I tweeted that in September, still craving a Football Manager save, knowing that Football Manager 2022 was getting ever closer and I thought what better way to inspire a new save than by watching a documentary or series that will immerse you into the football club and take the save to a new level.
I have put this list together based on what I’ve actually watched, there are many that I won’t have seen so please feel free to recommend them to us and we’ll make sure we share them so other people can be as inspired as us!
Boca Juniors Confidencial - Netflix
Rewind to 2018 and you’ll be taken behind the scenes at one of South America’s biggest football teams. Carlos Tevez is back, Pavon is on the verge of greatness and the Boca supporters give you everything you need to start a save in the beautiful country of Argentina.
In FM22 you’ll start with a healthy transfer budget of £2m (For Argentina that’s good) but what you do have is a squad full of talent and plenty more in reserve that can take the challenge to bitter rivals River Plate.
That One Word - Feyenoord - Disney Plus
This documentary is one of my favourites of recent times, the way it is shot using the beautiful architecture of Rotterdam just adds to the behind the scenes footage of Dutch football as the Covid-19 pandemic strikes.
In FM22 the club has excellent youth facilities which you’ll have to rely on if you want to break the Ajax monopoly on the Eredivisie. You have also got a couple of star players that you’ll do well to keep hold over, goalkeeper, Justin Bijlow, & centre back, Marcos Senesi are destined for greater things so can you keep hold of them and bring back glory to De Kuip?
El Presidente - Valladolid - DAZN
The title says it all ‘He was the best, now he’s the boss’ - Ronaldo, R9, El Phenomenon is he the greatest striker of all time? Maybe. In the El Presidente you follow Ronaldo’s journey into club ownership, he’s not just a frontman for an ownership group, he’s done his homework taking courses in the UK and following how a club is run in America before purchasing Valladolid.
In FM22 you’ll find the club in the second division of Spain as it didn’t quite go to plan during the pandemic but you’ve still got a squad strong enough to battle for the title and with players like Chuki, Maroto & Vallejo you’ve got youth talent to cash in or build your squad around.
All or Nothing - Tottenham Hotspur - Amazon Prime
Well, well, well what do we have here then? Is there a better time to take over as Tottenham manager, probably not. The documentary starts with the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino & his replacement Jose Mourinho taking over, you’ll watch how the club deals with injuries, Covid & the difficult Danny Rose situation.
In FM22 Spurs have a good starting squad but there’s work to be done to turn them into a dominate force in Europe. Do you keep Harry Kane or move him on, does Deli Alli get a shot? As a business Spurs are second to none so financially you won’t struggle, the facilities are excellent and you’ve got a couple of really good youth products coming in so the future could be bright under your stewardship.
Inside Borussia Dortmund - Amazon Prime
The transfer strategy, the philosophy, the organisation. This documentary gives a great behind the scenes look at the Bundesliga’s perennial runners up.
In FM22 you need only one name to make this save special, Erling Haaland, want a second? Jude Bellingham. Dortmund’s strategy is to find quality talent before their big transfer move so if you love to sign wonderkids this save is for you PLUS you have the added incentive of trying to overcome the dominant Bayern Munich.
I hope you enjoyed Part One of this series, at the time of writing I haven’t decided on Part Two but I think it will focus on individuals rather than clubs so if you have any recommendations please let me know.
Thanks for reading.