3-4-3 Wide Diamond: Cruyffian a.k.a. New Barcelona Approach

After Fabregas's arrival, Guardiola came up with an interesting new formation this season. After watching the last 8-0 win over Osasuna, I got my urge to play Football Manager again and decided to implement this system in TC.

We can come up with a couple reasons why it turned out this shape, rather than the usual 4-3-3 Barcelona plays. Puyol and Pique's long injuries created a small rotation in the stopper backline. Dani Alves doesn't have a cover that can completely replicate his moving forward. And Fabregas needed to find a spot in the field.

In the earlier games, we saw Fabregas replacing Messi as the False Nine. But Fabregas' doesn't have the killer dribbling skills Messi has that is the nightmare of a straight back four. Fabregas was still able to play ball behind defenses that come up high; but when they sit back, he didn't have many cards in his hands.

Therefore Guardiola came up with this 3-4-3 shape that has a diamond midfield. With its addition to Barcelona's width in attacking, it created new killer options for Barcelona when moving forward and resulted in some huge wins in the last weeks.

4-2-3-1 is a popular formation that brings success to a lot of clubs this season. It also brings some nice football in FM 2011. But the biggest weakness of this system is the hole between the defense and the midfield duo. If the opposition manages to sneak out an AMC in this area, he is basically free to do whatever he wants. In this formation, there is a DMC which holds this weakness out.

The usual Barcelona approach 4-1-2-2-1 has limited options in the attacking side. Because of the lack of an AMC, the move forward is most of the time limited to the creativity of midfield duo. Since Messi is out of this world, he manages to do the job of an AMC and FC in his False Nine role, letting Barcelona win everything when he is on the field. In this formation, there is an AMC who doubles the options in the attack.

But this formation is not something new. It is the Total Voetball dream of Johan Cruyff. It has been put on practice in 1991 by the 11 above, where Guardiola had a critical role.

Why would Barcelona need Fabregas so badly? Why did they chase him for 2 years? They had the Xavi-Iniesta duo on the midfield and Thiago Alcantara is taking big steps forward. Keita also can provide cover whenever needed. Fabregas is brought to Barcelona in order to put Cruyff's and Guardiola's theories into practice. He is the best player in this world who can take that AMC spot and add more to the already working Barcelona machine.

Why didn't Barcelona buy any new defenders this summer? Why did they stick up with injury prone Pique, Puyol, Thuram and midfielders Mascherano, Busquets for the center of backline? The answer is again the same. Because they will use only one central defender in this system, they didn't need more players. Pique and Puyol can do the job perfectly in that position.

As the time goes on we will watch this system in more detailed in Barcelona games, but I am already impressed and I want to watch it in the match engine.

This is the basic shape. As you can see, the biggest concern about the system is the lone defender. But in the opposite end, our team can score any time.

Philosophy: Fluid

Starting Strategy: Standard /*/ We know that Barcelona is not afraid to pass the ball back and keep the shape as a team. There is no immediate urge to attack. They prefer to keep the ball, but they want to keep the game steady. Since mentality affects the passing choice of players, standard would be the best to provide this.

Passing Style: Shorter

Creative Freedom: More Disciplined /*/ This is what I believe people usually make mistake when implementing Barcelona play. They tend to play a disciplined one-touch game. Except the front row, everyone knows that they cannot take the freedom to keep the ball for long. For instance, Real Madrid relies on Özil, Ronaldo and Di Maria's creativity when attacking. Barcelona does not. Nobody has the freedom Ronaldo, Rooney, Gervinho, Sneijder possess.

Closing Down: Press More

Tackling: Default

Marking: Zonal Marking /*/ Keeping the midfield shape is crucial in getting the ball back.

Crossing: Default

Roaming: More Roaming

Defensive Line: Push Up Max + Play Offside /*/ Playing high and letting the midfield dominate the oppsite half is the key element.

Width: Standard /*/ I want to keep the width in accordance with Team Strategy. Move team strategy to Control to provide more width and attacking options against hard-defending opponents.

Tempo: Slow Min + Counter Attack /*/ We are not playing Kick and Rush. We need to take our time in building up. We need to use the extra midfielders. But we still use the Counter Attack strategy to use the quadro we have high on the pitch.

GK: Sweeper Keeper Attack /*/ He needs to take care of the space behind the defense.

DC: Central Defender Cover + Man Marking /*/ He need the chase the opposition runs behind the high line. Therefore, he needs to pick up his man. Have someone fast and mentally good in this position.

DR/DL: Full Back Defend /*/ Their initial duty is to cover the wings and provide passing options.

DMC: Anchor Man /*/ Busquets role. Ex-Makalele role.

MCs: Deep Lying Playmaker with Advanced Playmaker Support /*/ They are the through ball providers in our attack. Xavi/Iniesta duo.

AMC: Attacking Midfielder Support/*/ No 10 that provides options when attacking. According to the Physical Attributes, Trequartista can also be used here.

AMR/AML: Inside Forward Attack + Wide Play Normal /*/ They are supposed to support the lone striker. They need to Cut Inside sometimes but if they repeatedly do this, it will limit the moves. Also, the full backs do not support the wing when they cut down. Therefore, having wide play normal works better here.

SC: Poacher /*/ One man just concentrated on scoring.

Tests:

- For FM 2012 Demo

Tweaked the tactic around while playing with Liverpool. Keep in mind that I alternated between Standard and Control Mentality according to how we movein attack.

Liverpool

Blackburn 0 - 5 Liverpool

- For FM 2011

I put this tactic down theoretically first. My tests will start in Mid-season(by starting the game in Russia Jan 2011) and I will use mediocre teams for a month. In Real Sociedad, I watched all the games in full and made the necessary tweaks in the tactic. In Aston Villa, I only stayed back and enjoyed except changing the width in Man Utd away game.

Real Sociedad

Real Zaragoza 1 - 4 Real Sociedad: pos 36/64 ccc 1/4

Real Sociedad 0 - 0 Barcelona: pos 57/43 ccc 0/1

Cartagena 1 - 3 Real Sociedad: pos 43/57 ccc 3/2

Malaga 0 - 2 Real Sociedad: pos 51/49 ccc 2/5

Real Sociedad 1 - 0 Cartagena: pos 67/33 ccc 1/0

Real Sociedad 1 - 0 Getafe: pos 54/46 ccc 4/1

Real Sociedad 1 - 1 Athletic: pos 60/40 ccc 0/1

Rayo 1 - 2 Real Sociedad: pos 42/58 ccc 3/7

Aston Villa

Sunderland 1 - 4 Aston Villa: pos 35/65 ccc 3/3

Preston 0 - 9 Aston Villa: pos 43/57 ccc 0/6

Aston Villa 3 -0 Blackburn: pos 62/38 ccc 5/1

Wigan 1 - 3 Aston Villa: pos 41/59 ccc 4/3

Man Utd 2 - 3 Aston Villa: pos 48/52 ccc 5/3 (Lowered the width)

Download it from here for FM 2012 Demo...

Download it from here for FM 2011...

Thanks for reading. Please provide feedback since this is a tactic really hard to implement. Especially for the defansive line and midfield duo. Keep in mind that this tactic is implemented to replicate an actual system rather than getting the best results in the game. Try to enjoy the fluidity fo the attacking play.

very good thread thanks . ı want to make a tactic like this but this is what i looking for . I m tring it with galatasaray. did you use any opposition instruction ?

I just realized i accidentally uploaded an earlier version of the tactic. I am very sorry for that. People who downloaded it earlier than me posting this, if they can download it again, that would be great. Sorry for the inconveniency.

- I just checked. That is 16 downloads. Please redownload

very good thread thanks . ı want to make a tactic like this but this is what i looking for . I m tring it with galatasaray. did you use any opposition instruction ?

Thanks yaşar. No oi of any kind as our only concern in defense is a fast striker. We want to keep the shape otherwise. You can sometimes use Man Marking against an AMC.

By the way if people wonder how it is like playing with Barcelona; it is not fun...

http://i51.tinypic.com/dz768n.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/vhrepf.jpg

Interesting tactic mate. Always interested in tactics where the formations are a bit different from the usual. Great OP as well, interesting reading. I'm currently playing with Napoli in my 3rd season and have been using my own 4-4-2 variation. Getting a bit bored of it though and was trying to implement an unusual formation with no success. Will give this a shot though and let you know my thoughts!

Great formation, very intriguing. Been looking for something new to try out in my "wineverygame5-0" - HSV save, this might just be the right tactic to revitalize my interest.

I'll test it for you with Barca, i will post results so soon as possible

Trying it now but with slightly different formation - so far, so good, loads of possession. (I'm playing with Barca)

loads of possession. possession 75-25 .and with real madrid 60-40 .. win 2-0 2x messi a CR7 .

The tactic worked for around ten games until the opposition realized that two strikers are actually going to be a real problem for this tactic.

In a game against Espanyol I had the lead with 3-0 until they switched to a 4-4-2 wide diamond formation at the 70 minute mark. They produced 6 CCCs and 3 goals in 18 minutes after doing this.

I think the main problem with the tactic is the rigid match engine. The fact that your FB will always push forward when you attack most of the time leaves your DM and CB without any further help and if the long pass goes out wide and a fast striker makes the run for it you're almost screwed every time.

Well if anyone has a solution on how to play against 2 striker formations that either exploit the space between FBs and the CB or drop deep to pull the CB along let me know.

Another problem seams to be the fact that even with more cautious tackling you will get a lot of cards.

As much as I liked the idea of this tactic it's not really working for me.

pretty sure that Laudrup was used wider left by Cruyff, it was only when he made the switch to Real Madrid that he moved into the nr 10 position. Hristo was the central striker for Barca at that time

@Flohrinho

Thanks for your feedback mate.

It is not a tactic to give straight wins and exploit the match engine as i said. I just want to replicate this formation.

I indicated the same problem in the opening post on width section. 2 FC's, especially if one of them is able to win headers, can exploit the width of the back trio. Making the width lowest possible helps in these occasions. I tested on a couple big away games, like the Man Utd one i posted, and it helped a lot.

I think the problem about pushing up FBs is because of the Preferred Moves assigned to them most of the time. They just don't listen to what tactic says, thats what I realized when playing Dani Alves.

@DKB

I just got the informationfrom Spanish media mate. I was just born in those days. Cannot argue on that.

Move the DMC to DC position and you will have the best tactic for FM11!

well done Uysaler Emircan i really do enjoy reading quality threads like these,

Move the DMC to DC position and you will have the best tactic for FM11!

did you do any other changes or just do dmc to dc ??

did you do any other changes or just do dmc to dc ??

Just DMC to DC

Hello, I wanted to know the size of the field, and the preparation of the match, thanks in advance, sorry for my English but I use google translator :-)

Move the DMC to DC position and you will have the best tactic for FM11!

do you reckon the 4 2 3 1 is the best formation for fm11 i have not had much succes with that only if i have the 2 cm sitting deep as dm

do you reckon the 4 2 3 1 is the best formation for fm11 i have not had much succes with that only if i have the 2 cm sitting deep as dm

I don't know if 4 2 3 1 is the best, but for sure this one (thanks Uysaler!) after moving dmc to dc is the best for me! After trying many different tactics, I found this one very consistent. Very solid in defence, a lot of possession and good attack. It also works with big and small team

Really nice tactic Good job mate!

Thanks for the feedback guys.

@ Spicers

As I said in the opening post, it is an experimental tactic. I want to use a DMC to cover the hole between defense and midfield. I like the 4-2-3-1 shape but its so mainstream. Kindah looking for a revolution here.

I can understand making a backline of 4 can provide better results in this match engine. Can you post some results you got? I am especially curious about the amount of possesion you get.

In addition to your tweak, taking DMC to DC and setting him as a stopper who comes forwards and roams around to cover the area should provide better results theoretically.

I have done some testing with a similar setup. I create a lot of chances, but so does the opposition. 5 ccc to each team and scorelines of 4-3, 4-2 are normal. However it is just too leaky in defence, unless you have a superior team and in that case most other tactics will work atleast as well if not better. It's just so damn hard making a 3 man defence work well.

Rather than a dmc play it in a Sw role libero. This gives a Dm when in possession and a nice covering defender for those looking to counter with 2 fast sc.

@ paganizer

I am not sure if you tried this tactic or just a similar formation of your own. In this tactic, as a result of standard mentality team is defending pretty good.

@ CaMeL_UK

I want to keep the diamond shape in the midfield mate. That is crucial for more possession. But moving DC to SW is a good option I am working on.

I started working on the same philosophy on FM 2012 Demo. I made new tweaks like moving DC to SW position, making team narrower, and much more. It is providing some very nice results and fun gameplay to watch.

http://i.imgur.com/YvwfH.jpg

- Wigan game was a team talk disaster. Other than that, I got clear wins so far with loads of possession.

http://i.imgur.com/Ql80L.jpg

- We create a lot of half chances as we usually keep the ball.

http://i.imgur.com/tG9za.jpg

- Manchester United was playing a wide 4-4-2 which was the formation that cause a lot trouble in FM 2011. They couldn't pass around against the narrower tactic with SW. Their only goal came form Rio Ferdinand header from a corner. WWe totally dominated the midfield.

I came to the end of demo and tweaking. The new version is on the opening post.

http://i.imgur.com/2E1nY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WgHU2.jpg

I gave up on adding a SW since he ruins the offside trap. Instead keeping width as default and tinkering with it through Team Strategy helps to counteract in game changes.

I found tactic against wigan a challange, any team with target man upfront and pace on the wing exploited my full backs. This could be because i was playing as villa and perhaps they lacked the intelligence anticipation pace as liverpool?

overall though am loving the high percentage passing and chances it just appears counterable with pace. Maybe with the development of shouts to switch between domination of opponent in their half to counter attacking defensive in our own. 1 thing is for certain i think with a few tweaks here and there i may have fiound my tactic for 2012 and it isnt even out yet.

Keep up tue good work

http://zapodaj.net/ce55b59152fa.jpg.html

could you upload your version?

Against 2 strikers for example in a standard 442 formation I would consider adopting Bielsa's approach with his Chile side before he left whereby he always had a spare defender at the back. This would mean a back three (3 cb's), two of the centre backs man marking the strikers and a covering defender / sweeper to mop up anything that gets past. That way you can keep your diamond in midfield and your three up front.

anyone tried making this kind of tactic on the last patch

anyone tried making this kind of tactic on the last patch

I'm working on it, but solving the back 3 with wide FB's to deal with 2 central strikers has been a challenge and a half.

im playing with this tactic and played 31 won 29 draw and lost 1

im playing with this tactic and played 31 won 29 draw and lost 1

what patch do you use?

its on the latest patch

http://www.mediafire.com/?lha2x5bc587o35q

here is the tactic

This tactic is only one minus - corners.

what do you mean jack taylor?

Playing in three defenders at a corner near my gate in the penalty area a little of my players. This needs to be working. Also, my players don't scored with a corner.

Well made tactic and thread but I would have a couple of criticisms.

1. I would say the back three is comprise of three centre backs. They could have move into channels set so they provide some width with the ball, but they are centre backs. That's why when using this system Barca's mean danger is counter attacks down the flanks. If teams attack down the wings then Busquets moves into defence and the wide centre backs push wide, but if the opposition's transition is quick enough there is not time to shift shape (see Ronaldo's recent classico goal)

2. The central striker is not a poacher. If anything with the likes of Messi, Ronaldinho or Laudrop dropping deep, they are a trequartista with a free role.

jack taylor: it depends on what players you put where on the pitch you should change your settings for corner about what player marks big players etc.

they score alot in my save on corner usually xavi passing short en then fabregas chips the ball to pique busquets or puyol who score then