In Football Manager, the road to glory with your club is very rarely an easy one unless you choose a European powerhouse with a massive transfer budget to spend on transfers and wages.
Even then, one of the most critical aspects of Football Manager is recruitment. If you get that right, then more often than not, you will be successful, like in any walk of life, the better the personnel, the better results you tend to achieve.
You can find footballing gems in any country, of course. However, some countries and even continents have more of a reputation for producing players, especially wonderkids. One of those continents is the hotbed of football, South America
Here are the best South American countries we would recommend scouting in:
Argentina
South America is full of unpolished gems just waiting to be turned into the next superstar. Of course, Argentina is one of the biggest and best countries on the continent for producing talent.
European clubs have long since realised this in real life in recent decades. Long before the influx of foreign players to the English top-flight, Argentinian duo Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles were strutting their stuff at Tottenham.
In Football Manager, you can pick up the next Ardiles or even Lionel Messi, often for a knockdown price. Plus, usually the players’ wages are relatively cheap.
These players can often become the superstars of the future, who can either power your team to victory or fund your club’s success by playing well and earning a big-money move elsewhere.
Brazil
Arguably, Brazil is even better at producing those hidden gems in Football Manager. The country has a knack for producing players who are not only skilful but also often work hard and have the ability to mix it with opposition players when it comes to physical attributes.
There are so many talented young Brazilian players in FM24. The list includes the likes of Vitor Roque, Endrick and Angelo. Unfortunately, as the game has been out for so long, all three have been picked up by European clubs.
However, even if you are using any of the updated databases, you can still snap up some Brazilian bargains. Similarly, to Argentina if the players are still in their homeland, their fees and wages are usually smaller than those of their European counterparts.
Also, if the players are promising, many have release clauses in their contracts, which, when looking at promising players, can be a big help in stretching your transfer budget.
In reality, if the rules allowed for it, then you could probably build a team full of Brazilians at a European club, and it would likely be a success.
In fact, the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk has had success in the past by bringing in Brazilian players for small fees. These players have contributed to the club’s success on the pitch or have been sold on for a sizeable profit to big European clubs. Many have done both.
Colombia
Although not as prolific at producing players as Argentina or Brazil in recent years, Colombia still has a respectable reputation for producing players.
In the past, the country has produced such talents as Carlos Valderrama, James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao, who all shone on the club or international stage.
In FM24, there are some excellent Colombian talents to be signed. For me, one of my favourite Colombian players from the latest edition of the game is Yaser Asprilla, who is 19 when the game starts and is at Watford in the English Championship.
I have signed him for as little as £10m, and he has gone on to have a decent career, even if he never quite makes it to world-class standard in most of my saves. Apart from promising quality and potential, he is also highly versatile, with the ability to play in all the attacking midfield positions, as well as a central forward.
There are other bargains to be had in Colombia, such as signing players from other South American countries; players tend to be much cheaper than their counterparts.
Uruguay
In the past, Uruguay has been a great source of players for those on shoestring budgets looking to add quality and potential to their squad.
Arguably, there have been fewer Uruguayan youngsters in FM24. However, there are still players you can sign from the country who will be bargains and help aid your cause.
One player who springs to mind straight away is defender Sebastian Boselli, who starts the game at River Plate. The 19-year-old defender turns out to be one of the best defensive bargains in the game.
Then there is forward Matias Arezo, who is at Granada. In previous editions of the game, he had massive potential. That potential has seemingly been reduced for FM24, but he is still a good prospective signing.
Other South American countries have great talent
While we have talked about some of the bigger South American countries, the continent as a whole is just full of talent waiting to be discovered.
The likes of Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Bolivia are also worth scouting, as all of those countries have produced talented players in the past.
The lesson is that if you only scout one continent in FM24, then make it South America, as what you get back is well worth whatever it takes to pay for your scout’s trips.
Which South American country is best for scouting players?
