El Magnifico combines the self-assured confidence of Jose Mourinho with the strategic acumen of Steve Mclaren.

A lifelong football fan, and aspiring manager, he continues to await expectantly for the phone to ring with news that Southampton FC or his native Mexico have called upon his services (surely just a matter of time).

Having trained from an early age on Sports Interactive’s football management games, El Magnifico devotion to his discipline was so immense that he developed a vitamin D deficiency after a ten-season haul steering both Carlisle and Boston Utd to Champions League finals at the same time. He is now a sensei of sorts in Football Manager Live, helping out those less experienced and naturally adept at succeeding than himself. This often means that he is soundly defeated, but only ever with the objective of making sure that other managers can reach his level of magnificence.

When away from his primary duties of management, El Magnifico likes to attend as many football matches as possible, mainly so as to snare talented youngsters on exploitative long-term contracts. He also plays as a goal keeper, although due to allegedly astronomic wage-demands, he remains unattached to a club. His ambition is to be the first goal keeper to score a goal at a world cup finals, in order to fulfil a promise made to his dear friend and mentor, José Luis Félix Chilavert. South Africa 2010 is pencilled into his diary, although 2014 is not out of the question.

Away from his beloved football, El Magnifico takes out the frustration of losing and being a constant target of (unfair) ridicule by beating people up (only in games, as years of bench warming has left him unable to duel effectively). Virtua Fighter 5 and Eternal Champions on Virtual Console are his current weapons of choice.

The Skills to Pay the Bills 
It’s late one afternoon, and I’m in the moderator chat room (that’s right folks, there’s a special secret chat room for the Football Manager Live police to talk law enforcement in and eat doughnuts) moaning about how my youth players are ‘improving’ at the same rate as Britney’s pop career. […]

[Read More]

The Long walk to Manhood
Now in his third season at Electronic Hearts, has Kazuya Sato made a name for himself and proven that a good manager can make an average player great? Well, other than for my status as a ‘good manager’ being decidedly questionable, he’s getting on reasonably well. The biggest surprise is that […]

[Read More]

Part 1: Make me a Superstar
Can I take an extraordinary 17 year-old, and make him into a household name?
Kazuya Sato, a youth with no previous first-team experience and attributes that were adequate at best is my subject in this extensive (and highly scientific) case study. I aim to play him at right-back for every game […]

[Read More]

Here at SEGA online HQ, a considerable number of the staff are involved with the Football Manager Live beta test. Of those that play, nearly all are avidly into the game and fiercely competitive when it comes to their carefully crafted team. As you can imagine, bragging rights are a valuable commodity where ‘inter-office derbys’ […]

[Read More]

Youth or experience? It’s always a bone of contention. Does a manager go with a policy of recruiting veteran war-horses, or gamble on the potential of hungry youngsters?
As Electronic Hearts manager I was greedy for success after a less than stellar start to my career. For every win, I was losing two; and even if […]

[Read More]

SEGA caught up with Marc Duffy, product manager at Sports Interactive, to quiz him about the much anticipated Football Manager Live.

So Marc, what everyone wants to know is when the playing public will finally get to join the action in FML.
I’m afraid at this stage I’m not really able to say except for the fact that it […]

[Read More]

“I am writing to you to announce my arrival into the XFA. I am a fantastic young manager who will almost certainly unbalance the existing status quo and establish myself as probably the most talented man in Game World 3.”
The decision to mark my entry into Football Manager Live by mailing this statement to every […]

[Read More]

The prospect of going from a tax-dodging layabout, or ‘student’ to use the official terminology, to full-time employment is a daunting prospect for any avid gamer.
Days spent merrily devoted to the simple pleasures of games, football and various tasty treats were standard fare for me and many friends, stretching from the days of SEGA’s Master […]

[Read More]