Advertisement

Bafetimbi Gomis researched Swansea by playing as them on Football Manager before joining the club

When Bafetimbi Gomis left Lyon at the end of last season, he prepared to join Swansea City by researching the club and playing video games at the same time. Naturally, he did this by playing as Swansea in Football Manager.

From the Guardian:

Gomis, who scored his first Swansea goal in the 1-0 Capital One Cup win over Rotherham on Tuesday having impressed from the substitute’s bench in the 2-1 win at Manchester United on the Premier League’s opening weekend, told his new club’s website: “I play a lot of Football Manager. During my time with my previous club, we travelled quite a bit for European matches. Therefore, I used my spare time on the plane to play. I’ve been playing the game ever since my development stages, but I have found it very helpful in helping me find out more about Swansea.

“Before I signed here, I spent a month playing as Swansea to help me get to know my team-mates – to find out a bit more about them. Of course, I also watched video footage to see how the team played, but it is true that the game helped me learn a lot about each of my team-mates’ characteristics – their age, where they used to play and their attributes.”

We can only hope that Gomis introduced himself to his new teammates by informing those he sold off in his game upon meeting them in real life.

The next time someone asks you why you spend so much time playing video games, following Gomis' lead and just tell them that you're simply doing research for a career move. After all, if you're going to be the night security guard at Hull City's training ground, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of every player's attributes.

- - - - - - -

Brooks Peck

is the editor of Dirty Tackle on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow on Twitter!