Thespa Gunma put their relegation battle behind them to record a top-half finish in J League in 2035, while star academy product Yusuke Ishii became the club’s first graduate to play for Japan.
The summer of 2035 saw big moves as Gunma’s all-time record goalscorer Masaya Nishi, who scored 133 in 334 games for the club but had dropped off in the last two seasons, and midfielder Shota Asada, who’d dropped out of favour last season, went to Saudi side Al-Tai for club-record fees of £2.5m, before Rasamu was forced to sell midfielder Mamadou Diallo to UAE side Ajman for £1.3m. But those deals paled into insignificance compared to the one for star 6ft 6in striker Yusuke Ishii, who demanded to leave last season, the squad got unhappy because Rasamu refused, then he joined Urawa Red Diamonds for £5.5m rising to £9.5m. And, wouldn’t you know it, the squad then got unhappy because Rasamu sold him! Seriously, the interactions on this game are even more broken than FM24.
That bumped the bank balance to £27m with £29m in the transfer budget. Ishii was replaced by Senegalese 19-year-old Matar Moussa Fayé, who cost £84k from Dakar. He was joined by Thai striker Woradet Yottanabanchoet, who went on loan to Fujieda, and centre back Kenta Iwanaga, who was at the club on loan last season, on a free from Yamagata. And Rasamu promoted striker Shunichi Sakamoto, midfielders Koki Ogura and Jun Tagashira, Vietnamese right back Biu Quoc Dung and 17-year-old centre back Yuya Sugiyama. And, despite losing three of their better players for huge profit, Rasamu was excited about having 17 first-team players with 5-star potential.
Rasamu stuck with the 3-4-3 approach that worked well last season, with Fayé starting up top and homegrown Atsushi Shimizu, who’d massively improved to 4-star ability and attracted interest from Arsenal before Rasamu locked him down to a new contract, stepping in behind the striker alongside Liberian Peter Tweh.
5th Season in J1 League
Unsurprisingly, the bookies don’t fancy Gunma’s chances, again predicting them to finish 14th with title odds halved to 150/1. Gamba Osaka are 8/11 favourites, followed by Kashiwa Reysol (17/2), holders Kashima Antlers (10/1), FC Tokyo (12/1) and Vissel Kobe, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Kawasaki Frontale (25/1).
They had a tough start to the season, but drew 1-1 at home to champions Kashima, 0-0 away to Gamba and 1-1 at Kashima thanks to Faye’s late equaliser. Tweh nicked a 1-0 at home to Shimizu and Fayé’s double downed Tokyo Verdy 2-1, but Gunma drew 6 of their first 11 games to sit firmly in mid-table. Gunma had their first reunion with Ishii in late October and, despite him opening the scoring, Gunma came flying back to win a 3-2 thriller through an Iwanaka penalty, Shimizu and Tweh.
That sent Gunma onto a strong run, including the excellent Yoshimitsu Mito scoring twice to defeat Hiroshima 3-0 and Fayé and right wingback Tanaka goals defeating Frontale 2-1 to send Gunma top of the league. And they stayed there heading into the winter break, having drawn 9 and only lost once after 18 games, albeit just 3 points separated the top seven teams and 9 points split the top 13!
Potential Title Challenge
Another big sale followed in the new year, as underperforming Endret Jusufi, who refused to sign a new deal and had been usurped in the first team by Sugiyama, went to Kyoto Sanga for £1.4m. And he was replaced by promising 18-year-old Uruguayan midfielder Emiliano Ruiz Díaz on a free from Nacional.
Gunma began 2036 with a poor 3-1 defeat at Kashima before a rare goal by captain Diogo Soares Cruz nicked a point at home to Kashiwa and a 0-0 at Yokohama saw them drop to 6th! But they bounced back nicely and a Fayé brace, which earned him player of the week, led a 3-0 win at home to Ehime sent them back to top spot with 12 games remaining. The draw-happy season continued, before Mito’s goal edged a vital 2-1 home win over Frontale and a frustrating 2-1 defeat at Hiroshima. That left Gunma sitting 4th with 5 games remaining, but their outside title hopes were probably done as Kashima won a few games in hand to move 6 points clear.
Gunma landed a statement win as midfielders Tweh and Ogura earned a 2-0 win at home to Gamba, who still had two games in hand, to move 2nd. And they moved level with Kashima as Tweh, Takaya Kawashima and right wingback Yoshiki Tanaka strikes secured a 3-2 win at struggling FC Tokyo. However, Gamba won their first game in hand to go top, 2 points clear of Kashima and Gunma, with Yokohama a further point back with 3 games remaining.
They fell 2-0 behind early on at home to Yokohama, but showed their fighting spirit as Shimizu and Tanaka earned a point and maintained the pressure as Mito, Tanaka and Kawashima ended a six-game hoodoo against Cerezo. That left Gunma 2 points behind Gamba, who won their game in hand in midweek to secure the title with a game remaining.
However, an impressive season ended strongly as Gunma locked down 2nd place for the second time in four years. They finished on 71 points after 18 wins, 17 draws and just 3 defeats, scoring 58 and conceding just 32. Fayé was the third top scorer with 18 in 37 games, 5 fewer than strikers at Kashima and Kashiwa, Shimizu and Tanaka were the 10th top assisters with 8 apiece, and Mito created the 5th most chances with 24 opportunities laid on. While the improving Daiki Honda made the third most saves with 110.
Massive Improvement at Gunma
Rasamu’s young stars had shown massive improvement this season, putting the relegation battle of two years ago well behind them to secure Champions League football for the second time. New boy Fayé led the way with 24 goals in 41 games, followed by Tweh (11), Shimizu (7, Tanaka (6) and Iwanaha and Mito (5). While Mito topped the assists with 13, followed by Tanaka and Shimizu (10), Tweh (8), and Kawashima and midfielder Nobuhiro Yoshida (6). But the star of the season was arguably Honda, who equalled the club’s clean sheets record with 19 in 43 games
Fayé (401) comes in as the best player at the club, according to Rasamu’s attribute ID system, followed by Yoshida (397), Tweh (381), Mito and Iwanaga (376) and Shimizu (372). Click the chart below to track the homegrown players’ progress.
There’s plenty of youngsters following in their path, with the below chart tracking the players coming through the team’s youth sides. Midfielder Mitsuhiro Kato was out on loan last season and looks ready for the first team next season.
Gunma also had another excellent youth intake that may well be their best yet, delivering five elite 5-star talents and three with up to 4-star potential. The pick of them may be midfielder Rintaro Okamoto, along with centre back Haruto Harada, striker Kotaro Takada, midfielder Junichi Watanabe and goalkeeper Konei Iwaki.
Things were definitely looking promising at Gunma after the disappointment of a relegation battle in 2034. The pressure was now on Rasamu to continue developing his youngsters and build on this success as Gunma head back into the Champions League next season.
Could Gunma compete on all fronts in Rasamu’s 11th season at the club? Join us next Friday to find out!
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