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.
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.
Thespa Gunma's young stars achieved a solid top-half finish in the longest football season known to man, as a 16-month J3 League campaign finally ended in May. That overperformance saw managed Robaato Rasamu field interview requests from multiple J2 sides.
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.
A flying start to the 2044/45 campaign saw VfB Stuttgart sitting pretty at the top of Bundesliga and starting to hold their own with Europe's elite in the Champions League. But Robaato Rasamu was keen to carry that momentum into the second half of the campaign.
The city of Stuttgart was awash with football fans celebrating VfB Stuttgart becoming Champions of Germany for the first time in 37 years. The fans were unanimous that Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu was the man responsible for this success, and celebrated shoulder to shoulder with their hero sinking pints of craft beer across the city's numerous beer halls.
VfB Stuttgart came into 2044 absolutely flying and posing serious questions over FC Bayern's ability to make it 32 consecutive Bundesliga titles. So manager Robaato Rasamu didn't think too much work was required in the January transfer window.
Robaato Rasamu was starting to think he'd made life far too difficult for himself by refusing to manage in England and attempting to complete his Pentagon Pursuit with teams that have never previously won the European Champions League. Twenty years into his career as a Football Manager, FC Bayern's consecutive Invincible seasons had left him feeling downright depressed and he needed a few days away from football.
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