Whether tactician, youth promoter or soccer romantic – Football Manager 2024 has countless variants in which you can prove yourself. We present five exciting projects for your next score
Promoting the next Pelé or Neymar, rising to the Premier League with Hollywood support or hunting for bargains on the transfer market? We’ve picked out five exciting clubs for you, each with their own unique challenge in Football Manager
For long-term coaches: AFC Wrexham
Since Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over AFC Wrexham, the small club from Wales has been the talk of the town. However, with promotion to the fourth-tier League Two, the journey is said to have only just begun.
If you’re looking for a long-term project, here it is. It’s a long way to the Premier League. And until you’ve caught up with Manchester, Liverpool and Chelsea, there are many seasons to play, countless wonderkids to scout and plenty of transfers to bag.
For tacticians: Athletic Bilbao
Buying players for your tactics? Anyone can – at least if they can draw from the full transfer market. As coach of Bilbao, it’s a different story: As in real life, the club is only allowed to sign Basques in Football Manager. The game does not allow any other transfers.
At least the traditionally strong youth system will provide you with suitable players for the first team. Otherwise, as with the limited transfer market, you have to make the best tactical use of the Basques at your disposal. If there are no great strikers, there is little point in playing on the wing. And if you don’t have any good full-backs, you’ll have to retrain players or adapt your formation.
The reward: a team that can compete with Real and Barcelona as a cohesive unit on a good day. It’s not for nothing that Bilbao have won the Spanish Cup more often than the royals from Madrid.
For youth supporters: Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam – the name is immediately associated with great youth work, many soccer legends and a subscription to the Dutch championship title. However, Ajax is currently fighting its way out of a crisis the likes of which has rarely been seen before in the club’s 123-year history. In addition to sports director Sven Mislintat, coach Maurice Steijn also had to leave recently.
Even if you don’t have to work your way up from the bottom of the table in Football Manager 2024, Ajax Amsterdam offers everything a long-term project needs: Great youth development, the dream of big titles – and financially strong competition from abroad that wants to poach the best players from you.
Can you manage to put together a strong squad of home-grown players, secure your dominance in the Netherlands and even win a European title?
For soccer romantics: FC Santos
With Pelé and Neymar, FC Santos has produced two of the greatest Brazilian footballers of all time. For this reason alone, the club is perfect for taking the leap across the Atlantic in Football Manager.
The Brazilian league is characterized by a great balance, so that exciting seasons are guaranteed and even outsiders with a strong run can upset the big boys. This is, of course, due to European clubs, who keep a close eye on the market with their scouts in search of the next Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or Kaka – and regularly pick off the best players.
This leaves plenty of room for youth development – and for old stars such as Marcelo, Hulk & Co. who are happy to end their careers in their home country. The perfect scenario for soccer romantics
For transfer foxes: Atalanta Bergamo
Atalanta Bergamo have made many sporting headlines in recent years. Thanks to coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s impressive style of play, “La Dea” regularly made it into the European Cup – and at the same time impressed with a great deal of creativity on the transfer market. Unknown players such as Robin Gosens were bought for little money and then made a name for themselves
With Juventus Turin, AC Milan, Inter Milan, SSC Napoli, AS Roma and Lazio Roma, Bergamo is facing some top teams in Serie A. So you need good solutions in scouting and on the tactics board in Football Manager to build on past successes.
After all, Giorgio Scalvini is one of the biggest defensive talents under contract – and he’s not the only exciting young star you can shape your squad around.
If you manage to keep him, nothing stands in the way of more European Cup nights in Bergamo
Let us surprise you: Start unemployed
The FM writes special stories when you leave the choice of club up to him – and start unemployed. Go on vacation for a few months and then take a look around the job center: The first teams have already fired their coaches or are about to do so, so you should have some attractive projects to choose from
