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 As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.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

The morning sun pierced Crawley's February clouds, spilling a golden glow over Broadfield Stadium's training ground, where the squad's laughter echoed, a fleeting warmth after their heart-pounding 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury the night before. Niels leaned against a goalpost, arms crossed, watching his players toss a ball in a playful circle, their grins a salve for the ache of Nate Sutton's three-week absence, his knee ligament torn by Wycombe's savage tackle. With a tight schedule looming, Cheltenham Town at home on February 8, Notts County, the league leaders, on February 13, and the FA Cup Fifth Round against Premier League Burnley on February 20, this light training session was a rare moment to breathe, to rekindle their fire.


Chapter 48 - Giants on the Horizon