In season fifteen, Marco noticed it. Fabbri was now 26, a demigod in blue-and-white stripes. But his personality—once “Model Citizen”—had flickered to “Fairly Ambitious.” Then “Low Determination.” Marco opened the editor again. All the hidden attributes he’d set were still there. Nothing had changed.
By season ten, Rimini had signed a 16-year-old regen named Christian Fabbri. The editor showed Marco his hidden attributes. Consistency: 19. Important Matches: 20. Injury Proneness: 2. Fabbri was a ghost in the machine, a perfect phantom. Marco gave him 20 for finishing. 20 for pace. 20 for determination. He changed his height to 191cm, his weak foot to “Right Only—20.” He even edited Fabbri’s preferred moves: Places Shots. Likes to Round Keeper. Cuts Inside. football manager 2015 editor
It reads:
Three years later, he’s at his parents’ house for Christmas. His old laptop is in a box. He boots it up for old times’ sake, just to see the save file. Rimini is now a mid-table Serie B side. Fabbri is listed as a “Free Agent (Retired).” His history page is a litany of glory, then injury, then silence. In season fifteen, Marco noticed it
All of them waiting. All of them edited. All of them wondering who pressed the wrong buttons. All the hidden attributes he’d set were still there
“Christian Fabbri is remembered by fans as a genius. He is remembered by the data as a mistake. He spends his weekends coaching children in Rimini’s youth sector. He never speaks about his career. When asked about his secret, he just smiles and says, ‘Someone pressed the wrong buttons a long time ago. Now I’m just pressing the right ones.’”
Marco hadn't touched the editor in three years. Not since the night he’d ruined everything.