree.

Final Squad Planning

Now, time to prioritize.

• Top priority for me would be figuring out what Joshua Kimmich is going to do. I'd still love to extend him, and ideally keep him at right-back which he's indicated he's open to. Besides, Kimmich's non-stop motor, stamina, and intensity make him well suited to being a highly versatile piece, so someone who starts at right-back every week, but can easily spell others in the midfield throughout the season. That's the top priority.
• Next one is figuring out who goes. In this exercise I am going to go ahead and move forward with the idea that I would sell the following players:
  • Midfielder Leon Goretzka
  • Winger Serge Gnabry
  • Defender Dayot Upamecano
  • Left-Back Alphonso Davies
• I could certainly be talked into selling some others, like Kingsley Coman, Kim Min-jae, or Noussair Mazaraoui, maybe even Leroy Sane if the contract talks don't prove fruitful. In this scenario, let's just say Kimmich is set to take on the right-back role, and thus we facilitate a departure for Noussair Mazraoui who still is in a stage in his career where he could command a bigger role at plenty of other quality clubs. With Kimmich and Stanisic taking on the roles there, the right back spot remains set.
• Before we even think about what the team needs, I'd see what Bayern can make happen to bring in PSG's Xavi Simons into the lineup, ideally a loan with an option to buy afterwards, though PSG seems reluctant to sell, and thus it's probably only a loan on the table. I'd still be fine with a one-year loan, as it'd set Bayern up to see about integrating him for one season and then either pursue and land Florian Wirtz next summer, or at that point revisit a purchase with PSG.
• After that, Bayern's defense needs better shape. They've had some rough stretches lately, and while the backline has shown some shakiness, I think adding a true no. 6 to command more of the structure and steadiness there is ideal. I would prioritize a pursuit of Everton's Amadou Onana, as his time in Germany suggests he'll be able to integrate into the team quite easily. Palhinha would be my backup option.
• Next up is the left-back role, and I'd be glad to see them make a big signing here, going for Theo Hernandez, whom it already sounds like they've been back-channeling with to facilitate something. He's a world class player who should fit just about any manager. After him, I think my next choices would be Maatsen and then Mittelstadt, though at that point, I would just as soon not sell Mazraoui and let him take over at left-back. But if they can move Davies, get Theo, then I am estatic.
• I'd want another CB option here with Upamecano on the way out. If it's de Zerbi as the manager, Riccardo Calafiori seems like a no brainer for him to add, though Kevin Danso would be a fun choice as well, as both play similar styles.
• For a striker behind Harry Kane, I'd make a push for Hoffenheim's Maximillian Beier. He's a very talented younger player, and Bayern can use him behind Kane and then he has the pace and speed to contribute as an additional versatile forward.
• With Gnabry out, the right wing needs some solidifying. Even though Sane is the starter, it would be nice to have further options there, so we'll go ahead and target Stuttgart's Chris Führich to join Bayern. Again, versatile and can be an excellent piece for Bayern.
• After that, it's youth stacking time, as I'd push to add both Assan Ouédraogo and Brajan Gruda, though probably with the desire to send both out on loan for another season or so. The priority is towards Assan, but either would be a very fun add.

Additions:

Position	Player	Former Club	Valuation*
MID	Amadou Onana	Everton	€50.00m
MID	Xavi Simons	PSG	Loan
LB	Theo Hernández	AC Milan	€60.00m
CB	Riccardo Calafiori	Bologna	€25.00m
ST	Maximillian Beier	Hoffenheim	€24.00m
RW	Chris Führich	Stuttgart	€23.50m
MID	Assan Ouédraogo	Schalke	€15.00m
RW	Brajan Gruda	Mainz	€9.00m

*- number listed is the value projected for the player on Transfermarkt for the sake of consistency.**- my preference here would be to facilitate a loan with an option to buy for Simons.
And of course, that means a number of players need to depart. Here's ultimately who I'd move on from:

Position	Player	Any Where In Mind?	Valuation*
MID	Leon Goretzka	Juventus	€30.00m
RW	Serge Gnabry		€45.00m
CB	Dayot Upamecano		€50.00m
LB	Alphonso Davies	Real Madrid	€60.00m
RB	Noussair Mazraoui		€30.00m

Again, just using the Transfermarkt values for consistency on these. This would lead to pretty much net zero spending if only these values were used. The reality of it probably becomes that Bayern would end up shelling out more than they'd get back, as I know, just off the top of my head, that with Davies contract where it's at, it's likely he wouldn't command as much as the valuation indicates. So overall, it's a spot where if Bayern can sell some of these guys for bigger figures, they can make multiple changes to the squad to revamp it.

Bayern Munich "Depth Chart" 2024-2025 Season

Harry Kane (left), and Joshua Kimmich (right front) are major pieces for Bayern's chances at a turnaround.
The idea of a "depth chart" isn't used in international football as much as it is in other sports, namely American football. However, think it's a useful organizational tool to get a feel for roughly what the squad would look like headed into this next season. The bolded names are the ones I'd most want in an ideal starting XI, and then the rotation and depth players would also see various minutes based on how far into the Champions League, Pokal, and other competitions that Bayern goes through, or injuries require.

Position	Starter	Rotation	Depth
Goalkeeper	Manuel Neuer	Sven Ulreich	Johannes Schenk
Left Back	Theo Hernández	Raphaël Guerreiro	Adam Aznou
Centre Back	Riccardo Calafiori	Eric Dier	Tarik Buchmann
Centre Back	Matthijs de Ligt	Kim Min-Jae	- - -
Right Back	Joshua Kimmich	Josip Stanišić	Sacha Boey
Defensive Midfield	Amadou Onana	Konrad Laimer	Noel Aseko Nkili
Central Midfield	Aleksandar Pavlović	(Joshua Kimmich)	Lovro Zvonarek
Attacking Midfield	Xavi Simons*	Thomas Müller	Arijon Ibrahimović
Left Wing	Jamal Musiala	Kingsley Coman	Yusuf Kabadayı
Striker	Harry Kane	Maximillian Beier	- - -
Right Wing	Leroy Sané	Mathys Tel	Bryan Zaragoza

And this sets up fairly well for the 2025 summer transfer window, as Bayern can aim to bring in Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, and either shift Musiala over to the left wing, where I personally think he has the highest potential, or find ways to integrate both together more centrally.
Loans

Position	Player	Club
GK	Daniel Peretz	R.S.C. Anderlecht (Belgium)
MID	Paul Wanner	Lower Bundesliga.
LB	Frans Krätzig	Austria Wien
MID	Assan Ouédraogo	Schalke

Could also maybe throw in a loan move for Zaragoza depending on how things shape out there. Feel bad for him. Not much opportunity for the guy lately.
Probably plenty of other good options, and I'm sure there's some parts that'll happen quite differently than projected, but this would be my ideal outcome for Bayern at this stage in the process. It's been a rough process so far, but think there's still lots of potential for Bayern with a revamped and refreshed squad.

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EURO 2024 watch IPTV EURO 2024 IPTV

The game is set in the Alps and the goal is to claim mountains. Teams get points according to the altitude of the mountains they go to (eg 3,500m altitude = 3,500 points)
The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
The Alps go across 8 different countries: Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia and each team can claim one mountain per country.
If the two teams go to different mountains in a country both team just get their respective points. BUT (and this is where the fun starts) teams can also steal by going the same mountain.
Stealing means going to the same mountain but also going to a higher position on that mountain than the other team was.
For example: Team A just drives to a parking lot at the bottom of the mountain, claims it and immedietly moves on because of time pressure. The Team B can go there later on, do a little hike or take a cable car to get to a higher position and steal the mountain.
The only way to completly secure a mountain would be to go all the way up to the summit (or for safety reasons the hightest point you can reach on an official hiking trail)
And to keep things exciting until the end there is a multiplier. So the points of the mountain in the 1st country get multiplied x1, 2nd country x2, 3rd x3, ..., 8th x8. The later in the game the more valuable the mountains get.
I think this could make a really fun game. A lot of beautifull scenary and nature, different countries
Different strategies like the order of countries and how much time do you want to "waste" to safe a mountain vs the risk of hoping that the other team will not steal your mountain, ...
And a big diversity in transport forms: Trains for bigger distances, cars/taxis/buses to get to the mountains, cable caski lifts/cog rails to get on the mountain and some hiking to reach the summit.
https://preview.redd.it/gozcm8e1mu0d1.png?width=768&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8c78df380daab1014f47065113ba24fa9be4005

Season 6:
After losing the league on head to head recruitment plan was to add better attacking players. My scouts had some good suggestions and DoF had a few interesting suggestions as well. Also new addition to recruitment was bringing Polish players from other European Leagues.
I had a decent transfer budget of €3,000,000 and for the first time wage budget was not that good. That left me in a situation where I had to sell some players that were just average in last couple of seasons, but had high wages.
Transfers out:
Lawrence Ennali, (left winger) - €1,400,000 to Korona Kielce
Iwo Kaczmarski, (defensive midfielder) - €800,000 to Gaziantep FK
Lamine Correa, (striker) - free to Prostejov
Kacper Chelmecki, (striker) - €1,000,000 to Piast Gliwice - winter
With 3 high earnes leaving in summer, there was much more flexibility with wage budget so I got into the transfer market.
Players in:
Dawid Bugaj, (right back) - free transfer from US Lecce
Filip Rozga, (left winger) - €2,500,000 from Legia
David Kurminowski, (striker) - €1,000,000 from Kocaelispor
Sebastian Jorgensen, (right winger) - €2,000,000 from Malmo FF
Catalin Cirjan, (attacking midfielder) - loan from AEK Athens
Junior, (defensive midfielder) - free from NK Kustosija Zagreb
Talles Wander, (striker) - free transfer from Sao Paolo FC - winter
Season started early with Europa League qualifiers. We destroyed KR from Iceland 11-1 on aggregate. In between those two game, we played Legia in Polish Super Cup.
I was expecting a difficult game, but it was nothing like that. We beat them 4-0 and TSP got their second major trophy. Penalty, two goals from corners and well executed counter attack and that was it. Legia did made a lot of chances in last 15 minutes but we kept the clean sheet.
Super cup
In Europe qualifying rounds we beat FC U Craiova (Romania), TSV Hartberg (Austria) and, FC Zurich (Switzerland) to book our spot in league phase of Europa League.
We had a tough schedule in Europe League, but despite that we managed to get through Knock Out play off round with the record of 3 wins, 3 draws and two losses.
https://preview.redd.it/wlxalr8njq0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=5445ebcb41bc1ae9301943255e4db1875bbbbbf7
In the Knock Out round we faced SK Rapid from Austria and beat them. First game at home TSP won 3-0, going into the away game with lot of optimism. Away game proved to be tricky, we scored first in first half but by the end of the half Rapid was 2-1 up. Second half started good, as we scored for to tie the game 2-2, but then Rapid got into another gear. They were creating a lot of chances and scored two goals in 80's minutes. Last few minutes of the game were very nervy. We advanced with that result and were to face Tottenham Hotspurs in Round of 16.
First leg was at home. We drew the game 2-2, which wasn't encouraging. Game in London was one of the toughest games in this save so far. They scored in first 10 minutes of the game and just kept attacking. Our goalie was having the game of his life. That's how the first half ended, going into second half they immediately scored for 2-0. We managed to get the one goal, but the final result was 2-1 for Tottenham. We were eliminated from Europa League.
Polish Cup, with good additions in transfer window plan was to go for domestic treble. Cup was taken really seriously even in the early stages of it, while playing teams from lower leagues. In quarter finals we faced Wisla Plock. Even though they were in division below us they played amazing. We had to comeback twice to draw the game 2-2, only to win on penalties. In semifinals we faced Lechia, dominated the game and somehow only beat them 2-1.
It was time for Final of Polish cup for two straight seasons. We played against KGHM Zaglebie. They were the favourites to win the game, but we played another amazing game and destroyed them 4-1. That was the second Polish Cup in a row, and one step closer to domestic treble.
Polish Cup finals
Ekstraklasa campaign was quite successful, but no trophy again. Even though we had a strong squad that could potentially play in three different competitions simultaneously, somehow we still lacked quality to win the league. First part of the season was really successful, we only lost two games, which of course one of them was to Legia. Second part of season was more trickier, slump in March where we lost two games. Drawing 4 a wining 3 in our last seven games did not help. Legia was champions of Ekstraklasa once again.
Signing from couple seasons ago Juan Carlos Arana broke the club record of most goals scored in one season, with 31 goals. New signing Sebastian Jorgensen broke the club record of assist in one season with 15 assist. Despite whole squad scoring plenty of goals, Legia was still untouchable.
Season 6 League
Best XI for this season:
https://preview.redd.it/16ywduwjoq0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=10aceae9a9705347ef1b8a90b88c502737d262c4
Season 7:
This was it, now or never. I had a clear idea what needed to be done, who to sell and who to bring. With an good transfer budget of €5,500,000 and sales of few players, good wage budget, my DoF and I went shopping.
Players out:
Dawid Kurminowski, (striker) - €1,000,000 to Ruch Chorzow
Marcel Krayewski, (right back) - €600,000 to Slask Wroclaw
Ziga Lipuscek, (central back) - €1,000,000 to Al-Shabab FC
Ben Lederman, (defensive midfielder) - €3,000,000 to Al-Markhiya SC
Talles Wander, (striker) - €5,000,000 to Bristol City - winter
Players in:
Ilaix Moriba, (attacking midfielder) - free transfer from RB Leipzig
Ronaldo Deacounu, (attacking midfielder) - free transfer from Korona Kielce
Efe Sarikaya, (central back) - €2,200,000 from Cracovia
Nicola Profeta, (defensive midfielder) - €900,000 from Deportivo Cali
Petar Serdarski, (right back) - €2,500,000 from Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Kacper Tobiasz, (goalkeeper) - €1,100,000 from HSV
Karol Sakwa, (striker ***wonderkid***) - €2,000,000 from Lechia Gdansk
Mamadou Doumbia, (striker) - €3,000,000 from Cracovia - winter
Vadik Murria, (central defender) - free transfer from Prostejov - winter
I went into this season with one goal, win Ekstraklasa. First part of the season went really well, two losses and couple of draws rest were wins. I was extremely optimistic that this is the season. There was a problem, even though we were winning, our strikers were struggling to score. A lot of mediocre performances from strikers, despite me thinking this is the best 3 strikers throughout the save. Talles Wander was particularly disappointing. Plan was to sell him and buy whoever was top scorer of Ekstraklasa at the time. Out goes Talles Wander in comes Mamadou Doumbia. With already 14 goals scored in first half of the season, I thought he was the answer. But he also struggled, missing some easy one-on-ones. On the other hand, new goalkeeper and new central back pairing Hoyo-Kowalski and Efe Sarikaya were on fire. Troughout the season we were battling Legia, but surprisingly Widzew Lodz came out of nowhere and at one point they were 1st with five points clear.
Second part of the season, started with mixed results. First three games we had one loss and two wins, after that there was no stopping us. In last 12 games lost one and won 11. Most impressive thing was that Kacper Tobiasz kept 10 clean sheets in those 12 games. In fact he was so good that he broke previous cleen sheet record (held by Lukasz Fabianski with 19 cleans sheets) with his 22.
We have finally won the Ekstraklasa.
Champions!
My favorite part of this was the fact last game of the season was against Legia, so they had to give as a a proper champions walk out (and we beat them 4-3). Here is a photo of this:
Champions!
Super Cup was played in beginning of the season and we faced Legia. Really tough game, 0-0 in full time and no goals in extra time. Not a lot of chances for either team, and low XG's. Penalties were deciding who would win. They missed two, we missed one and scored the rest and trophy was ours.
Super cup
Polish Cup, dream of domestic treble was looking more possible than ever. We went easy through first few rounds until we met Lech Poznan in semi finals. We were the better team, scored multiple clear cut chances, but as mentioned earlier our strikers weren't scoring. In the end TSP got FM'd and we lost on penalties.
European football was back, we beat AaB (Denmark), Dnipro-1 (Ukraine) and SK Rapid (Austria) to book our place in Europa League - league stage. There we had some good performances. Four wins, two draws and 2 losses and we ended in 15th position to advance to Knock Out Play off round. There we met FC Utrecht (Holland). They were one of the teams the we won against in leagues stage.
In first leg, away, our strikes couldn't score, on the other hand Utrecht scored almost every good chance they had. Game ended 3-0 and it was time to prepare for the home game. TSP dominated the game, 17 shots to their 2, but we only scored one. In the end they advanced to the next round.
Europa league
Best XI for this season:
XI
Bonus - Season 8:
After winning the Ekstraklasa, my plan was to resign and find another long term project. Playing in champions league, and in back of my head fact that we could do domestic treble was really appealing.
So, I decided to stay for one more season. Immediately I knew that team needed players who previously have played in Champions league. In my opinion team was good, but not Champions League good. So I dove in deep in scouting reports and asked DoF for suggestions.
Transfers out:
Nicola Profeta, (defensive midfielder) - €2,000,000 to Abha Club
Kristoffer Velde, (left winger) - €2,000,000 to Vitesse
Petar Serdarski, (right back) - €4,000,000 to ESTAC Troyes
Camilo Mena, (right wing) - €3,000,000 to Standard de Liege
Fernando Fonseca, (right back) - free transfer to Karvina
Vadik Murria, (central back) - €200,000 to Slask Wroclaw
Ronaldo Deaconu, (attacking midfielder) - free transfer to Aris Salonika
Transfers in:
Aljoscha Kemlein, (defensive midfielder) - free transfer from FC Augsburg
Myron Van Brederode, (left wing) - free transfer from Panathinaikos
Sadiou Sow, (central defender) - free transfer from Antwerp FC
Frederik Nyheim, (right back) - €2,500,000 from Molde FK
Miguel Maga, (right back) - free transfer from AGF
Karol Borys, (attacking midfielder) - €2,500,000 from Legia
All the players that were brought in played in Champions League at some point, I was still not happy with the quality of the squad. Even though I had clear target and money to buy new right winger, just to check with my buddy Artur Platek (DoF) to see if he has any suggestions for right winger and attacking midfielder.
Here comes the fun part!
He suggest the 33-year old Ousmane Dembele as a right wing and 34-year old Marco Asensio as targets. Both of them were out of contract, so I check the with their agents and surprisingly they were interested in joining TSP. Problem were wages, even though I had money in transfer budget it was not enough cover their wages. Hard decision needed to be made, sell someone for a lot of money and adjust budgets to bring these two. This made sense, both experienced, played and won Champions League, so I got to work.
Only player who could generate a lot of money was 21-year old, former wonderkid, Damian Urbanik. After transfer listing him, best offer came from VfB Stuttgart. After negotiations final offer was €17 million upfront, €7 million after 20 games, and cheeky 20% sell on clause was included.
With this money I definitely had enough to offer both Dembele and Asensio contracts. Also team needed another left back.
Transfers out: (part two)
Damian Urbanik, (left back) - €17,000,000 to VfB Stuttgart
Transfers in: (part two)
Ousmane Dembele, (right winger) - free transfer from PSG
Marco Asensio, (attacking midfielder) - free transfer from FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Kamil Pestka, (left back) - €3,000,000 frm FC Luzern
Everything was set for the new season.
First up were qualifications for Champions League, Paide LM (Estonia) were brushed away with 13-1 aggregate. Next team was Dinamo Batumi (Georgia), 13-0 on aggregate. Final obstacle before the league phase of Champions League were IF Elfsborg (Sweden). Home TSP won 2-0, and with 2-2 draw away we were official playing Champions League football.
We did surprisingly well in the league phase. Four wins, three draws and 5-3 defeat at home versus PSG put us 11th place. Next up was Knock Out Play off round versus Olympique de Marseille. Tough draw, but I was optimistic.
League phase
Optimism didn't last long.
First game was away, I played 5-4-1 formation. They easily scored 3 goals in first half in what was dreadful performance by whole TSP team. After adjusting the formation, making couple of subs, pressing more we started of second half really good. Scored two goals, but then Marseille started attacking, in last five minutes they scored their 4th goal and final score was 4-2. Second leg, we played really well, had better XG and made lot of chances. Unfortunatly best we could do is draw 1-1. That was the end of TSP campaign in Champions League. I was satisfied how it went, got lot of money for participating and wins during the league phase.
I still dreamed of winning the domestic treble. After first game of domestic season (Polish Super Cup) that stayed just a dream. We played Cup winner Lech. Totally dominated the game, made great chances, had better XG. Full time it was 2-2, game went to extra time and then to penalties. Two of our players missed their penalties and Lech won the thropy.
Super Cup
Polish Cup was another heart break. We went all the way to finals where we played versus Widzew. After finishing 2nd last season, they had an horrible league campaign, they were in relegation zone most of it. Saved them selfs in last two games of the season. Cup final was a boring game, TSP played horrible and we couldn't do anything right. Widzew scored a goal from a free kick in 78th minute and that was the final score.
Polish Cup finals
After realizing that domestic treble is going to stay just a dream, I was totally focused on winning the Ekstraklasa. In first part of the season, we had one defeat, two draws and rest of the games were wins. Strikers were scoring goals again, and so did the wingers. Second part of season was a bit more complicated. Due to playing in 3 different competitions team had to be rotated, and sometimes players that would step in didn't perform well. With that being said, 4 defeats 3 draws and rest wins were enough for TSP win the Ekstraklasa second year in row. Radomiak, Piast and Legia came close few times to almost taking over the first place, but somehow we would score important goals and win the games. One thing that we had this season compared to previous years was consistency. Defenders and strikers were finally all producing some good performances. Wingers were lethal from wide areas. In the end, nine players had double figure goals and Sebastian Jorgensen broke his own record for assists by providing 18 to his teammates. Only player who stayed with the club during this whole save is Marcel Misztal. He went from playing in Polish second tier to playing Champions League football.
League table
Champions!
Best XI season 8:
Best XI
Full squad - season 8
This is the end of this amazing save. Probably had most fun in last couple of years playing manager. With (self imposed) transfer and recruitment restrictions, it was quite challenging sometimes but thoroughly enjoyable. This post probably won't be seen by many people but I had to share this save with someone.
Trophies won during this save:

• Polish First Division: 2024
• Polish Cup: 2028, 2029
• Polish Super Cup: 2028, 2029
• Ekstraklasa: 2030, 2031

All the facilities have been upgraded several times, there is €60,000,000 on bank balance. I have resigned from the manager role of TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biala, but will continue this save with another long term project.
One last thing that would maybe be interesting to share is Overall Best XI:
Overall XI
THE END!

Season 3
After first successful season in Ekstraklasa, it was time to add quality in depth and get better players in few positions. One of the main players from season 2, Samba Diallo did not wanted to come back on loan from Dynamo Kyiv, so left winger was a priority. Plan for season three was to continue momentum from the past season and try to get TSP to European competition.
At this point scouting network was set up to scout Polish divisions for transfers and free transfers, Eastern Europe and Balkans. I was still using DoF suggesting potential transfers targets.
Notable outgoins in season three:
Maksymilian Sitek, (right winger) - to AaB for €125,000
Michal Janota, (attacking midfielder) - retired
New players in:
Marcel Krajewski, (right back) - free from Legia
Kacper Chelmecki, (striker) - €450,000 from Wisla Krakow
Iwo Kaczmarski, (defensive midfielder) - €130,000 from Empoli
Denis Busnja, (left winger) - €500,000 Dinamo Tbilsi
Rodion Pechura, (attacking midfielder) - €70,000 from FC Minsk
Nassim Hnid, (central defender) - €175,000 from FK Zalgiris
First part of the season started great, TSP had 7 wins in first 7 games of the season. Big slump happened in October where the team only won one game out of 5. Some good games and wins over Lech, Rakow and Widzew were particularly impressive.
Second part of the season, team had a record of 8 wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats. Highlight of the second part of the season was win over Legia (for the first time ever). All that was enough for TSP finishing second, Legia ran away with title 5 games before end of the season.
One of the main problems this season were again inconsistencies in defence.
Season 3
Best XI of season 3:
B XI - season 3
Season 4:
Main goal for the season 4 was to maintain the fight for the European football, so top 3 spots in league. By this time my scouts started producing some good reports and DoF kept finding some decent players. With a decent budget of €1,500,000 and some extra wage budget approved by the board.
During first few game of the season of Ekstraklas and European League qualifying games, it was obvious that central defenders at the club are not cut for it. So, I decide to sell three of them, keeping only Patrick Stanic.
Transfers out:
Jordan, (central defender) - €900,000 to Guarani FC
Nassim Hnid, (central defender) - €230,000 to Stal Mielec
Daniel Mikolajewski, (central defender) - free transfer
Olaf Kobacki, (left winger) - €150,000 to Piast Gliwice
Daniel Rumin, (striker) - €25,000 to Sonderjyske Fodbold
Petar Bojo, (defensive midfielder) - €220,000 to Korona
Patrick Kpozo, (left back) - €25,000 - Hearst of Oak SC - winter
Transfers in:
Daniel Hoyo-Kowalski, (central defender) - €1,000,000 from Warta Poznan
Ziga Lipuscek, (central defender) - €500,000 from FK RFS
Damian Kelvin, (central defender) - free from FC Biel-Bienne
Jakub Krzyzanowski, (left back) - €350,000 from Wisla Krakow
Lawrence Ennali, (left winger) - €750,000 from LKS Lodz
Karol Czubak, (striker) - free from Karvina
Ben Lederman, (defensive midfielder) - free from Rakow
Dariusz Formella, (right winger) - free from Phoenix Rising FC - winter
Finally TSP is playing in Europe, it didn't last long. After advancing from first qualifying round of Europa League, PAOK Thessaloniki was next opponent. Even though team played well in both legs, we were eliminated in aggregate result 4-2 (both 2-1 losses).
Next up was qualifying round for Europa Conference, first opponent was Anorthosis Famagusta FC of Cyprus. First leg we won 4-1, and second game it was 1-1 draw.
Even though there were plenty of easy opponents that we could have drawn, TSP ended playing HNK Hajduk Split. It did not go start well. After just 35 minutes Hajduk were 3-0 up. By the end of the game, with some good subs and change of formation in the end final score was 3-2. That gave me a bit hope for our home game. Lamine Correa scored in 4th minute and it looked like we had a chance in this.
NOPE.
In second half Hajduk rallied and turned the game completely, by 70th minute it was 4-1 for Hajduk. I changed formation to 4-4-2 subbing a second striker in, but best we could do is lose 4-3. Hajduk went through with 7-5 aggregate. That was the end of first European adventure.
Polish Cup, for the first time I've decided to take this competition more seriously. Last three seasons I would be playing second team basically so we never got far. This season, team was stacked with decent quality all over, so idea was to try to win first major trophy. Second and third round of Cup were easy games versus lower league teams. In quarter finals we faced Lech, and demolished them 4-1. Jagiellonia waited us in semis. Days before the semis we played them in league and lost 3-0. For the semis I used second formation 5-4-1 and it worked, we beat them 1-0 in extra time. Time for first silverware, or maybe not. We played Legia in finals and lost 3-1.
Ekstraklasa campaign went well, first part of the season. If you disregards the European games TSP only had one defeat and were 2nd at the time. Performance of defence dramatically improved, and finally we had a solid centre back pair with Hoyo-Kowalski and Lipuscek.
Extra games in Europe and Polish Cup were main reason why performances in second part of the season were not good. A lot of inconsistency by whole team and we couldn't string a few wins. In the end we finished 3rd, behind Legia who ended second and KGHM Zaglebie were crowned champions.
League table season 4:
season 4
Best XI of season 4:
B XI
Season 5
For season 5 I've decided to change the transfer policy. New plan was to buy players from Ekstraklasa and that way weaken the rivals. I got €6,500,000 transfer budget and good wage budget. With sales of some players it was a looking to be a fun summer transfer window. Main priority was to buy better wingers.
Transfers out:
Marcin Cebula, (attacking midfielder, right winger) - €1,000,000 to Damac FC
Denis Busnja, (left winger) - €600,000 to Deportivo La Coruna
Rodion Pechura, (attacking midfielder) - €500,000 to FC Khimki
Damian Kelvin, (central defender) - €50,000 to Brno
Kamil Dankowski, (right back) - free to Piast
Dariusz Formella, (right winger) - €50,000 to Zaglebie Sosnowiec
Bartosz Bida, (right winger) - €850,000 to Pardubice
Karol Czubak, (striker) - €1,000,000 to Umraniyesrpor - winter
Transfers in:
Sebastian Madejski, (goalkeeper) - free from Sandecja
Fernando Fonseca, (right back) - free from Banik Ostrava
Oskar Krzyzak, (central defender) - €425,000 from Widzew
Camilo Mena, (right winger) - €1,500,000 from Lechia
Kristoffer Velde, (left winger) - €3,500,000 from Lech
Nikola Iliev, (attacking midfielder) - €2,300,000 from Cracovia
Juan Carlos Arana, (striker) - €2,200,000 from Eibar - winter
Damian Urbaniak, (left back \**first wonderkid***)* - €500,000 from Wisla Krakow - winter
With improved attacking and creative force, plan was to challenge for the title and try to reach the final of Polish Cup again. We started new Ekstraklasa season firing on all cylinders. At the same time TSP was playing Europa Conference qualifying rounds. First round against PAS Giannina from Greece was easy, Lokomotiva from Croatia was next and with 4-0 win at home and 1-0 loss away we were through to fourth and final round of qualifying.
Dnipro-1 of Ukraine was thought draw, but surprisingly we dominated both legs (1-0 win away, 2-0 win at home). We are finally playing properly in European competition.
With 3 wins, one draw and two losses we ended 16th and through the knock out phase. We would face FK Austria Vienna. Over two legs aggregate was 4-1, with one win home and a loss away.
Next up were mighty Lille in round of 16. Over two legs I've used 5-4-1 formation and to worked. First game, home, we beat them 1-0. It was a extremely boring game. Away game, I was playing defensively and it paid of. We got the lead in first half, and only thing they could do is to tie the game. We were in quarter finals of Europa Conference.
There Basel awaited us, after beating Lille I was hopeful that we can do some damage here. It wasn't meant to be. We lost 3-0 away and at home we drew 0-0 despite dominating the game.
Polish Cup, as mentioned before goal is to win the first major trophy. After first couple of rounds playing lower league teams. We met Lech in quarter finals, beat them 3-2. Semis were against Widzew and we unexpectedly beat the easy 2-0. Back in finals again! This time it was against last season Ekstraklasa champions KGHM Zaglebie. It was a tense final, started well for us. Their defender made a mistake and we scored in 3rd minute. We were slightly better team, in the end that was the final result, 1-0! TSP won the Polish Cup!!
Polish Cup champions
Having learned from previous seasons, I made sure that we have not just quality 11 but also good depth in squad. That really helped in Ekstraklasa campaign. We played consistently well all season, but in the end Legia was better (again). Even though we ended on same amount of points and had better goal difference, one loss versus them proved to be deciding. Our main problem was drawing games versus teams in relegation zone, against Bruk-Bet Termalica 1-1 at home, and 0-0 aginst Zaglebie Sosnowiec proved to be crucial loss of points.
https://preview.redd.it/mq022w8r3j0d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=ce966a5cf2543c60588db7fa15033001ebce7fe4
Despite that it was an amazing season and I was looking forward to next season.
Best XI from season 5:
Best XI
That is all for part 2.