A soccer manager that started with a video game

Will Still’s management career began in video games and has since evolved into one of the great stories of European football.

Still and the Ligue 1 club have gone unbeaten in their last 12 games since taking over as full-time manager of the Stade de Reims. The most recent includes his 1-1 draw on Sunday in an away trip against French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.

This is Will Still, manager of Reims, a club in Ligue 1.

He started coaching because of his love of football managers and has a 12-game unbeaten run.

As he is still studying for his UEFA Pro License, his team will be fined £22,000 for every game he manages! 😮pic.twitter.com/fTmnj3mMDu

— Amazon Prime Video Sports (@primevideosport) January 30, 2023

Still’s journey to get to this point has been amazing.

After playing the popular video game Football Manager at the age of 17, Still decided to pursue a career in coaching and got his first job as U14 assistant manager for English club Preston North End in 2011. .

In just ten years, the Belgian-British man rose rapidly through the European management hierarchy, eventually taking the role of Lance’s assistant under manager Oscar Garcia.

Still was named interim boss when Garcia was sacked on October 13, and the interim tag was dropped a month later after the team went undefeated in five games.

The 30-year-old climbed to the top so quickly that he didn’t even have time to earn his UEFA Pro License. .

It’s worth it for the French side, who are currently 11th in the Ligue 1 standings thanks to Gaffer’s heroic performance.

“You look back on it and say, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I in a position to coach these players?'” said Lionel Messi, Kylian. He told the Daily Mail about directing Mbappe, Neymar and more.