Thespakusatsu Gunma recorded a fifth successive record high finish under the tutelage of Robaato Rasamu, who led the club into the Asian Champions League for the first time by finishing 2nd in J1 League in 2033. However, Rasamu was a little concerned about how well his youthful homegrown team would cope with domestic and continental matters.
For the second time in 12 months, Thespakusatsu Gunma suffered promotion playoff heartache fresh from recording the best position in club history in 2030. Their overachievement saw manager Robaato Rasamu interviewed by relegated J1 League side Cerezo Osaka, but he remained committed to the Gunma cause.
Just six minutes separated Thespa Gunma from a surprise promotion to the Japanese top tier. However, the J2 League's silly rule that the home side gets promoted if a playoff final is drawn meant they missed out, which, in hindsight, was probably for the best given they'd just recorded the club's record high finish.
After wrapping up consecutive Serie A successes, including an invincible campaign in 2036, Freja Holm resigned as manager of Fiorentina and went in search of a new challenge. Upon resigning, very few opportunities were available, but Holm applied for a vacancy in Japan. And she was quickly given the chance to move to a new continent.
The unfancied youthful side of Thespa Gunma were the surprise package of Japan's J3 League as they snuck into the playoffs and put in two huge performances to seal promotion to the second tier.
Robaato Rasamu found himself in the midst of a 16-month second season in Japan, relying on an extremely inexperienced squad. After enduring a painful J2/J3 Special Tournament, the rookie Japanese manager was slowly starting to get improved performances out of his young Thespa Gunma side.
The more he watched football, the more Rasamu became obsessed with the idea of developing young players to maximise their talent - largely fuelled by the Class of 92 being at the heart of Manchester United conquering England and Europe under Sir Alex Ferguson.
It feels like a long old time since I wrote one of these articles but, now that we know that Football Manager 26 is very much a thing and will be with us in less than a month, it’s time to start thinking about save plans for the next 12 months.
Two tense cup finals went all the way to extra time in 2076, and late goals saw 92-year-old Trebor Mahtal Dynamo Dresden to their maiden major trophy in DFB-Pokal. The Zambian stood down a couple of days later, allowing him to go in search of clubs beginning with K and X to try and complete his Alphabet Challenge.
Trebor Mahtal came within one penalty kick of ticking G off his Alphabet Challenge, only to see his Gamba Osaka painfully lose the J.League Cup in a penalty shootout. He took a bit of time away from football and spent the winter break refocusing on how to continue improving his exciting young squad ahead of his third full season in Japan.
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