FOR THOSE WHO LIVE FOOTBALL

As someone who's never quite had the skill and talent to play actual football, my own love for the game is a tad different from those who's fondest memories take place on the pitch. Rather than being one of the players, I (and I suspect those who also lack the physical prowess) dream of being the manager instead of the player. Football Manager (FM) lets me do just that.

Simulation games such as Sims or Civilization offer players the chance to vicariously live out many realities, and I would argue that Football Manager leaves those games in the dust when it comes to excruciating detail and is one of the most realistic games one could play. You can't control your players and spam rabonas with Lingard game in, game out like in FIFA. In FM, the players play the match and how they play depends entirely on you as manager.

You also have the option to attend press conferences, interact with the board when you want to hire one more goalkeeping coach, personally praise or chastise players for their performance. All novelties, that for the large part, you can sort of do in FIFA as well. But the best parts of the game, for me, are far more niche. As manager of a club, you are in charge of devising training routines for the entire squad and individuals (both senior and various youth levels). Every single decision you or the CPU managers make affects the entire world of your game. A wrong response in a press conference can lead to a player brimming with confidence or sulking, which in turn, can make or break the result of your next game. Any misstep you take will contribute to your club's overall performance, which makes actually winning trophies in FM far more like the real thing than FIFA or PES. The amount of satisfaction one gets when everything goes right is what makes the game so great. It capitalises on the passion of football fans and it's safe to say no players are complaining. Believe me when I say that nothing quite compares to turning around a two-goal deficit at half-time to win 3-2 at full time because of tactical changes or an impassioned half-time team talk. The game relies entirely on data, and using this data, you will be tasked with forming the proper backroom staff, scouting network, and squad. I cannot even begin to explain how exciting it is when you unearth the next Batistuta, and how disappointing it is when they only end up playing for Derby County in the Championship.

The sheer scope of the game is another massive factor. You can manage any team from the heights of the English Premier League to a third division side in Indonesia. If the league database doesn't come pre-loaded, there's a very good chance that the mod community has you covered. While the Bangladesh football pyramid isn't pre-packaged as a playable league, the database for players and clubs such as Abahani, Brothers Union, Sheikh Jamal, etc. do exist and you can even manage the Bangladesh national side and maybe take them to the World Cup. But probably not, because the game is just that realistic.