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 from FM05 onwards and didn't live up to expectations.
Let's carry on with 4 more players who passed through Portugal, with the promise that in the third article of this series we'll cover players in general who were part of Football Manager history.
Celsinho
FM 07
Club: Lokomotiv Moscow
Age: 18
CA: 122
PA: -9
Celso Júnior, better known as Celsinho, was an almost must-buy player in FM 07. He started at Portuguesa in Brazil, but went to Russia's Lokomotiv very young. At 18 he had great potential, and Sporting CP saw big hope in him and signed him in the summer of 2007. In his first year in Portugal he played 12 games without impressing, and a string of loans in Portugal, Brazil and Romania followed. He left Sporting CP for good in 2012 and returned to Brazil, where he still is, always at mid-sized clubs.
Rodrigo Tiuí
FM 06
Club: Fluminense
Age: 20
CA: 123
PA: 174
Rodrigo Tiuí has passed through Portugal, arriving in January 2008 to play for Sporting CP. In total, for the Portuguese side, he played 24 games and scored 3 goals. He left in August 2009 labelled a flop and returned to Brazil to play for Atl. Paranaense. Before arriving at Sporting CP, he played for Fluminense (where he came through) and Santos. Tiuí never lived up to what he was given in FM 06; after Atl. Paranaense he went to Russia, back to Brazil, then Japan and Brazil again, always at small clubs. Over his whole career he played around 300 games and scored 51 goals, very small numbers for a striker who promised so much.
Freddy Adu
FM 06
Club: DC United
Age: 16
CA: 115
PA: -10
One of the biggest prodigies FM has ever had, Freddy Adu, the buy 99% of players made in the game. The hype was so big that he ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of the series. A DC United academy product, he came to Portugal to play for Benfica in 2007. In his first year, across all competitions, he played 21 games and scored 5 goals. From there it's the story everyone knows, a career decline nobody expected. Several loans followed: Monaco, Belenenses, Aris and finally Rizespor. He left Benfica and returned to the USA in 2011. He also passed through Brazil, Serbia and Finland, before going back to the USA again. Now 29, he plays for LA Lights.
Keirrison
FM 09
Club: Coritiba
Age: 20
CA: 143
PA: 167
With a very promising career that began at Coritiba, where he played 60 games and scored 45 goals, Keirrison fell a long way short of the glory promised in his first senior years. After Coritiba he signed for Palmeiras, where in half a season he played 35 games and scored 24 goals. With excellent numbers came an offer from a European giant, Barcelona. He moved in the summer of 2009 for 15M, but didn't stay in the Blaugrana squad and was loaned out.
He arrived at Benfica that summer but stayed only half a season. Then he went to Fiorentina (also half a season), Santos and Cruzeiro, always on loan. He left Barcelona in 2012 and went back to where he'd been happy, Coritiba. Meanwhile he had another spell in Portugal, at Arouca (only 2 games). He returned to Brazil and now plays for Londrina, on loan from Coritiba. Aged 21, up to his move to Barcelona, Keirrison had 69 career goals. Now 29, since that move he has scored 28, a huge decline in his numbers.
