Soccer manager 2002 professional#
Soccer manager 2002 series#

Soccer manager 2002 professional#

He was labelled as ‘the next Pele’ after starting his professional career at the age of 14, scoring four times at the 2003 Under-17 World Championship. It’s forbidden by law to discuss FM wonderkids without at least mentioning Freddy Adu’s astonishing story. We can confirm he’s a lovely, lovely man. “It’s just the expectation that was put on me that it looks like a failed career, but I played in the Championship, I played in Spain, how many people can say that?” he told us on The Broken Metatarsal podcast. He would never make such a high-profile transfer, however, and eventually retired aged 30 having never played above the Championship.Īlthough Samba didn’t achieve in real life what he managed for many players on Champ Man, he told us his stats on the game were right and that he simply didn’t realise his potential – not that he has any regrets. In real life, he was signed by Millwall aged just 13 on the back of 132 goals in 32 games for his school team, was tipped to win the World Cup for England, and was wanted by the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United, such was his talent. We’re talking about 60+ goals per season. In the game, Cherno Samba was your go-to striker if you wanted guaranteed success. We’re focusing on the Football Manager era of 2005 onwards, but we have to start with the ultimate Championship Manager wonderkid. As it turns out, regularly scoring thirty-plus goals in the game doesn’t necessarily translate into greatness in real life.

The same can’t be said for everyone, though.

Soccer manager 2002 series#

Technically, the game gives the description to players that are below the age of 20 and have the highest possible potential.Īs we all know, potential isn’t always fulfilled, but the developers behind the Football Manager series have a decent track record when it comes to the crystal ball: the 2005 edition’s so-called ‘golden generation’ featured such names as Carlos Tevez, Philipp Lahm, Wesley Sneijder, Javier Mascherano and Vincent Kompany. Wonderkid is the word that increases your heartbeat whenever it shows up next to one of your youth prospects, a player with the capability to become a Ballon d’Or winner provided you groom him properly. Championship Manager and Football Manager have correctly predicted the future success of several superstars over the years – but not every player has lived up to their potential.