Anyone who played Championship Manager in the days before it became Football Manager will be very familiar with Cherno Samba.
The former Millwall prodigy developed into one of the stars of the game back in the early 2000s, cementing his place as an England regular in the game and earning many a manager domestic and international honours.
Real life wasn’t quite the same, though.
Now 30 years of age, Samba has retired from football after spells in Spain, Finland, Greece and Norway. He won no senior England caps, but did turn out for Gambia – the country of his birth – on several occasions.
Samba has embraced his status as a gaming cult hero, though, and recently came to London to help journalist Iain Macintosh – whose Football Manager adventures we have documented in the past – prepare for a cup final.
#EvertonWelcomesCherno pic.twitter.com/dJgeFv5Yd9
— The Set Pieces (@thesetpieces) September 8, 2016
While in the offices of The Set Pieces, for whom Macintosh has undergone his various FM challenges, the London-raised striker had a chance to see how others see his virtual self.
Readers have been sending Macintosh some mean tweets about some of his players, and it would have been remiss of The Set Pieces not to get Samba himself to read out some of the best. In between barely-stifled laughs, of course.
If you were wondering what Samba is up to now, he’s currently working on his UEFA B coaching licence and hopes to continue with his education on the other side of the game.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if he ultimately ends up as a…wait for it…Championship manager.
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