Football Manager sparks Namibian World Cup hope

While some may think that games don’t teach you anything useful, you’d be wrong, as a virtual football manager game may just be the catalyst for Namibian World Cup glory.

Ricardo Mannetti (38) was a former Namibian footballer, who retired and decided to call it quits with his involvement in football.

Well, that’s until he tried Football Manager, which sparked his interest and talent in management.

“I wasn’t into video games before that, I never had any interest in playing them, but Football Manager captured my imagination,” said Mannetti.

“I was always winning and everyone said it proved I would make a good coach.”

Mannetti then took a job coaching his boyhood club in Windhoek, who were on the verge of relegation.

“I thought ‘let me give a shot’ and that’s how I got into the job,” he said.

Mannetti coached the team to winning the Namibian Cup, coming second in the season, and found himself moving onto the country’s biggest club, Black Africa.

Mannetti then moved onto work with Namibia’s junior teams and assistant to national coach Roger Palmgren. After Palmgren suddenly resigned, Mannetti was put in the limelight to take on the team.

“I’ve seen managers come and go but I didn’t see that one coming,” said Mannetti. “I’m a little bit nervous if I’m honest.

“It’s a big challenge for me and I just want the nation to shift the focus now from Roger on to the game.”

Mannetti’s current goal is to now plot a strategy against Group F leaders Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers, but the new coach did add that he will miss playing Football Manager, as he now has to do it in real life.