In Football Manager they were stars. On the pitch, they never came close to stardom. The game has nailed the future of many stars over the years, but not every prodigy reached the potential he was given. In this series we look back at FM wonderkids (since FM05) who fell short of expectations.
Henri Saivet
FM 08 | Club: Bordeaux | Age: 17 | CA: 96 | PA: -10
We are back with part three, and we start with Henri Saivet. At 17 and with -10 PA, the Bordeaux youngster could reach 200 potential in some saves, making him the best player in the game.
In reality, he played one official game for Bordeaux in the FM 08 year and only 16 in the following two and a half seasons. In January 2011 he was loaned to Angers, in Ligue 2, where he scored his first goals (4 in 20 games). He returned to Bordeaux and stayed five and a half more seasons, this time as a starter.
In January 2016 he moved to Newcastle, but never established himself: half a season, four games and a loan. He spent time at Saint-Étienne, where he started, returned to Newcastle for four more games and then went on further loans in Turkey, to Sivasspor and Bursaspor.
Miguel Veloso
FM 08 | Club: Sporting CP | Age: 21 | CA: 157 | PA: 180
A Portuguese wonderkid: Miguel Veloso. In FM 08, with 180 PA, he was one of the best defensive midfielders in the game, if not the best. Almost everyone bought him in every save.
You cannot say he had a bad career, not at all, but he did not reach the potential expected of him that year. He was a starter everywhere he went: Sporting, Genoa, Dynamo Kyiv and Genoa again. For Portugal he played 56 games and scored 3 goals.
Nicolás Millán
FM 07 | Club: Colo-Colo | Age: 15 | CA: 75 | PA: -9
Wanted a cheap striker with a future? Colo-Colo’s center forward, Nicolás Millán, was your man. He debuted for the Chilean side in 2006, aged just 14, and was immediately in the spotlight.
Perhaps because of that, like Freddy Adu, he did not have the career people expected. At 15 he had a trial at Chelsea, but did not impress. Two loans in Argentina followed, and a return to Chile in 2010, where he spent the rest of his career, at one point with second-division Copiapó.
Marvin Angulo
FM 08 | Club: Herediano | Age: 21 | CA: 125 | PA: -9
Another big FM 08 prospect: Marvin Angulo, a versatile player who covered the whole right flank with quality. Physically he left something to be desired, but he made up for it with his technical and mental attributes.
He did not develop as expected and spent almost his whole career in Costa Rica. He started at Herediano, spent a season and a half in Australia, returned to Herediano in 2011 and later moved to Saprissa. He won only six caps.
Did you have any of these in your squad?
If you missed the other parts: Parte I | Parte II
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