Player mode · Manager mode
Start from nothing: free agent player or unemployed manager
The hardest start in the game, and the most satisfying. Two ways to do it: as a free agent footballer aged 17 to 24 with no club, or as an unemployed manager with no job.
The player trains alone and hunts trials before sharpness fades. The manager applies for jobs, sits interviews with the board and takes the best offer going.
- Free agent aged 17 to 24
- Trials and showcases
- Job applications
- Board interviews
- Coaching badges
How to start
- Open play.trophora.com and tap Choose your own club, name and mode.
- Free agent player: tap Player mode, build your player, then pick As a free agent. Choose your age (17 to 24) and whether you were Released by an academy or Never had a club. Tap Start as a free agent.
- Unemployed manager: keep Manager mode, set up your manager, then under 2 · How do you start? pick Unemployed. Tap Start unemployed.
What you control
- Free agent: your training week, which trials and showcases you go to, and which contract you sign.
- Free agent: whether an agent represents you (they take a cut of your deals but open more doors) or you represent yourself.
- Manager: which jobs you apply for on the Career tab's Job board. Each shows what it wants and your chances.
- Manager: your answers at interview, on ambition, playing style, youth and money.
- Manager: coaching badge courses, from C Licence to Pro Licence, paid from your own money.
- Manager: whether to take a first-team coach job while you wait.
A typical week
Free agent: without a club, your sharpness fades every week. Train on your own at least twice a week to slow it, go to the showcases and trials that land in your inbox, and watch for agents. Then Live this week.
Unemployed manager: check the Job board, apply, and press Continue to next week. Each week the world moves on: applications get answered, interview invites arrive and jobs open and close. Take your interviews before they expire.
How you win and progress
- Free agent: pass a trial and a club offers you a contract. Sign it and you're a pro.
- Free agent: still no club after 8 weeks? Clubs further down the ladder, as far as Sunday League, start offering terms.
- Manager: applications are judged on your reputation and badges. Strong candidates get interviews; long shots rarely do.
- Manager: impress at interview and you get an offer with a contract length and wage. Accept it and you're in the Office.
- Manager: passing a coaching badge raises your reputation and opens bigger jobs. Nations can approach you too.
Tips
- Free agent: the longer you wait, the more your sharpness drops, and that counts against you at trials. Take a decent offer rather than holding out.
- Manager: read the outlook tag on each job, from strong candidate to no chance. Apply where you can win.
- Manager: at interview, match the board. Promise a title to a small club and they'll call it unrealistic.
- Manager: as first-team coach, you're offered the job as interim manager if your club's manager goes.
Questions and answers
Can you start as a free agent in Trophora?
Yes. In Player mode pick As a free agent and choose an age from 17 to 24. You start with no club and look for trials.
Can you start a football management game unemployed?
Yes. In Trophora pick Unemployed at the start. You apply for jobs, go to interviews and accept an offer.
What are interviews like for manager jobs?
The board or federation asks four or five questions about your ambition, playing style, youth and money. Answers that match what they want earn an offer.
Other ways to play
Manager careerPick a club, set the tactics, work the transfer market and keep the board on side. National teamPick a country, call up the squad and chase a major tournament. Add a club if you want both. Road to ProStart at 13, plan your weeks, impress the scouts and fight your way to a pro contract. Academy playerLoad an Academy graduation code and carry your made-up player into a career from age 13. OnlineShared worlds, private leagues with mates, a ranked Divisions ladder and live friendlies. FantasyPick 15 from your own league, captain one, and score as your season plays out. Daily challengesOne new scenario a day for everyone, a five-stage tour each week, and live nights online. Both teamsRun your club's men's and women's teams at once, with one budget and one board.
