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 As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.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 7: Crawley Town vs. Leyton Orient


Saturday morning was quiet, but you could feel the tension.


The Europa League draw from Tuesday was still fresh in everyone's mind.


At Broadfield Stadium, the pitch looked sharp under the autumn sun. The smell of cut grass was in the air, along with the sound of a coffee van humming near the gate.


Niels stepped off the team bus, his boots crunching on the damp gravel, a tight mix of focus and nerves in his chest.


Crawley's 1-0 win over Plymouth had taken them to 11 points from six games, a decent start in League One. Three wins, two draws, one loss, steady progress.


But the Europa League was coming fast: Bayer Leverkusen, Fiorentina, Rosenborg, a ridiculous group for a team from the third tier league.


Chapter 137 - Control and Chaos