With this enjoyable but slightly shallow soccer simulator you can take control of a team in one of the world's greatest football leagues - the German premier league, or Bundesliga. The 18 teams of the Bundesliga are yours to command, with such football giants as Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Bayern Leverkusen at your disposal and up to 4000 players available for use or transfer.
The major problem with this game is the limited scope. If you're not happy with the performance of your club, you have very few resources with which to improve it - the only available players are German league players circa 1996-1997.
The transfer market is especially weak, with teams almost always choosing to accept your offers, allowing you to trade a third-stringer for Oliver Kahn or the like. In addition, your board is stingy and closefisted and if your side performs badly you can expect the sack in short order.
On the plus side, the action is fast-paced and enjoyable and the stadiums of the German greats are rendered well for this game's time. The crosses available in Total Football Management - Bundesliga Manager 97 are exceptional and you can prepare some really excellent bicycle kicks and headers for memorable goals. What's important is to remember to manage your on-field success off-field in advertising deals, sponsorships, ticket pricing and other aspects of being a football manager.
In short, I wholeheartedly recommend this game. While it falls short of being a football epic such as Ultimate Soccer Manager 98-99, it is far more user-friendly than that (also excellent) game and enjoys a greater pace of play, and it is much more tactical than contemporaries such as Sensible World of Soccer or the like. There are some weaknesses, such as a grating soundtrack (let's be honest here - ugh), and the greatest of these is the narrow focus of the game.
Since this is, after all, Bundesliga Manager, there is no international play and the game can become repetitious. Once you've won the championship for the sixth year running without losing a game, you begin to want to explore other options - and there aren't many. Nonetheless, this game deserves a place among the soccer simulations on this site and I give it 7.5/10 - a good game and a fun way to spend some time.
