The Fallen Giants Worth Saving in Football Manager 26

There’s nothing more satisfying than restoring a fallen giant. The history, the fanbase, the narrative – it makes the perfect storyline on Football Manager. At its core, the game is about those incredible stories. As we head into FM26, it’s time to think about which clubs you want to drag back to the glory days and rescue from mediocrity. Here’s a mix of teams from the UK and abroad that are crying out for better times.

 

Dynamo Dresden

Once one of East Germany’s most successful and feared clubs, Dynamo Dresden’s fortunes collapsed after German reunification in the early 1990s. In the GDR era, Dynamo won eight league titles, regularly competed in Europe, and produced international players who formed the backbone of East Germany’s national team. But the financial and structural demands of the unified Bundesliga proved too much. Relegations, money problems, and instability left them bouncing between the second and third tiers. Despite this, their fanbase remains huge and fiercely loyal, regularly pulling in crowds bigger than many Bundesliga sides. Yet as of 2025, it’s been 30 years since their last appearance in the top flight.

Pro Vercelli

Between 1908 and 1922, the small Piedmont club won seven Serie A titles, dominating the early Italian game and supplying players to the national side. Built on a pioneering, homegrown style, Pro Vercelli were nearly untouchable before Juventus, Inter, and Milan rose to power. But the professional era left them behind. Financial struggles and dwindling competitiveness saw them slide down the pyramid. Today they exist as a lower-league side, remembered more for black-and-white photos of their glory days than anything modern.

Hereford FC (formerly Hereford United)

Forever remembered for Ronnie Radford’s thunderbolt against Newcastle in 1972, Hereford were a respected League club for decades. Financial collapse in 2014 saw them wound up in the High Court, but they reformed as Hereford FC in 2015. A phoenix club with proud support, they remain marooned in non-league football, far from the heights their history deserves.

Akademisk Boldklub

Founded in 1889, Akademisk Boldklub (AB) are a quintessential fallen giant in Denmark. With nine league titles, they were one of the country’s pioneers, deeply tied to Copenhagen’s academic community. For decades, they combined tradition with success, producing talented players and shaping the sport’s formative years. But as professionalism took over and giants like Brøndby and FC Copenhagen rose, AB fell behind. Financial woes and inconsistent results left them stranded in the third tier, a world away from their championship-winning past.

Sheffield Wednesday

One of England’s great names: four league titles, three FA Cups, and Hillsborough – a cathedral of English football. But the last two decades have been rough. Wednesday have spent most of that time outside the Premier League, shuttling between the Championship and League One. With their fanbase and infrastructure, they should be so much more.

Wisła Kraków

Thirteen league titles, four Polish Cups, and decades of European football made Wisła Kraków a powerhouse. Their rivalry with Cracovia – the brilliantly named “Holy War” – remains one of football’s fiercest. But since their shock relegation in 2022, they’ve lurked in the second tier, plagued by financial and ownership troubles. For a club of their size and pedigree, being outside the top flight is a humiliating fall. In FM, taking Wisła back to title races and European nights is a redemption arc waiting to happen.

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard

Sochaux were one of the founding members of France’s top division and twice Ligue 1 champions in the 1930s. Founded by the Peugeot family in 1928, they built a proud tradition, capped with a Coupe de France win in 2007. But in 2023, disaster struck: financial collapse under Chinese ownership saw them administratively relegated from Ligue 2 to the Championnat National, despite finishing ninth. With their history, provincial pride, and loyal support, dragging “Les Lionceaux” out of crisis would be a satisfying FM project.

Aberdeen

Under Sir Alex Ferguson in the 1980s, Aberdeen smashed the Old Firm’s dominance, winning titles and becoming the last Scottish side outside Celtic and Rangers to lift the league trophy. Their crowning moment came in 1983, beating Real Madrid in the Cup Winners’ Cup final – still the last time Madrid lost a European final. With Willie Miller and Gordon Strachan leading a golden era, the Dons were a European force. Now, while still competitive, they’re a long way from those glory days, more often scrapping for third and domestic cups. That gap between past glory and present respectability makes them the very definition of a fallen giant.Southend UnitedFrom producing talents like Stan Collymore to years in the Championship and League One, Southend were once a solid Football League club. But financial chaos caught up with them, and in 2021 they crashed into the National League. With a strong local fanbase and roots in Essex football, restoring them to the EFL is a classic underdog challenge.

Real Zaragoza

Six Copa del Reys, a Cup Winners’ Cup in 1995, and years of La Liga pedigree – Zaragoza were a serious force. But since relegation in 2013, they’ve been stuck in the Segunda División, and in 2024–25 they barely avoided dropping to the third tier. La Romareda, their 43,000-seater stadium, is being redeveloped, yet the football hasn’t matched the infrastructure. Returning them to La Liga and cup glory would be a fitting way to bring this sleeping giant back.

MK Dons

Yes, I know. You’re already angry. But hear me out. Their stadium holds over 30,000 – bigger than five current Premier League clubs – and yet they’re in League Two. They don’t have a glittering history, sure, but they’ve fallen short of the expectations their infrastructure sets. This is less about restoring past glory and more about creating it. Love them or hate them, MK Dons are a save with serious potential.

FC Kaiserslautern

Champions of Germany as recently as 1998, Kaiserslautern have four Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokals in their cabinet. But financial ruin and poor management saw them relegated to the third tier in 2018, the lowest point in their history. They fought back to the 2. Bundesliga in 2022, where they’ve stabilised mid-table, but they’ve been absent from the top flight since 2012. With their 50,000-seat Fritz-Walter-Stadion and a fanbase that still dreams of miracles, restoring “FCK” to Bundesliga relevance is a story FM players will love.

Dinamo București

Eighteen-time Romanian champions, Dinamo were once the dominant force of Bucharest, battling Steaua (now FCSB) for supremacy. But insolvency and chaos saw them relegated for the first time in 2022. They bounced straight back after a chaotic 8-5 promotion playoff, but the cracks remain. Financial scars, instability, and years in FCSB’s shadow leave Dinamo a fallen giant. With one of the biggest fanbases in Romania and a European Cup semi-final on their CV, they’re an FM save screaming for a revival.

Budapest Honvéd

The home of Ferenc Puskás and Hungary’s “Golden Team,” Honvéd won 14 domestic titles and dominated the 1950s. In 2017, they stunned everyone with a modern championship win, but within six years they were relegated, dropping into NB II in 2023. That dramatic collapse makes them one of Europe’s most striking fallen giants. With their history, academy, and new stadium, restoring Honvéd to domestic dominance – and maybe finally to European respect – is one of the most romantic challenges FM26 has to offer.

 

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