He managed for 154 seasons and won 151 league titles.
As anyone who’s ever played it will know, Football Manager can be incredibly addictive, particularly for gamers who are so obsessive that they actually wear a suit while sitting in front of their computer.
It happens. Seriously.
There’s dedication, however, and there’s sticking with the one team for 154 seasons, which earned Liverpool fan Darren Bland a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
While Darren started the game of Football Manager 2010 in early 2013 and finished it in December 2014 – he only stopped because of a spillage on his laptop – many Football Manager fans only became aware of the record when notice was served on the Football Manager Facebook page on Thursday.
For those of you interested in the details, Darren managed the one team, Fiorentina, for 154 seasons, winning 151 titles in the process, a record that would add weight to the arguments of those who suggest it can be a little too easy at times.
When Darren’s game came to an abrupt halt, the in-game year was 2163 and he had been playing for 173 days, 16 hours and 51 minutes. In the space of two years, that’s, eh, quite something.
The biggest transfer fee Darren paid for a player in his entire time in charge was £105 million for Luis Tejedor on 1 July 2040, which might not sound like a lot, but the fact that there is no inflation in Football Manager 2010 goes some way towards offering an explanation.
Reckon you can do better than that? Be prepared to put some serious, serious hours in and to go through all of these emotions all over again.
