Player Manager

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soccer gamessoccer manager gamessport games

After success of Kick Off Dino Dini came up with extension to the game that completely changed the character of the game - as player-manager we not only play in the matches, but also take care of the whole team.

Kick Off was a revolutionary soccer game that introduced vertical scrolling of the pitch, top-down view and after-kick controls (that let you bend the shot), all of which made the game dynamic and entertaining. But after success of Kick Off Dino Dini came up with sort of extension to the game, called Player Manager, that changed the game completely.

First of all the Kick Off was still there, you play on the same field, using the same basic engine, but instead of controlling the whole team you were given chance to be just a single player. There was option to still play in the matches like in Kick Off, but in general the concept was that you play in a career mode - as experienced player you join one of the lower divisions team and as player-manager try to raise them to the top. During the match you controlled only your own player, which meant that you did not have any influence on how the others are performing in your team.

As manager you dealt with the team selection, tactics (through editor), substitutions, transfers, you could order extra training, etc. Seems easy to grasp, but also as manager you had to deal with the board of directors, who could block your expenditures or fire you if the team does not perform well.

All of it made Player Manager a completely different game with each player having different set of parameters, transfer market that let you get better players to replace those you have, but you also had to give your best on the field to keep the team in challenge for promotion or the championship. Overall a quite impressive game that despite hardware limits made a huge impact and influenced many future titles (like Sensible World of Soccer).

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Games like Player Manager

Championship Manager

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Classic soccer management game that created new standards of the genre - while simulating British professional division it gave the options to run youth team and simulated all the clubs plus option to build your own career.

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Euro League Manager

1996
Italian soccer manager game inspired by Championship Manager, but lacking the style or sophistication of the original.

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