{"id":7394,"date":"2019-12-03T10:12:56","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T10:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fmportugal.net\/?p=7394"},"modified":"2026-09-25T12:45:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T12:45:46","slug":"treinadores-de-sofa-9-afonso-goncalves-treinador-mais-jovem-de-portugal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fmportugal.net\/en\/treinadores-de-sofa-9-afonso-goncalves-treinador-mais-jovem-de-portugal\/","title":{"rendered":"Armchair Coaches #9 Afonso Gon\u00e7alves \u2013 Portugal's Youngest Coach!"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the 9th edition of this series, we decided to put the spotlight on the youngest manager in Portugal: Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>! Despite being only 18, he's already worked at Academia Sporting<\/strong> as a youth coach, was also a trainee assistant coach for the Under-18s at Boavista<\/strong> and even head coach of the Under-19s at Sr\u00aa da Hora<\/strong>. <\/em><\/p>\n

At such a young age, and with Football Manager<\/strong> having helped him develop this passion for coaching and tactics from a very early age, here we have a real-life example of how FM can help build careers in reality too, since it was in the game, as a kid, that he first experienced all the realism FM offers on the coaching side.<\/em><\/p>\n

Join us in this conversation and find out more about this very young Portuguese coach!<\/em><\/p>\n

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FMPortugal.net: <\/span><\/strong>What was the first edition you played, and which star did you never fail to buy in every saves<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: I started with FM 2012, I was still 11, but I confess that back then I 'didn't even know' how to buy players! (laughs) I started playing more seriously with FM 2013 and always tried to buy Ezequiel Rescaldani<\/strong>, an Argentine striker who ended up playing for M\u00e1laga and who scored loads of goals!<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net: <\/span><\/strong>Do you consider yourself an 'ACE' at tactics in FM? With which club have you won, or come closest to winning, everything?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: A 'tactics ace' only in real life (laughs). In FM 2019, I had a career at Celtic<\/strong> where in the first season I won everything domestically and reached the Europa League semi-final. In FM 2018, I had a career at Milan<\/strong> where I also won everything there was to win domestically, right in the first season.<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net: <\/span><\/strong>As a manager, what appeals to you more: starting right away on Europe's biggest stages and winning everything there is to win, or starting with a club in a low division and building your team up until it wins the Champions League<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: Neither, really! (laughs) I prefer starting at a club I identify with, or that I've had some connection to in real life, like Celtic<\/strong>, or Aberdeen<\/strong> or Boavista<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net<\/span><\/strong>:<\/strong> You're currently the youngest coaching staff member ever created in Portugal! Will you start bringing your 'player' with you to every club you go to? Or will you let him develop naturally and just follow his career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: I can't resist the temptation and always end up signing myself! (laughs) I've already brought him along as assistant youth coach at Aberdeen and Bolton. I'm worried that if I let him develop naturally, in 10 years he might still be unemployed (laughs)\u2026 He can't stop!<\/p>\n

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Profile<\/strong> of Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong> in FM 2020<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FMPortugal.net<\/span>: Is there a team you always have to manage in every new edition of FM? And as for players, is there anyone you always try to sign?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: It's impossible for me not to manage Celtic<\/strong>. It's a long-standing passion! As for players, I no longer have preferences. With every new save<\/em> I prefer to discover and sign new players so I can broaden my knowledge.<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net<\/span>: Confess: do you tend to restart when 'that' final or 'that' vital match goes badly for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: I don't like restarting the game, it takes the fun out of it. That said, if I'm winning a final and my laptop battery dies, I'll restart it even 1000 times until I'm winning again! (laughs)<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net<\/span>: Do you have a funny story to tell us 'because of' FM? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves<\/strong>: In FM 2019, in a save<\/em> I was doing with a friend, I was managing Reading<\/strong> and he was managing Charlton<\/strong> (this was already in the 2nd season). Meanwhile, I ended up getting sacked from Reading for applying to other clubs, and I ended up at West Brom<\/strong> and my friend got hired at Reading, who were fighting for promotion against West Brom. When my friend got there, one of the best players (Jack Clarke<\/strong>) was against him, saying he wanted to be managed by me again and that he'd never be like me! (laughs)<\/p>\n

FMPortugal.net<\/span>: Lastly, setting 'virtual reality' aside for a moment, you're 18 and besides having worked at the Sporting Academy as a youth coach, you were also assistant coach for Boavista's Under-18s and head coach of Sr\u00aa da Hora's Under-19s! How were those experiences, and what do you hope for \u2014 with your feet on the ground \u2014 going forward?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afonso Gon\u00e7alves: <\/strong>The experiences I had were fantastic and helped me grow a lot as the young person I still am, and I'm now more focused than ever on the future. I like to say it was never having 'my feet on the ground' that brought me to each of these challenges, and I work every day to one day reach the Primeira Liga and, of course, to have a PA of 200! (laughs)<\/p>\n

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