Arjen Robben - The manager of glass

[Dejak47]

Arjen Robben retires as a football player
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"The injuries were too much for me. I'll be using the coming year to acquire badges up to the Continental B license. The Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has allowed me to make use of their Fast Track programme, specially designed for former National Team players. If all goes well, I'll be done with my Continental B license on 1 May 2019. On that day, I'll assess the job market and see if there is a job that is right for me." Robben told Voetbal International.

 

[Dejak47]

Lille hires Robben as manager
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15th placed Lille OSC has hired recently retired Arjen Robben as their new manager. The 35-year old replaces the underperforming Cristophe Galtier with immediate effect. Galtier, who has led Lille to the final of the Coupe de France, was a crowd favourite. However, the arrival of the former world-class winger has led to excitement among the Lille fans.

Robben arrives at Lille: standings & finances



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Newly arrived manager Arjen Robben has his work cut out for him. Lille has a supposed debt of €10 million and is massively underperforming in the league. The only bright spot in this terrible season is the Coupe de France final against Paris Saint Germain, which could lead to Europa League qualification.

 

[Dejak47]

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[Dejak47]

Summer 2019: Transfers & team overview
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Transfers out:
One starter leaves us: Fulham came in for Leao with a 10m offer. I clean up the squad for some nice money.

Transfers in:
Lincoln 14m: Our starting striker, Leao’s replacement. Loads of potential and fits our system ideally.
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Diop 3,6m: Absolute bargain. Was transfer listed by Lyon and I needed some squad depth in midfield.
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Guidara 2,1m : Bought him as a backup right back, but looks like he might be a starter!
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Burkhardt 1,9m: Our backup striker. Looks promising at 19 years old.
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Babic 1,1m: The left-footed centre back we needed so direly.
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Rest of the league:
After last season’s third place, PSG spend a staggering 288 million with only 22 million income. Jadon Sancho, Bayern’s Thiago, Dani Carvajal, Memphis Depay, Man City’s Fernandinho, Mario Gaspar all make their way to Paris. Lyon lose all their key players after their surprise second place for 270 million. Their only notable signing is Victor Tsygankov. Reigning champions Monaco spend some money on youngsters and sell Sidibé to Leicester. Marseille spend 23 million on Hoffenheim’s Kramaric and the rest of the league stays rather quiet.

Team overview:


GK: Mike Maignan is our starter and looks like a solid goalkeeper for the coming 10 years. Jakubech is a decent back-up, but might be replaced for a younger player with the same current ability.
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Defenders: Guidara looks like our best defender. We look a bit bleak in the middle, but our wing-back options are tremendous.
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Central midfield: Our strongest area on the pitch. Thiago Maia is a potential world-class midfielder and Mendes, Xeka & Diop are all very good for this level.
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Wingers: Pépé is already world-class in my opinion and Bamba & El-Ghazi are rapid. Enough options here.
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Strikers: Lincoln is a good buy and with Benzia & Burkhardt as backups, I am content.
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My aims this season:


In the league, I aim for Europa League qualification, which means a top-6 finish. A cup surprise would be nice, but I will not sacrifice the league for another cup win. In the Europa League I’ll attempt to survive the group stage.

 

[Dejak47]

August 2019
August 2019
August starts great with a super cup win against Monaco. Lincoln scores the only goal.
After that, we beat Rennais 3-0. Goals scored by Lincoln, Diop & an own goal.
Porto comes in and offers a ridiculous amount of money for Xeka, which we accept.
We replace him with Bennacer, from relegated Empoli. He costs us a mere €7 million, he already looks better than Xeka.
In a tight clash, we beat fellow Europa League contenders Marseille 2-0. Our two inside forwards give us the advantage. Goals by Pépé & Bamba.
In another important match against Girondins Bordeaux. We absolutely dominate the match and don’t even allow a shot by the opposition. Goals scored by Lincoln, Babic, Mendes, Bamba, Diop in a 5-1 win.
The group stage draw is very tough. Sampdoria, Krasnodar and us will battle for second place, while Chelsea is the absolute favourite in the group.
On the last day of August we play Angers. Their manager Moulin has them playing spectacularly rapid counter football and they finished fifth (!). We have a difficult time: Le Bihan opens the score for Angers, Soumaoro equalises from a corner. We have 30 shots, but only Soumaoro’s one finds the net. Final score: 1-1.

Player of the month: Hard to pick: Diop scores two in 90 minutes playtime, Lincoln has scored 3 goals in his first 4 matches. But the award goes to central defender Yves Dabila. He wins 100% of his tackles in August and is instrumental to our tight defence.
Thoughts on august: We are looking very good. Only Bordeaux’s Kamano and Angers’ Le Bihan manage to score against us, while our attack is unstoppable. We start September as league leaders.

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