Zambian manager Trebor Mahtal etched his name into the history books as he led a pretty scary Spain side to World Cup glory in 2070. The 86-year-old manager tendered his resignation and was swiftly offered roles by Nigeria, Senegal, Uruguay and, most intriguingly, Argentina and Brazil. But he was done with management and decided to retire on a high.
The days of scrounging around the basement of European football looking for his first job back in 2023 seemed a long old time ago as Mahtal reflected on his 47-year journey.
Trebor Mahtal’s European Journey
Mahtal’s journey began by hunting for a job to begin his mission of working outside the European “big seven” nations of England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland and Spain. He landed his first job with Swedish minnows VMA IK, who he led to survival in 12th place of the Swedish Second Division South Götaland. His performance there led to interest from Turkey with Ískenderunspor, winning the Turkish 2. League Red Group then gaining promotion to the Super League through the Turkish 1. League playoffs.
That overperformance saw Mahtal given a huge opportunity by Greek giants Panathinaikos, where he won three consecutive titles. He was back on the move in 2028 as Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv came calling, and he won the league and his first Europa Conference League then another league in season two. Mahtal’s success ground to a halt with a disappointing season in Antwerp then Slovenian side NK Domzale.
But a big step up saw him jump over to Serbia with Crvena zvezda, where he won two domestic doubles and lifted the Europa League. He sought out a new adventure in Slovakia, winning the title and losing the Conference League Final in his only season at Slovan Bratislava. But a move to Denmark saw him struggle through three seasons at FC Midtjylland.
That led Mahtal to move back to Sweden with Djurgårdens IF, where he put together a superb team that won three league titles and a Conference League. An odd turn saw Mahtal move back to Turkey with Trabzonspor in 2042… only to leave after 37 days for Norwegian side Molde. That proved a wise move as he won the Conference League again in his first full season and then won the Norwegian title in his third season.
Another move followed as Mahtal headed over to Ireland and dominated with Shamrock Rovers, claiming an impressive domestic quadruple. Two years in Switzerland followed as he led FC Zürich to his 4th Conference League in his first season and the Swiss title in his second. He then headed for Czechia, winning two titles with a team of wonderkids at Slavia Praha, before winning the Romanian title with Farul Constanta in 2050 and the Slovenian title with cash-rich Aluminij in 2051.
The high mark of Mahtal’s career to date saw him not only dominate Denmark with København, but lead a ridiculously strong team to his first Champions League success. He quickly jumped ship to another big side, winning the Austrian domestic double with RB Salzburg then made the odd choice to move to Wales and win the title with amateur side Colwyn Bay in 2054.
A move to Hungary was disastrous as a poor Puskás Akedémia side slipped to 9th and earned Mahtal the first sacking of his career. He used that as an opportunity to right his wrongs, heading back to Trabzonspor and winning the Turkish title and another Conference League in his second season in 2057. He then headed to Israel for a season, finishing 2nd with Hapoel Be’er-Sheva, before taking control of Croatian side Rijeka and won the title in his second season in 2060.
Mahtal then headed for Belarus to rebuild a fallen giant in BATE Borisov, rebuilding the team to win the title in his first season and the domestic double in his second. That earned Mahtal a huge opportunity at his final club, a return to Czechia with Baník Ostrava. He built arguably his best squad yet, snapping up some remarkable wonderkids to win the league in his first season, do the domestic double in his second and then, the crowning glory on his career, the league and Champions League in his third.
The Zambian decided to end his club career there and go in search of an international role. He got a job with Serbia, who he took all the way to the Final of EURO 2068 but lost to Switzerland. A bigger opportunity followed as Spain, who his Serbia side had beaten 4-1 in the semis, approached Mahtal for a final payday on £125k a week. And a superstar team helped Mahtal finish his career with a flourish, winning the Nations League before lifting the World Cup with a new tournament record 37 goals.
Mahtal’s Career In Numbers
In his 47-year managerial career, Mahtal had 26 club roles and managed two international sides. His longest reign was 1,252 days at Djurgårdens, while his shortest was the shameful 37 days in his first spell at Trabzonspor. He earned £34.5m over his career, signing 193 players for £527m and selling 493 for £950m. Mahtal’s biggest signing was bringing winger Sebastián Villarroel to RB Salzburg from his former club København for £25m in 2052, and his biggest sale was Michal Hadascok joining Inter from København in 2051. He didn’t go on holiday during his club career, but the 1,086 he went on holiday to speed up international management constituted 6.3% of his career.
Mahtal racked up an incredible 2,211 games across his career. He won 1,498, drew 339 and lost 374 with a win ratio of 67%. His teams scored 4,929 (2.2 per game) and conceded 2,170 with a goal difference of 2,759. Mahtal led his clubs to 28 national titles, 2 promotions including 1 lower division title, and 23 cup wins, including 5 Conference Leagues, 1 Europa League, 2 Champions Leagues and a World Cup.
That brings this EuroTrip adventure to an end. It’s been really fun exploring the leagues outside of the so-called bigger European nations, managing in some smaller leagues and developing youngsters who went on to become global superstars.
At the time of writing, we’re about 2 weeks on from the revelation that FM25 is being delayed until March. I originally intended to extend this save towards March, but my laptop wasn’t having it and the save ran ludicrously slowly. So, instead, I’m cooking up another new FM24 series. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more Football Manager series very soon!
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