Gather round ladies and gentlemen and hear my story. A story of ups, downs, thrills and spills. One spanning from 2010 to 2015 in real life but an epic that runs from year 2010 to 2040 in game time. This is my Football manager story, in which I've been playing the same game and the same save for almost 5 years and have failed to win the World Cup, despite 5 attempts and counting.
Despite this being a story of international affairs, I'll start by giving a brief overview of my domestic story as it is a fulcrum to the whole narrative. From the years 2010 to 2026 I turned Sunderland from mid-table minnows to the greatest team the world has ever seen. Onwards from 2015, I won both the premier league and champions league every year until my resignation in 2026. In the 2020/21 season, Sunderland managed to score over 150 goals with my three strikers, Fabinho, Fabinho Jr and Hernandez managing to score over 30 goals each and my defender Hulk exploiting the near post corner tactic with 28 goals. My midfield maestro Markovic consistently got over 20 assists each season, reaching a zenith in 2024 with 56 assists. Why is all this relevant? My team was essentially Brazilian as I recruited young talent and transformed them into global superstars before they reached the age of 21. Eight of my starting XI were Brazilian: Fabinho, Fabinho Jr, Hulk, Fabio Souto, Rodrigues, Marcelo, Bento and Beto. As I was essentially managing Brazil at a domestic level, I was eager to become the actual Brazil manager as soon as possible so I could fully harness the ability of Fabinho and co, leading them to glory. Nevertheless, it must noted that originally the World Cup was never the final goal. It was only after achieving an unbeaten season in 2022 that club football merely became a 4 year filibuster. In essence, I was dominant at club level: could I transfer this to an international level?
My first, reluctant venture into international management was with the nation the Republic of Ireland in 2012. This spell has nothing noteworthy to mention as I quit a year later. Ultimately it was a stepping stone to a bigger nation - I’m sorry Shane Long but you were terrible. I waited eagerly for a top nation’s manager to either get sacked or resign, applying for many jobs and seldom getting it. It was only in 2014, after the World Cup, that Fabio Capello retired and the FA finally looked my way after finishing an impressive second in the premier league. I easily qualified for the the 2016 European championships with Wayne Rooney banging in the goals and flew through the group stages with ease. The last 16 promised tournament glory for us as we defeated Holland 4-0! A hattrick for Rooney followed by a goal by Ashley Young would’ve even got the now pessimistic English media excited about our chances. However in typical English fashion, we were defeated to Spain in the quarter finals 2-0. Nevertheless, this was my first big tournament, with a big nation and with big players (sorry Shane) and I had performed fine. By 2017, I had once again swept my qualification group and for the first time in my career, I had my eyes firmly on the World Cup. Despite this, with the growing presence of Fabinho for Sunderland my eyes diverted to South America, hoping that the Brazil job would open up. A doorway did open in October 2017, although rather than yellow it was the next best thing: Argentine blue.
I couldn’t manage the upcoming Fabinho, who had just been voted second in the Ballon d'or, so instead I managed the guy who came first: Lionel Messi. By the time the tournament came around Messi had reached the tender age of 31 and hence his stats had began to falter. Nonetheless, he was still a world class player and alongside Sergio Aguero my strikeforce was looking rather formidable. Indeed, during the group stage it showed with 15 goals scored and only one conceded. This was surely my time. For the second round knockout I was drawn against rivals Uruguay who also had the fairly prolific strikeforce of Cavani and Abel Hernandez (not to be confused with the aforementioned Hernandez who plays for Sunderland). At half time I was leading 1-0, dominating possession and the game as a whole. The next part is hazy and the only evidence for the match is this screenshot. Either way, I ended the match with significantly less players than Uruguay. Why? In my hubris I had used my 3 substitutions either before or just after the Messi injury at the 50th minute. Thus I was playing with 8 or 7 men depending on when i used my substitutions. However, leading 2-0 I felt strangely confident. If I could turn Sunderland into a mammoth, surely I could overcome 2 red cards and 2 injuries… right? In typical football manager fashion, my 26 shots meant nothing as Uruguay scored a last minute goal in extra time to prevent even the slightest glimmer of hope through a penalty shoot out. I was devastated. I even considered restarting the game but I couldn’t bring myself to it; although I did post the event on Reddit in December 2011: I wanted to restart this match so badly... : footballmanagergames
/u/whocarestom commented: “What a heartbreaker.”
Trust me tom, it gets worse.
After this catastrophic defeat, I quit. I knew Argentina were going to go through a transitional phase, as I could see their upcoming youth couldn’t match the talents of Messi and Aguero, so I bailed. Once again, I hoped for a Brazil sacking but naturally the manager was enjoying the fruits of my Sunderland success, coming runners up against shock winners Russia.It’s worth noting that just before the World Cup I had signed a 17 year old Russian CB called Emil Niftaliyev for 6k. Bizarrely, he was called up and played every game. Unlike me, he had won the world cup on his first attempt. My jealously had a reached an apogee.
Just as I had in 2017, rather than getting Brazil, I got the next best thing. France had finished in third place in the World Cup of 2018 and looked a fine choice to lead to glory. I swept the qualifiers for the Euros 2020 and easily reached the Semi Finals. It was there I faced arguably the second best striker in the world, Giuseppe Parisi. I would later sign him for 80 million for Sunderland (Don’t give me that look, I had millions to spend and as previously mentioned, club football became a bore). Here’s his stats in 2023
After taking the lead, Italy pegged me back with pacey Parisi leading the charge. I eventually lose but now, after seeing Italy in action, they become my next target to manage. After losing in the final, their manager left and thus I pounced. Surely Parisi would lead me to victory in 2022. In hindsight, the France job seemed like a waste of time with my only real success being the transformation of Cedric Bakamba into a goal scoring god
It goes without saying that I dominated the qualifying groups, with Parisi essentially unstoppable. I had found the perfect striker for my tactic, and thus I decided to sign him for Sunderland at the beginning of the 2021 season to ensure he was not injured for 2022. Fabinho still dominated for both club and country scoring 68 goals in all competitions in the 2021-22 season. However my longing for Brazil had been negated by the presence of Parisi. This time around I only edged through the group stages. 2 draws and a win led me to doubt. Maybe it just wasn’t to be. Despite this falter, I had a surprisingly easy route to the semi-finals beating both Belgium and Bosnia. I thought the same about the semis when I saw who I had been drawn. England. My former team and heavily reliant on their star right winger - I should’ve walked over them. A tense game where neither team could break the deadlock. Then, in the 90th minute this happened
An own goal by my keeper. 90+3
Devastated
Angry
Denial
For a week I didn’t touch the game, and even contemplated ruining Ivan Peretti’s career by signing him for 5 years and not playing him, nor allowing him to train. To this day, I regret not following through on that. To make it worse, I’m one of his favoured personnel.
A story of ups, downs, thrills and spills.
Ivan peretti jumps up, the ball drops down, the thrill is dead all due to that spill.
A light at the end of the tunnel, a yellow one. The Brazil manager finally retires, surely this is it. Without thinking I apply and immediately receive the job. I mean, who wouldn’t want the most successful manager in the world? On the flip side, who would want a manager who chokes in every world cup? After viewing the squad everything looked grand...except their age. By the time of the 2026 world cup, I calculated that: Fabinho and Rodrigues would be 32 whilst Beto would be past it at 34. Other crucial members of the squad were also aging, but surely I could squeeze something out of them? My worries were dispersed when I went unbeaten for three years. Winning the Copa America and the Confederations cup with Fabinho beating Pele’s goal scoring record. Sweeping through the group stages I was drawn Senegal in the second round knockout. A breeze...or not. My hubris, once again, led to making three subs in the 57th minute, even before I was leading. Fabinho popped up in the 67th minute, however an injury to Parana (another sunderland player) in the 71st led me to playing with 10 men. Albeit nothing compared to the disaster of 2018, this led to my downfall. Losing 4-2 AET.
The dream was dead.
I couldn’t take it anymore
I had to win the World Cup
I quit Sunderland and Brazil and took over England.
Holidayed to the Euros.
Won the Euros 2028.
Holidayed to the confederations cup
Lost in semi finals, don’t care. World cup is the goal.
Holidayed to the World Cup 2030.
This time, I made a squad selection error. Despite my tactic playing with 3 strikers, I only called up 4 strikers. Two get injured and suspended, so I’m left with 2 strikers and a LB up front. Somehow I manage to win all my group games and it is in the second round, once more, that I falter. I play Serbia, their star player is Markovic, the Sunderland assist god. Markovic was originally German however as I forgot to delete the file that prevents Germany from receiving real players (copyright issues), he never got called up. I hoped that he would one day turn to Serbia and eventually he did. In a cruel twist of irony, he levelled the game in the 120th minute to make the game 2-2 and take it penalties. We all know England’s history with penalties… need I say more?
This time, I had had enough. I quit England and RETIRED the manager of Mark Dean.
I needed a fresh start and took over Wealdstone in 2030, the worst team in Blue the Square South. Eventually obtaining promotion to the premier league in 2037, I saw a premier league that had vastly changed. Sunderland were no longer dominant, losing their 19 win year streak in 2034, after selling future youth prospects away, only keeping Leo the brazilian striker and heir to Fabinho’s throne (eventually beating his Brazilian goal scoring record). Half way through my first season, I get two notifications: Uruguay manager sacked. Peru manager sacked. Peru could still qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs, however I knew I wasn’t going to win it with him. I qualified and got knocked out in the group stages. Although this time I had little expectation and was merely using Peru almost like I did in 2012 with Ireland (sorry not sorry Shane). I’m in the year 2040 now and have not got an international job, but the World Cup is very much the final goal.
Five World Cups
Five Failures.
Five Real life years.
REDDIT POSTS: http://www.reddit.com/r/footballman...y_ive_been_playing_the_same_football_manager/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/380phv/ive_been_playing_the_same_football_manager_game/
Despite this being a story of international affairs, I'll start by giving a brief overview of my domestic story as it is a fulcrum to the whole narrative. From the years 2010 to 2026 I turned Sunderland from mid-table minnows to the greatest team the world has ever seen. Onwards from 2015, I won both the premier league and champions league every year until my resignation in 2026. In the 2020/21 season, Sunderland managed to score over 150 goals with my three strikers, Fabinho, Fabinho Jr and Hernandez managing to score over 30 goals each and my defender Hulk exploiting the near post corner tactic with 28 goals. My midfield maestro Markovic consistently got over 20 assists each season, reaching a zenith in 2024 with 56 assists. Why is all this relevant? My team was essentially Brazilian as I recruited young talent and transformed them into global superstars before they reached the age of 21. Eight of my starting XI were Brazilian: Fabinho, Fabinho Jr, Hulk, Fabio Souto, Rodrigues, Marcelo, Bento and Beto. As I was essentially managing Brazil at a domestic level, I was eager to become the actual Brazil manager as soon as possible so I could fully harness the ability of Fabinho and co, leading them to glory. Nevertheless, it must noted that originally the World Cup was never the final goal. It was only after achieving an unbeaten season in 2022 that club football merely became a 4 year filibuster. In essence, I was dominant at club level: could I transfer this to an international level?
My first, reluctant venture into international management was with the nation the Republic of Ireland in 2012. This spell has nothing noteworthy to mention as I quit a year later. Ultimately it was a stepping stone to a bigger nation - I’m sorry Shane Long but you were terrible. I waited eagerly for a top nation’s manager to either get sacked or resign, applying for many jobs and seldom getting it. It was only in 2014, after the World Cup, that Fabio Capello retired and the FA finally looked my way after finishing an impressive second in the premier league. I easily qualified for the the 2016 European championships with Wayne Rooney banging in the goals and flew through the group stages with ease. The last 16 promised tournament glory for us as we defeated Holland 4-0! A hattrick for Rooney followed by a goal by Ashley Young would’ve even got the now pessimistic English media excited about our chances. However in typical English fashion, we were defeated to Spain in the quarter finals 2-0. Nevertheless, this was my first big tournament, with a big nation and with big players (sorry Shane) and I had performed fine. By 2017, I had once again swept my qualification group and for the first time in my career, I had my eyes firmly on the World Cup. Despite this, with the growing presence of Fabinho for Sunderland my eyes diverted to South America, hoping that the Brazil job would open up. A doorway did open in October 2017, although rather than yellow it was the next best thing: Argentine blue.
I couldn’t manage the upcoming Fabinho, who had just been voted second in the Ballon d'or, so instead I managed the guy who came first: Lionel Messi. By the time the tournament came around Messi had reached the tender age of 31 and hence his stats had began to falter. Nonetheless, he was still a world class player and alongside Sergio Aguero my strikeforce was looking rather formidable. Indeed, during the group stage it showed with 15 goals scored and only one conceded. This was surely my time. For the second round knockout I was drawn against rivals Uruguay who also had the fairly prolific strikeforce of Cavani and Abel Hernandez (not to be confused with the aforementioned Hernandez who plays for Sunderland). At half time I was leading 1-0, dominating possession and the game as a whole. The next part is hazy and the only evidence for the match is this screenshot. Either way, I ended the match with significantly less players than Uruguay. Why? In my hubris I had used my 3 substitutions either before or just after the Messi injury at the 50th minute. Thus I was playing with 8 or 7 men depending on when i used my substitutions. However, leading 2-0 I felt strangely confident. If I could turn Sunderland into a mammoth, surely I could overcome 2 red cards and 2 injuries… right? In typical football manager fashion, my 26 shots meant nothing as Uruguay scored a last minute goal in extra time to prevent even the slightest glimmer of hope through a penalty shoot out. I was devastated. I even considered restarting the game but I couldn’t bring myself to it; although I did post the event on Reddit in December 2011: I wanted to restart this match so badly... : footballmanagergames
/u/whocarestom commented: “What a heartbreaker.”
Trust me tom, it gets worse.
After this catastrophic defeat, I quit. I knew Argentina were going to go through a transitional phase, as I could see their upcoming youth couldn’t match the talents of Messi and Aguero, so I bailed. Once again, I hoped for a Brazil sacking but naturally the manager was enjoying the fruits of my Sunderland success, coming runners up against shock winners Russia.It’s worth noting that just before the World Cup I had signed a 17 year old Russian CB called Emil Niftaliyev for 6k. Bizarrely, he was called up and played every game. Unlike me, he had won the world cup on his first attempt. My jealously had a reached an apogee.
Just as I had in 2017, rather than getting Brazil, I got the next best thing. France had finished in third place in the World Cup of 2018 and looked a fine choice to lead to glory. I swept the qualifiers for the Euros 2020 and easily reached the Semi Finals. It was there I faced arguably the second best striker in the world, Giuseppe Parisi. I would later sign him for 80 million for Sunderland (Don’t give me that look, I had millions to spend and as previously mentioned, club football became a bore). Here’s his stats in 2023
After taking the lead, Italy pegged me back with pacey Parisi leading the charge. I eventually lose but now, after seeing Italy in action, they become my next target to manage. After losing in the final, their manager left and thus I pounced. Surely Parisi would lead me to victory in 2022. In hindsight, the France job seemed like a waste of time with my only real success being the transformation of Cedric Bakamba into a goal scoring god
It goes without saying that I dominated the qualifying groups, with Parisi essentially unstoppable. I had found the perfect striker for my tactic, and thus I decided to sign him for Sunderland at the beginning of the 2021 season to ensure he was not injured for 2022. Fabinho still dominated for both club and country scoring 68 goals in all competitions in the 2021-22 season. However my longing for Brazil had been negated by the presence of Parisi. This time around I only edged through the group stages. 2 draws and a win led me to doubt. Maybe it just wasn’t to be. Despite this falter, I had a surprisingly easy route to the semi-finals beating both Belgium and Bosnia. I thought the same about the semis when I saw who I had been drawn. England. My former team and heavily reliant on their star right winger - I should’ve walked over them. A tense game where neither team could break the deadlock. Then, in the 90th minute this happened
An own goal by my keeper. 90+3
Devastated
Angry
Denial
For a week I didn’t touch the game, and even contemplated ruining Ivan Peretti’s career by signing him for 5 years and not playing him, nor allowing him to train. To this day, I regret not following through on that. To make it worse, I’m one of his favoured personnel.
A story of ups, downs, thrills and spills.
Ivan peretti jumps up, the ball drops down, the thrill is dead all due to that spill.
A light at the end of the tunnel, a yellow one. The Brazil manager finally retires, surely this is it. Without thinking I apply and immediately receive the job. I mean, who wouldn’t want the most successful manager in the world? On the flip side, who would want a manager who chokes in every world cup? After viewing the squad everything looked grand...except their age. By the time of the 2026 world cup, I calculated that: Fabinho and Rodrigues would be 32 whilst Beto would be past it at 34. Other crucial members of the squad were also aging, but surely I could squeeze something out of them? My worries were dispersed when I went unbeaten for three years. Winning the Copa America and the Confederations cup with Fabinho beating Pele’s goal scoring record. Sweeping through the group stages I was drawn Senegal in the second round knockout. A breeze...or not. My hubris, once again, led to making three subs in the 57th minute, even before I was leading. Fabinho popped up in the 67th minute, however an injury to Parana (another sunderland player) in the 71st led me to playing with 10 men. Albeit nothing compared to the disaster of 2018, this led to my downfall. Losing 4-2 AET.
The dream was dead.
I couldn’t take it anymore
I had to win the World Cup
I quit Sunderland and Brazil and took over England.
Holidayed to the Euros.
Won the Euros 2028.
Holidayed to the confederations cup
Lost in semi finals, don’t care. World cup is the goal.
Holidayed to the World Cup 2030.
This time, I made a squad selection error. Despite my tactic playing with 3 strikers, I only called up 4 strikers. Two get injured and suspended, so I’m left with 2 strikers and a LB up front. Somehow I manage to win all my group games and it is in the second round, once more, that I falter. I play Serbia, their star player is Markovic, the Sunderland assist god. Markovic was originally German however as I forgot to delete the file that prevents Germany from receiving real players (copyright issues), he never got called up. I hoped that he would one day turn to Serbia and eventually he did. In a cruel twist of irony, he levelled the game in the 120th minute to make the game 2-2 and take it penalties. We all know England’s history with penalties… need I say more?
This time, I had had enough. I quit England and RETIRED the manager of Mark Dean.
I needed a fresh start and took over Wealdstone in 2030, the worst team in Blue the Square South. Eventually obtaining promotion to the premier league in 2037, I saw a premier league that had vastly changed. Sunderland were no longer dominant, losing their 19 win year streak in 2034, after selling future youth prospects away, only keeping Leo the brazilian striker and heir to Fabinho’s throne (eventually beating his Brazilian goal scoring record). Half way through my first season, I get two notifications: Uruguay manager sacked. Peru manager sacked. Peru could still qualify for the World Cup through the playoffs, however I knew I wasn’t going to win it with him. I qualified and got knocked out in the group stages. Although this time I had little expectation and was merely using Peru almost like I did in 2012 with Ireland (sorry not sorry Shane). I’m in the year 2040 now and have not got an international job, but the World Cup is very much the final goal.
Five World Cups
Five Failures.
Five Real life years.
REDDIT POSTS: http://www.reddit.com/r/footballman...y_ive_been_playing_the_same_football_manager/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/380phv/ive_been_playing_the_same_football_manager_game/
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