Fifa, Pro Evolution Soccer, Football Manager: Ranking most iconic video game footballers
3. Tonton Zolo Moukoko (Championship Manager 01-02)
“We went to a small village in Malaysia,” Tonton Zola Moukoko told me. “I gave the police my passport. He was shocked. ‘Are you really Tonton Zola Moukoko?’ he asked. ‘You can’t be the one playing in Derby!'”
Moukoko’s legend has traveled far and wide, featured on fan forums and whispered among Championship Manager anoraks. And there was truth at its roots.
Derby beat AC Milan and Bologna to sign the 15-year-old from Djurgardens in Sweden. After losing both parents, he moved in with his brother from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He was a rookie star in the County academy and his qualities in the game would turn him into a skilful number 10 in the mold of Lionel Messi, often featuring for Europe’s biggest clubs.
In real-life youth or reserve matches, fans would ask for his autograph. However, Moukoko never made a senior appearance for Derby. His older brother’s death caused him to return to Sweden and he spent his career in the lower Scandinavian leagues.
“There were things around me that changed me a lot and changed my football career,” he said. “I didn’t really enjoy football anymore.
“After my brother died, I had a hard time sleeping for a long time. Football wasn’t the right thing for me after that.”
But Moukoko is pleased that his legend lives on among those who signed him: “We still have people calling from Australia, France and everywhere.”
