In the virtual world of Football Manager they were stars, but on the pitch they never came close to stardom. FM has correctly predicted the future success of many stars over the years, but not every player reached the expected potential. In this series we talk about young players who were Wonderkids but didn't make it in real life, from FM 05 onwards. We start with 4 players who passed through (or are in) Portugal.
Giorgi Makaridze
FM 08
Club: Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
Age: 17
CA: 100 (120 FM18)
PA: -9 (125 FM18)
A name familiar to Portuguese fans, the first player we talk about in this series is Giorgi Makaridze. Makaridze was a Wonderkid in FM 08, a 17-year-old player in a country with little footballing weight.
In reality, Makaridze didn't live up to his promise in that FM. He had a modest career; he left D. Tbilisi in January 2009, then 18, for Le Mans. Only in November, under coach Paulo Duarte, did he make his Ligue 1 debut. At Le Mans he spent only one season as a starter, in 11/12. In June 2013 his contract ended and he was released; he was without a club until March 2014, when he signed for Doxa in Cyprus, but without playing he left in August.
He then signed for Feirense, where he played 18 games that season and 36 the next. He caught the eye, won promotion and was voted goalkeeper of the year in the Segunda Liga. He didn't go up with Feirense and signed for Moreirense, where he played 33 games; that season he won his first trophy, the Taça da Liga. After rumours linking him with Benfica and Braga, he signed for Rio Ave in January this year. For his country, Makaridze debuted at 17 in Euro 2008 qualifying against Scotland, played two more games, the last in March 2008, and only started for his national team again in March 2017, in a friendly against Latvia.
Lulinha
FM 08
Club: Corinthians
Age: 17
CA: 104 (108 FM18)
PA: -10 (129 FM18)
Lulinha, was one of the Wonderkids with the most future in Fm 08, he had the same PA as Toni Kroos, Banega, Giovinco. In reality, he never lived up to his promise, far from it; he had top individual quality but fell short in the collective game.
He introduced himself to the world at the Sub-17 World Cup in 2007, and made the jump to Europe in 2009 when he signed for Estoril (Segunda Liga, 26J-2 G) and then Olhanense (Primeira Liga, 14J), both times on loan from Corinthians. He returned to Brazil, where he stayed until 2015, then passed through Korea and the Emirates, and is now in Cyprus, aged 28, playing for Pafos.
Evandro Roncatto
FM 06
Club: Guarani
Age: 19
CA: 115 (95 FM18)
PA: 182 (125 FM18)
Talking about Roncatto is a cliché by now, but you can't avoid it. In Fm 06 he is no novelty in the Virtual World, but to be a little different we talk about him in this FM and not in CM 03/04.
As for his history, let's start with the present: Evandro is currently in Portugal, at Casa Pia, where he is coached by Rúben Amorim. Like so many other players, he never got beyond what he promised in the game; after Guarani he went round clubs of little size. He arrived in Europe in 2007, signing for Belenenses, where in two seasons he played 50 games and scored only 3 goals. He then went to Paços de Ferreira, where he played 7 games and stayed half a season. Then segue for Cyprus in January 2010, and he also had short spells in Bulgaria and Greece. He returned to Portugal in 2014 to play for Oriental, where he played 37 games and scored 5 goals. He then went to Kazakhstan, Brazil, England, Norway, Brazil again, and finally the chance to return to Portugal came up.
Porcellis
FM 06
Club: Internacional (BRA)
Age: 18
CA: 108 (90 FM18)
PA: 183 (95 FM18)
Rafael Porcellis, now 31, is another Wonderkid who passed through Portugal. In FM 06 he promised lots of goals, a striker with a brilliant future, but in reality he didn't reach those heights. He started at Internacional, went on loan around Brazil and in August 2009 had his first experience in Europe, at Helsingborgs in Sweden. It was at Helsingborgs that he won the only title of his career, a Swedish Cup, but having played few games he left in 2012.
He then came to Portugal to play in what is now the Campeonato de Portugal, at Fátima, where he scored 19 goals in 26 games. Segue the following year to the Azores, where he signed for Santa Clara, played 37 games and scored 11 goals. Then, in 2013, the move to Braga, but he was immediately loaned to Feirense (28J, 9G). In 2014 he packed his bags and went to Poland, stayed one season and returned to Portugal to play for Feirense again (23J, 5G). The following year, 2016, he played for União da Madeira and Leixões, with 40 games and 10 goals over the season. Segue: next came the Emirates, and he now plays for São José-RS in Brazil.
Who knows, he may still return to Portugal, where he has a total of 5 seasons (154J, 56G).
