Lateral movement - how do I achieve it?

This is a bit of an odd question for the match engine and tactical boffins here, but here goes...

I'm trying to put Sacchi's theories into the game. But I have a slight problem with achieving the lateral movement required when out of possession. Ideally I'd like the whole team to move as one to the side where the opposition has the ball (kind of like slamming all the handles on one side of a table football game at one time, if that analogy makes sense or a rugby drift defense in a series of ranks).

Any thoughts or ideas on how to accomplish this? Or even if I am asking to accomplish a little too much?

maaybe to ask ariggo

maaybe to ask ariggo

I'm sure he came up with his theories while playing a management sim in the shoe factory

I guess my request is entering the outer realms of football philosophy being related to the game, but without the lateral movement I can't make the pressing work correctly.

Still searching for ways to influence lateral movement - even influencing lateral positioning would be useful right now.

Any ideas guys (and girls)?

Try to put the entire team on the same mentality (8-10), width normal, defensive line - push up (16+), closing down = defensive line (16+) except for DCs (10) and MCd(12), creative freedom around 7. Make sure most of your players have high teamwork and workrate attributes. The rest of the settings are more about attacking, but I would suggest use short passing and normal-to-quick tempo as there won't be enough space for direct passing given high DL. Watch a few matches and tune it up.

The only way I've managed to make my teams move laterally is put my PC monitor on it's side

Thanks heathxxx, I was fearing that was the answer

Time to shelve Sacchi in his purest form for this FM I think. I can hear Post-Sacchi Arrigo Benitez calling loudly...

Any linkage or screenshots? Just curious as to what you mean.

Does this not automatically happen in a defensive scenario?

To Sacchi's tactics?

Best I can do is offer a diagram (216) on p.73 of this google book link (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rKo7rRZfceUC&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=sacchi+tactics+pressing&source=bl&ots=5tpzAPp_wX&sig=X-m0wotyFM00pf2e7pfZyLh40Qw&hl=en&ei=HxIfSpKeG4TUjAeFo_WYDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#PPA73,M1) . You'll see the same lateral movement in all Sacchi teams when channelling the opposition down the flanks. The essential idea is that you control the space through your movement which means you regain possession. Where that pressing takes place is obviously dependant on whether you are actively pressing (which usually occurs very high up the pitch to be attacking), 'jostling' (which is the intermediate stage) or 'faking' (which is where you pretend to press but are actually resting in order to really press again later).

You can see it in action in this clip from the Milan vs Benfica final - from about 25 seconds, when the pressing and channelling leads to a wonderful bit of skill by Van Basten:

That would be 'jostling' in the Sacchi defined stages of pressing. It's purely channeling play and regaining possession.

However, I just can't seem to find a way to get it working in FM. Primarily because pressing will pull players too far out of position on the vertical axis, and OI are too indiscriminating. There's also the issue of width, as really I need the team to be exceptionally narrow in defence and then break out into as wide as possible within the same move... If you watch Sacchi's Milan play, you'll consistently see an opposition player free at the back post when their winger is in possession and heading to the byline - however because the whole team has moved across to the winger's side of the pitch then you'll not frequently see the player on the far post getting on the end of the cross - too little time to make such a wonder ball, no option to pull it back and at best a cross to the near post where the fullback and the centreback and keeper can deal with it easily.

A challenge I set myself to see how close I can get in every incarnation of CM/FM since 01.

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@SFraser - not really. Without control of the lateral movement (and even positioning) then at best you can set it up to work for one side of the pitch...

I'm not totally sure what you mean here. Everything you have described seems to be just a basic principle of defensive play. I mean outside of the counter-attack, what benefit is there from having a fullback on the opposite flank that is not between the goal and incoming opponents?

I'm not totally sure what you mean here. Everything you have described seems to be just a basic principle of defensive play. I mean outside of the counter-attack, what benefit is there from having a fullback on the opposite flank that is not between the goal and incoming opponents?

It's the narrowness of the team (both vertically and laterally) and the extent of the lateral movement which differs from 'standard' defensive play (although I'd agree most top teams now play a form of Sacchi's tactics and that the game replicates it most excellently).

It's not just getting the fullback on the opposite flank in between the goal and incoming opponents, it's about where the fullback is aiming to take position. Sacchi's teams were much narrower than you'd see today, yet if one alters the width setting one can't get the attacking width on the attack, and one also can't get the pack pressing to make the denial of space to the ball carrier work properly.

Think I have it

Play a really high closing down, deep, really narrow. This should provide the defence you want. Im talking two clicks to the left from 0 max on narrow. From their have an AML and AMR who have the ppms to run down their respective wings, then high CF and a free role with a normal mentality- attacking would make them cut in more, and hey presto only tried this one game and it went okay considering

Thanks megafan. You've inspired me to give it another shot - never, ever, considered that PPMs might be useful in this...

Thanks for the links Zebedee. One question: Are you 4312 Sacchi Italy (book diagrams) or 442 Sacchi Milan (youtube video)?

Nothing to add as you've covered the same reasons I reckon it would be hard to imitate:-

1. mirroring striker closing down behaviour. For example you could get the ST,R dropping back to close the opposition FB while the ST,L stays further up the pitch like the video. But those settings would reduce the probability of it happening on the opposite side.

2. players don't seem to proactively close down open passing options unless they fall into their designated area (specific man marking would help but it isn't fluid and suffers from the sme striker mirrporing issue)

Plus that killer far post cross you mentioned is fairly common in FM. Watch a zonal 442 against an attacking 442 and you'll consistently see an advanced FB and winger unmarked off the defending team's full back on the side opposite to the point of attack.

I'm trying to get 4-4-2 Sacchi, although I think a huge factor is obviously the quality of players in the Sacchi Milan side and there's the equally obvious limitation of the offside rule having changed.

However, I'm wondering if some of the issues can be overcome by balancing PPMs with individual player instructions. Balancing the tactics so that they work on both sides of the pitch I think is going to be nigh on impossible but I might give a few hours more though to it using an edited game of 'super players' to see whether there is a theoretical solution which wouldn't require a full team being substituted at half-time, even if it would require manually changing tactics every 5 - 10 minutes :o