Finally!! The Barcelona Tactic :D

[Aramis]

A tiny update, I'd like to ask people who are playing with the tactic to move the tempo slider one click to the right and the width slider one click to the left. Then see what will happen to the percentage. Because I'm starting to get 71% poss. and 87% passing on a more consistent basis

Ok, you have mastered it (@ this moment Aramis kneels and praises you)...

It works perfectly. Most games I have an average of 60% of possesion or plus, conceding less, what more can I say, it almost feels its not right using it. Thanks for the tactic, keep the good work and updates (if necessary !?)

[davemess]

Finished first season with Arsenal using this tactic, won the League, FA Cup but lost the Champions League Final to Madrid.

Ashavin worked a dream in that Messi role, ending the year with 27 goals, 20 assists, 16 MoM in just 40 games.

Van Persie chipped in with 25 goals in 35 games.

Beyond those 2 though i dont think i quite had the right parts for the required roles......... Ryan Shawcross was my 3rd top scorer, all be it with an impressive 11 goals.

Think having good fullbacks is a must, was finding in some games they would end up making 70 or 80 passes each.

Great Tactic.

[Motcha]

Finished first season with Arsenal using this tactic, won the League, FA Cup but lost the Champions League Final to Madrid.

Ashavin worked a dream in that Messi role, ending the year with 27 goals, 20 assists, 16 MoM in just 40 games.

Van Persie chipped in with 25 goals in 35 games.

Beyond those 2 though i dont think i quite had the right parts for the required roles......... Ryan Shawcross was my 3rd top scorer, all be it with an impressive 11 goals.

Think having good fullbacks is a must, was finding in some games they would end up making 70 or 80 passes each.

Great Tactic.

There are ways to get past the FBs tactically if you don't feel like spending. Drop the Xavi role to DMC and increase his runs from deep to normal rather than rarely. Then go to your GK's distribution and ask him to distribute to the xavi role. And in team instructions, ask the team to play down the middle.

Also, I'm going to post a new tactic soon. I think it has copied Barce around 85% especially there pressing game..

[mkabas]

Do you think this tactic can work with Flamengo? A brazillian team???

[jamiet666]

Using Motcha's orginial tactic with Arsenal and the results have been brilliant so far beeating Roma and Newcaste 3 - 0 and 6 - 0! Only change i have made is from grimsby_mackem, the STR and STL hugging the touchline. Last game they each got a hatrick, walcott and bendtner that is =] Have been adjusting the tempo/mentality and width depending on who im playing and their tactic. Keep the tempo as it is mainly mostly changing the width to be more definsive or attacking. Brilliant stuff though! will post some screenshots later.

mkabas - theres only one way to find out! lots of technique and passing and it should do well!

edit - pushing the width to up the lowest notch of wide with the two side strikers hugging the touchline is working wonder ^_^

[Motcha]

Guys downoad this match please...

http://www.easy-share.com/1913501899/Liverpool v Leeds.pkm

This Liverpool vs Leeds.

I'm not going to talk about its stats because it will never do it justice plus it is a weak opposition.

But watch it in extended mode and look at the quaity of play, how many passes there are in a play. Look at the first two goals..

then look at the stats...they are mind boggling.

[info0]

That's crazy good stuff Motcha :o.

Watched that game and my jaw dropped, no kidding!

[urbanjunkie]

46 league games unbeaten (stretching from the previous season into the current one), and 39 games unbeaten in all comps.

Bada bing.

[urbanjunkie]

% versus top class opposition - it's normal for it to sometimes be shared and not 70% or so in my favour?

[Motcha]

Yeah, usually because opp strikers winning the opp defenders punts from your defenders.. not any other reason though

[info0]

Motcha how is the new version going?

Any new screens?

[Motcha]

Motcha how is the new version going?

Any new screens?

You can download the game I uploaded where I play Leeds for now, its done with the new tactic. But I'm afraid I haven't tested properly yet so you'l have to make do with watching the game.

[mkabas]

Thinking in try it with Atl. Madrid. Gonna start a new save in a couple of days and give it a try. It worked great with Barcelona(I know it's made for it), but I was impressed. Now, I'm gonna try with a different team.

I can't watc the video. Do I need a specific program to watch it?

[info0]

Put the pkm file into Documents\Sports Interactive\FM2011\matches folder.

Run the game, go to Watch match, select the one above and voila .

[mkabas]

Put the pkm file into Documents\Sports Interactive\FM2011\matches folder.

Run the game, go to Watch match, select the one above and voila .

Ok!!!!! thanks mate!!!!!

[mkabas]

Any tips on how to setup the Atl. Madrid Team?????

[mister_gall]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Properly put to the test. Been using tac for 10 games and up pops my fixture with Barca.

As you can see there wasnt much between the two teams but considering I have had 15mil to spend in the last 3 years that aint a bad result!!

[Danninho010]

i was just wondering .. how's Xavi's passing doing in this tactics? .. since the play maker is set to be Iniesta

[Motcha]

i was just wondering .. how's Xavi's passing doing in this tactics? .. since the play maker is set to be Iniesta

I've returnd the play-making duties for the Xavi role in the new tactic. In one match I managed to get Meireles to make 98 passes, that is the highest I ever got.

[Danninho010]

and where can i get the new tactics?

[info0]

You can't at the moment. I asked the same question above .

[ADP]

I've returnd the play-making duties for the Xavi role in the new tactic. In one match I managed to get Meireles to make 98 passes, that is the highest I ever got.

I'm playing with your original tactic using Arsenal. I set both the Xavi and Iniesta roles to playmaker. Then I clicked Tempo 1 time right and Width 1 time left as recommended by you. I ended up whipping my opponent and having Fabregas (in Xavi role) make 129 passes!

I believe that Meireles would have made more than 100 passes had the weather been fine. To make 98 passes in wet weather is an achievement. I hope your new tactic is able to produce large number of passes at a more consistent basis. Great job Motcha! This is the best tactic I've seen in a long long while.

[mkabas]

I'm playing with your original tactic using Arsenal. I set both the Xavi and Iniesta roles to playmaker. Then I clicked Tempo 1 time right and Width 1 time left as recommended by you. I ended up whipping my opponent and having Fabregas (in Xavi role) make 129 passes!

I believe that Meireles would have made more than 100 passes had the weather been fine. To make 98 passes in wet weather is an achievement. I hope your new tactic is able to produce large number of passes at a more consistent basis. Great job Motcha! This is the best tactic I've seen in a long long while.

I'm playing with Arsenal too. Gonna try those tweaks to see if they work fot me too. I'm having some trouble in scoring. But I just bought Babacar and Kadlec, so I'm hoping to score some more.

[Motcha]

I just scored a 23 pass-combo goal!

Have anyone counted the number of passes the team makes in a play? how many passes does your team make?

[urbanjunkie]

Sometimes, the possession play is just a joy to behold. This tactic (again, it depends on the quality of your players and their ability) is just something else.

When I finish my current season, will upload various photos and will then upload goals and match highlights. I've had to applaud at times, leaving my other half staring at me like I've gone slight left of mental.

I dismantled Man City last night in a top of the table clash, and Neymar took out two players by swaying past them and passing the ball into the corner of the net, after a wonderful build up of short quick passing movement.

Just ridiculous this tactic. Although again - it's not a cheat tactic. It's a philosophy and it took me time to tweak and tinker and sign the right players to get it to work as majestically as it's doing at the moment.

[mkabas]

Playing as Arsenal, made those tweaks. Just beat Liverpool 6-0!!!!! And the match was incredible!!!!!!

Way to go!!!!!!

[macca72]

Love the philosophy of this tactic, I've tried it a couple of times with lower league and obviously it's not as effective but good anyway.

My question really is this, i'm a big fan of buying younger players and moulding them into the team, and with a tactic like this they should only get better and better so with that in mind...

What are the key attributes that should be looked for in each position ? I find it hard to find players when you do a player search that has as many requirements as someone like Iniesta / Xavi. Are there 3-4 absolute must attributes in each position that will at least stabilise the tactic at a lower level, until better players are available ?

Cheers, and good work.

[marky-mark]

Can anyone tell me what tweeks to make to make my teams more attacking? I've read the thread and i'm confused, do i make the team play wider, adjust mentality ect... Beacause i really enjoy this tatic but find the lack of goals a concern considering it's supposed to be a Barce tatic, and they avarage 22 goals a game

[LordTC]

How do you get the line to cover wide? My big problem with getting Barcelona to work is that when I play Alves very far forward, I can't get the DCr to shift out wide towards the DR position.

[yonko1]

Love the philosophy of this tactic, I've tried it a couple of times with lower league and obviously it's not as effective but good anyway.

My question really is this, i'm a big fan of buying younger players and moulding them into the team, and with a tactic like this they should only get better and better so with that in mind...

What are the key attributes that should be looked for in each position ? I find it hard to find players when you do a player search that has as many requirements as someone like Iniesta / Xavi. Are there 3-4 absolute must attributes in each position that will at least stabilise the tactic at a lower level, until better players are available ?

Cheers, and good work.

I would say passing, decisions, off the ball and teamwork are the most important attributes IMO.

[macca72]

I'm playing with your original tactic using Arsenal. I set both the Xavi and Iniesta roles to playmaker. Then I clicked Tempo 1 time right and Width 1 time left as recommended by you. I ended up whipping my opponent and having Fabregas (in Xavi role) make 129 passes!

I believe that Meireles would have made more than 100 passes had the weather been fine. To make 98 passes in wet weather is an achievement. I hope your new tactic is able to produce large number of passes at a more consistent basis. Great job Motcha! This is the best tactic I've seen in a long long while.

ADP, what do you mean by setting both roles to playmaksrs, did you change the player instructions, or just put both players in the playmaker box ?

[Motcha]

Urban Junkie: Man you're like my doppleganger man, it's like you were there with me when I was thinking about the tactic!! You've got it spot on. I really can't wait for you to share you're pix and hopefully your playing philosophy..you own this tactic as much as I do.

Macca 72: The thing is I think it is up to you to decide on which tactics, every manager should have the vision of what will make the team tick. If you ask me I'd divide attributes into 3 categories: 1)Essential. 2)Luxury. 3) Preferred moves: A)Disruptive. B) Useful. There are also (IMO) universal attributes (for all players) and specialized attributes (for each position).

Universal attributes:

Essential:

Composure 14+, Technique 13+, teamwork (12+), decision (13+).

Luxury:

Height to be above 185 cm. Pace 15+, strength 15+

Preferred moves: Useful.

Look for the pass rather than the shot. Plays a simple passing game.

Disruptive:

Gets forward when ever possible, shoots from distance.

Specialized.

False 9

15+: Technique, 1st touch, finishing, flair, agility, off-the-ball.

Preferred moves: comes deep to get ball.

Strikers

15+: Technique, 1st touch, finishing, off-the-ball.

Xavi role:

15+: technique, 1st touch, passing, creativity.

Preferred move: dwells on ball, dictates tempo, comes deep to get the ball.

Iniesta role:

15+: Technique, 1st touch, passing, creativity, off-the-ball, dribbling, agility.

11+: finishing.

Busquetes:

15+: Workrate, anticipation, positioning/off-the-ball.

11+: Technique, passing.

FB:

13+: technique, passing, anticipation, stamina.

CB:

15+: tackling, anticipation, aggression, positioning, concentration, heading.

12+: Technique.

(I can't stress the importance of composure fir defenders. If you're defender lacks composure, he'll punt the ball away every time he reaches it in a dangerous position. A CB with high composure, in a worst-case scenario will return it to the keeper)

GK:

15+: Rushing-out.

Marky-mark:

Tempo 1 notch to the right and width one notch to the left. If you're feeling adventurous move the width 2 notches to the left instead of 1.

Lord TC:

I'm about to give you a spoiler to the new version of the tactic; The key to do that is to switch the closing down of the team around. For years we have played FM with CB closing down set to 'own area' and FCs to 'whole pich'. But if we want to play like Barce we have to switch that around. That's all I say, for the actual closing down info you'll have to wait for the new tactics

[macca72]

Motcha, what an excellent reply, thank you for taking the time.

Can't wait for the new version !

[Motcha]

Motcha, what an excellent reply, thank you for taking the time.

Can't wait for the new version !

Wait until you try to find these attributes in a player.. it'll drive you mad! So you go and improve your scouting, youth facilities, network. And work immensely to help your youngsters. But the thing about management is that it's a battle of wills. You'l have to convince player to try a move and stop the other, hope youngsters will reply well to your training. And pray to find a player who fits your needs all while maintaining good results to keep the board happy. So good-luck!

[macca72]

Wait until you try to find these attributes in a player.. it'll drive you mad! So you go and improve your scouting, youth facilities, network. And work immensely to help your youngsters. But the thing about management is that it's a battle of wills. You'l have to convince player to try a move and stop the other, hope youngsters will reply well to your training. And pray to find a player who fits your needs all while maintaining good results to keep the board happy. So good-luck!

Yeah, that's what I like from my career game.

At least with your attributes above, I can adjust down the requirements, then focus my youngsters / signings on training so they can be a mini barcelona in years to come.

[marky-mark]

Thanks Motcha

[RonaldoDeLima]

First of great tactic

But after a 10 games or so my strikers don't seem to score

The opponent keeper always gets man of the match wtf

I'm Arsenal btw

[davemess]

First of great tactic

But after a 10 games or so my strikers don't seem to score

The opponent keeper always gets man of the match wtf

I'm Arsenal btw

Put Arshavin as the central of the 3 strikers, he seems to be the best option from the current squad for creating and scoring goals.

I have Van Persie on the right of the 3 up top and he scores from there.

Cannot seem to get anybody to score goals from the left striking position though.

[Motcha]

Just thought I post this exchange between me and Aderow. It tackles other aspects that you need to work on to fulfill the potential of this tactic (but without offering any answers really). It explains what you should look at when your team is in a slump but it doesn't offer you how to get out of it. Simply because I'm not an expert in that field, in fact I need your help in it...

"2 questions....

Hey motcha I had 2 questions for you. I didnt want to ask in your barca thread seeing how I don't use your tactic since I dont play FM11

I manage man united and the other day I was away at everton. At halftime I was 1-0 up and I had 73% possession. I was shocked. I must admit though that everton were banged up in the midfield so they a backup and a youngster playing in the middle. The match ended 1-0 and I was disappointed that even though I had so much possession, I only made a few chances.

Anyway my questions.....

1. How has your goalscoring been in matches where you have dominated possession heavily?

2. Do you manage to dominate possession even against the best teams in your game?

Have a nice day "

"Sorry man just saw the text. Well I can't talk about FM 2010 but for FM 2011. I consistently get good result and performances against big team yeah, I posted pix of matches to share with everyone so have a look at them.

that's your second question. As to the first question, and this is a very important point, I'm not creating a cheat tactic..I'm not exploiting anything in the match engine. I'm simply trying to use Barce's methods and apply them to the game. And like at any team in any given season, you'll face tough times and good times. I blew winning the title twice because I couldn't manage the squad properly in the final 4 matches.

For the tactic to work (and to score a lot of goals) you have to manage your squad a certain way, and I believe that these aspects are not teachable..there isn't one way to fix them.

Reasons why you might be not scoring a lot of goals.

1) Players low on morale: This is the worst thing, and it is really hard to maintain that and keeping players motivated. You can go on a winning streak for two months but then 2 games drawn will set the squad's morale to low and okay (that's in FM 11). In FM 11, I usually have a private chat about anything with the aim of getting him to agree with me about anything (even if its 'you're not playing well'..once that happens he feels he has a good relationship with me and their morale improve. But there is a risk of morale becoming worse if he doesn't agree.

2) Bad team-talks: sometimes your team-talk can demotivate players.

3) Physical condition: tired players won't play as well as fully fit players. players lacking match fitness as well are not so good.

4) Cockyness: when you are on a winning/unbeaten streak (usually when you get to the # 7). Some players will start to get cockey and this doesn't mean that only them will play badly (or not as well as we hope), but that there attitude will rub-off to team mates. And there is no way to avoid this..if you drop those players the players coming will probably have low morale or will be lacking match fitness which makes them just as harmful.

5) Pressure: In the final stretch of the season players will be pressured..it is up to you to find the balance between easing them off pressure but still keep them motivated. So far I am unable to do this.

6) Conditions: the worse the conditions the harder it is to play the Barce game.

So my tactic is about managing all these aspects, I help you by giving you the tactic that will play the Barce football.. It s up to you to manage the team to meet its potential. You have to have squad depth (25 players) but still keep them all fit, happy, motivated yet pressure-free. How can you do that? Probably with a lot of luck. Because remember even if you manage to do it for 2 seasons, mess up on two games and you're back to square one. You have to always believe that things will not stay good forever and that the table will turn, exactly at the moment when you feel invincible, so you have to always stay one step ahead of the game.

If you don't mind I'd like to post this message to the thread if you give me permission. Hope this helped"

[davemess]

Just had a game where my LB Clichy completed 108 out of 119 passes.

Going fairly well with the tactic still in my 3rd season. Solved my scoring issues with Neymar and a more experienced Lukaku.

Not sure i have quite the right central midfielder in Poli, team struggles to win the ball back at times.

Motcha, any thoughts on Field size with this tactic? Should we be narrowing in the field a little or keeping the dimensions as wide as possible?

[Motcha]

I set my pitch as wide and as long as possible and I'm unbeaten at home for two seasons now, drawing only twice.

[davemess]

A strong 3rd season with this tactic, won League, both cups and made another (and lost another) Champions League Final.

[Bobby G]

So new tactic won't be uploaded yet?

[Motcha]

After tomorrow Bobby G.

[Bobby G]

Looking forward to it today then!

[Motcha]

Well here's the new tactic:

http://www.easy-share.com/1913608734/barce V1 (Liverpool, Aug 2013).tac

It's not a new tactic per say, it has the exact same formation and the same player roles. But I tweaked it a bit to improve the passing as well as the closing down. Using this tactic will pin the opposition in their half more than the previous one. So it keeps the attacking fluidity but adds the tough closing down. However this would mean that your key players now are your CB. If you don't have CB that are strong, good in the air, anticipate, fast and can tackle well..the tactic won't work..sorry Arsenal fans .

Later on in the day I will be posting 4 new formations that are faithful to the philosophy of Barce. The idea is that you use a variety of them for different games depending on opposition. Just like Guardiola does sometimes 4-3-3 like here: http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/11/30/barcelona-5-0-real-madrid-tactics/

Others 3-4-3 as in here http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/12/19/espanyol-1-5-barcelona-tactics/

And it helps teams with different players to play the game as well rather than spend..But the formations will be a variation on the 4-3-3 rather than completely new formations.

The tactics are supplements for the original tactic and not a substitute so you should mix and match tactics through out the season.

[Methos]

tried this tactic in FML (they use similar match engines if not identical) without success.

The team would dominate possesion but without creativity. Most of the times I would end up with 60% and even 70% possesion. But they wouldn't create chances. The opposition with much less possesion was a lot more creative. My team even though better in terms of current ability than the opposition was not Barcelona standards as I recently restarted the game.

I noticed that pressing opponents would make my team do clearances when in defence even though I could see opportunities that the players would refuse to take.

I believe (for fml standards at least) that the MCs might need more through balls and a more aggresive mentality.

I also can't explain why I got the feeling that the opponent defenders would win every challenge while my defenders had a stand off or stick to position approach.

In the end of the day, even if identical match engines, I know it is a different game. I just wanted to provide some feedback here as there is no tactic discussion going into FML forums ever (perhaps due to the competitive nature of the game)

[Motcha]

Thanks methos..One thing is I'd think that your CBs have a composure less than 15, thats why they clear the ball rather than recycle it..this is a killer key part of the tactic, if you don't have it..it won't work.

Also try moving the width slider 2 clicks to the left and the tempo one to the right.

And look the idea of the formation is simple, it is about creating a numerical advantage in the most vital parts of the field, from the center third of the midfield to the opp goal line. Your team will always have a 6 v 4 situation or 6 v 5 situation leaving one player free (The Messi role) if that player is murcerial you'll start to see the results.

After a while the match engine will start to play really narrow to create a 4 v 3 situation to their advantage in the midfield and another 4 v 3 in defense. That's why i gets harder to score.

This is why I made closing down a key element in the new tactic so that you use it when you feel that the old one is starting to grind out results.

My new tactics (some of them to be uploaded today) will be so expansive that (if used properly) will make it impossible for the opposition to defend or anticipate how to set up against you.

[Bobby G]

Cant download it at that link. Can we have it elsewhere please?

[karax268]

Thanks Motcha, I enjoyed the first version of your tactic. It got me very good results. I'll test the new version now and look forward to the different formations