To celebrate the release of FM 2014, take a trip down memory lane and remember some of the franchises legends! (Harry Redknapp snapped up one of them!)
After recently loading up an old game of Football Manager 2012, (that saw a 38-year-old Steven Gerrard break Messi’s leg in a Champions League Final victory) I noticed the number of world-beating players that haven’t actually done much where it counts; in real life.
I thought then, that I’d compile the ultimate list of my FM greats who sadly failed to make the grade. Baring in mind, these players have shone for me during various epic football manager stints, and I’m not including players I never managed. (It was difficult to type ‘managed’ then… I’m not one of those who don a suit for a virtual League Cup Final.)
So here goes… My own tribute to the greats:
Tonton Zola-Makouka:
The original FM legend. No doubt about that whatsoever. The Congolese-born Swedish orphan ticked every box. His crazy name was only matched by his goal-scoring ability. Would regularly score 80-goals in a season in the CM 01/02 version, which everyone thought was impossible until Lionel Messi started knocking about. There are countless Facebook appreciation groups that show adoration for Tonton and his virtual ability. He would have probably kept Ibrahmovic and Larsson out of Swedish teams for 10-years if the FM makers got this one right.
Where is he now?
Shockingly playing in the sixth tier of Swedish football, for IFK Lidingö FK. I think I’ve probably played at a higher level than that. He did manage to score 6 goals in the Swedish second tier 10 years ago, but that was his last goal in any level of football. He is still frequently telephoned by fans of the game, presumably asking “Where did it all go wrong?”
COMMENTS