UEFA Manager 2000 - PC

Like a pop star, a showbiz celebrity or a philosopher, the manager of a football team lives and breathes his or her job 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is seemingly no escape from scrutiny, criticism or just plain and simple ill-feeling, even in the quieter moments. Conversely, play a blinder, as footy parlance would have it, everybody loves you, and will most likely include you in their scrapbook. If, after a hard day at the office, you still feel the need to grab a slice of real life, UEFA Manager 2000 is here to fill the void. Are you ready for 25 years-worth of elation and heartbreak in equal measure...?

If you must subject yourself to this experience (and you really should), UEFA Manager 2000’s game options are so diverse, you are guaranteed to find something that appeals. Of course, you can take charge of one of the European super-powers if you like, or maybe your own personal favourite from the rest of the continent. But look a little further, and you will discover a mode where you start out as a novice manager and have to apply for positions at lower league clubs, or the stroke of genius which is scenario mode. This is where your tactical management and decision-making nous is truly tested. Imagine if you were thrown in at the deep end as caretaker manager and had to save a club from almost certain relegation, or if you inherited a team full of thirty-somethings unable to last a full match. Fresh ideas and fresher legs are what’s required, and all on a limited budget. There are nine scenarios on offer, from the club that’s in the mire to the team that’s qualified for the UEFA Cup and now wants to advance to the Champion’s League. You’ll find yourself looking as grey as King Kev by the time you’ve wrung every last drop of gameplay out of UEFA Manager 2000.

The user interface is simple to navigate, help screens are never more than a mouse-click away, and attention to detail is phenomenal. Player attributes are nothing less than thorough, messages from your staff, chairman and players’ agents are all delivered by e-mail. You are responsible for organising sponsorship deals, acting upon transfer and loan enquiries, training schedules…I could go on forever. Of course, you could delegate jobs to the staff already on board, but it’s much more fun to do it yourself.

So dust off the old sheepskin, light a big cigar, and sit back to watch your chosen team in 3D. However you’ve prepared your players, there is nothing truly predictable in football, and nothing about UEFA Manager 2000 that suggests mid-table mediocrity. Anyway, I must be going now, I’m staying home for the rest of my life.
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