Eight team challenges to keep Football Manager 2024 fresh and exciting all season long
11.26.2024
By Ford James, Contributor
We’re here with eight team suggestions to keep Football Manager 2024 challenging all the way through to next year. While the 2023/24 season has concluded in real life, the game offers exciting opportunities to rewrite the fortunes of certain teams, with others posing unique challenges for different reasons. Whether you're looking for a challenge that can be completed in a couple of seasons—perfect for those short on virtual management time—or a more intense long-term project, there’s something here for everyone.
Sheffield United - England (Premier Division)
If you want a short-term challenge to tackle, why not try and change the fortunes for Sheffield United? In real life, they finished rock bottom of the Premier League with just 16 points, the third-lowest total in history, and conceded the most goals in history with 104. Doing better than this shouldn't be too difficult (with the sole goal being to avoid relegation), but just how quickly can you turn Sheffield United into a top-half team? How long will it take for the Blades to become title contenders?
The squad is one of the weakest in the Premier League, and with no transfer budget available at the start, the first season will be one of damage limitation. Try to get the most out of players such as James McAtee, a central midfielder on loan from Manchester City, and Cameron Archer, a striker who could only muster four goals in 29 league games in real life. Offload any players who don't cut the mustard and bring in some trusty loan players to help you on your way.
AC Milan - Italy (Serie A)
Here's another very short-term idea: take AC Milan back to the very top of Europe. They made it to the semifinals of the Champions League in 2022/23, but the last time they won was in 2006/07. AC Milan used to be one of the best teams in the entire world with legends such as Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Marco van Basten, and Ruud Gullit, but these days their squad doesn't quite compare.
Take hold of AC Milan and return them to the heights at which they belong, conquering San Siro rivals Inter Milan along the way. Of course, chances are you'll also pick up a few league titles on your journey for the Champions League, but those are merely consolation prizes as you hunt for the big one.
Casa Pia - Portugal (Premier League)
The manager of the moment right now is Ruben Amorim, the incoming Manchester United gaffer, who's replacing Erik ten Hag (and Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim). He'll be one of the youngest managers in the Premier League, which means his managerial career until now hasn't been particularly long, but he started out with Casa Pia in Portugal. They currently sit in the Portuguese Premier League, so why not try to emulate Amorim's career path?
He only managed Casa Pia for four games before moving on and they were in the third tier at the time, but spend as long as you can with Casa Pia and try to win them some silverware before waiting for the Braga job to become available. Move there with the aim of bettering Amorim's 77% win record, then head to Sporting CP. He won two league titles there, so aim to at least match that, then head to Manchester United and see if you can return them to their former glory.
FC Sochaux - France (National)
FC Sochaux (or just FCSM in Football Manager 2024) is a club decorated with trophies. They won the top division twice in the 1930s, the French Cup as recently as 2007, and even made the semifinals of the UEFA Cup (now the Europa League) in 1981. They were in European competition as recently as 2012. However, they currently sit in the French National, the third tier of their football system, mostly due to financial issues. FC Sochaux are a beloved French club who don't deserve to be as low as they are.
So if you take them over and look to restore their former glory, what are you getting yourself in for? FCSM has an incredibly strong youth system and training facilities, and developing young players will be your way back to the top. So while the first season may be quite straightforward as FCSM are predicted to finish top of the league, you'll need to play the long game and develop young talent to make it back into Europe.
Inter Miami - United States (MLS)
Plenty of Football Manager players stick to leagues they're familiar with, and since football is far more popular in Europe, that usually means most players manage European teams. However, there's a lot of fun to be had managing in leagues where the rules and regulations are completely different to the norm, and one of those is the MLS.
With their league split between the Eastern and Western Conferences, no promotion and relegation, and all manner of transfer restrictions, taking charge of a team over here will constantly have you on your toes.
There's no team more enticing than David Beckham's Inter Miami, as it'll be one of the last opportunities you'll have to manage the greatest football player of all time, Lionel Messi. He's still incredibly gifted and will win you games single-handedly, not to mention some of the other legends on the team such as Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suarez.
Rushall Olympic - England (Vanarama North)
If you want to help a rising team in the depths of the English leagues continue their climb, look no further than Rushall Olympic. The 2023/24 season was their first in the Vanarama North, their highest ever league since they were founded in 1893, and they avoided relegation by four points during that season. However, at the time of writing, they're at the very bottom of the league with just 11 points. Can you do better?
Taking them over in Football Manager 2024 means you'll be at the helm for their first season in the league, so you have the opportunity to turn them into the next success story. When the likes of Luton Town are mentioned for their climb up to the Premier League, it'll look like nothing compared to your achievements in charge of Rushall Olympic.
Vaduz - Switzerland (Challenge League)
Here's an oddity for you: Vaduz play in the Swiss league system, but they are not a Swiss team. Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein, but they play in Switzerland because their home country doesn't have a national football league. They're in the second tier of Swiss football, so if you can get them promoted and win the league, Switzerland would have a non-Swiss champion.
But there's a catch: Because Vaduz aren't Swiss, they are not allowed to win the trophy, and so cannot win the league even if they finish in first place. The challenge, however, lies in setting the goal of becoming the champions of Europe. The only way Vaduz can qualify for European competition is by winning the Liechtensteiner Cup to gain entry to the European Conference League, then they need to win that to get into the Europa League, then do the same again to enter the Champions League. If you get knocked out at any stage of the process, it's back to square one. Good luck!
The Pentagon Challenge
Finally, we have a suggestion that doesn't require a specific team at all. Instead, the Pentagon Challenge is something that has existed in Football Manager communities for years, and is commonly known as the toughest task in the game. The goal is to simply win the top continental club trophy in all five continents:
- African Champions League
- Asian Champions League
- Copa Libertadores
- North American Champions Cup
- UEFA Champions League
Football Manager 2024 is available now on the Epic Games Store.