Start!
1: FM!
Start!
Chapter 1 FM START October 5, 2016, Munich.
Technical University of Munich dormitory.
At two in the morning, Adrian Vandenberg opened his eyes and looked around the room.
The room wasn’t large, and many posters of football stars were pasted on the walls: Müller, Boateng, Kimmich, and even Beckenbauer.
It seemed the original owner of this body was a fan of Bayern.
“Am I…
did I die suddenly from playing FM for too long and then get reincarnated?” Adrian Vandenberg wondered, then got up to grab the mirror on the desk.
Standing at a towering 6’3″, he looked into the mirror.
His pale, alabaster skin from albinism genetic condition, contrasted strikingly with his long black shoulder length hair parted both ways from the middle, and beneath sharp brows sat a pair of vivid crimson eyes.
There wasn’t a trace of stubble or dark circles on his face; he had a uniquely handsome, arresting appearance.
T/N: Alucard from Castlevania with pitch Black glossy shoulder length hair parted both ways, and light red eyes due to genetic disorder.
In the words of his former roommates, “Bro, I beg you, go ask for that girl’s contact for me.
If it works, I’ll cover your breakfast for a month.” If there was such a need in the dormitory, Adrian Vandenberg usually handled it because only his face was the most presentable, and his success rate was also the highest.
On the desk lay a blue-bordered certificate that read “UEFA A DIPLOMA” with the name “Adrian Vandenberg.” The validity of this certificate was from October 11, 2016, to October 11, 2019.
This was a UEFA A Coaching License.
Clearly, Adrian Vandenberg was the owner of this certificate.
“Holy crap?
Is it because I led the Belgian National Team to their first world cup trophy in FM, and some deity gave me a reward?” Adrian Vandenberg marveled again.
The Belgian National Team winning the world cup trophy—these words put together felt both familiar and foreign.
In the real world, there might still be a very, very long way to go, or perhaps they’d never get there.
But in FM, as a legend of the five major leagues, a regular in the Champions League finals, and the undisputed number one coach in Europe and top three in the world, it was entirely achievable for Adrian Vandenberg.
After leading the Die Werkself to defeat Bayern five consecutive times to reach the top of the Bundesliga, leading Manchester United through four perfect seasons with three consecutive Champions League titles, and leading the Three Lions to win the European Cup, he resolutely resigned.
He turned down invitations from other giants and returned home to coach Club Brugge while also serving as the head coach of the national team.
During his tenure, he demanded the board of directors invest heavily in training facilities and the youth academy system.
Subsequently, through the youth system, he discovered and developed many local youngsters with superstar talent, turning Club Brugge into a star factory for the Belgian Super League.
After coaching Club Brugge for many years, Adrian Vandenberg successfully brought the total market value of the Club Brugge and national team players to the standards of a Premier League giant for the first time.
In the 2034 Saudi World Cup, the Belgian National Team successfully qualified and went on to defeat Japan, Serbia, Croatia, Spain, and the Netherlands, entering the final with a perfect winning record.
Their final opponent was Argentina.
Matches are often thrilling.
Argentina, which had already won three World Cup trophies, had an average age of 28, with world-class superstars in every position.
Facing the Belgian National Team, who were entering the final for the first time with an average age of 24, no one could be sure of the outcome.
After enduring high-pressure pressing in the first half, the Belgian National Team did not succumb to the biting of the Pampa Eagles; the defensive line remained a solid and thick wall.
At the end of the first half, 19-year-old Brugge youngster Kevin De Bryne the future jumped high, received a header from a teammate, controlled the ball with his chest, and then quickly passed it out.
19-year-old Brugge youngster Hexa Courtois was well-prepared.
Facing the frontal defense of Argentine legend Etcheverri, he didn’t panic at all.
He quickened his pace, lowered his center of gravity, and with a flick and a turn after dipping his body, he completed a beautiful breakthrough.
Finally, in the penalty area, the future completed a turnaround backheel shot in an incredible manner, successfully equalizing the score.
In the second half, the offensive and defensive rhythm of both sides was almost identical, with neither showing any flaws.
After ninety minutes of regulation and thirty minutes of extra time, the two sides were still tied.
In the final penalty shootout, it ended with all Belgian National Team players succeeding and Argentine youngster Gonzalez missing one shot.
After the match, former Argentine player Messi now the manager said not a word, did not accept any interviews, and left the final venue with a dark face.
“The era belonging to Belgian players has arrived.” After the match, the entire national team made an unprecedented appearance on the cover of Time Magazine.
The Belgian Times broadcasted this news for 10 minutes.
The miracle of 2022 could not be replicated by Argentina after all, but a new miracle was created by the Belgian National Team in 2034.
After this year, the Belgian Super League became the true “sixth major League,” and Adrian Vandenberg also became a true “world-class head coach.” This was probably the best and most perfect experience he had since playing FM; he had achieved a dream that was almost untouchable in reality.
“It’s all tears.
I wonder if those few youth academy wonderkids of mine are still there.
I hope the board didn’t lose their minds and sell them off.” Well, the Belgian Super League boards in FM are like that; they sell wonderkids at will.
A high-potential wonderkid worth 200 million euros might be sold for just over 30-50 million euros.
The reason being “the board received an offer they couldn’t refuse.” A bunch of money-grubbing things.
In the memories of this body, there was one more thing left to do—check the email.
Adrian Vandenberg turned on the computer, entered the account and password, opened the mailbox, and saw the latest email inside.
The title was “Adrian Vandenberg, Willkommen im TSV Munich 1860!” (German: Adrian Vandenberg, welcome to Munich 1860.) Attached inside was a final contract.
This body was proficient in German.
Adrian Vandenberg clicked in and took a look.
It was a head coach contract with harsh terms: a weekly salary of 1,500 euros, a 15% raise if promotion was successful, and a 35% pay cut if relegated.
“Good grief, Munich 1860 in 2016.
I’m taking over in a time of defeat; what a disastrous start,” Adrian Vandenberg lamented.
He was an old FM player and also a fan of the German League, so Munich 1860 was not unfamiliar to him.
Many fans who have heard the name Munich 1860 probably associate it with Failure.
Of course, the Club itself has a relatively glorious history and a reputation in the German Leagues.
This Club, whose name is very similar to Bayern Munich, indeed has a history with Bayern Munich.
A long time ago, both Clubs were in the same League.
At that time, they were both obscure and struggling in the lower Leagues.
Later, Beckenbauer emerged from Bayern.
In just a few years, he brought Bayern to the Bundesliga.
Then, Bayern’s glorious history began.
In the following years, Bayern won consecutive Bundesliga titles and Champions League titles, making the difference between the two teams larger and larger.
Many years later, Bayern Munich had become one of the super giants of the five major leagues the Bundesliga, while Munich 1860 was still struggling in the lower Leagues.
The tables had turned.
In the past, 1860 always suppressed Bayern, but now 1860 almost had no chance to compete on the same stage as Bayern.
If nothing unexpected happened, Munich 1860 would be relegated after the 2016-2017 season and has remained trapped in the 3.
BundesLiga to this day.
There is another interesting thing between these two Clubs, and that is Bayern’s home stadium, the Allianz Arena.
This stadium was originally built jointly by Munich 1860 and Bayern.
Unfortunately, in July 2017, when Munich 1860 was relegated to the 3.
Liga, Bayern announced the termination of the contract with Munich 1860 for the Allianz Arena.
From then on, Bayern became the sole owner of the Allianz Arena.
Adrian Vandenberg could probably guess why he was chosen—because Munich 1860 this season needed a scapegoat for relegation.
Just as he finished reading the last letter of the contract, a voice came into his mind.
“FM Football Manager System activated.
Content loading, please wait ….” Hearing this, the veteran FM player Adrian Vandenberg knew he was set.
It seemed his transmigration wasn’t in vain.
A few minutes later, the system responded.
Host Team: Munich 1860 League Level: 2.
bundesliga Weekly Salary: 1,500€ Team Reputation: Slightly Famous Personal Reputation: Unknown Below is the personal attribute panel.
The familiar numerical interface appeared, still so pleasing to the eye.
Host Attribute Introduction: Defensive Training: 10 Attacking Training: 9 Technical Training: 10 Tactical Training: 14 Mental Training: 6 Fitness Training: 11 Set Pieces: 5 Man Management: 12 Judging Player Ability: 20 (System Active) Judging Player Potential: 20 (System Active) Working with Youngsters: 20 Determination: 17 Adaptability: 16 Coaching Style: Perfectionist, Resourceful, Resilient Coaching License: UEFA A License.
With these stats, in FM, Adrian Vandenberg wouldn’t even think about using himself as an assistant coach because the training abilities were too poor.
But now he couldn’t be picky no matter what, because these were his own stats.
“System, these stats can all be improved, right?” Adrian Vandenberg asked.
“The data in this system is based on the host’s actual abilities.
The actual values can change as the host changes.” Hearing this, Adrian Vandenberg felt much more relieved.
He also noticed that compared to the FM game UI, this system had an additional Mall section.
He clicked in to take a look.
It was full of various football-related training courses and programs, such as “Tuchel’s High Press,” “Kante’s Anchor Man Training Pack,” “Junior Mental Master,” “The Special One’s Tactical Insights (Real Madrid period),” “French Proficiency,” “Spanish Proficiency,” “Perfect Recovery Massage Technique,” “Iron Bridge Training Method,” and so on.
From matches to training to life, everything was there.
But the prices were not low, almost all in four digits, and many legendary items were in five or even six digits.
A line of notes at the bottom of the page: “The content of this Mall is exchanged for points.
The higher the League level the host is in, the higher the average points per win.
3.
Liga win +10 points, 2.
bundesliga win +20 points, Bundesliga win +30 points, National Cup win +30 points, International Cup win +100 points, Continental Cup win +150 points.
Points for a draw are halved.
No points gained or lost for a loss.
Friendlies and exhibition matches do not grant points.
Points for effective daily training of players are assessed based on the players’ actual gains.” “System, do I have a newbie…” Just as Adrian Vandenberg finished asking, the system gave a reply.
Newbie Gift Pack has been delivered.
He opened the gift pack.
Inside were “4-2-3-1 High Press Tactical Understanding (Emery 2010 version, Host Skill),” “Sané’s Bursting Run Training Pack (Manchester City period, Excellent Quality),” “Routine Anti-Encirclement Training Pack (Common Quality),” “TCM Massage Technique (Host Skill),” “A Red Victory Tie (Charisma +5),” and “Mo Farah’s Middle and Long Distance Running Training Pack (Excellent Quality).” “System, what are the rules for using the training packs?” The system replied.
“Host, training packs are limited-use consumables.
Each training pack has a different number of uses and applicable people based on its rarity.
For example, a Common quality training pack can be used 20 times, Excellent quality 30 times, Perfect quality 40 times, and Legendary quality 50 times.
As for the bonus effects, each use of a training pack will increase the training speed of specific skills.
Common grade bonus 20%, Excellent grade 30%, Perfect grade 40%, and Legendary grade 50%.
This allows your players to increase their skill training speed in a short period of time.
Bonus effects will take effect in the current week’s training, and you can use different types of training packs simultaneously, but the same type of training pack can only be used once for the same player.
The effect of training packs is not exactly the same for players of different levels.
Using the same quality training pack, players with better talent can achieve better training results.
The number of training pack uses is also related to the number of target players.
For example, if the host uses the same training pack for three players simultaneously, then after each training session, the number of training uses consumed will be 3.
Friendly reminder: the number of training pack uses is cumulative.
Once the uses are exhausted, the training pack will expire.
Therefore, it should be reasonably allocated based on the team’s situation.
High-quality training packs should be prioritized for core players and high-potential players to ensure their strength is improved.” The system explained in great detail, and Adrian Vandenberg basically understood.
The core point still lies with the players; good training packs should be used on good players with potential to maximize their value.
— Author’s Note: How do you like it!
The Original Novel Fanfiction is Football: I have FM Football Manager System.
Its heavily Chinese inspired, haven’t read much but don’t dare read all of that but, as I am translating the novel I am also proof reading it while enjoying watching just like you all