Football Manager Stardom To Serie A Mediocrity

Born to Teresa and António Veloso in 1986, Miguel Veloso was thrust in to the world with a fair deal of expectation from his family. His father, António, made in excess of four hundred appearances for Portugese giants S.L.Benfica and earned 40 caps for the Selecção. Hoping to emulate his father, Miguel started his career at Benfica, only to be rejected by the club for being overweight. This did not stop the teenager from fulfilling his dreams of becoming a footballer, and he moved to Sporting CP at the age of 14. He was promoted to the main team in the 2004-05 season, but was loaned to Second Division club Olivais Moscavide. He had an impressive outing in the Second Division, helping Moscavide win the league, and returned to Sporting the following year.

His impressive performances for Olivais Moscavide paid off fairly quickly. He earned 22 league appearances for Sporting in the 2006-07 season. Under then manager Paulo Bento, Veloso blossomed as a defensive player, alongside other future prospects like João Moutinho, Nani and Yannick Djalo. Veloso went on to win the SJPF Young Player of the Month award in April 2007. Veloso also had an impressive Champions League that year, making 5 appearances for The Lions, including a memorable performance against Internazionale in the group stage.

Veloso confirmed his quality against the likes of Figo and Vieira 

The summer of 2007 saw the Portuguese U-21 squad have a disastrous European Championships, but Veloso continued to impress. Two delightful free kicks, against Netherlands and Israel, topped of an excellent season for the youngster. Veloso was also awarded his first cap for the senior team in August 2007. The 2007-08 season witnessed Veloso pushed in to midfield, alongside fellow youth product João Moutinho. Although Moutinho was the one grabbing all the attention, winning 4 Player of the Month awards, Veloso continued to grow under the able tutelage of the ever-so-defence minded Bento. His ability to dictate play in midfield and build from defence was crucial in Sporting’s season. Veloso did catch the attention of clubs like AC Milan, Manchester United and Liverpool, but remained fairly anonymous to football followers around the world.

The decisive factor in Veloso’s rise to fame was the drastic improvement in his ratings in SEGA’s Football Manager 2008, released in October that year. Attributes of his such as first touch, passing, marking and positioning were so high, that he was considered an excellent replacement for the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Juninho and Paul Scholes. This stardom, achieved in a simulated world, was expected to help propel the Portuguese midfielder to one of the bigger European clubs.

Veloso's ratings in Football Manager 2008

Surprisingly, Bento managed to hold on to the youngster amid all the talk of him leaving the club in the summer of 2008. Sporting had a good Champions League Group Stage as they managed to qualify for the knockout stages with relative ease. Veloso continued to shine in green, justifying SEGA’s high opinion of him. Against the run of events, altercations with Bento and fitness troubles saw Veloso’s career begin to waver in early 2009. A 7-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League group stage added to Veloso’s disastrous start to the year. Luckily, Sporting managed to find their way back to second place, behind FC Porto, by the end of the season.

2009 proved to be Veloso’s break out year, in spite of the Sporting’s horrific start to the season. His Football Manager ratings continued to rise and even EA Sports’ FIFA 2009 saw Veloso rise to the fore. A presidential change, an early Champions League exit and a mid-table position in the league, saw Paulo Bento leave Sporting in November 2009. The arrival of Carlos Carvalhal, was probably the turning point in Veloso’s career. Veloso scored an all time high of 12 goals that season, including screamers against Porto and Fiorentina, one directly off a corner kick against FK Ventspils and his first goal for the Portuguese national team. While Sporting were dismal, finishing fourth in the league, Veloso was sensational. Speculation was now rife around Europe, regarding Veloso’s move out of Portugal. Fans and pundits expected the Portuguese international to move to one of England’s “Big Four”.

Against all odds, Italian Serie A’s mid-table dwellers Genoa, managed to secure the services of Veloso, with his uneventful World Cup 2010 being a deterrent to the bigger clubs. The transfer saw Veloso come to Genoa, while Alberto Zapater went the opposite direction. With budding left back, Domenico Criscito, growing by leaps and bounds, it was certain that coach, Davide Ballardini, would use Veloso as a defensive midfielder. Veloso got off to a good start at Genoa, making 13 appearances in the Serie A and providing 4 assists. Veloso fell out of favour with Ballardini at the start of the second half of the season, signaling his stagnation as a footballer. He managed a mere 340 minutes on the field after the winter break. An injury, picked up against Bologna, summed up Veloso’s awful start to Italian football.

He needs a blessing, and quick

This woeful season was enough to see Veloso’s Football Manger ratings plummet to a new low. His ratings in the 2012 edition of Football Manager, based on his performances in the previous season, are even lower than those in the 2008 edition. If one goes by these ratings, Veloso’s game has dropped drastically.

The drop in numbers is fairly obvious

The start of the 2011-2012 season brought about a change in management at Genoa, as Ballardini was replaced by Alberto Malesani. The change in management has seen Veloso occupy a midfield role higher up the field, and has worked in favour of the 25 year old. He scored Genoa’s first Serie A goal of the season and has started 16 out of Genoa’s 17 games. An improvement in his fitness levels and an increase in his goal count are testimonial to his talent

With the age factor beginning to creep into Veloso’s career, it seems unlikely that he will become a legend of the game, but a good season for the Grifone, a good outing at EURO 2012 and a successful move to a bigger club could be the necessary steps in putting the Portuguese international's career back on track.