| Championship Manager: Season 97/98 | |
| Developer: | Sports Interactive |
| Publisher: | Eidos Interactive |
| Designer: | Paul Collyer, Oliver Collyer |
| Series: | Championship Manager |
| Released: | 31 October 1997[1] |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Modes: | Single player, multiplayer |
| Platforms: | PC |
Championship Manager 97/98 is a game in the Championship Manager series of football management computer games, based on the Championship Manager 2 game engine. It was developed by Sports Interactive and released in October 1997, exclusively for the PC, as the final game in the second generation of CM games.
The gameplay in CM97/98 remained very similar to other games based on CM2, but as usual this installment offered far more than a simple database update. It was a clear indication of Sports Interactive's intent for the future of the franchise in two ways: the inclusion of a database editor with the game showed that SI were actively encouraging users to modify and customise the game; and the inclusion of nine playable leagues from across Europe was a clear sign of things to come, in terms of the growing depth and global scope of the game.
CM97/98 featured nine playable nations/league systems, three times more than in the previous version. It was also the first time ever that players could run more than one league concurrently (up to three in this edition). For example, the English, Spanish and Italian leagues would all be simulated and players could manage a club in any of these nations and move between them. It also allowed the user to view results and league tables in these selected leagues, adding to the sense of realism. This was also the first time in the series that the Portuguese league system had ever been a playable league. Aside from the added playable leagues, bug fixes and updated player data, there were also other new features in the game. Club squads could now contain 32 players (2 more than the previous version), Champions League and UEFA Cup formats were changed to reflect their real-life counterparts, added control over tactics (including selection of set-piece takers) and international under-21 matches were now simulated fully.
CM97/98 marked a huge step forward for this aspect of the game - nine playable nations/league systems, three times more than in the previous version. It was also the first time ever that players could run more than one league concurrently (up to three in this edition). For example, the English, Spanish and Italian leagues would all be simulated and players could manage a club in any of these nations and move between them. It also allowed the user to view results and league tables in these selected leagues, adding to the sense of realism. The full selection of playable leagues was as follows:
| bgcolor=silver width=40% | Nation | bgcolor=silver width=15% | Levels | bgcolor=silver width=15% | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium | 2 | 2 | |||
| 4 | 4 | ||||
 France | 2 | 2 | |||
 Germany | 2 | 2 | |||
| 2 | 2 | ||||
 Italy | 2 | 2 | |||
 Portugal | 2 | 2 | |||
| 4 | 4 | ||||
 Spain | 2 | 2 |
This was also the first time in the series that the Portuguese league system had ever been a playable league.
Ever since the first game in the series, people had been trying (with varying degrees of success) to find a way of editing the data within Championship Manager, either to cheat or simply to add themselves as a player in the CM world. With this version Sports Interactive included an editor that allowed users to do this and much more.
There were many notable players within the game who gained cult status for their high abilities and potential which often contrasted with their real life abilities. Some of them (e.g. Ibrahima Bakayoko) were really wonderkids at that time but didn't eventually evolve into world class players, whilst some others were already mature players of minor league clubs (i.e. Bjørn Heidenstrøm) with inexplicably high abilities within the game.
Aside from the added playable leagues, bug fixes and updated player data, there were also other new features in the game. Club squads could now contain 32 players (2 more than the previous version), Champions League and UEFA Cup formats were changed to reflect their real-life counterparts, added control over tactics (including selection of set-piece takers) and international under-21 matches were now simulated fully.