Getting started
First, you give us your email address so that we can send you a password. Then you login and choose a name for your club. You will enter detailed information about yourself and you will then be placed in a league. Larger countries have leagues of their own, while smaller countries sometimes are collected in the Mixed League with various nationalities.Clubs are created overnight, so if you haven't received an email from us with a job offer at a new club within 24 hours, please try to login anyway. If all else fails, contact us at info@freekick.org!
Your FreeKick career will typically start mid-season, but the only thing you'll inherit will be the league position of a retired club. Your club's name, players, national ranking and finances will be totally new and personally created by you. The club's long term future is now in your hands. Your club will start with 14 senior players, 14 youth players (yes, you will be managing an Under 21 team also!), an arena with a crowd capacity that matches your expected division attendance and $5,000 cash to use as you wish. You can immediately go to your Office and purchase players from around the world on the transfer list or simply save the money for later.
Training
Training settings are located at Locker Room/Training. Since you have just arrived at your new club, your Assistant has already chosen to train your player in skills that seem needed. If you want to change the training, click on the Settings tab of the player and pick skills to train from the two Training drop-down menus of the player. It is better in the long run to split the training between two skills each day, but you may train one skill twice a day if you need immediate improvement from a player. If a player has reached his Potential, it would be a good idea to change his training. Perhaps you just disagree with your Assistant's opinion and want the player to develop in a different direction. You can mold the player any way you would like.
Lineup
When you arrive at the club, your Assistant will have suggested a standard 4-4-2 lineup for you. This is for your convenience so that you won't have to make this decision from scratch. Although your Assistant will pick a lineup that works, it does not necessarily mean that he will pick the best players. Feel free to experiment and try your players in different positions in Locker Room/Tactics. Notice how your Assistant will give his Rating of a player's position.
You must always have 10 outfield players and 1 goalkeeper. If you fail to pick your team in that way, your lineup will be deemed invalid. If the lineup is invalid and the match is about to begin, your Assistant will pick players from your Bench or from your reserves until the lineup is valid. If for some reason there are still not enough players to pick, your Assistant will (in desperation) attempt to fill the ranks himself. He will send someone to the nearest fast food restaurant to find some people that want to play football. The amateur players that join in this way will have horrible skills compared to your opponent's professional players.
Tutorial
Don't forget to complete the educational Tutorial that is offered to you as you login to your new club. Besides helping you learn how to play FreeKick, you will be rewarded by completing parts of the Tutorial with some starting funds! You could use the cash, right?
Final Thoughts
This will get you started in the wonderful world of FreeKick. Of course there is much more to do such as buying and selling players, improving your arena and tuning your match Tactics to perfection. FreeKick does not reward those managers that simply spend time in front of their computer. It rewards those that make educated decisions just like a real football manager. We recommend that you read the rest of the Manual to help you completely understand and enjoy the FreeKick experience, and also encourage you to participate in the Forum, which is found at the top right of your screen. Now, on to the road to victory!