Nicholas Marjan, known as Niels, was an Asian football-obsessed loner in the modern world. A master of FIFA Career Mode, addicted to YouTube tactics videos, and followed every twist of the transfer window like it was life or death, he lived the beautiful game from behind a screen.
Until the day he died.
And woke up in the late 2000s, in the body of a once-promising young player at a lower-league English club. A player whose career had been cut short by a brutal ACL injury. With his playing career over before it could truly begin, his second life offers no glory on the pitch.
But Niels still has one weapon: his mind.
Armed with future knowledge of football's evolution, and guided by a mysterious, almost cheat-like instinct for scouting raw talent, Niels steps into the world of coaching. As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.
His methods are unorthodox. His instincts, uncanny. And soon, whispers about the "young coach with a gift" begin to spread.
This isn’t the story of a player chasing glory. It’s about someone reborn to change the game from the sidelines. From forgotten training grounds to Europe’s biggest stages, Niels is on a mission, 
not just to win, but to rewrite what it means to lead.
He once dreamed of lifting trophies as a player.
Now, he'll do it as a coach.

Matchday 45: Northampton Town vs. Crawley Town


The sky was a dull grey when Niels locked his car outside Broadfield. The air hung thick with mist, clinging to his skin and clothes. He zipped up his jacket, the Crawley Town badge cold against his chest not just from the weather, but the weight of what lay ahead.


Crawley clung to second in League Two, 87 points and nerves fraying at the edges. Their last match had been a battle Accrington Stanley struck first, but Thiago Otero Silva answered with a fierce equalizer, and Nate Simons sealed the comeback with a late, clean finish. Now they sat three points behind Notts County, with Bournemouth just a point behind and closing fast. The pressure was thick in the air, like the calm before a storm.


The FA Cup final against Chelsea was days away, a dream too big to ignore. But tonight came first Northampton Town at Sixfields. A tough team, stuck mid-table but deadly on the counterattack.


Chapter 77 - Tactical Gamble