10 of Football Manager's highest-rated Brazil wonderkids who failed to deliver

Vagner Love's birthday on Saturday has thrown up a conversation around other failed wonderkids from the popular computer game Football Manager.

Love had been one of the highest-rated young players in the 2005 edition of the game. But his career has never quite lived up to those high expectations, to much disappointment among his early fans.

But the striker is far from the only Brazilian wonderkid to fail to live up to what was predicted for his career. Here, Mirror Football looks at Love and nine other wonderkids from the South America country who failed to deliver outside of Football Manager.

Vagner Love

Love is the obvious place to start, with big things having been expected of him as he broke through at Brazilian side Palmeiras. He soon joined CSKA Moscow and scored as they won the 2005 UEFA Cup final.

But that was the high point of his career, with Love becoming something of a journeyman ever since. He has turned out for nine clubs in total, with spells in France, Turkey and China, with Love currently turning out for Danish side Midtjylland.

Daniel Carvalho

Another Brazilian who spent the early part of his career at CSKA Moscow was Daniel Carvalho. The attacking midfielder moved to the Russian capital in 2003, spending seven years at the club.

But his career also faded after that UEFA Cup win, spending his final eight years before retirement in his native Brazil. Carvalho also made only three appearances at international level as he failed to live up to his Football Manager credentials.

Alex Teixeira

Much was expected of Alex Teixeira when he broke through at Vasco da Gama in 2008. After 18 months in their senior team, he was sold to Shakhtar Donetsk for £5.2million, helping them to win the Ukranian Premier League in his first season.

During his six years at Donetsk, Teixeira earned a reputation for being one of the brightest midfielders in Europe. Despite being linked with a move to the Premier League, he opted to move to China instead, joining Jiangsu Suning.

After five years in that footballing backwater, he joined Besiktas on a free transfer last summer. There has been a great deal of disappointment over how Teixeira's career has panned out, with the midfielder still yet to make his debut for the Brazilian national team.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who do you think is the biggest Brazilian Football Manager flop? Comment below.

Kerlon

It was Football Manager 2006 in which Kerlon burst onto the scene of gamers, with his famous seal dribble attracting attention in reality. He looked set to rise up after a big move to Inter Milan in 2006.

But injuries torpedoed his time in Italy, failing to make an appearance for Inter, instead going on loan to Chievo, Ajax, Parana and Nacional. He would go on to have spells in Malta, Japan and Slovakia before retiring at the age of just 29.

Kerrison

After starring at Coritiba and Palmeiras, Kerrison joined Barcelona in the summer of 2009. He had high hopes upon his arrival at the Nou Camp, but spent his entire time in Catalonia on a series of loans to the likes of Benfica, Fiorentina and Santos.

Having failed to make an appearance for Barca before returning to Coritiba on a free transfer, the forward is now widely seen as one of the worst signings in the La Liga club's recent history. His final spell in club football came at Londrina four years ago.

Lulinha

A remarkable return of 15 goals in just 10 games for Brazil's Under-17s national team saw Lulinha become a Football Manager wonderkid. But he was never able to live up to his potential, mainly due to Corinthians slapping a £24m price tag on his head.

After leaving the Brazilian side in 2012, he joined second tier team Ceara and since then has played for 10 other clubs. He joined Indonesian Liga 1 side Madura United this year following a one-year spell at Japanese team Montedio Yamagata.

Alan Kardec

As is so often the case, it was a move to Europe that saw Alan Kardec fail to live up to his Football Manager reputation. He managed a pitiful return of just three goals in his four years at the Estadio da Luz though.

Kardec was even dropped down to the reserve team in his penultimate campaign in Portugal before returning to Brazil with São Paulo. A profitable spell in China saw him score 56 goals in 106 games for Chongqing Lifan, before joining Shenzhen in 2021.

Ganso

Having been nominated for the Breakthrough Player of the Year award in Brazil's Serie A in 2009, much was expected of Ganso. He was a top wonderkid for several years in the world of Football Manager.

It took him until 2016 for him to secure a move to Europe when he was signed by Sevilla from Sao Paulo. But he made just 28 appearances in three years in Spain before moving to French side Amiens for a year and is now at Fluminense.

Adryan

One of the few Brazilian wonderkids to have a stint in England, Adryan burst onto the scene at Flamengo. He was sent out on a series of loan moves during his time at the Brazilian giants, including to Leeds United.

He made just 13 appearances at Elland Road and it says much that his biggest impression was winning the Fallon d'Floor after a spectacular dive when he was tackled by Johnny Russell in the match against Derby County. Adryan moved to Swiss side Sion in 2017, where he remains today.

Doria

A top wonderkid on Football Manager 2014, Doria became an undisputed starter for Botafogo. That earned him a £6m move to Marseille, but he struggled to bring his form to France, making just 26 appearances in four years.

Instead, he spent much of his time at the Velodrome on loan, with spells at Sao Paulo, Granada and Yeni Malatyaspor. He joined Mexican side Santos Laguna in 2018 and has become a regular for Los Guerreros.