The Metaverse Football League (@playMFL) is a Football Manager style game where players act as manager or agent, collecting talent, training, setting tactics and competing to move up the football pyramid from the lowest tier (Iron, Tier 6) to the heady heights of the top flight (Diamond, Tier 1). The platform has published a sheet with the full rundown of every player that currently exists within the universe and like a true FM degen, I’ve gone deep to find some of the outlier players who could still compete. Call it my Moneyball meets insomnia XI.
More than 16,600 players in total from around the globe with attributes and overall scores nearly as varied as world football itself. For the next couple of weeks I’m writing a shorter series of articles which highlight some of the fun ways you can construct a roster of XI starters. The game hasn’t launched its full trial season yet but is running simulated games for existing Club License owners. That disclaimer is there because I have NO IDEA how these rosters would actually fare in achieving promotion, ensuring player’s overall progression or anything else. This is just fun with attributes.
Brought to you buy Jordan Pickford’s arms, a full summer of Twitter bile about Lisandro Martinez’s diminutive stature and Xavi’s overstuffed trophy room, today we’re giving it up for Short Kings. Incidentally, Lisandro’s 5’ 8’ would never qualify for this squad: this is a team comprised of players like Sevilla’s Jose Alonso Lara (5’3”). Players here are listed by position - name and overall score. The max score is 99 but no current player is higher than a 94.
Goalkeeper - Alex Remy 80 | 160cm (age 21 | France)
The righthanded shot-stopper must have big hops with an 80 overall ranking despite his 5’3” frame. Remy, like his namesake Michelin starred chef and fellow Frenchman, is the second shortest GK in the game (Tae-Hun Mohan owns the honor). He’ll be fighting for the No. 1 shirt with Spain’s Victory Uriarte but the 21 year old’s extra years of experience should hand him an advantage over the 19 year old despite Uriarte’s 84 rank and 4cm of height likely garnering addition reach.
LB - Gunther Vereecke 73 | 163cm (age 19 | Belgium)
A rangy, attacking left back with 75 pace, 73 dribbling, 77 physical and 73 defense? Is that something that might interest you? Yes. Sign me up and we’ll work on the passing (69, nice but not too nice) while leveling strict No Shots standing orders (33 shooting). Vereecke leads the league in “e’s” and has demonstrated a strong link with Bernd Dürr on the left side of this squad with complementary skill sets that allow for quick passing and overlapping runs.
CB - Witold Banasiak 81 | 163cm (age 22 | Poland)
Banasiak has a couple of years on most MFL players and that experience is likely to help him and the squad keep it clean at the back. Paired with Valmir Rangel (165 cm) the two will need to use every inch of their cunning and guile to out position opposing attackers.
We love a short, Polish king.
CB - Valmir Rangel 75 | 165 cm (age 20 | Brazil)
If you’re trying to stack a starting XI you could do worse than to fill it with Brazilian U23s and I’ve done my best here. Valmirinho isn’t the fastest (53 pace) but his 77 defense and 75 physical make him an imposing partner for Witold. In games when the opposition speed looks to be an issue, we’ll turn to the bench and Isamu Sawamura who isn’t lightening in a bottle but his 63 pace is a marked improvement over the Brazilian.
RB - Katsuyuki Kondo 75 | 167cm (age 19 | Japan)
Katsuyuki Kondo came up in the Japan youth set up with Short King reserve defender Isamu Sawamura, and the pair of 19-year-olds may end up anchoring the right side the Kings defense for the next decade. Standing just 5’6” tall, the duo have been called Wakizashi - named after the short swords that pair the longer katana - for their typical pairing alongside a taller defensive mate. Since being acquired by the SKFC the duo’s nickname has taken on new meaning with their clever play and physical imposition putting many an opponent to the sword.
LM - Bernd Dürr 79 | 163cm (age 21 | Germany)
Bernd Dürr is a massively versatile asset who lines up primarily as a LM but can shift inside to CM or move forward to LW. Of particular value in this XI is his 74 defense, and 87 passing, which makes him the ideal two-way player, regularly linking up with LB Vereecke and getting the bacll to Karolj Zlatkovićin good position for the striker to capitalize.
CDM – Marlon de Oliveira 73 | 160cm (age 21 | Brazil)
The combination of dribbling (79), passing (68), physical (78) and defense (73) gives Marlon the tools necessary to serve as both a shield for the back line and a bridge to the attack. One of three Brazilians to find a starting role with Os Pequenos Soberanos, Marlon is a cult favorite for his dogged determination harrying opposing attackers and turning won possession into quick attacks with his own mazy runs. His 68 passing is one attribute that will need to progress for this squad to level up, but playing alongside Dürr and Kaddour in the midfield, his primary responsibility is to provide cover and help the team retain possession.
CAM - Abdelhalim Kaddour 85 | 166cm (age 21 | Algeria)
The talisman of the team, Abdelhalim Kaddour is by some distance the best player on the squad and one of the rising stars of MFL. Already an established starter for the Desert Foxes, the sky appears to be the limit for the 21 year old. Fortunately, the Algerian Magician has committed both his short and long-term future to our club.
An exceptional passer (84), his true talent is being amongst the very best on-the-ball players in the world (92 dribbling). With Kaddour as the fulcrum of the attack, SKFC also stands for Scoring Kings.
RM - Jeroen Harmsen 72 | 167cm (age 22 | Netherlands)
The only Dutch player to make the squad, the former Ajax youth star has struggled to find a regular starting role with managers moving him between right midfield, a central attacking role and an out and out No. 10. With SKFC, Harmsen has settled on the right side where his 84 passing contributes to one of the best possession midfields in the game. Well-rounded, his best attribute may be that he doesn’t have any glaring weakness, firmly controlling the wing and affording defensive cover (56 defense) and attacking flair (73 dribbling).
ST - Josimar Cavalheiro 74 | 162cm (age 22 | Brazil)
Better known as Josimar, the 22 year old is a lower league legend already scoring goals in bushels. An 89 shooting places him in the top 0.5% of all finishers and he’s helped his first clubs to the top of the promotion chase early in his career. The key is getting him the ball, but he’s no pushover with a 68 physical rating and 65 dribbling. If you’re looking for a good comp, Darren Bent springs to mind with both players showing near unlimited potential at putting the ball in the back of the net but occasionally over-reliant on teammate for delivery. Worst case, Josimar looks a perennial promotion workhorse who finds himself transferred back down a division in the summer only to rise again with a new squad in the fall.
ST - Karolj Zlatković 81 | 163cm (age 18 | Serbia)
The dynamic duo of Zlatković and Josimar ensure SKFC has what is unquestionably the strongest front pairing in the game. Zlatković’s shooting score of 92 makes him one of the 25 most lethal finishers in the entire MFL. The “F” there stands for
Yeah, his shooting is that good he’s got opposing fans in tenterhooks any time the ball even approaches his feet like
and if he ever gets ahold of one inside the area his 71 passing and 71 dribbling give him all kinds of options - beat a man, pass it to Josi to finish, or just score himself leaving the whole defense like
That’s exactly the kind of reaction we’re going for, and he’s still just 18.
Substitutes
CB - Isamu Sawamura 81 | 167cm (age 19 | Japan)
It’s not everyday a centerback gets dinged for being too tall, but Swamura is sat on the bench here in favor of Valmirinho as we look to keep the Brazilian core of the squad and the overall height of the starting XI to a minimum. It’s noted above, but a flourishing club partnership with international colleague and roommate Kondo has his future looking bright.
LM,RM,LB - Arkadiy Bazurkaev 74 | 162 cm (age 18 | Russia)
Not quite as accomplished as his former U18 teammate Roman Leonov, the young Russian has stagnated in the youth set-up while watching Leonov enjoy a meteoric rise to the national team. Word is he’s got dual eligibility through his mother who was born in Djibouti before relocating with his father back to Russia where Arkadiy was born, so a change in representation may be in the cards.
Central to his value are dribbling (84) and passing (74) as well as multi-eligibility playing either left or right midfield as well as providing cover at left back.
LW, ST - Jon Vilchez 70 | 159cm (age 20 | Spain)
Vilchez is out shortest player and has eligibility at striker as well as LW, but his 67 shooting makes that a less appealing deployment. Instead, we’re capitalizing on the combination of 71 dribbling and blistering pace at 89! Overall 70 will make him one of the lowest overall rated players in the King’s squad sheet but much of that is likely down to his 31 defense; fortunately we’re not asking him to track back much here but instead spring lighting fast counters, maximizing the passing ability of the squad while taking advantage of tired opposition legs.