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 As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.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

A damp chill hung over Broadfield Stadium, where muddy pitches glistened faintly under a weak sun pushing through Crawley's thick gray clouds.


Niels arrived early, his boots crunching on the gravel path. The sharp scent of wet grass and earth grounded him in the quiet morning. Inside, a restless fire burned a drive to build a squad that could rise above the chaos and carry the town's hopes.


The transfer window was a battleground, and Max Simons's decision to stay was a rare spark of hope in the turmoil. But with the season fast approaching, the squad still needed fresh talent to survive League One's relentless grind.


Niels gripped his notebook, its pages worn from late-night planning. Names like Paul Pogba, Kyle Dempsey, and Luke Freeman were circled in bold red ink each one a potential key to unlocking Crawley's fight.


Chapter 115 - Between Vision and Grit