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6 challenges to better yourself in Football Manager 2020
These challenges aren't for the faint of heart – FM pros, prepare to enter beast mode.
So, you’ve won the Prem. You’ve conquered Europe. You’ve clinched the treble, the quadruple, and have claimed The Invincibles title as your own, because your lads won all 38 league fixtures, didn’t they? Sorry, Wenger, there’s a new king in town. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a bronze statue of you out there in the car park.
But as we await the return of real-world football in its full capacity, perhaps you fancy a bigger challenge in the digital dugout. Maybe a move to the continent is on the cards, or a change of pace at international level? It could be that a clean break is what you’re after, or would you rather rediscover your roots?
From the Job Centre to the centre-circle, the Sunday league to the Champions League, here are six challenges that are sure to help you become a better gaffer in Football Manager 2020.
1. The no money challenge
Football Manager 2020 encourages you to know your role
© SEGA
This is probably the hardest Football Manager challenge out there, but easily the most rewarding when things start moving in the right direction. Winning trophies is another story, but the essence of this trial – besides not splashing dinero, clearly – is investing in your club behind the scenes. Without moolah, recruitment becomes extra difficult, which makes understanding the market invaluable. You’ll seek to sniff out the best free agent deals and Bosman transfers as they present themselves, and will strive to adapt your playstyle against the new faces rival teams bring in.
If you opt to start out at a cash-strapped club, this challenge will initially seem more straightforward as you’ll be under less pressure to stretch your budget. Instead, you’ll have more reserves to invest in training facilities, which in theory should help improve the morale, and ultimately the ability of your existing squad. Winning trophies will be your toughest obstacle.
If you start with a well-off club, sustaining your side at the highest level without reinvesting will test your managerial mettle. For an extra leg up, check out Football Manager 2020’s best free agents for Premier League teams.
2. (Finally) win something again with Arsenal
Football Manager header image
© SEGA
Look at Arsenal's Invincibles roster. Every one a winner. Before continuing, it's worth being clear: Arsenal are a solid team. On their day, their passing, technical ability, build-up play and high-intensity press can make them unplayable, but there’s just something missing from the heady days of the early 2000s in the current squad. It’s namely trophies, let’s be honest, which is exactly what this challenge poses.
Continue what Arteta has started by getting the young gun(ners) in about the action – the likes of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah – and invest in the best physios and medical team that money can buy, because the sooner players like Kieran Tierney can be reintroduced into the fold, the better. Arsenal’s Invincibles had the passion, determination and drive to succeed, and young KT has all of those traits in spades. The next Andy Robertson? Find out for yourself and lead the Gunners to long-term European success and domestic dominance.
3. Win the World Cup with England
Getting players that fit your playstyle is crucial
© SEGA
Like many a Scotsman (boo, hiss, etc.), you can’t help but chuckle at the English media’s scope for heaping unreasonable pressure onto the shoulders of its national football team ahead of every major tournament. In 1990, football was coming home. In ’92 and ’94, it was still coming home. In ’96 they made a bloody song about football coming home. And in ’98 through 2018, I’m beginning to think football got lost on its way back to Blighty because I’m fairly certain the Coup de Monde currently resides in the Stade de France trophy room.
To be fair to Harry Maguire et al, they did alright at Russia 2018, which I suspect was in part down to a bit less media hype beforehand, and more focus on Gareth Southgate’s immaculate waistcoats during.
Unlike the renowned San Marino Challenge (more on that further down the page), winning the World Cup with England is doable with the right draw and the right team selection and tactics. Control Possession will be your orthodox line-up here, as will Tiki-Taka against lesser opponents and Counter-Attack when sitting deep against the world’s best.
Replicating the team that led En-ger-land to the semi-finals in Russia is your best bet with regards to selection, but you may want to chop and change depending on preference. Fraser Forster is a great alternative to Jordan Pickford between the sticks, and make sure Jordan Henderson, Jadon Sancho, Trent-Alexander Arnold and Phil Foden are all thrown in alongside stalwarts such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Maguire and Raheem Sterling.
Cancel the search party, football’s finally on the last strait.
4. Qualify for a major tournament with Scotland
Football Manager 2020 pitch match engine
© SEGA
That’s right, it’s been 22 years since France ’98 and indeed over two decades since my home nation locked horns with anyone on the world or European stage. For context, the captain in the above line-up pic, Colin Hendry, is now 54 years-old. Which is pretty remarkable.
More remarkable still would be winning the World Cup with Scotland in Football Manager 2020. If you can, please pass on your methods and workings to the Scottish Football Association for review and keep your phone handy. Qualification to a major tournament is probably a more realistic challenge, and, given the wealth of talent in the Scottish ranks nowadays, is likely more surmountable than leading England to glory.
You’ve really nothing to lose here tactically – it’s been 22 years, for crying out loud – but I’d recommend building your team around Callum McGregor in midfield, and handing him the captain’s armband too. Get James Forrest out on the right flank, and have Ryan Christie playing the number 10 role – he’s been scoring and creating goals for fun at club level this season. Andy Robertson on the left of defence is a no-brainer, and a fit Kieran Tierney can be switched to the right for similar power and pace from the back. Depending on how long this challenge takes you, Mikey Johnston is one for the future and is formidable down the inside-left channel.
5. Start the game unemployed
Work as a jobber long enough and you'll see some weird new teams appear
© SEGA
Second in difficulty to the no money challenge listed above, starting out with no coaching badges, no experience and, therefore, no job is a daunting prospect. I’ll split these final entries into two parts, with the first focused on starting out at grass-roots level with a ball under your arm and the world at your feet. This is perhaps the most surreal way to play Football Manager, because when you’re unfamiliar with the clubs, players and leagues you’re involved with, there’s a natural tendency to focus more on the game’s stats and numbers.
From the outset, offers of employment will be few and far between. When they do roll around, you’ll find yourself frantically Googling teams you’ve never heard of, searching for famous players or coaches who started out at Romanian second tier outfit Rapid CFR or Sporting Clube de Coimbrões of Portugal before hitting the big time. Invariably, no one you know will have kicked off their careers here, but you’ll do well to get through the interview. Adding philosophies to your CV might help your chances as being invited back, as will demanding less in the way of transfer money and wages. It’s worth noting that you’ll have to contend with the latter two should you be offered the job.
When you do get to work, spend as much time growing as young a squad as possible, who you can sculpt and mould over time. Winning games and trophies will open doors to bigger moves, but if you can land your first job in the lower leagues of England, Germany, Spain, France or Italy, you’ll be in a better position to overcome the last challenge of this list.
6. Take a non-league team to the Champions League
Guiding your minnows to the top flight requires mastery of the interface
© SEGA
From a ploughed field to Anfield, could you carry a team from non-league level to the summit of European football? The Ronseal of Football Manager challenges, this trial does exactly what it says on the tin.
Imagine Yeovil Town, Barnet or Dover Athletic’s name etched into the European Cup alongside Madrid, Munich and Milan – and then imagine you and your guys up there on the virtual podium, biting winners’ medals with your front teeth and lifting the big-eared trophy aloft as confetti and fireworks rain down from above.
There will be offers from other clubs en route to the grandest fairy tale in the history of the Beautiful Game, therefore this challenge requires heart and humility as well as managerial genius. Good luck to you!
7. Bonus Ball: The San Marino challenge
San Marino has under 34,000 inhabitants - enough for a winning 11?
© Cezar Suceveanu (under CC BY-SA 4.0)
Win the World Cup with San Marino – a microstate with a population of just 34,000. Learn more about the specifics of this challenge from the official Football Manager forums, and learn 5 Tips to master Football Manager 2020, straight from the devs themselves.
