Novels like Starting with a Champions League Title, Rebuilding Italy's Glory
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Starting with a Champions League Title, Rebuilding Italy's Glory, best match first.
- 1 I Was Manchester United's Castoff, but I Made the Round God a King of Football 我，曼联弃将，把圆神带成了球王 Manchester United cast me aside like dirt. Now the Red Devils can only dream of signing me! Win the La Liga title, become a European legend, return home to save the day, and set my sights on the Ballon d'Or! Starting on Betis's bench, Wang Yu used his unreasonable right foot to team up with the divine Anthony, tearing through La Liga and conquering Europe! 127Reads6.2Score—Shelves
- 2 NBA: Shard Fusion? The Everyman All-Around King NBA：碎片融合？平民全能王 Su Cheng transmigrates back to 2003 and becomes a college basketball player, seemingly given the chance to fulfill his dreams. But why can I only get the skills of NBA role players? Is this really that ordinary? Do I even have a chance of making it to the NBA? Wait, the best ability of every NBA role player is concentrated in me? Like having Shannon Brown's athleticism, Brandon Jennings's ability to thrive in chaotic play, Crawford's ball-handling, Shane Battier's defense, and the Lonely God's t 16Reads8.0Score—Shelves
- 3 From Substitute to King of Football 从替补到球王 At seventeen, I was still a substitute who practically lived on the bench. No one believed I could make it, until I came on in the final’s last three minutes, scored twice, and clinched the championship with a last-gasp winner. The System awakened. It gave me eyes that could see ten seconds into the future. La Masia reached out to me. Barcelona’s first team was waiting, and the World Cup stage was calling. They said Chinese people couldn’t play football. They said an Asian could never become the —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 I Really Want to Play Soccer! 我太想踢足球了！ In my previous life, I was a national team player, but I missed out on my entire youth. Reborn as Lu Ran, a middle schooler whose family runs a tiny convenience store and is buried in debt, I bind myself to the [35-Year-Old Kaka Template]: maxed-out technique, almost no stamina, and an 88% injury risk! Looking at the glaring stats panel, I laugh. In this life, I won't just play in the World Cup; I'll live the youth I missed all over again! Before a school match, our opponents boast, “We'll scor —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 Conquering Football, Starting with Winning Over Masami Nagasawa 横扫足坛，从征服长泽雅美开始 Football fan Li Zhuo smashed his TV and was reborn in the body of a little-known midfielder with the same name on German second-division team Kaiserslautern, in the 2007–08 season. The football world here seems different from the one in his previous life. Isn’t Kagawa Shinji supposed to be at Dortmund? How did he end up in the second division and become my teammate? From the start, he gets the Fishing Across the Heavens System, which lets him reel in all sorts of skills. Training? No chance. My 771Reads6.6Score102Shelves
- 6 Football: I’m a Striker, Reviving the German Machine 足球：我，中锋，复兴日耳曼战车 [Center forward] + [Bundesliga] + [Germany national team] + [explosive skills] + [Bayern Munich] (You don't need to know football to enjoy this!) At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Spain proved with their title win that possession football was the way forward in the 21st century. It seemed as if the entire football world had found the winning formula, and Europe's top clubs began building their teams around possession football. Germany was especially quick to abandon their traditional 4-2-3- 11Reads6.2Score—Shelves
- 7 Football: The Genius Coach Who Thrashes the National Youth Team from the Start 足球：鬼才教练，开局爆捶国青 [Coach + System] A veteran Football Manager player transmigrates into the body of a PE teacher. Starting with an upset win over the national youth team with his school squad, he goes on to take charge of a Russian Premier League reserve team, compete in the Big Five leagues, and reach the pinnacle of coaching. 1.3kReads6.9Score101Shelves
- 8 Star Player Moments: Starting as a Benchwarmer at a Mid-Table La Liga Club 球星时刻：从西甲中游替补开始 [Mind Games + Superstar Moment Cards + Parallel Universe + Nonstop Thrills + Smart Protagonist] In 2014, Real Sociedad had fought their way into the Spanish Super Cup final, only for their star player, Griezmann, to go off injured just before the final whistle. The media was in an uproar, the teams were worlds apart in strength, and the starting striker was injured. The team had parked the bus early, hoping only to make it to a penalty shootout... Everyone thought the ending had already been wri 334Reads—Score—Shelves
- 9 Soccer: Reaching the Top of the World Without a System 足球，没有系统也能站在世界之巅 Zheng Shikun has trained in soccer since childhood. He has talent and works hard, yet every step toward a professional career is blocked. Neither the pressure of his studies and society nor his friends' lack of understanding and support can stop him from pursuing his dream. 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 10 Racket in My Right Hand, Your Hand in My Left 右手挥拍，左手牵你 Mi Le and Zhao Mochen meet in the world of badminton. Every tactical play on the court and every late-night training session brings them a little closer. Faced with the uncertainties of competition, injuries, and love, they firmly choose each other and ultimately stand atop the podium. A short, sweet romance with no angst. (This story is entirely fictional. Please don't read too much into it, and show respect for active players.) 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 11 Football: I'm a Ronaldo Hater, So Why Did I Inherit His Skills? 足球：我一罗黑，给我C罗传承？ [Good news]: Xu Feng transmigrated and got a System. [Bad news]: Xu Feng, a devoted Ronaldo hater, ended up with the Cristiano Ronaldo Skill Inheritance System. To inherit skills, he has to become more and more like the very person he hates most, that Awei Luo. How is he supposed to survive that? As his inner struggles intensify alongside his growing skills, Xu Feng starts out in the Chinese Super League, tears through the competition, and writes a legendary story for Chinese players. This book 156Reads5.4Score—Shelves
- 12 The Red Devils Rise: Mourinho Returns for a Second Stint from the Start 红魔崛起，开局穆鸟二进宫 Tags: Feel-good, no Chinese national team, focused on Manchester United Manchester United fan Lin Juexiao wakes up to find himself a hidden billionaire worth 20 billion. In his previous life, he watched United fall from grace on television. In this life, he decides to buy the club outright. On the day the Glazers announce they’re selling, an email signed “J” lands at the Rain Group: £6.5 billion, all cash, valid for 48 hours. No negotiations, no financing, and no leaving the other side a way out 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 13 The National Team Dropped Me in Front of Everyone? I'll Lead France to the European Championship and Become a Legend 国足当众将我除名？我率法兰西拿下欧洲杯封神 China drops me from the national team in front of everyone? I lead France to the European Championship and become a legend! 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 14 The Drawkeeper: I Led Cape Verde to the World Cup 平局门将：我带佛得角拿下世界杯 Draw Specialist: I Lead Cape Verde to Win the World Cup 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 15 Passing to the Max! Messi and Ronaldo Camped at the Transfer Window to Sign Me 传球天花板！梅罗蹲转会窗口抢我加盟 Passing Skills: The Best in the Game! Messi and Ronaldo Are Waiting in the Transfer Window to Sign Me 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 16 I Became a 40-Year-Old Goalkeeper and Used the System to Take a Tiny Island Nation of 550,000 to the World Cup Quarterfinals 穿成40岁老门将，我靠系统把55万岛国踢进世界杯八强 I Reincarnated as a 40-Year-Old Goalkeeper, and with the System’s Help, I Took a Tiny Island Nation of 550,000 to the World Cup Quarterfinals —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 17 The Sun of San Siro, Lorenzo Paolo 圣西罗太阳，洛伦佐保罗 With AC Milan and the Italian national team struggling in recent years, I’ve decided to write this self-indulgent fantasy. If I offend any other fans, I apologize. Let’s not let it spoil the mood. 71Reads—Score—Shelves
- 18 Football: That's a Black Cat? More Like a Shady Shop 足球：你这是黑猫？你这是黑店吧 [Football] + [System] + [Coach] + [No female lead] Lu Chen was originally the leader of an amateur team in 2026. Then a ball hit him in the head on a pickup field, sending him back to 2018 England, where he awakened the Black Shop System. At the time, the Black Cats, Sunderland, had been relegated twice in a row to League One. Club chairman Ellis Short was desperate to offload the hot potato, while wealthy clubs and investors steered clear, and no one dared take over. The young manager from the —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 19 Man United's Castoff: A Little Too Strong, Surrounded by Girl Groups 曼联弃将：有亿点强，被女团围堵 Cao Shuang, eighteen, is a Manchester United academy prodigy. He applies to go on loan to the K League to level up! Fans across the internet mock him as a flashy freebie thrown into the deal! Soon, his devoted fans are worshipping his world-class positioning and artistic finishing, while opposing defenders are driven to mental collapse by him! He wants to quietly level up and keep a low profile. On the pitch, he tears through every opponent. Off the pitch, his name is all over the gossip headlin 204Reads—Score266Shelves
- 20 Tennis King Roger Federer 网球天王费德勒 Roger Federer's career is a legendary saga spanning more than two decades. With his peerless skill, graceful presence on the court, and enduring competitive longevity, he redefined tennis and is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 21 Football Replay God: I Use Mirror Images to Tear Up the Field 足球复刻神：我用镜像踢爆全场 [Passionate Soccer] [First Love] [Lighthearted Comedy] He can perfectly copy any soccer skill his opponent uses just by watching it once. From schoolyard matches to the pinnacle of world soccer, he uses his opponents' signature moves to nail every powerful rival to a pillar of shame. But the death countdown of the Omega System has already begun: If his synchronization rate with the System's consciousness doesn't reach 100%, his personality will be utterly erased. He must reach the top of the soc 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 Football: The More Flashy I Play, the Stronger I Get 足球：我越骚越强 [World Cup + Top Five Leagues + Neymar + System + Dual Nationality + Revamping Chinese Football + King of Football + Messi and Ronaldo + Brazil, Real Madrid] (The author respects Messi and Ronaldo and is a Ronaldo fan. The football association system will be overhauled midway through the story, and the protagonist will become the godfather of Chinese football’s youth development.) Su Feng awakens the ‘Showboat King System’ from the start, and from then on never turns back from his flamboyant way 2.3kReads5.9Score104Shelves
- 23 Reborn: I Make Chinese Football Stronger 重生，我让华夏足球变强 —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 24 Football's Overlord: Trailing 0–7 from the Start, I Turn the Game Around 足坛霸主：开局0比7我登场逆转 [Multiple heroines + power progression + golden finger] Luo Feng, an office worker earning three thousand a month, transmigrates to a parallel world and becomes a down-and-out footballer with the same name. He arrives just in time for a complete disaster: Espanyol are trailing Real Madrid 7–0, with only 20 minutes left in the match, and he’s sent on as a mere formality. Just as everyone waits to laugh at him, the [Football Emperor System] activates! Luo Feng scores or assists in all eight goals, 645Reads5.3Score114Shelves
- 25 From the Start, I Graft Fan Zhiyi's Physique, Leaving Messi Stunned 开局缝合范志毅体魄，梅西看呆了 Li Huai is reborn in 2006. He activates the Chinese Player Talent Splicing System! Fan Zhiyi's ironclad strength in challenges, Gao Zhongxun's command of the game's rhythm, Peng Weiguo's scalpel-sharp short passes, Su Maozhen's ability to hold up play in front of goal… He's combined the talents of countless legendary Chinese stars into one! He starts out as a right winger at Werder Bremen, then gradually makes his way toward becoming a complete midfielder. A pinpoint pass across half the pit 7.2kReads6.8Score625Shelves
- 26 Oath of the Gale 疾风誓约 [System + Running + Marathon + Willpower + Growth] He was once the wind-chasing prince of the track, until the sharp snap of a ruptured Achilles tendon shattered every hope and achievement. Just as his dream was trapped within a few square feet, a heart unwilling to fade into silence finally receives a turn of fate: the Infinite Evolution System binds itself to him! Can his ruptured Achilles tendon be repaired? How can he bring the dimmed arena back to life? This time, with the System and the po 4Reads7.0Score—Shelves
- 27 All-Round Defensive Midfielder: From Cape Verde to World Cup Champion 全能工兵：从佛得角到世界杯冠军 Ma Ernei, a 16-year-old youth-team prospect, is widely regarded in football circles as an all-around utility player. He can play seven positions, from winger and attacking midfielder to defensive midfielder and fullback, and can run for 120 minutes without tiring. Yet he is stuck at home because he cannot afford the fees for an overseas trial. After staying up late to watch Cape Verde, a nation of just 500,000 people, make its first-ever World Cup appearance while China’s national team suffers a 14Reads—Score—Shelves
- 28 Football: A Cosmic-Class Striker Takes Europe by Storm 足球：宇宙级前锋，踢翻欧洲 He once refused to throw a match, was set up, and saw his career ruined. Reborn, he was still just as stubborn. Throw a match? Not a chance. This time, he had a God-Tier Soccer Star System. One kick sent the ball soaring eighty meters, a golden legend that had the Iron Brothers crying for mercy and scouts staring in disbelief. Cristiano Ronaldo: In front of him, I'm just a rookie. Messi: There goes my World Cup title. The Ballon d'Or: It's our honor. 648Reads7.3Score100Shelves
- 29 Football Reboot 2: The Game's Dimensional Overlord 足球重启2：足坛降维者 [High IQ] + [Veteran's Perspective] + [Chinese Super League + World Cup] + [One Main Heroine + Multiple Supporting Heroines] + [Not Invincible] + [Light Cyberpunk] Ronaldo plays in the Saudi Pro League, Messi in MLS, and Europe's stars run riot, while I hold the Chinese Super League together on my own. Witness a new world football order shaped by four rival powers! 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 30 World Cup: I Made Ronaldo Throw Up 世界杯：我把C罗喂吐了 The World Cup is in full swing. A born wage slave braves the icy wind on his electric scooter to deliver takeout, all the while thinking about the matches. Then he gets into an accident. The crash is disastrous, but luckily, when he wakes up again, he finds himself lying on a World Cup pitch... Luo: Matthew, what kind of pass was that? Why did the ball hit me in the head? Messi: I never thought he'd unlock all the moves I could never master. Neymar: People used to say I danced when I played foot 52Reads5.4Score—Shelves
- 31 Above the Dust: The Legend of Milan's Football God 在尘埃之上：米兰球神纪 Croias Maldini, adopted by Cesare Maldini, is also a 30-year AC Milan fan. He dies suddenly after Milan’s disastrous performance in the 2024–25 season and transmigrates. At 15, he represents Milan on the pitch. In 2000, at the age of 14, he represents Italy’s Olympic team and wins the championship. At 16, he becomes a Milan regular, wearing the number 16 shirt. —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 32 Banned? I Blast Bayern and Become the King of the Europa League 被封杀？我轰爆拜仁，成欧联球王 Chu Feng wakes up to find he's become a castoff in the world of football, framed by the team captain, kicked off the team, and condemned by the entire country! At his lowest point, he bonds with the [Legendary Football Star System], gaining Ronaldo's peak form template and a video training ground. He strikes back by exposing the dirt in a live stream, and the whole internet erupts! He turns around and joins Borussia Dortmund. In his debut, he scores past Bayern in nine seconds, sets a Bundesliga 16.2kReads6.7Score1.5kShelves
- 33 Broadcast Rights at a Premium? Watch Me Train the National Team at 4 A.M. 天价转播？看我凌晨4点操练国足 Before the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, FIFA demands $300 million from Xia Country’s television network for the broadcasting rights. Chen Chen refuses to buy the exorbitantly priced rights. An angry fan hits him on the back of the head, and he is reborn on September 5, 2024, where he witnesses China’s national team suffer a humiliating 7–0 defeat. Just as the whole internet erupts in anger and the entire nation falls into despair, he awakens the Green Pitch Talent Sco —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 34 Football: Real Madrid Is Suppressing Me? I'll Join Barcelona Instead 足球：皇马打压我？我转投巴萨 [Football top-tier star + entertainment-industry top-tier star | Double powerhouse | Single heroine, Dilraba | Powered by a System] He is Ye Fan, son of Portugal’s richest man and the most terrifying goal-scoring machine in football history. Eleven Ballon d’Or awards, two World Cups, two European Championships, ten Champions League titles: a career with every major honor in football, all before he retires. On the day he retires at 34, he proposes to that woman in front of the global media. She i 1.3kReads5.1Score103Shelves
- 35 Possessed by a Soccer Prodigy! Chasing the World Cup and Champions League 足球小将附体！目标世界杯和欧冠 (Passionate soccer + violent aesthetics + System + exhilarating power fantasy + Captain Tsubasa-style anime soccer + sweet everyday romance with one heroine) In 2025, modern soccer is trapped in a tactical deadlock. Matches rigidly follow the coaches’ plans, leaving players with no flair or passion. Li Wenfeng, a descendant of Chinese soccer legend Li Huitang, is bullied during a trial with Premier League club Wolves. On the verge of being cut, he awakens the [Captain Tsubasa Character Guide Sys 566Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 The Hawk-Eyed Attacking Midfielder, I Fed Ronaldo Until He Threw Up 鹰眼前腰，我把罗纳尔多喂吐了 Caution: not for readers who like purely invincible protagonists. It's Cristiano Ronaldo. [Football] [System] [Growth] [Not Invincible] [One Female Lead] [Slow Start] At Borussia Dortmund's U19 training ground, the coach tore a contract in half in front of everyone. "A Chinese player can't play attacking midfield. Get over to the bench." It happened to be Lin Feng's eighteenth birthday. He clenched the contract, now torn in two. That night, the System awakened, granting him the skill "Hawk Eye." 61.2kReads8.5Score5.4kShelves
- 37 Football: What Do You Mean, a Mad-Dog Fullback? 足球：什么叫疯狗型边后卫啊？ "Carlos template + suit-wearing thug + relentless workhorse + Brazil national team + teaming up with Neymar" As one of Benfica's top youth prospects, Andy was nevertheless abandoned by the club. Because his medical examination confirmed that he had ALS! [The Football World System That Keeps You Alive 3000 is activating!] [Complete missions to claim health-point bundles...] Once his golden finger came online, Andy accidentally discovered a bug: The health he redeemed from the System actually cove 9Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 38 I'm Getting Absurd at Manchester United 我在曼联搞抽象 When other people are reborn, they become stock market tycoons or entertainment moguls. When I was reborn... I inherited Jose Mourinho's mess and became Old Trafford's new 694Reads6.1Score—Shelves
- 39 Reborn: My Buddy Leads the Chinese National Team to the World Cup 重生之老铁带领国足进世界杯 Deep behind bars, he dreamed of standing on the World Cup podium. When he woke, it was 2009, on the eve of the crackdown on match-fixing and organized crime. In his previous life, he went from player to prisoner and brought shame upon Chinese football. In this life, he is bound to the “Training Master System” and has only one bottom line: never take part in match-fixing. While everyone else goes along with the corruption, he trains alone on the practice field at four in the morning. When dirty m 35Reads—Score—Shelves
- 40 Don't Get the Wrong Idea, I'm Really Not Here to Sell Jerseys 别误会，我真不是来卖球衣的 This is not a harem novel. It focuses on competitive sports, with a light System that combines realism and passion. For a sponsorship deal worth 5 million euros, Everton signed a Chinese player. Everyone knew the truth: he was just a "mascot." The media mocked him: "Lampard has given up!" Fans raged: "We need a striker, not someone to sell jerseys!" But no one knew that Li Muran had already fused with the peak talents of world-class players! Neymar's dribbling, Hazard's balance, Cristiano Rona —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 EN Football: Expelled from National Youth Team, I Lead Brazil to Six Stars 足球：国少除名，我带巴西上六星 Original title: Dropped by the National Youth Team, I Take Brazil to Six Stars [No System, not reborn, there will be losses (if you don’t like that, don’t read), Bundesliga, La Liga, Premier League, World Cup.] In 2011, Chen Annuo, a 15-year-old Brazilian-born Chinese teenager, became an orphan after his parents died in an accident. Still a minor, he had no choice but to return to China with his second uncle. Two years later, however, he was expelled by both the national youth team and his club 20.2kReads8.0Score2kShelves
- 42 The God-Tier Football Commentator the National Team Begs to Coach Them! 足球神级解说，国足求我当教练！ (Wild football + passionate commentary + an ensemble cast of players + outrageously satisfying skills) The first full-length ensemble novel about Chinese football on the entire internet. Lin Xiang was a die-hard keyboard warrior who loved the Chinese national team deeply and cursed it harder than anyone. One dark and stormy night, he managed to literally anger himself to death. He never expected that instead of claiming his life, Heaven would give him a second one! He was reborn as an intern at 202Reads6.2Score—Shelves
- 43 Bell's Template: I Become the King of Hat Tricks in Football! 贝尔模板：我成了足坛帽子王！ [Football] + [Game-like Perfect System] + [Reviving Manchester United] + [Too Many Elements] + [No Conspiracies in the Business World] + [Entertainment Industry Rising Star] At the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Rosen watched Ronaldo refuse to retire despite his age, leading to Portugal's elimination. He punched the TV to pieces, then was reborn in the autumn of 2020. He unexpectedly gained both a System and Bale's template! This time, he would no longer be a spectator watch 4kReads5.6Score153Shelves
- 44 The Road to Football: Footprints of a Dream 足球之路：梦想足迹 Saka: I suspect Jiang is a robot. He evolves every season. Cristiano Ronaldo: The first person Jiang ever approached to swap jerseys with? To be honest, I was going to turn him down. Kane: What do I think of Jiang? I invited him to join the England team three times. Guardiola: Playing Jiang at fullback is a waste. I have a better idea, but I can't tell Arteta. Messi: Jiang watched videos to learn my free kicks? I've seen that guy play. I like how pure he is. A Chinese boy cast aside by Tottenham 1.2kReads7.1Score101Shelves
- 45 Green Pitch Codename S 绿茵代号S When soccer meets a System, there’s only one word for it: exhilarating. A Championship substitute, his contract expiring, and the club making it clear they won’t renew. There’s only £1,200 left in his account. Lu Chen thinks his career is over, until a “Superstar Development System” explodes to life in his mind. “Career crisis detected. System binding successful. Current overall rating: 58. Goal: superstar level. Gap: enormous.” From then on, the Championship has a winger who plays by no one’ —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 46 From Dortmund Trainee to the World’s Best Midfielder 从多特练习生到世界第一中场 Years later, when Chen Feiyu has become the world's best midfielder, with honors including the World Cup, the Champions League, league titles, the Ballon d'Or, and World Player of the Year to his name, the media ask him which time in his life he would most like to return to. Chen Feiyu says he misses the summer of 2019 most, when he was playing in the Austrian Bundesliga. That summer, the Red Bull quartet burst onto the scene! Haaland became a super striker, scoring goal after goal! Mwepu became 1.7kReads7.2Score129Shelves
- 47 China Loses 0–7, So I Summon the Tomato King of Football 国足0比7，我召唤番茄球王 What, the national team lost 7-0? No worries, I've got the Tomato Ball King. Manny: I have to admit, we're nowhere near as good as the China team... Moriyasu: The China team now has what it takes to be one of Asia's top teams! No, you could even call them a world-class team!... 53Reads6.7Score139Shelves
- 48 Leaving Wembley Without Regrets 让温布利没有遗憾 I'm Xia Minjie, and I want to be a striker! System: No, you don't! You want to be a defensive midfielder! I... Messi and Ronaldo came before, Haaland and Mbappe after! Watch Xia Minjie, caught in the middle, carve out a place for himself in the world of football! A football novel! The System doesn't appear much! 18Reads—Score—Shelves
- 49 Football: It All Begins with the Battle of the Thirteen Guardians 足球：从十三太保大乱斗开始 [The internet’s first novel about the Su Super League city tournament + System + Bundesliga + invincible hero + never joins the national team] The Su Super League city tournament kicks off, setting the internet abuzz. After three straight winless games, the Changzhou Tyrannosaurs become an overnight sensation! As a little-used substitute on the Changzhou team, Lu Hang wins the System’s favor and leads the team on a spectacular rampage. Jose Mourinho: “Lu Hang is the world’s best striker. His per 8Reads—Score—Shelves
- 50 I Can Predict Five Minutes Ahead: Helping Chelsea Lift the Trophy 我有五分钟预判，帮切尔西捧杯 Lu Shen, a math professor fired from Cambridge, was picked up at a bar by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and made head coach. He had no coaching license, couldn’t play football, and the entire Premier League thought he was insane. Then he started predicting what would happen each minute of the second half: an opponent would go down with cramp in the 48th minute, they’d equalize in the 53rd, then score a stoppage-time header in the 89th to beat Manchester City 3–2. The players went from throwing 5Reads—Score—Shelves
