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 As an assistant at a struggling lower-league club, he begins to reshape the team from within challenging outdated tactics, unearthing hidden gems, and reigniting hope in the dressing room.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

Frost crusted Crawley's training ground, the air biting with winter's edge as Niels watched his squad jog through warm-ups, their breath curling like wisps of smoke in the late January chill. Tomorrow's League Two Matchday 27 clash against Wycombe, a dogged mid-table side, loomed large, a chance to solidify their seventh-place charge. The FA Cup Fifth Round draw hung like a storm cloud, promising a new titan to face, and Niels' heart surged with pride for his team's journey, yet a quiet unease gnawed deep. His post-2010 FIFA memories, whispered doubt, could his squad, fierce but stretched thin, balance the grind of league and the soar of cup, or would the inferno ahead burn their dream to ash?


Chapter 42 - Into the Inferno