Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023

[crusadertsar]

19 minutes ago, Otabek said:

Does anyone have suggestion on more simple DNA training schedule? Seems like it can get complicated with all the workarounds, that I just let Ass.M to handle training.

Have you tried the one I posted on here? Its not complicated at all. Theres basically just two schedules; one for 1 or none matches during the week and one for two or more. 

As @aritra14 and few others mentioned above it has worked very well for them. Especially when combined with 3-4-3 tactic.

[aritra14]

27 minutes ago, endadc said:

oh I might try MC, any instructions?

Shoot less often. In home matches, I would try adding get further forward but I have 4 away games back to back as of now 

17 minutes ago, Otabek said:

Does anyone have suggestion on more simple DNA training schedule? Seems like it can get complicated with all the workarounds, that I just let Ass.M to handle training.

If you want to get the best out of schedules, you will have to adjust them manually. The AssM will handle it fine during 1 game weeks, but in weeks with 2+ games, he'll not schedule enough recovery sessions/match prep sessions and keep physical sessions. If not edited, your youth players will develop slower. I adjust the training schedules for all 3 teams (Main, B and u19) once a month and review them every week.

[crusadertsar]

1 minute ago, aritra14 said:

Shoot less often. In home matches, I would try adding get further forward but I have 4 away games back to back as of now 

If you want to get the best out of schedules, you will have to adjust them manually. The AssM will handle it fine during 1 game weeks, but in weeks with 2+ games, he'll not schedule enough recovery sessions/match prep sessions and keep physical sessions. If not edited, your youth players will develop slower. I adjust the training schedules for all 3 teams (Main, B and u19) once a month and review them every week.

Exactly, forgot to mention. But thought it was obvious. Some adjustments will still need to be made. Also once the tactic is fluent with your players (most of the little green boxes are full) then changing adding Teamwork training sessions instead of Match Tactic training is recommended. 

[aritra14]

Also, to mold complete footballers, try putting your attackers in the defensive unit and vice-versa for 6 months. Also another tip - when training youth players, make sure they are training in roles that emphasize on technical and mental attributes; physicals will come naturally (IRL, would you rather have a 16 year old practicing their technique and learning about football or would you send him to the gym to get buff?). Example - attacking midfielders with high flair are trained as CM-D or BWM-D, wingers with low teamwork are trained as WM-D/DM-D, strikers are trained to cover at wings and get trained as WTM-S etc.

[Otabek]

42 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Have you tried the one I posted on here? Its not complicated at all. Theres basically just two schedules; one for 1 or none matches during the week and one for two or more. 

As @aritra14 and few others mentioned above it has worked very well for them. Especially when combined with 3-4-3 tactic.

I saw it somewhere, where you mentioned it but have difficulties find it now. Do you know which thread page? Thanks

[endadc]

I also found defensive winger to be a good training schedule for attacking players 

[CM4fan]

How do you deal with two striker formations? I am getting often situations like these when I am on the attack (my team is the light blue):

My wing backs are number 2 and 3. That will leave me exposed to easy counter attacks...

[crusadertsar]

It's been a while but my Total Journeyman tactical series is back. Going to be posting an update here today on how I optimize my 4-3-3 to offer better Half-Space control and penetration. For those who are interested 

[crusadertsar]

Decided to go back to writing about what I love most! Here is the newest entry in Total Football Journeyman. Hopefully it can generate more productive discussion about this topic and Total Football in general. As you can guess something I am always very passionate about. I was in a bit of a rush to copy this from my website so some of the images might not be working properly. I will try to fix that by tommorow. In the meantime you can always check out my original article to see all the pictures in their original formating: https://dictatethegame.com/total-football-journeyman-from-mighty-magyars-to-flying-dutchmen/

 

Total Football Journeyman: From Mighty Magyars to Flying Dutchmen

Guide on Half-Space Control in FM21

What is the one historical football style you always wanted to recreate in Football Manager? If you, my dear reader, were to ask me then you probably won't be surprised by my answer. Especially if you are familiar with my writing over the recent years. Mostly it's been about recreating Total Football in the simulated world of Football Manager. Ever since FM14, I have attempted this. If my past tactical musings interest you then you can find a handy list of all of them here. In this article (part one of two) I will try to summarize my latest tactical attempts in FM21. I also would like it to serve as a guide for anybody attempting to create beautiful football in the game.

But why Total Football of all football styles? To me the choice is simple. Total Football is the most universal of all playing styles. It contains elements of all other styles, such as defensive, counter-attacking, possession football and even gegenpressing. Provided the team has the right personnel and training, Total Football can be used in any context and against any opposition. It is timeless. It might have officially originated with the Dutch, but its roots can be traced to an even earlier time and another country.

First, Some Historical Background

The influence of Dutch football has been far-reaching. And not only because it became synonymous with Total Football. The Dutch have even defined the footballing culture of another nation with the proud heritage in the sport. The Spanish (or Catalan to be more exact) tradition of possession-focused Tiki-Taka took the ideal of beautiful football to new heights after it was passed to them from Johan Cruyff. And now Cruyff's disciple, Pep Guardiola, has kept this flame burning as strong as ever. Pep brought success to all the clubs he managed and converted to the Total Football philosophy. But more on that later. First let's go back in time to 1953. Because before the Flying Dutchmen, Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola, there were the Mighty Magyars. The Magical, the Magnificent, the Marvelous Magyars. The Golden Team that started the Total Football revolution.

And it all started with one special match. A game that proved to be both the nadir for one nation and the pinnacle for another.

Nandor Hidegkuti scoring one of his 3 goals against England during the 6-3 Magyar victory

In what was labelled by the media as match of the century, the team that was number 1 in the world (Hungary) went up against 3rd ranked England. The English had hubris and the proud history of inventing the game on their side. Hungary - the advantage of the latest innovation in football tactics that taking the European continent by storm. Football was no longer a game of 11 individuals on the pitch, but rather a team game. And it was changing from the all-out attacking sport of its early days to one where every phase of play was important, especially possession build-up. In the end, England lost that much 6 to 3. And then they went ahead and lost the 1954 rematch 1954, 7-1. To this date England's heaviest defeat.

In a nutshell, the Hungarians victory was as much a victory of zonal marking over the older man-marking system. The victory of the new fluid style of defending over the old, rigid one. Yet zonal marking would not become common until the Dutch integrated it into Total Football. It's rather surprising that the innovative concepts introduced by the Magyars took almost two decades to infiltrate football world at large. But it was proof that there was not really a team capable of playing in such a demanding technical style, until Rinus Michels and his young Ajax of 1960-70s. The team that would introduce Johan Cruyff to the world and create the core for the greatest Dutch National Team ever.

So what did the Dutch learn from the Hungarians? In addition to zonal marking, there were other proto-Total Football concepts at play with Sebes' 1953 Hungary. Ideas like the use of a centre-forward (Hidegkuti) who dropped so deep that he would effectively operate as a midfielder. This worked in Hungary's favour as it really confused the English defenders, used to man-marking a traditional spearhead #9 striker and not one roaming into the midfield zone. With the defenders dragged after the False9, the two inside forwards, Puskas and Kocsis, took advantage of the space liberated. This worked much in the same way at Ajax where Johan Cruyff, Michels' own role-defying #9, opened up room for the two wide forwards Swart and Keizer.

In possession the Dutch 4-3-3 resembled the Hungarian formation. Except where in Sebes' tactic, the two hard-working wingers provided the width, the Dutch employed their wingbacks for the same task. In the Brazilian way, Dutch wingbacks (or withdrawn wingers really) covered the whole length of the pitch and provided much more support in attack than the traditional fullback of the time. For proactive, high-pressing possession football, the switch from the defensive fullback to the wingback was essential. Simply because dominating the ball in the opposition half is not possible with the fullbacks staying mostly in your own half.

The Magyars saw benefit in hardworking wingers/wingbacks at the time when most sides (1953 England included) used the ultra-attacking WM formation. In a traditional WM, the central striker spearheaded the attack line of 2 inside forwards and 2 wingers. Attack was the only concern for these 5 players. While Hungary also lined up in a WM on paper, in possession they quickly turned into a whole other beast. Once they gained possession, their WM would transform into a super-flexible MM (2-3-3-2) - the forerunner of Dutch 4-3-3. The Hungarian wingers had more similarities with wingbacks then WM's attacking wingers. Both Czibor and Budai worked very hard in both attack and defence,. They often dropped deep into midfield to provide cover for the more attack-minded inside forwards.

As an early Total Football team, Magyars all moved as one unit. Hungary's manager Gusztav Sebes encouraged his players to be versatile. That is to play in any position and to cover every inch of the pitch. His ideals were Technique, Hard-work and Teamwork.

Gusztav Sebes - the pioneering mind behind Hungary's Golden Team

When we attacked, everyone attacked, and in defence it was the same. We were the prototype for Total Football.

Ferenc Puskas, forward in 1953 Hungary squad.

Such movement was what really confused the English defenders who did not know who to mark. At one point Hungarian central forward would act like a midfielder and other times their wingers would act more like fullbacks. Rinus Michels took this to the next level with Ajax. Especially the ideas of playing with a False Nine quasi-striker and positional switching. Which both proved essential to Total Football style of play.

I already covered Ajax' classic 4-3-3 in some detail in my previous series of articles from last year. So you could go back for that to review some of the basics of the 4-3-3 formation.

https://dictatethegame.com/433-role-guide-attack-and-midfield/

I also covered Johan Cruyff's later variation on 4-3-3, the 3-4-3 Diamond. You can read about it here. In the 1990s it became a feared formation, especially against the popular at the time 4-4-2.

https://dictatethegame.com/total-football-journeyman-diamonds-will-break-anything/

This time I will try to focus more on integrating the strengths of both Michel's 4-3-3 and Cruyff's 3-4-3, and even some elements of Sebes' 4-2-4, to create an ultimate Total Football tactic. A sort of "best of compilation" tactic capable of both dominating possession, scoring goals and creating beautiful plays in FM. Quite a lot to ask maybe? But let us see what can be done within the limits of the FM21 match engine.

https://dictatethegame.com/young-devils-on-the-tracks-of-total-football-and-two-johans/

In FM21, as in reality, you can be successful if you can both attack the half-spaces and maintain possession. Especially if you control the ball in the opponent's half. I think these are the main reasons behind the success of Pep Guardiola today. Being a natural successor of his Barcelona protégé, Johan Cruyff, Guardiola has been able to integrate a lot of the same Total Football ideas into his own tactics. In all the teams that Guardiola managed from Barcelona to Bayern and finally Man City, he excelled in creating tactics that take advantage of both overloading the opposition half-spaces and in aggressively defending (through possession and high press). But it was not something invented by Pep. Rather this style of play is build on the Total Football legacy that was passed on to Guardiola all the way back from Magical Magyars and later Cruyff's Diamond.

Overload The Half-Spaces

Before proceeding, I will let the wonderful Tifo do the honours of clearing up what exactly "half-space" means. Especially given how often I will be using this word in the rest of the article. So sit back and enjoy the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUpwuvGYqh8

Half-space control is essential in modern football. Most successfuly managers like Pep Guardiola use some kind of strategy to control/play through the two half-spaces. It's a strategy that is both essential for creating overloads to draw the opponent out else-where and for crafting better attacking chances once in the final third.

The classic 4-3-3 with its spread of 5 players, winger/cm/striker/cm/winger is probably the easiest shape for controlling the half-spaces. It's just a matter of setting up the roles, and/or PIs to get your players into the right spaces. Lets start with the two wide central midfielders. In any Total Football formation, 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 Diamond, they are usually the most creative players in the squad.

And they are also the players that will need to regularly get into the half-spaces. Operating there allows them greater mobility and passing options. Simply because a half-space is the gap between the opposition central defence and their fullbacks and thus not fully covered. It is also important to have creative players there because it gives them easier access to your wide attackers. Instead of passing long, players in half-spaces can use more efficient diagonal passes to connect with your attackers. Furthermore shorter diagonal passes have better chance of going to the feet, thus improving ball control in the final third.

When choosing the best half-space operators it's important to look at two key player instructions (PI). The two are "move into channels" and "roam from position". Whether your player has them hard-coded into their role or you add them via PIs, it will make him more likely to move into the half-space. Also another consideration is to have varied roles in the half-spaces in order to make your attack more unpredictable. They will also need to outnumber any opponent players, centrebacks or fullbacks, that follow them there. So ideally, you will need four half-space operators in your tactic. Also some players (depending on their role and traits) could do multiple jobs, attacking the space out wide or moving into half-spaces. This depends on the phase of play. A good example is a winger if you play someone with a dominant foot opposite from his flank or with "cut inside" trait.

As you can see I outlined the roles that I expect to operate in the two half-spaces. On the right I used what is probably the best, and easiest to achieve, half-space combo. That is the simple winger/mezzala(attack) combo with a IWS supporting them. While the winger will stretch the opposition on his flank, opening up the half-space for the mezzala to exploit fully. The IWB tends to position himself deeper in the right half-space overloading the opponent there while still supporting the mezzala. The only important PIs on my winger are "get further", "hold position" and "close down more". As an alternative, you could use a Roaming Playmaer instead of a mezzala (with "move into channels" PI).

On the left flank things are a little more complicated. There are several ways that half-space control can be achieved here. So I will try to present the more common ones. The two half-space operators here are the W(A) and BBM(with the added PI of "move into channels"). Here I use a more cautious IWB(D). This is because the BBM does not get forward as much as my mezzala. So naturally the IWB can also stay back more. As I do not want him running into the space already occupied by BBM. The key to the flank is my Winger on Attack duty. He tends to be the most attacking player in the whole formation. So naturally you should slot in your most clinical forward here.

My left flank half-space runner. The only PI here - "roam from position". And I would train him to "move into channels" to increase his tendency to occupy the half-space even further.

As you might guess, the choice of player here is very important. He must be either comfortable with both feet or have a preferred foot opposite from his flank. This is to make sure that he will only move into a half-space late in the attack. Otherwise a traditional winger playing on the same flank as his dominant foot, will hug the sideline until he can cross. Which is definitely not behaviour I want. You might ask why not simply use an IF or IW with instruction to "stay wider"? Well I tried those and they tend to cut into the half-space too early in the build-up. I really want this player providing width until we have more players forward. Or at least until an overload is created on the right. And most of the opposition moves away from the left half-space to deal with this overload.

There not only one way to control half-spaces. Even when using the same formation like 4-3-3. So depending on your players, you might prefer this alternate version.

Here I chose to use Raumdeuter because of the "move into channels" instruction hard-coded into the role making him an ideal half-space runner. This would be the version to use if you do not have a player with a "move into channel" trait. Also instead of a IWB on the left, it's better to use a Wingback to compensate for the width you lose with the Raumdeuter.

Tactical System Creation 101

When I talk about creating tactics in FM, I actually prefer to use the term "tactical systems". Indeed, a successful tactic in the game is not simply about the formation shape, or the collection of roles and team instructions. The pure tactical elements are definitely part of it. But only one of three important pillars in tactic creation. For an effective Total Football tactical system, or any tactic style for that matter, you'll need three key elements. The Tactical, Player Recruitment (getting the right players for the roles), and the Psychological (player morale). All three can contribute by varying degree to winning or losing a match. Here I can only touch upon the tactical aspect and the leave the other two as a topic for a future article.

So without further ado lets look at the tactical elements like the formation, roles and instructions that go into a successful Total Football system.

Formation Shape

First step in tactic building, as I already mentioned, is the tactical considerations. What formation (shape) will you use? What roles will you fit into that formation to make the whole mechanism really tick? And finally what team instructions, if any, do you absolutely need in order to create your desired playing style.

Formation Shape - Sometimes the choice of shape is obvious even before you begin looking at any other tactical element. Some formation due to their distribution of midfielders and defenders, are more suitable for one style over other. For instance a formation with a lot of midfielders will always be better at possession football than one that is bottom heavy. A bottom heavy formation with a few fast forwards can be a great counter-attacking formation though.

There is a reason why 4-3-3 (or 4-1-2-3 DM) became such a popular possession-control formation. It has an advantage over most other wide formations by utilizing 3 dedicated midfielders. At the same time it has an advantage on the wings with two wide players per side. There are players in each formation strata who are able to move freely between defence, support and attack. So at one time you could defend with 5 players when the wingbacks and DM stay back. Or attack with 2-3-5 shape when in possession in the opposition half. Although I could create a Total Football system with a more unusual shape like 4-4-2, it will require more tweaking to make it work. And since the purpose of this guide is to show the ease of creating simple possession-focused Total Football systems, I'll go with the obvious choice, 4-3-3.

Player Roles

Roles, roles, roles. Since Football Manager 2014, player roles became front and centre in how we create tactics. Assigning roles became an intuitive and simple way of instructing your players, without tweaking a dozen sliders. But sometimes it's not so simple or intuitive. Especially when faced with choosing which roles fit your system best or work well together. Here unfortunately there are no simple answers. But it helps to keep a few things in mind. Many roles do similar things and sometimes sticking with the most generic roles is the best choice. Total Football is about the optimal use of space, such as in the wide areas and the half-spaces. And this can be achieved with a variety of roles. So essentially the choice of the roles is not as important as the distribution on these roles in your formation.

A good starting point is looking at your formation and visualizing where you want your attackers/runners, defenders/tacklers and playmakers/supporters. Those are usually the three broadest player archetypes in any football squad. Things get a little complicated when you get special players (Total Footballers if you will) who can fit into more than one category. Yet at the most basic level you'll need to decide what task the players needs to perform within your tactic. And if he can do several then it's a bonus as it gives you more depth once inevitable injuries happen. Ideally, any well-balanced squad should have a good mix of all three archetypes.

Because our style is centered around ball possession, the spread of 5 supporters, 3 defenders and 2 attackers/runners is almost a given. As you can see above, I put all the runners is close proximity to at least two supporting roles. In some cases, like IWB on the right, the supporters are there to cover the area liberated by the runners. Also keep in mind that some of these roles are flexible which will change depending on the players available. Some of your players are bound to possess attributes and traits especially suitable to a specific role. So if you have a perfect False9 candidate then I would use him in that role (rather than the DLF). For instance if you have a very good creative dribbler. He would still act as a supporter but would do it far better in role that utilizes his attributes to their fullest.

I use split block with "close down more" PI on 4 of my 5 front players.

So that is my very basic 4-3-3. A classic formation inspired by Dutch Total Football style from the 1970s. Of course it is not meant to be a complete recreation of any specific historic team but more as a set-up that I think would fit my current Real Sociedad squad. So things would need to change to accommodate other teams. Also some of the role selections are flexible and might still change after more testing. Especially the left advanced half-space runner which I foresee being pretty flexible depending on the player. I would consider using a Raumdeuter there, but only if you have a very good player perfectly suitable for it.

Team Instructions

Rinus Michels' Total Football innovation was more tactical than formational. Essentially Michels' Ajax and Dutch National team played with a pretty basic 4-3-3. The formation itself was an innovation from the 4-2-4, first introduced by an earlier "Total Football" side, 1953 Hungary. But the Dutch 4-3-3 shape was not very innovative. Ajax' midfield was rather conventional, containing a tackler (Haan), a runner (Neeskens) and passer (Muhren). Then there were the wide attackers and fullbacks who regularly supported team's attacks. While all of Michels' players were very comfortable on the ball with top technique, they still mostly stuck to their primary tasks within the formation.

The real difference-maker were the actual players and how they played together. Johan Neeskens was not just simply a runner but a veritable human dynamo, able to cover a ton of space and contribute to both midfield and attack. Then there was Johan Cruyff, the False9, who was simply everywhere. Cruyff's roaming was one of the reasons for the formation's fluidity. His ability to dribble at speed dragged opposition defenders out of place and created space for his teammates to run into. Together, the two Johans formed a formidable partnership at the heart of Ajax' 4-3-3.

It's actually interesting that it turned out so similar to the game's Gegenpress Preset. But on second thought it makes a lot of sense. The Dutch Total Football was an early predecessor of modern Gegenpressing tactics in both style and player recruitment.

Its signature fluidity and seamless interchanging of positions defined the Total Football style. But it was the relentless pressing and high offside line that made the Dutch version an improvement from the 1953 Magyars own attempt at Total Football. But there was more. While Magyars introduced the fluid movement and zonal marking to stump their English opposition, the Dutch took Total Football to the next level by focusing on recruitment and training. Ajax' youth academy was just not able to churn out a few standout players like Cruyff and Neeskens. Like a veritable talent factory, it was able to fill the First Team with exceptional players, year after year. It still does. And all of these youngsters were steeped in the Total Football philosophy from day one. Something that Barcelona was able to emulate very well with its own academy, La Cantera. Indeed, a quarry for Total Footballers.

Defend Through Possession

"If you have possession, you don't need to defend. After all, there is only one ball."

-Johan Cruyff

And now a little peak at Part Two article.

Johan Cruyff's had a peculiar view of defending and it had a massive impact on how modern managers approach this aspect of football. To the point that since Cruyff's Barcelona no one sees ball possession and defence in isolation. And Cruyff showed just how inexorably linked the two were when he started using his 3-4-3 Diamond formation with Barca in the late 1980s.

Another great formation for Total Football, the 3-4-3 Diamond played very similar to a modern 4-2-3-1. Originally it was used to combat the 4-4-2 that was very popular during Cruyff's time as a manager. As you saw above, the 4-3-3 can offer greater defensive balance. What I really like about Cruyff's 3-4-3 (and 4-2-3-1 too) is the central striker and AMC pairing in the middle. By occupying the opposition defence centrally, the two free up the half-spaces even better than a single striker dropping deep would. Also having a diamond in both defence and midfield provides unrivaled ball control. And that will be the topic for the next part of my guide to Total Football tactic creation, titled "Playing on The Edge".

Edited February 22, 2021 by crusadertsar

[gokalpcakir1]

1 hour ago, crusadertsar said:

En çok sevdiğim şey hakkında yazmaya geri dönmeye karar verdim! İşte Total Football Journeyman'deki en yeni giriş. Umarım bu konu ve genel olarak Toplam Futbol hakkında daha verimli bir tartışma yaratabilir. Tahmin edebileceğiniz gibi, her zaman tutkulu olduğum bir şey var. Bunu web sitemden kopyalamak için biraz acelem vardı, bu yüzden bazı resimler düzgün çalışmayabilir. Yarın bunu düzeltmeye çalışacağım. Bu arada, tüm resimleri orijinal biçiminde görmek için her zaman orijinal makaleme göz atabilirsiniz:  https://dictatethegame.com/total-football-journeyman-from-mighty-magyars-to-flying-dutchmen/

 

Total Football Journeyman: Mighty Magyar'lardan Flying Dutchmenlere

FM21'de Yarı Alan Kontrolü Kılavuzu

Football Manager'da her zaman yeniden yaratmak istediğiniz tarihi futbol stili nedir? Sevgili okuyucum, bana sorarsanız, muhtemelen cevabıma şaşırmazsınız. Özellikle son yıllarda yazdıklarıma aşina iseniz. Çoğunlukla, Football Manager'ın simüle edilmiş dünyasında Total Football'u yeniden yaratmakla ilgiliydi. FM14'ten beri bunu denedim. Geçmişteki taktik düşüncelerim ilginizi çekerse, burada hepsinin kullanışlı bir listesini bulabilirsiniz . Bu makalede (ikisinin birinci bölümünde) FM21'deki son taktik girişimlerimi özetlemeye çalışacağım. Ayrıca oyunda güzel bir futbol yaratmaya çalışan herkese rehberlik etmesini istiyorum.

Ama neden tüm futbol stillerinin Toplam Futbolu? Bana göre seçim basit. Toplam Futbol, tüm oyun stillerinin en evrenselidir. Savunma, kontra atak, topa sahip olma futbolu ve hatta gegenpressing gibi diğer tüm stillerin unsurlarını içerir. Takımın doğru personele ve eğitime sahip olması koşuluyla, Total Football her bağlamda ve herhangi bir muhalefete karşı kullanılabilir. Zamansızdır. Resmi olarak Hollandalılardan kaynaklanmış olabilir, ancak kökleri daha da erken bir zamana ve başka bir ülkeye kadar izlenebilir.

Birincisi, Biraz Tarihsel Arka Plan

Hollanda futbolunun etkisi geniş kapsamlı. Ve sadece Total Football ile eşanlamlı hale geldiği için değil. Hollandalılar başka bir ulusun futbol kültürünü bile tanımladıspordaki gururlu mirasla. İspanyol (veya daha doğrusu Katalanca) sahiplik odaklı Tiki-Taka geleneği, Johan Cruyff'tan kendilerine geçtikten sonra güzel futbol idealini yeni zirvelere taşıdı. Ve şimdi Cruyff'un öğrencisi Pep Guardiola bu alevi her zamanki kadar güçlü tuttu. Pep, yönettiği tüm kulüplere başarı getirdi ve Total Football felsefesine dönüştü. Ama daha sonra daha fazlası. Önce 1953'e geri dönelim. Çünkü Uçan Hollandalılar, Johan Cruyff ve Pep Guardiola'dan önce Mighty Magyar'lar vardı. Büyülü, Muhteşem, Harikulade Macarlar. Toplam Futbol devrimini başlatan Altın Takım.

Ve hepsi özel bir maçla başladı. Hem bir ülke için en düşük seviye hem de bir başka ülke için zirve olduğunu kanıtlayan bir oyun.

Nandor Hidegkuti, 6-3 Magyar zaferi sırasında İngiltere'ye karşı 3 golünden birini attı.

Medya tarafından yüzyılın maçı olarak nitelendirilen maçta, dünyada 1 numara olan takım (Macaristan) 3. sırada İngiltere'ye karşı çıktı. İngiliz vardı kibir ve kendi taraflarında oyun icat gurur tarihini. Macaristan - Avrupa kıtasını kasıp kavuran futbol taktiklerindeki en son yeniliğin avantajı. Futbol artık sahada 11 kişinin oynadığı bir oyun değil, bir takım oyunuydu. Ve ilk günlerinin topyekun atak sporundan, oyunun her aşamasının, özellikle topa sahip olma birikiminin önemli olduğu bir spor haline dönüşüyordu. Sonunda İngiltere 6'ya 3 kaybetti. Sonra öne geçtiler ve 1954'teki 1954, 7-1 rövanşını kaybettiler. Bu tarihe kadar İngiltere'nin en ağır yenilgisi.

Özetle, Macarların zaferi, eski insan işaretleme sistemine karşı bölgesel işaretlemenin bir zaferiydi. Yeni akışkan savunma tarzının eski, katı olana karşı zaferi. Yine de bölgesel işaretleme, Hollandalılar onu Total Football'a entegre edene kadar yaygın olmayacaktı. Macarlar tarafından sunulan yenilikçi konseptlerin, futbol dünyasına genel olarak sızmasının neredeyse yirmi yıl sürmesi oldukça şaşırtıcı. Ancak Rinus Michels ve 1960-70'lerdeki genç Ajax'ına kadar bu kadar zorlu bir teknik tarzda oynayabilecek bir takım olmadığının kanıtıydı bu. Johan Cruyff'u dünyaya tanıtacak ve gelmiş geçmiş en büyük Hollanda Milli Takımı'nın çekirdeğini oluşturacak ekip.

Peki Hollandalılar Macarlardan ne öğrendi? Bölgesel işaretlemeye ek olarak, Sebes'in 1953 Macaristan'ıyla oyunda başka proto-Toplam Futbol konseptleri de vardı. Bir orta saha oyuncusu olarak etkili bir şekilde çalışacak kadar derine inen bir merkez forvet (Hidegkuti) kullanımı gibi fikirler. Bu, İngiliz savunucularının kafasını gerçekten karıştırdığı için Macaristan'ın lehine çalıştı, geleneksel bir 9 numaralı forvet oyuncusu orta saha bölgesinde dolaşan değil. Defans oyuncuları False9'un peşinden sürüklenirken, içerideki iki forvet, Puskas ve Kocsis, serbest bırakılan alandan yararlandı. Bu, Michels'in kendi rolüne meydan okuyan 9 numara Johan Cruyff'un iki geniş forvet Swart ve Keizer için yer açtığı Ajax'ta da aynı şekilde çalıştı.

Sahip olduğu Hollanda 4-3-3, Macar formasyonuna benziyordu. Sebes'in taktiğinde, iki çalışkan kanadın genişliği sağladığı yerler dışında, Hollandalılar kanatlarını aynı görev için kullandılar. Brezilya tarzında, Hollandalı kanat bekleri (veya gerçekten geri çekilen kanat oyuncuları) sahanın tamamını kapladı ve hücumda zamanın geleneksel beklemeye göre çok daha fazla destek sağladı. Proaktif, yüksek baskı yapan topa sahip futbol için, savunma bekinden kanat beklemeye geçiş çok önemliydi. Basitçe, rakip yarıda topa hakim olmak, beklerin çoğunlukla kendi yarı alanında kalmasıyla mümkün olmadığı için.

Macarlar, çoğu tarafın (1953 İngiltere dahil) ultra saldırgan WM formasyonunu kullandığı sırada çalışkan kanat / kanat beklemelerinde fayda gördüler. Geleneksel bir WM'de, merkezi forvet, içerideki 2 forvet ve 2 kanat oyuncusu hücum hattına öncülük etti. Saldırı, bu 5 oyuncu için tek endişeydi. Macaristan da kağıt üzerinde bir WM'de sıraya girerken, ellerinde hızla başka bir canavara dönüştüler. Sahip olduklarında, WM'leri, Hollanda 4-3-3'ün öncüsü olan süper esnek bir MM'ye (2-3-3-2) dönüşecekti. Macar kanat oyuncuları, WM'nin hücum kanatlarından daha çok kanat bekçilerine benzerlik gösteriyordu. Hem Czibor hem de Budai hem hücumda hem de savunmada çok çalıştı. İç forvetlerin daha hücum meraklılarını korumak için genellikle orta sahanın derinliklerine düştüler.

Erken bir Total Football takımı olarak, Magyars tek bir birim olarak hareket etti. Macaristan'ın menajeri Gusztav Sebes, oyuncularını çok yönlü olmaya teşvik etti. Yani herhangi bir pozisyonda oynamak ve sahanın her santimini kapsamaktır. İdealleri Teknik, Çalışkanlık ve Takım Çalışmasıydı .

Gusztav Sebes - Macaristan'ın Altın Takımının arkasındaki öncü akıl

Saldırdığımızda herkes saldırdı ve savunmada aynıydı. Total Football'un prototipiydik.

Ferenc Puskas, 1953 Macaristan kadrosunda forvet.

Kimi işaretleyeceğini bilmeyen İngiliz savunucularının kafasını gerçekten karıştıran şey buydu. Bir noktada Macar forvet orta saha oyuncusu gibi davranırken, diğer zamanlarda kanat oyuncuları daha çok bek gibi davranırdı. Rinus Michels bunu Ajax ile bir sonraki seviyeye taşıdı. Özellikle False Nine yarı forvet ve pozisyon değiştirme ile oynama fikirleri. Her ikisi de Total Football oyun tarzı için çok önemli olduğunu kanıtladı.

Geçen yılki makalelerimde Ajax'ın klasik 4-3-3'ü biraz detaylı olarak ele almıştım. Böylece 4-3-3 dizilişinin bazı temellerini gözden geçirmek için geri dönebilirsiniz.

https://dictatethegame.com/433-role-guide-attack-and-midfield/

Ayrıca Johan Cruyff'un 4-3-3'teki sonraki varyasyonu olan 3-4-3 Diamond'ı da ele aldım. Buradan okuyabilirsiniz. 1990'larda, özellikle 4-4-2 döneminde popüler olana karşı korkulan bir oluşum haline geldi.

https://dictatethegame.com/total-football-journeyman-diamonds-will-break-anything/

Bu sefer, nihai bir Toplam Futbol taktiği oluşturmak için, hem Michel'in 4-3-3'ü hem de Cruyff'un 3-4-3'ünün güçlü yönlerini ve hatta Sebes'in 4-2-4'ün bazı unsurlarını bütünleştirmeye odaklanmaya çalışacağım. FM'de hem topa hakim olabilen, gol atabilen hem de güzel oyunlar yaratabilen bir tür "en iyi derleme" taktiği. Belki soracak çok şey var mı? Ama FM21 maç motoru sınırları dahilinde neler yapılabileceğini görelim.

https://dictatethegame.com/young-devils-on-the-tracks-of-total-football-and-two-johans/

FM21'de, gerçekte olduğu gibi, hem yarı boşluklara saldırabilir hem de topa sahip olmayı sürdürebilirseniz başarılı olabilirsiniz. Özellikle rakibin sahasında topu kontrol ediyorsanız. Bence Pep Guardiola'nın bugünkü başarısının arkasındaki ana nedenler bunlar. Guardiola, Barcelona'nın koruyucusu Johan Cruyff'un doğal halefi olan Guardiola, aynı Total Football fikirlerinin çoğunu kendi taktiklerine entegre edebildi. Guardiola, Barcelona'dan Bayern'e ve son olarak Man City'ye kadar yönettiği tüm takımlarda, hem rakip yarı alanlara aşırı yükleme yapmaktan hem de agresif savunmada (topa sahip olma ve yüksek baskı yoluyla) avantaj sağlayan taktikler yaratmada mükemmeldi. Ama Pep tarafından icat edilen bir şey değildi.

Yarım Boşlukları Aşırı Yüklemek

Devam etmeden önce, harika Tifo'nun "yarı uzay" ın tam olarak ne anlama geldiğini açıklamaktan onur duymasına izin vereceğim. Özellikle makalenin geri kalanında bu kelimeyi ne sıklıkla kullanacağım göz önüne alındığında. Öyleyse arkanıza yaslanın ve gösterinin tadını çıkarın.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUpwuvGYqh8

Modern futbolda yarım alan kontrolü çok önemlidir. Pep Guardiola gibi başarılı yöneticilerin çoğu, iki yarı alanı kontrol etmek / oynamak için bir tür strateji kullanır. Bu hem rakibi başka yerlere çekmek için aşırı yükler oluşturmak hem de son üçte birde daha iyi saldırı şansı yaratmak için gerekli bir stratejidir.

Klasik 4-3-3, 5 oyuncu, kanat / cm / forvet / cm / kanat oyuncusu, yarı boşlukları kontrol etmek için muhtemelen en kolay şekildir. Oyuncularınızı doğru alanlara yerleştirmek için rolleri ve / veya PI'leri ayarlamak sadece bir mesele. İki geniş orta saha oyuncusu ile başlayalım. Herhangi bir Toplam Futbol dizilişinde, 4-3-3 veya 3-4-3 Elmas, genellikle kadrodaki en yaratıcı oyunculardır.

Ve aynı zamanda düzenli olarak yarı boşluklara girmesi gereken oyunculardır. Orada çalışmak, onlara daha fazla hareketlilik ve geçiş seçenekleri sağlar. Basitçe, yarı boşluk muhalefetin merkez savunması ile onların bekleri arasındaki boşluk olduğu ve bu nedenle tam olarak örtülmediği için. Orada yaratıcı oyunculara sahip olmak da önemlidir çünkü geniş saldırganlarınıza daha kolay erişim sağlar. Uzun süre geçmek yerine, yarı alanlardaki oyuncular saldırganlarınızla bağlantı kurmak için daha verimli çapraz geçişler kullanabilir. Dahası, daha kısa çapraz pasların ayaklara gitme şansı daha yüksektir, böylece son üçte birde top kontrolünü iyileştirir.

En iyi yarı uzay operatörlerini seçerken iki önemli oyuncu talimatına (PI) bakmak önemlidir. İkisi "kanallara git" ve "konumdan dolaş". Oyuncunuz onları rolüne sabit kodlamış veya onları PI'lar aracılığıyla ekleseniz, bu onun yarı boşluğa gitme olasılığını artıracaktır. Ayrıca, saldırınızı daha öngörülemez hale getirmek için yarı boşluklarda çeşitli rollere sahip olmak da başka bir husustur. Ayrıca, onları orada takip eden tüm rakip oyuncuları, santraları veya bekleri geride bırakmaları gerekecektir. Bu yüzden ideal olarak, taktiğinizde dört yarım uzay operatörüne ihtiyacınız olacak. Ayrıca bazı oyuncular (rollerine ve özelliklerine bağlı olarak), uzaya saldırarak veya yarı boşluklara girerek birden fazla iş yapabilir. Bu, oyunun aşamasına bağlıdır. İyi bir örnek, bir kanat oyuncusudur; baskın ayağı kanadının karşısında veya "içeriden kesilmiş" özelliğiyle oynarsanız.

Gördüğünüz gibi, iki yarı alanda işlemeyi beklediğim rolleri özetledim. Sağda, muhtemelen en iyi ve elde etmesi en kolay olanı, yarım alan kombinasyonunu kullandım. Bu, onları destekleyen bir IWS ile basit kanatçı / mezzala (saldırı) kombinasyonudur. Kanatçı, rakibini kanadına uzatırken, mezzala'nın tam anlamıyla istismar etmesi için yarı alanı açar. IWB, mezzalayı desteklemeye devam ederken rakibini aşırı yükleyerek sağ yarı alanda kendini daha derin konumlandırma eğilimindedir. Kanat oyuncumdaki tek önemli PI'ler "ileriye git", "pozisyonu koru" ve "daha fazla kapat" . Alternatif olarak, mezzala yerine bir Roaming Playmaer kullanabilirsiniz ( "kanallara geçiş" PI ile).

Sol tarafta işler biraz daha karmaşık. Burada yarım alan kontrolüne ulaşmanın birkaç yolu vardır. Bu yüzden daha yaygın olanları sunmaya çalışacağım. Buradaki iki yarım uzay operatörü W (A) ve BBM'dir ( "kanallara taşıma" PI'si eklenmiştir ). Burada daha temkinli bir etkileşimli tahta (D) kullanıyorum. Çünkü BBM mezzalam kadar ileri gitmiyor. Dolayısıyla doğal olarak etkileşimli tahta da daha fazla geride kalabilir. Zaten BBM tarafından işgal edilen alana girmesini istemiyorum. Kanadın anahtarı, Saldırıda Kanat görevimdir. Tüm dizilişte en çok saldıran oyuncu olma eğilimindedir. Bu yüzden doğal olarak en çok klinik çalışmalarınızı buraya yerleştirmelisiniz.

Sol kanat yarı uzay koşucum. Buradaki tek PI - "konumdan dolaş". Ve yarı alanı daha da işgal etme eğilimini artırmak için onu "kanallara geçmesi" için eğitirdim.

Tahmin edebileceğiniz gibi, burada oyuncu seçimi çok önemli. Ya iki ayağıyla rahat olmalı ya da tercih ettiği bir ayağı kanadının karşısında olmalıdır. Bu, saldırının ilerleyen zamanlarında yalnızca yarı boşluğa hareket edeceğinden emin olmak içindir . Aksi takdirde, baskın ayağıyla aynı kanatta oynayan geleneksel bir kanat oyuncusu, yan çizgiyi geçene kadar kucaklayacaktır. Bu kesinlikle istediğim davranış değil. Neden sadece "daha geniş kalmak" talimatıyla bir IF veya IW kullanmadığınızı sorabilirsiniz. Bunları denedim ve birikim sırasında yarı boşluğu çok erken kesme eğilimindeler. Daha fazla oyuncumuz olana kadar bu oyuncunun genişlik sağlamasını gerçekten istiyorum. Ya da en azından sağda bir aşırı yük oluşturulana kadar. Ve muhalefetin çoğu bu aşırı yük ile başa çıkmak için sol yarı alandan uzaklaşıyor.

Yarı boşlukları kontrol etmenin tek bir yolu yoktur. 4-3-3 gibi aynı dizilişi kullanırken bile. Dolayısıyla, oyuncularınıza bağlı olarak, bu alternatif sürümü tercih edebilirsiniz.

Burada Raumdeuter'ı , role kodlanmış "kanallara geç" talimatı onu ideal bir yarı uzay koşucusu haline getirdiği için kullanmayı seçtim . Bu, "kanala geç" özelliğine sahip bir oyuncunuz yoksa kullanacağınız sürüm olacaktır. Ayrıca soldaki interaktif beyaz tahta yerine Raumdeuter ile kaybettiğiniz genişliği telafi etmek için Wingback kullanmak daha iyidir.

Taktik Sistem Oluşturma 101

FM'de taktik oluşturmaktan bahsettiğimde, aslında "taktik sistemler" terimini kullanmayı tercih ediyorum. Aslında, oyundaki başarılı bir taktik sadece diziliş şekli veya rollerin ve takım talimatlarının toplanmasıyla ilgili değildir. Saf taktik unsurlar kesinlikle bunun bir parçası. Ancak taktik yaratmanın üç önemli sütunundan yalnızca biri. Etkili bir Total Football taktik sistemi veya bu konudaki herhangi bir taktik stili için üç temel öğeye ihtiyacınız olacak. Taktik, Oyuncu Alımı (roller için doğru oyuncuları alma) ve Psikolojik (oyuncu morali). Üçü de bir maçı kazanmaya veya kaybetmeye değişen derecelerde katkıda bulunabilir. Burada sadece taktik yönüne ve diğer ikisine de gelecekteki bir makale konusu olarak değinebilirim.

Bu yüzden daha fazla uzatmadan başarılı bir Total Football sistemine giren diziliş, roller ve talimatlar gibi taktiksel unsurlara bakalım .

Formasyon Şekli

Taktik oluşturmanın ilk adımı, daha önce de bahsettiğim gibi, taktiksel düşüncelerdir. Hangi oluşumu (şekli) kullanacaksınız? Tüm mekanizmayı gerçekten çalışır hale getirmek için bu oluşuma hangi rolleri sığdıracaksınız? Ve son olarak , istediğiniz oyun tarzını yaratmak için, varsa, kesinlikle hangi takım talimatlarına ihtiyacınız var?

Formasyon Şekli - Bazen, başka herhangi bir taktiksel unsura bakmaya başlamadan önce bile şekil seçimi açıktır. Orta saha ve savunma oyuncularının dağılımından dolayı bazı dizilişler bir stile diğerine göre daha uygundur. Örneğin, çok sayıda orta saha oyuncusu olan bir diziliş, topa sahip olma futbolunda her zaman alttan ağır olandan daha iyi olacaktır. Birkaç hızlı forvet ile dipte ağır bir diziliş olsa da, harika bir karşı atak dizilişi olabilir.

4-3-3'ün (veya 4-1-2-3 DM) bu kadar popüler bir topa sahip olma kontrol formasyonu haline gelmesinin bir nedeni var. 3 adanmış orta saha oyuncusu kullanarak diğer geniş dizilişlerin çoğuna göre bir avantaja sahiptir. Aynı zamanda kanatlarda iki geniş oyuncuyla bir avantaja sahiptir. Her diziliş katmanında savunma, destek ve saldırı arasında serbestçe hareket edebilen oyuncular var. Yani bir seferde kanat bekleri ve DM geride kaldığında 5 oyuncuyla savunabilirsiniz. Veya rakip yarıya sahipken 2-3-5 şeklinde hücum yapın. 4-4-2 gibi daha sıra dışı bir şekle sahip bir Total Football sistemi oluşturabilsem de, çalışması için daha fazla ince ayar yapılması gerekecek. Ve bu kılavuzun amacı, basit topa sahip olma odaklı Toplam Futbol sistemleri yaratmanın kolaylığını göstermek olduğundan, açık bir seçim olan 4-3-3 ile devam edeceğim.

Oyuncu Rolleri

Roller , roller, roller. Football Manager 2014'ten bu yana, oyuncu rolleri taktikleri oluşturma şeklimizde ön ve merkez oldu. Rol atamak, bir düzine kaydırıcıyı değiştirmeden oyuncularınıza talimat vermenin sezgisel ve basit bir yolu haline geldi. Ancak bazen o kadar basit veya sezgisel değildir. Özellikle hangi rollerin sisteminize en uygun olduğunu veya birlikte iyi çalıştığını seçmekle karşı karşıya kaldığınızda. Burada maalesef basit cevaplar yok. Ancak birkaç şeyi akılda tutmaya yardımcı olur. Birçok rol benzer şeyler yapar ve bazen en genel rollere bağlı kalmak en iyi seçimdir. Total Football, geniş alanlar ve yarı alanlar gibi alanın optimum kullanımı ile ilgilidir. Ve bu, çeşitli roller ile başarılabilir. Yani esasen rollerin seçimi, oluşumunuzdaki bu rollerin dağılımı kadar önemli değildir.

İyi bir başlangıç noktası, dizilişinize bakmak ve saldırganların / koşucuların , savunucuların / topçuların ve oyun kurucuların / destekçilerinizin nerede olmasını istediğinizi görselleştirmektir . Bunlar genellikle herhangi bir futbol takımındaki en geniş üç oyuncu arketipidir. Birden fazla kategoriye girebilecek özel oyuncular (Toplam Futbolcular) edindiğinizde işler biraz karmaşıklaşır. Yine de, en temel düzeyde, oyuncuların taktiğin dahilinde hangi görevi yerine getirmesi gerektiğine karar vermen gerekecek. Ve eğer birkaç tane yapabilirse, o zaman kaçınılmaz yaralanmalar meydana geldiğinde size daha fazla derinlik kazandırdığı için bu bir bonus. İdeal olarak, iyi dengelenmiş herhangi bir takım, üç arketipin hepsinin iyi bir karışımına sahip olmalıdır.

Tarzımız topa sahip olma etrafında odaklandığı için, 5 taraftar, 3 savunucu ve 2 hücum oyuncusu / koşucunun dağılımı neredeyse belli. Yukarıda gördüğünüz gibi, tüm koşucuların en az iki yardımcı role yakın olduğunu söylüyorum. Sağdaki etkileşimli tahta gibi bazı durumlarda, taraftarlar koşucular tarafından serbest bırakılan alanı kaplamak için oradalar. Ayrıca, bu rollerden bazılarının esnek olduğunu ve mevcut oyunculara bağlı olarak değişeceğini unutmayın. Oyuncularınızdan bazıları, özellikle belirli bir role uygun niteliklere ve özelliklere sahip olmak zorundadır. Dolayısıyla, mükemmel bir False9 adayınız varsa, onu bu rolde (DLF yerine) kullanırım. Örneğin, çok iyi bir yaratıcı top sürme oyuncunuz varsa. Yine de bir destekçi olarak hareket edecekti, ancak niteliklerini sonuna kadar kullanan bir rolde bunu çok daha iyi yapacaktı.

5 ön oyuncumdan 4'ünde "daha fazla kapat" PI ile bölünmüş blok kullanıyorum.

İşte bu benim temel 4-3-3'üm. 1970'lerden Hollanda Total Football stilinden ilham alan klasik bir diziliş. Tabii ki, herhangi bir tarihi takımın tam bir yeniden yaratılması değil, daha çok mevcut Real Sociedad takımıma uyacağını düşündüğüm bir kurulum olarak tasarlandı. Yani diğer takımlara uyum sağlamak için bazı şeylerin değişmesi gerekir. Ayrıca bazı rol seçimleri esnektir ve daha fazla testten sonra yine de değişebilir. Özellikle, oyuncuya bağlı olarak oldukça esnek olduğunu öngördüğüm sol gelişmiş yarı uzay koşucusu. Orada bir Raumdeuter kullanmayı düşünürdüm, ancak bunun için çok iyi bir oyuncunuz varsa.

Takım Talimatları

Rinus Michels'in Total Football yeniliği, biçimsel olmaktan çok taktikti. Esasen Michels'in Ajax ve Hollanda Milli takımı oldukça basit bir 4-3-3 ile oynadı. Dizilişin kendisi 4-2-4'ten bir yenilikti ve ilk kez daha eski bir "Toplam Futbol" tarafı olan 1953 Macaristan tarafından tanıtıldı. Ancak Hollanda 4-3-3 şekli pek yenilikçi değildi. Ajax'ın orta sahası oldukça gelenekseldi, bir golcü (Haan), bir koşucu (Neeskens) ve pasör (Muhren) içeriyordu. Daha sonra takımın saldırılarını düzenli olarak destekleyen geniş saldırganlar ve bekçiler vardı. Michels'in tüm oyuncuları en iyi teknikte topta çok rahat olsalar da, çoğunlukla diziliş içindeki birincil görevlerine bağlı kaldılar.

Gerçek fark yaratan gerçek oyuncular ve birlikte nasıl oynadıklarıydı. Johan Neeskens sadece bir koşucu değil aynı zamanda gerçek bir insan dinamosuydu, tonlarca alanı kaplayıp hem orta sahaya hem de hücuma katkıda bulunabiliyordu. Sonra her yerde olan False9 Johan Cruyff vardı. Cruyff'un dolaşması, oluşumun akışkanlığının nedenlerinden biriydi. Hızla top sürme yeteneği, rakip savunucularını yerlerinden çıkardı ve takım arkadaşlarının karşılaşabileceği alan yarattı. İki Johans birlikte, Ajax '4-3-3'ün kalbinde müthiş bir ortaklık kurdu.

Oyunun Gegenpress Ön Ayarına çok benzemesi aslında ilginç. Ama ikinci kez düşündüğümüzde çok mantıklı geliyor. Hollandalı Total Football, hem stil hem de oyuncu alımında modern Gegenpressing taktiklerinin ilk öncülüydü.

İmzalı akışkanlığı ve kusursuz pozisyon değişimi , Total Football stilini tanımladı. Ancak Hollanda versiyonunu 1953 Magyar'ın Total Football'daki kendi girişiminden bir gelişme haline getiren amansız baskı ve yüksek ofsayt çizgisiydi . Ama dahası vardı. Macarlar akışkan hareketi ve bölgesel işaretlemeyi sunarkenHollandalılar İngiliz rakiplerini alt etmek için işe alım ve eğitime odaklanarak Total Football'u bir sonraki seviyeye taşıdı. Ajax'ın gençlik akademisi, Cruyff ve Neeskens gibi birkaç göze çarpan oyuncuyu oyalayamadı. Gerçek bir yetenek fabrikası gibi, İlk Takımı her yıl olağanüstü oyuncularla doldurmayı başardı. Hâlâ öyle. Ve bu gençlerin tümü, ilk günden itibaren Total Football felsefesiyle iç içe geçmişlerdi. Barselona'nın kendi akademisi La Cantera ile çok iyi taklit edebildiği bir şey . Nitekim Total Futbolcular için bir taş ocağı.

Topa Sahip Olarak Savun

"Eğer sahipseniz, savunmanıza gerek yok. Sonuçta, sadece bir top var."

-Johan Cruyff

Ve şimdi Bölüm İki makalesinde biraz zirve yapın.

Johan Cruyff'un kendine özgü bir savunma görüşü vardı ve modern yöneticilerin futbolun bu yönüne nasıl yaklaştığı üzerinde büyük bir etkisi oldu. Cruyff'un Barcelona'sından beri kimse topa sahip olmayı ve savunmayı tecrit altında görmüyor. Ve Cruyff, 1980'lerin sonunda Barca ile 3-4-3 Diamond formasyonunu kullanmaya başladığında ikisinin ne kadar amansız bir şekilde bağlantılı olduğunu gösterdi.

Total Football için bir başka harika diziliş olan 3-4-3 Diamond, modern bir 4-2-3-1'e çok benziyordu. Başlangıçta, Cruyff'un menajerlik döneminde çok popüler olan 4-4-2 ile savaşmak için kullanılıyordu. Yukarıda gördüğünüz gibi, 4-3-3 daha fazla savunma dengesi sunabilir. Cruyff'un 3-4-3 (ve 4-2-3-1) ile ilgili gerçekten sevdiğim şey, orta forvet ve ortadaki AMC eşleşmesidir. İkili, muhalefet savunmasını merkezi olarak işgal ederek, yarı boşlukları tek bir forvetin derine inmesinden bile daha iyi bir şekilde serbest bırakır. Ayrıca hem savunmada hem de orta sahada bir elmas olması rakipsiz top kontrolü sağlar. Ve bu, Total Football taktik oluşturma rehberimin "Edge'de Oynamak" başlıklı sonraki bölümünün konusu olacak.

ı have been confused about the PIs about wingers.İs it  possible to share PIs more simply?

[crusadertsar]

2 minutes ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

ı have been confused about the PIs about wingers.İs it  possible to share PIs more simply?

Right Winger PIs - Get Further Forward, Hold Position and Close Down More 

Left Winger PIs - Roam From Position

I have Close down More on my wingers, striker and mezzala as part of the split block. 

[gokalpcakir1]

6 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Right Winger PIs - Get Further Forward, Hold Position and Close Down More 

Left Winger PIs - Roam From Position

I have Close down More on my wingers, striker and mezzala as part of the split block. 

 Get Further Forward, Hold Position I am faced with the contradiction that these two PIs cannot be used at the same time.

[crusadertsar]

8 minutes ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

 Get Further Forward, Hold Position I am faced with the contradiction that these two PIs cannot be used at the same time.

You are right. Just Hold Position then. More importantly, you need to make sure that your winger on the right stays wide to leave the half-space open for the mezzala and IWB. 

[Sarriball14]

Would having the PPM ‘gets into opposition box’ be a good trait for both the wingers to have?

[crusadertsar]

4 hours ago, Sarriball14 said:

Would having the PPM ‘gets into opposition box’ be a good trait for both the wingers to have?

I was actually considering it for the left winger but was worried that it would drag him more centrally. It would be interesting to see how such a player would behave though. Especially in combination with "move into channels" PPM.

[gokalpcakir1]

Which type of players should be used in this system? I am having problems with productivity as offensive

[crusadertsar]

19 minutes ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

Which type of players should be used in this system? I am having problems with productivity as offensive

Total footballers. Very technical and intelligent enough to read space well (anticipation and off the ball). Able to hold on to the ball for long periods (composure and balance). And basically all the attributes needed for high pressing, like bravery, determination, Workrate and stamina.

[Sarriball14]

Has anyone put this to the test yet? I haven’t been able to as of yet but was planning on an experiment with Bournemouth in the championship 

[gokalpcakir1]

Has there been any change

[crusadertsar]

44 minutes ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

Has there been any change

Nope

[gokalpcakir1]

Could you please share tactics?

[crusadertsar]

3 minutes ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

Could you please share tactics?

Here you go

 

Simple 4-3-3.fmf

[witticism]

Thinking about jumping back on this, since it was a lot of fun last time I did it, so I'll pick up from where I last left of I guess

 

Hopefully this translates well to fm21

Edited April 3, 2021 by witticism
spelling

[Nick_CB]

I was never interested in the idea of creating overloads, but this topic motivates me to try something similar

[crusadertsar]

On 03/04/2021 at 21:14, Nick_CB said:

I was never interested in the idea of creating overloads, but this topic motivates me to try something similar

I would switch your fullback and wingback around. And make the fullback into the IWB (S) on the right to help with the overload there. Also maybe Mez (A) is a bit too adventurous with the IF(A) also on the same side. Just a few suggestions but you don't have to use them if the tactic is already working well.

[Nick_CB]

7 horas atrás, crusadertsar disse:

I would switch your fullback and wingback around. And make the fullback into the IWB (S) on the right to help with the overload there. Also maybe Mez (A) is a bit too adventurous with the IF(A) also on the same side. Just a few suggestions but you don't have to use them if the tactic is already working well.

I love tactical suggestions, even though they're temporarily working. I'm not familiar with IWB, does this role work even if the player doesn't have a good reverse foot?

[crusadertsar]

1 minute ago, Nick_CB said:

I love tactical suggestions, even though they're temporarily working. I'm not familiar with IWB, does this role work even if the player doesn't have a good reverse foot?

Yes. The foot doesn't matter. It's more his other attributes. You need a player that looks more like a midfielder than a typical fullback.

[gokalpcakir1]

I tried to form a team that plays the system on the left by taking some of your PI as an example. I can get your feedback.

[crusadertsar]

10 hours ago, gokalpcakir1 said:

I tried to form a team that plays the system on the left by taking some of your PI as an example. I can get your feedback.

Nice tactic. I wouldn't change too much except the right fullback. You will need a Wingback on support duty there in order to better support your inside forward.

[Keyzer Soze]

2 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

Nice tactic. I wouldn't change too much except the right fullback. You will need a Wingback on support duty there in order to better support your inside forward.

Dont you also think that the left fullback should be a WB(s) instead of a IWB(s), to give more width to that side?

[crusadertsar]

11 minutes ago, Keyzer Soze said:

Dont you also think that the left fullback should be a WB(s) instead of a IWB(s), to give more width to that side

Missed that part. Your suggestion is a sound one. It's one option. But since he has Mezzala there i think i would instead stick with IWB. And then switch IF on that side into IW(S) with individual instruction to stay wider.

 

[crusadertsar]

The following is also available at my blog: https://dictatethegame.com/total-football-journeyman-le-carre-magique/ 

So you can check that link if you want to see the images in their original format.

Total Football Journeyman: Le Carré Magique

Total Football - Narrow Diamond Version

When the Dutch Total Football first appeared on the international football scene in the early 1970s, it seemed to be destined for greatness. With the way Ajax was playing, football enthusiasts wondered if anyone could ever stop the Totaalvoetbal juggernaut. The expectations were set when Amsterdam club took home every European Cup between 1970 and 1973. A total of 3 European Cups! Then came the two consecutive World Cup Finals in 1974 and 1978. But in both Finals, the Flying Dutchmen failed to win. Twice they fell short of winning the greatest trophy of all and the final proof of the power of free-flowing attacking football. That proof didn’t come until 1984 and the tournament that was ignored by the English-speaking world. Hopefully this article can shed some light on Total Football’s first international triumph and the winning team that has been forgotten by most born after 1970s.

Total Football’s Forgotten Triumph

The 1984 Euros had all the makings of a memorable tournament. Hosted by France and with a major advantage to the hosting nation. The French squad, built around the generational talent of Michel Platini, almost won the 1982 World Cup. So in 1984 they were a team to beat. To this day they are remembered, by those lucky enough to see them play, as one of the greatest teams to play the beautiful game. And along with the Dutch and Brazilians (and Magyars before), Les Bleus were one of the teams that tried to play in a fluid, attacking style that was at odds with the rigid defensiveness that dominated most football of the time.

The decision by the British TV networks, BBC and ITV, not to broadcast most of the matches of the tournament will always be an odd one. But it is understandable. After all none of the United Kingdom’s four home nations were able to qualify for the final stages of the tournament. So naturally the British, (and other Commonwealth) broadcasters decided that if there was no Home Nations representation then the British people would not be interested in watching it. And in United States at the time, most football coverage was through the British networks via satellite. ITV showed only two live matches – West Germany versus Spain and the Final. An oversight that deprived the English-speaking world of a truly historic football spectacle. Flowing, dynamic attacking Total Football played by a team fully confident in its abilities. Truly, a sport transcended into an art-form. And then there were Platini’s goals!

 

Michel Platini – The Man, The Foot, The Myth

Nicknamed “Le Roi” (The King), Michel Platini was a larger-than-life figure for most of his illustrious career. For both good and bad reasons. Often criticised for his lack of stamina, fitness and poor work-rate. Michel famous response to this was simple:

We’re not going to compete in the 5,000 metres at the Olympics, we have to play with our feet.

And the recent financial indiscretions aside, nobody can deny that he was anything but an exceptional player. As the few fortunate enough to have seen him weave his magic live, can attest to. He was both the attacking and creative force in that 1984 French team. He scored 9 goals (in only 5 matches!) on the way to France’s victory in the Final against Spain.

 

Despite his noted weakness in athletic department, Platini was still a quick and elegant offensive midfielder. As a stereotypical #10 playmaker he possessed an exceptional passing ability, vision and intelligence both on and off the ball. As well as unmatched in his technique in both ball control and dribbling at the time. While by mid-1980s young Maradona would take the crown of the best attacking midfielder in the world, in 1984, the 28 year old Platini was still #1 and in his prime.

Primarily a creative midfielder who operated in the withdrawn role behind the two strikers, Platini was both an orchestrator of attacking plays and a prolific goalscorer. He did this with the help of his exceptional footballing intelligence, movement and composure in front of the goal. As well as his ability to finish with either foot. Indeed Platini won several scoring awards throughout his long career, both at club and international level. According to football historians he still remains one of the best finishers of all time. Long live the King!

Stacking The Odds

There are a number of advantages to playing with a narrow 4-2-2-2. The main one being its two defensive midfielders. They are there to protect the back-four, but also to allow more freedom to the wingbacks to bomb up the flanks, practically acting as quasi-wingers in attack. The double pivot in defensive midfield also frees up the front four attackers, with the support of the wingbacks, to focus most of their energy on attack. The two attacking midfielders play wider but also cut inside to support the two strikers. At the same the aforementioned wingbacks on either flank can overlap the AMCs, adding another dimension to attack.

The main aim is to overload the opposition defence with a total of six players. The only disadvantage is the vulnerability on the wings. But this is compensated by the fact the opponent still needs to move centrally in order to score. And in the centre of the field, the 4-2-2-2 definitely has a numerical advantage in its stacked midfield.

If anything the two forwards need to be more in the mould of midfielders than traditional strikers. So you will need them to have attributes that could allow them to play deeper in midfield. That is better passing ability and mental attributes than most strikers. I look at acceleration, pace, dribbling and off the ball as most important, closely followed by finishing, vision, passing. As an example, Wayne Rooney or Dennis Bergkamp at their prime would be a perfect fit in my system. You will want one of the two forwards to drop back in order to support the other striker and allow the midfielders to overlap him. So I set up their roles accordingly.

The two attacking midfielders are you typical “Total Footballers”. Very well-rounded players adept at both attack, defence and everything in between. They will need to be very hard-working and tireless, possessing excellent technical attributes (passing and first touch foremost). During attack they have to move wider to the flanks and into their respective half-spaces. From there they can support the strikers or provide goal threat by arriving late into the penalty area. One of my attacking midfielders is not even an AMC position role, but actually a role that starts in deeper central midfield and then moves progressively into the half-space. In tactic creaton, it’s not so much the case of where the player starts but where he ends up during attack. As you will see with my final (surprising) choice of tactical shape.

While defending the two attacking midfielders need to track back to the wings (system’s ultimate weakness). Or drop further back into the midfield in order to help the two more conservative midfielders with maintaining the system’s advantage in central possession.

The two defensive midfielders are really the only specialists in the system. Thus you need them to focus on two specific tasks. Providing defensive cover for the more offensive midfielders (and wingbacks) and launching long accurate passes towards your attackers. Their passing ability is actually rather essential. It will make a big difference between the system working well, helping you get points, and being just mediocre with close one-goal wins and ties. Especially against dedicated defensive sides parking the bus. So try to put at least one of your best midfield passers here. Also, they will be acting as your shield between the attack and defence. So at the least more than average defensive ability (positioning, tackling, marking) will be required. If they are very hard-working, team players then it will compensate for less than ideal defensive ability. For example this is my current substitute for the carrilero.

Arne De Block may not possess the best positioning, but his extreme bravery and willingness to work hard make him into an exceptional team player.

Then as you can see this is my top passer on the team who plays as De Block’s partner in my midfield double pivot.

Traits like “tries killer balls”, “tries long passes” or “switch flanks” are preferable in one or both your defensive midfielders.

The two wingbacks are probably the most important roles in the whole system. Naturally they should be your other two examples of “Total Footballers” and among your best players. Since it is a narrow formation, the wingbacks will be the only ones providing width. Not to mention acting as both attackig support for the forwards as well as defensive cover for when the opposition is launching its own attack down your flanks. Thus they will be constantly shuffling up and down the flanks. And then required to track back quickly in order to provide wide cover for the midfielders. Essentially, acting in both attack and defence. The reason why you will need well-rounded players. But if that is not possible, then at the least they should have more than average crossing, off the ball, work rate, acceleration and stamina.

So someone like Moscow Spartak’s Ayrton Lucas would not be too out of sorts in this position. He is not very well-rounded, but at least he has all the necessary wingback attributes. A veritable energizer bunny on the left flank.

In-game Recreation

Actually I want to use the example of Spartak to show that this tactic can work with a variety of teams. Not only clubs from the top 5 leagues. And not only the elite clubs filled with newgen wonderkids like my current Real Sociedad. In fact from the very start of the game, Spartak’s squad is very suitable to play this style of narrow vertical Total Football.

The tactic itself might not look like 4-2-2-2 in its defensive phase. But in its heat map, it actually resembles France’s “Carré Magique” formation (which was essentially a narrow 4-3-3). So this was France’s formation in the 1984 Euro Final:

And then our formation in my latest Real Sociedad match against Celta de Vigo:

The sort of football it produces at times is very faithful with the ultimate goal of any Total Football tactic. Beautiful game above all else. In this case I will let the following video clip do the talking.

 

 

It is also a very flexible formation, that can be adapted on the go. Such as with current Sociedad side where an injury to our 1st choice wingback forced me to play a more defensive player in the leftback slot. This in turn allowed one of our midfielders to take on a more attacking duty within the formation. Without really breaking the balance of the tactic.

Or if your most creative player happens to be one of your Attacking Midfielders, similarly to 1984 France’s Platini, then this might be the variation for you. Note the subtle shift in the playmaker role from the deeper DLP to the more advanced Trequartista role in the 2nd version of the tactic.

I will continue testing this FM21 adaptation of the famous Carré Magique formation with Real Sociedad, my go-to club to try out all kinds of weird tactics this year. Simply because they possess the well-rounded hard-working players that I require for a lot of my Total Football experiments. But a trip to Moscow, the city of 4 derbies, might not be out of the question.

After-all this is my Total Football Journeyman series. So I hope you enjoyed this voyage of discovering beautiful football in both history and the virtual FM world.

Edited April 9, 2021 by crusadertsar

[crusadertsar]

Some of you might remember my last ambitious experiment in FM21, with a rather interesting back three.

 

 

At the time it was my attempt at recreating Cruyff's 3-4-3 Diamond. Playing with only one central defender might seem rather foolish to some, or even outright stupid. But to me it revealed one important thing about FM. If you can dream it, and plan it out, then you can probably make it happen. And with enough persistence (as some of the people testing the tactic in that thread showed) you could make almost any formation into a viable and successful system. Even the wildest ones. Or at least have some fun by pushing the game's Match Engine to the very edge. 

 

Now with the revelation of the new updated ME in FM22, and one especially exciting role, I think Total Football is closer than ever! Once again I will be going back to the tactical drawing board with these new tools to see what kind of madness I can craft. Flying Liberos, free-wheeling False 9s, Shadow Strikers Half-space merchants and Free 8s? Or maybe Complete Wingbacks filling in for Wide Forwards. Nothing is out of the question. Anything is possible in this new new season with the new game. If you asked for it, then you might just get it. So without further ado, I'm excited to invite you on another journey of discovering Total Football in FM22. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

 

Part 1)

Drawing Inspiration: Cruyff’s 3-4-3 Diamond & The New Wide-CB Role

Also available in original format (and with clickable images) here: https://dictatethegame.com/football-manager-primer-playing-on-the-edge-with-widecentreback/

Now that we established that Football Manager is a simple game, let me show you an example of how simple it is to recreate a seemingly complicated historic tactic. We will do it step by step. So it might take a few articles to lay out the tactic completely. In this first step we’ll only take a general look at the newest FM role that inspired my FM22. Specifically the Holy Grail of all FM tactics, Total Football. And in FM22, recreating Total Football became easier than ever before. That is because of the introduction of the newest role, Wide Centre-back. As an aficionado of Johan Cruyff’s famous 3-4-3 Diamond, the Wide CB has become my new all-time favourite Football Manager role.

The rest of this guide series will almost exclusively focus on Johan Cruyff’s magnus opus of a tactic. The one he most famously employed during his time managing Barcelona in 1980s-1990s. The 3-4-3 Diamond. I’ll also use this tactic to highlight the new and exciting changes to how individual mentality is handled in FM22. And the effect this has on faithfully recreating Total Football. But more on that in Part 2, coming early in November.

The Team Of Dreams

The above formation allowed Cruyff’s “Dream Team” to win trophies and capture our hearts with its artistry. It was a formation that was never seen before, although it was innovative modification of the classic Total Football formula. Moving away from the typically Dutch 4-3-3, Cruyff flipped the tables on possession-focused attacking football. He did this by showing that two traditional centre-backs were not necessary when Total Football was the goal. In other words, you can afford to play on the edge if your aim is superior possession and attacking intent. But for this to work you need to be able to dominate your opponent through technical superiority on the pitch.

According to Johan Cruyff, it’s more important to maintain superiority in the midfield rather than defend against a potential attack. Attack is the best form of defence. Nearly total control over the game becomes the ultimate goal of Total Football. Thus it’s rather redundant to prepare against an attack that won’t come. Not when you are the superior team and your objective is to maintain control in opponent’s half. Or to win the ball back as quickly as possible so as to continue your hold over the match. So before you read any more, the following tactic is not made for the underdog. And definitely not for the relegation-threatened team. It was actually designed for a small but mean pit-bull competing with the big dogs in Champions League. With a club like Ajax, Club Brugge or even Spartak Moscow, the 3-4-3 Diamond could really shine.

Wide Centreback – Made for Total Football

In Total Football, control of the ball is key and it starts in the back. And the new Wide Centre-Back role can help us achieve exactly this in FM22.

 

 

To achieve “Total” control, Cruyff moved one of his centre-backs into the midfield. Then he asked the two fullbacks to play a hybrid role between central defender, wingback and defensive midfielder. Thus making up the 3-4-3 Diamond’s most interesting aspect, its three-in-the-back. Or more precisely its lack of traditional defence that stays backs and defends. In previous versions of FM I represented this by using a single CB flanked by two IWB(D)s or FB(D)s. But now with the advent of the new Wide Centre-Back role, recreating Cruyff’s 3-4-3 is easier than ever. And more faithful to the spirit if Total Football than ever before.

According to the in-game description, Wide Centre-Back’s main job is to stop the opposing attackers and to clear the ball. This seems pretty much in line with the role a traditional Centre-Back. But unlike standard central defenders, the Wide Centre-Back is encouraged to stay wide in possession. In addition to defending, his other role is to support the midfield like a full-back would. And if you feel adventurous, you could set him on attack duty to really maximize dribbling forward and providing late goal threat!

Lasting Legacy of Johan Cruyff

If you have possession, you don’t need to defend. After all, there is only one ball.

Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff singlehandedly introduced a new way of playing football. And in the process revolutionized Spanish football.

Upon becoming manager, first thing Cruyff did was remodel Barca’s tactical philosophy to play Dutch Total Football. Or his version of it. And he did this by changing Barcelona’s tactical and recruitment strategy. Club culture if you will. Barcelona became a Total Football factory on and off the pitch. With the exception of Holland’s Ajax (where Cruyff learned about Total Football) there was no other club like it. And arguably still isn’t.

Of course reform at Barca’s youth academy played a huge part in this. With the new focus on creating Total Footballers, the way Barcelona youth teams trained and how scouts looked for talent had to change. The technical attributes, overlooked before in favour of height and physicality, became the focus of attention under the new system. A whole generation of “diminutive” Spanish footballers, like Xavi and Iniesta, have Cruyff to thank in part for their success. Even Leo Messi’s meteoric rise is partly thanks to Cruyff, if not directly. But this is not an article about that. Barca’s famed La Masia probably deserves a whole book of its own. Here I will talk about tactics. And specifically Cruyff’s 3-4-3 that revolutionized not only Spanish football but possession-focused football as a whole. With its influence still felt in the work of modern managers like Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola.

Andres Iniesta became the model for ideal Spanish footballer in the new millennium.

Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team formation, officially labeled 3-4-3 Diamond was not that different from the 4-3-3 in which Cruyff played during the majority of his footballing career. Barca’s Total Football legacy was in how Cruyff remodeled one of the CB positions into a hybrid free role in defensive midfield. A role, filled by young Pep Guardiola, and tasked with both the midfield and defence duties, depending on the situation. We can view it as some kind of mix between a half-back and a creative regista. Not so far removed from how Guardiola utilized Fernandinho more recently at Man City.

Pep Guardiola – Cruyff’s greatest student at the School of Total Football

At the top of the Diamond, Cruyff placed his other patented hybrid role, that of the False 9. In Cruyff’s Dream Team, Michael Laudrup personified this role. Similarly to Guardiola’s role, it was the Dane’s job to transition between two strata. In Laurdrup’s case, attack and midfield.

Michael Laudrap – Cruyff’s successor to False 9 mantle in Barca’s Dream Team

Cruyff was very familiar with False 9 since he made the role his own while playing at Ajax. The hard working, supporting quasi-striker role became as synonymous with Total Football as Ajax’ patented 4-3-3 formation. While playing as a False 9, Cruyff was a force of nature, and a quintessential Total Footballer. He dropped deep and drifted into midfield where he would help out his teammates with build-up rather than staying near the penalty box like a typical striker. In truth Ajax’s 4-3-3 did not have a central striker. During possession, Cruyff became an extra midfielder who through hard work and boundless creativity made the whole team better. Dutch 4-3-3 was the first truly striker-less tactic.

To me the photo above was always worth a thousand words. The look of resignation on the face of the prostrate player is only surpassed by the elegant grace with which Cruyff glides past the Argentinian keeper. Frozen in time, Cruyff will forever be the razor sharp bird of prey with his eye on the kill. Operating on a wholly different level that opposition could not match. A personification of Totaalvoetbal. But it wasn’t just about #14’s supreme skill with the ball. Johan was often the hardest working player for both Ajax and Dutch side. Cruyff may have worn the iconic #14 but we’ll always remember him as a False 9. It was his innovative use of space that paved the way for Messi and the reemergence of the modern #9.

Johan Cruyff (#14) playing as a False 9, was often the hardest working player for both Ajax and Dutch National Side

These two fluid roles were most obvious reminders that Cruyff the Manager was indeed developing a Total Football system at Barcelona. The interchanging of positions and role swapping were ever-present in Barca’s 3-4-3. And just like in Ajax’s fluid 4-3-3 where attackers sometimes played as defenders and defenders as attackers, the hybrid roles of #9 and #4 were central to the functioning of the tactic. Thanks to Laudrup’s and Pep’s fluid movement and masterful manipulation of space, multiple passing triangles could be created in the midfield. And that is the key to the success of Cruyff’s 3-4-3. In removing one man from defence, he created an actual four men diamond in the midfield. Cruyff understood that in football nothing was better for controlling the pitch than having a midfield diamond. Even defence becomes secondary to an effective diamond.

Total Football – Playing On The Edge

If you have four men defending two strikers, you only have six against eight in the middle of the field. There’s no way you can win that battle. We had to put a defender further forward.

Johan Cruyff

I am a staunch believer in the power of 4-3-3. My fascination with the shape goes back to FM14. And I will always say that it’s the most defensively-solid of all possession-centered formations. However because of its shape it can get rather predictable at times. This is especially evident when it comes up against bottom-heavy parked buses (so common in recent FMs). It does not do very well against such ultra-defensive formations. Unfortunately 4-3-3 is also rather bottom heavy. Do you really need four players staying back when your opponent has no intention of attacking?

With 4-3-3, when facing a parked bus, the ball tends to get stuck in the midfield where your players will pass the ball around endlessly with few attacking avenues open to them. Or even worse, the opponent marks or presses your midfielders leaving very few passing options for your centrebacks. You want them to play from the back but instead they resort to booting the ball long to your attackers. The end result is usually “pointless possession” – more possession than you really need.

Wait? What?! I thought you just said possession was essential. Why is too much possession suddenly a bad thing? Well, it is if it’s not the right kind of possession. Possession with intent.

If your two centrebacks and keeper just pass between each other for 90 minutes, you might be very good at preventing the opposition from scoring but you also won’t be scoring much yourself. The ball will move where the majority of your players are. And this why it is more important to pack your midfield as much as possible. Especially with competent ball-carriers and runners. Essentially players from whom it will be difficult to take away the ball. This will allow the creation of possession with intent as the ball moves through midfield to your three forwards. It will also free up the forward from his midfield duties with dedicated attacking midfielder behind him.

Cruyff saw the inherent problem with the original 4-3-3, which he was very familiar with from his Ajax playing days. And then decided to make a change that would revolutionize Barcelona and football forever. It was rather simple. He made an important shift by moving one centreback higher into DM position and one central midfielder into AMC position. Resulting three in the back, allowed the rest of the team to concentrate on winning the midfield battle and controlling the ball in the opponent’s half.

           F9(S)
W(S)         AM(S)        W(S)
     CAR(S) HB(D) CAR(S)

     WCD(S) BPD(C) WCD(S)

             SK(D)

This kind of set up is only possible if you move one defender higher into the midfield. But what you might lack in defence, is outweighed by the midfield diamond that’s created.

I was criticized for playing three at the back, but that’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard. What we needed was to fill the middle of the pitch with players where we needed it most. I much prefer to win 5-4 than 1-0.

Johan Cruyff

Amazingly, traditional defending didn’t enter Cruyff’s mind. Barca’s keeper Andoni Zubizarreta even recalls asking the Dutchman about how he wanted his team to defend. “How should I know?” was Cruyff’s famously laconic answer. “You decide. You’re more interested in how to defend a corner than me.”

To understand Cruyff’s tactical thinking it’s worthwhile to watch the following video. It is a must-watch viewing for anyone trying to emulate his 3-4-3 Diamond in FM22.

 

To play Johan Cruyff’s 3-4-3 successfully, it is not just the matter of tactics and choosing the right roles. Far from it. You’ll have to start with long-term plan to adapt your club culture both on the academy training field and the transfer market. In order to fit into the Total Football system, every footballer needs to show excellence in three key fields.

1. Technical Excellence because that is important in maintaining control over the ball. I prefer not to call it possession and get hung up on the numbers. The simple idea is you need players who can keep the ball away from opponents or can steal it away easily.
2. Physical Strength to maintain high level of intensity through the whole match. Total Football is not golf. Every outfield play has to run for the whole 90 minutes.
3. Endurance and speed are needed for the other essential aspect of Total Football: Mental Resilience. By combining physically fit and hard-working players, you get footballers who are capable of achieving the main objectives of Total Football. High Hard Press and Possession with Intent.

 

Total Football is not a slow possession game of attrition. It’s a hard pressing, fluid, attacking machine. As seen in the clip above, Dutch total footballers maintained a constant pressure on their opponent. They were always looking to win the ball and maintain the vertical flow of attack. The play that starts at about 20 second mark is my favourite and very representative of this.

Note of Caution

Lets get his out of the way first. When I said that Cruyff was a staunch proponent of “playing on the edge,” I wasn’t kidding. The Total Football style is not for the faint of heart. Especially if your heart stops when you spot opposition strikers behind your defensive line. You will definitely need very good Sweeper-Keeper, BPD-type centreback and two defensively-solid wide centrebacks.

It is not, by any means, a plug and play tactic. Although from early testing it’s apparent that the tactic has the potential for some very good results. Especially if you combine it my Total Football training method. You have to really go all out when developing a Total Football system. No half-measures. Implementing the formation alone will not be enough. You have to make sure that you have suitable players and coaches. Thus changing both your recruitment and youth development strategy to fit the tactic is absolutely essential. And then you’ll need to train players to develop the right attributes to fit the system (topic for future articles).

I need to emphasize that it is not a plug-and-play tactic, eventhough it appears to work well with a variety of teams. So far I tested it with Porto and (surprise!) Ajax. Both of which are not world-class but still possess very technically-gifted squads. Even at the start of the game, these teams have the players that are well-suited to Total Football. Players with great technical and mental attributes.

What this tactic does best is to accentuate midfield control to the point where most of your defending is done through ball possession and pressing the opponents in their own half. As Cruyff idealized, when you possess midfield advantage and control the ball then there is no need for traditional defending. As such this tactic thrives on a very aggressive defending style. But if you do not have “Total Footballers” required for it, then it could turn into a disaster. It is similar to asking a squad with low levels of Aggression, Stamina and Workrate to gegenpress. It just won’t work. Before you can attempt to play Total Football with a club of your choice, you need to make sure that you possess players who are Total Footballers or have the potential to develop into such.

Back Three – The Spine of The Tactic

First of all, look at this attributes profile and guess whether it’s a striker, midfielder or defender in my system.

The right answer is all three. And he will probably be a very good Wide Centreback. You might ask, Crusadertsar why do you need your defenders to be so technical? Don’t you already have enough creative passers in the midfield? Well, not really. While your most creative players will probably gravitate towards the four roles in your midfield diamond, the back three is equally important. If anything, this trio of defenders make up the creative spine of the formation. Most of your attacking plays will start there. So that is why you need make sure that besides being competent defenders they know how to control and pass the ball forward.

The very fluid nature of the tactic, ensures that my back three fan out when in possession, covering the width of the field. I also have team instructions that contribute to wider defensive positioning.

But in FM22 the biggest game changer is definitely being able to play the two outside defenders as wide-centrebacks (with the hard-coded instructions to stay wide and make overlapping runs forward).

This way my three centrebacks can have as many as 3-5 short passing options at all times. During transition phase this is huge! It gets even better when the opposition team tries to press my defenders. When they do this, they will create gaping holes in their own midfield which my midfielders and attackers are more than happy to exploit. As you can see in the example above my wide centreback Mateus Uribe has the ball. He is a very competent passer (he is a retrained midfielder) and already has 3 safe (blue) passing options to #8, #6 or #3. And two riskier (red) options. And given the nature of the diamond, the 5 potential ball receivers themselves have at least 3 other passing options forward. Which is already a good start to the play.

But were the opposition midfielders to press Uribe, then they would be opening up space in the midfield, revealing other, better passing avenues for my wide centreback. Such as to my AMC (#10) and winger (#2). My AMC is a very hard working player who is always looking for the ball and often drops deep or shifts to the wing with the ball. A recipe for an easy overload. And once my winger or AMC have the ball they can dribble with it to get into more dangerous space behind the opposition midfield. All while the opposition midfielders are caught on their backfoot dealing with our adventurous wide centre-backs.

Of course in order for this to work, Mateus needs to possess special qualities as a wide centreback. Besides being able to pass, he must also withstand pressure from opponents trying to steal the ball from him. This is one of the reasons why I prefer to play tall (Jumping Reach) midfielders with decent strength, tackling and marking as my wide-centrebacks.

As a natural defensive midfielder Uribe already possess those qualities as well as being better at passing and ball control. The key attributes here are his Composure, Decisions and Balance. They will help him to maintain possession despite intense pressure from opposing players. So he can receive the ball, attract the attention of opposing midfielders or attackers, withstand their challenges and then coolly pass it to his midfield teammates. While they are not elite-level, his Dribbling and Agility are decent enough. It’s always a bonus to have those two attributes as high as possible when it comes to controlling the ball.

In Total Football an ideal player for any role is one who could fill any position in the formation, from striker to the centreback. While Porto’s squad is not by any means full of Total Footballers, there are some very good well-rounded players. Especially the all-important back three. Intentionally I hand-picked my three defenders to resemble midfielders more than traditional centrebacks or fullbacks. In order to achieve this I have no problem with playing players out of position. Retrained tall midfielders make for best wide-centrebacks. Not being natural in the position has very little penalty on performance.

What’s most important is whether the player has the attributes to perform in the role. At Porto, two of my wide-centrebacks, Grujić and Uribe, are former midfielders and have very little experience as centrebacks. No matter. I chose them for their good positioning, marking and tackling as well their technical prowess to maintain control of the ball. This is where our defending through possession begins. It’s all in the attributes.

Part of the reason why the tactic works so well is having players like Uribe as my wide centrebacks. As you can see he could just as easily slot in as one of the midfielders. And his contribution in team’s possession numbers has been immense. Only a short time after switching to the tactic, Porto has already topped the league in the number and accuracy of passes.

And it’s no small thanks to my wide centre-backs’ contribution in passing from the back. Take into account that this is still a small match sample of 5 games in the beginning of our season.

The beauty of building possession from the back in 3-4-3 Diamond! And seeing how involved the Wide-Centrebacks get. Everything flows through them.

Similarly at Ajax, we have a wealth of talent that can easily straddle the line between midfield and defence. I believe that retraining midfielders to play as defenders is the best way of recreating the roles of Koeman, Ferrer and Sergi from Cruyff’s Dream Team.

While Sergi and Ferrer were acting as wide defenders, the sole central defender Koeman was more akin to an Italian libero/sweeper. Just like Koeman, Lisandro Martinez is comfortable dribbling and bringing the ball up towards the midfield. Once there, his superior technical and mental attributes are more useful in aiding the possession battle than if he was a traditional centreback.

Diamonds Are Forever

So to summarize, the unique quality of Cruyff’s 3-4-3 “active defending” is the two diamonds linking defence to midfield.

To create his double diamond, Cruyff told one central defender to sit deeper sweeping up any loose balls and bring the ball forward when in possession. Basically, it’s your libero-style defender. Then continuing to recreate Cruyff’s system, you place two wide defender/fullback hybrids on both sides of the central defender. Ideally, retrained midfielders excelling in both defending and passing. They also require good mobility to be able to get back into their defensive positions when out of possession. They will need to have jumping reach and other centreback qualities to deal with crosses and intercept opposition attackers. But otherwise playing defensively responsible midfielders with good crossing and dribbling (for when they overlap) is the way to go.

The main advantage of having two diamonds is the multitude of short passing options created. Especially if you have good passers in both your AMC and Defensive Midfielder pivot roles. Cruyff’s priority again was to defend through possession and in turn maintain ball control by always having players to pass to. Therefore the role of the Defensive Midfielder (Dream Team’s Pep Guardiola) becomes key. Because he sits in the hole between the midfield and defence. When the wide-centrebacks and/or central centreback carry the ball forward into the midfield, the DM must drop back to cover for this movement. Half-back might be just the role to mimic this kind of behaviour in the game. But you have to make sure that he has sufficient creativity to excell in the role like Pep did.

In DM position, you’ll need a player similar to your libero. He must be very technical and comfortable on the ball in order to act as your defensive pivot most of the time and a second centreback some of the time. It helps immensely if he has good jumping and other defensive attributes.

Concluding Thoughts

I’ve been thinking long and hard on how to start my tactical journey in FM22. In my time with last year’s FM version, I’ve written about many different formations. Everything from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and 4-1-2-1-2. Overtime my interests shifted away from the obsession with Total Football to a deeper appreciation of the pragmatic dark arts of Zona Mista. And then there was the long-overdue love letter to Jose Mourinho. With such wide focus to management last year, it can be hard to choose one specific tactical direction to take with FM22. I guess it is the perfect example of the great versatility of the game which allows such freedom. Many approaches are viable in FM. And with careful planning almost any tactic can be successful. So the real question becomes, what style of football are you most passionate about?

With the reveal of the wide-centreback, the choice has become quite easy in FM22. I chose to play on the edge. Why defend when you already have the ball? Once a Total Football addict, always a Total Football addict.

The overall team mentality is another choice that has become very easy while developing my tactic. But that’s the topic of my next article, titled “Mentality Ladder”. It will take a deeper, under the hood look at my Total Football tactic. And at the same time, it will examine some very interesting changes to how players individual mentality is handled in FM22. It is really changing the way I set up my tactics. But more on that later. Thanks for reading this far!

Edited October 27, 2021 by crusadertsar

[crusadertsar]

Part 2)

My Tactical Roadmap

When I first decided to create a Total Football tactic for FM22, I did not have 3-4-3 Diamond in mind. That came later. I only settled on Cruyff's historic "Dream Team" formation after realizing that it possessed all the elements needed to achieve the goals that I set out for myself at the start of this project. The goal was to recreate Total Football within FM22 as accurately as possible.

In order to achieve this, these will be my tactical goals. Basically what I would like my team to achieve on the pitch with our tactic.

 

Progressive Possession - avoiding "pointless possession" and stereotypical Tiki-Taka football. I really don't want to win by a thousand sideways passes and uninspiring results. The less 0-0s and 1-0s the better). Possession needs to have intent and and clear vertical progression. And we need to move the ball up the pitch with style and determination.

In Johan Cruyff's own words: "Quality without results is pointless. Results without quality is boring".

And of course my all-time favourite, "I'd rather win 5-4 than 1-0".

 

Building Up From The Back. At the same time, I don't want my keeper or defenders mindlessly booting the ball towards my forwards. We need to establish a strong system for building-up attacks from the back. Its one of the main advantages of possession style football. When you are a good team with good technical players, you'll want to increase your time on the ball. This will simply allow your players more chances to craft out good plays. And part of this is limiting the amount of low-chance passes and crosses. I hate seeing long hoofballs from my defenders and keeper. So the very first thing I will show in my next update is how to limit those.

 

Maintaining Control Over The Match. While I won't spit on a good counter, Total Football is not about that. We are not in the business of waiting around for another team to make a mistake. Total Football is the business of controlling your own destiny on the playing field. Total Domination of the game. You win or lose based on YOUR actions on the pitch. Not what the other team does or does not do. And the formation's Diamond in midfield is key in seizing control over the pitch. It along with the the three-man defence are among the most prominent features of the 3-4-3 Diamond. Here the selection of players and their roles are especially important here. Good synergy between the roles and the attributes will ensure better ball control. More on that later.

 

High Pressing and Hard Work. Very very important to recreating Total Football style. That is because it is how the team is able to maintain its control over the ball. Your players have to be very good at taking the ball away from the opposition. And high press and workrate are instrumental in this. A lot of younger Footballer Manager fans might think of this as the ever-popular Geggenpressing. The favourite style for exploit plug-and-play tactics and anyone looking for instant results. While the addition of more accurate stamina monitoring in FM22 might have reduced the effectiveness of Geggenpress as a universal win-all strategy, it still remains a viable tool in any possession-focused formation looking to control the ball as much as possible. Invariably the requirement of the high, hard press, is going to dictate the shape of our formation. Specifically the positioning of the wide forwards. But again more on that later when I discuss the formation and its roles in upcoming the Mentality Ladder Update.

 

Interchanging of Positions - Universality of Total Football. This is one aspect of Total Football that is probably the hardest to model in Football Manager. One of the main principles of Total Football of course being that every outfield player, no matter their original position should be able to play every other position on the pitch. The sweeper keeper should be able to act as the first playmaker by venturing outside the box to start intricate build-up plays with the defenders. And the striker should be capable of dropping deep to contribute in the midfield and press the opposition. Essentially you want every player to be involved in all three phases of play; defence, transition and attack. The big question remains on how to best implement this in FM22. Once again individual mentalities and team instructions are key.

 

NEXT PART: My Total Football Mentality Ladder - Tactical Teething Pains and Going Mental with Roles

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by crusadertsar

[crusadertsar]

Part 3)

How To Play Out Of Defence in 3-4-3 Diamond 

In this tactical update, I will shine more light on the backline of my tactic. Specifically, guiding you through how to set up your defence in order to better build up progressive possession from the back. So we will climb the Mentality Ladder, starting at the very bottom. 

Generally, low individual mentalities are not ideal for playing out from the back. Or for creating the patient build-up by the keeper and defenders that's the staple of possession football, like Total Football. It might seem counterintuitive, but higher team mentalities are more conductive to this style of football. So sometimes, to play possession football, you need to use attacking mentality. Why is that?

Problem with being too cautious

It is no secret that on low (eg. cautious) team mentality, defenders tend to play it safe. Moreover, this often means booting the ball upfield and away from dangerous areas near your penalty box. This makes sense when your intention is to play cautiously and defensively. But it is definitely not the behaviour we want from our defenders when trying to build from the back. Yet it happens all the time in FM. Even when playing on positive mentality. And if you are new to the game, you might not realize what you are doing wrong. It can be very frustrating when you see this happen again and again. Especially because when you read the in-game description for positive mentality, it seems perfect for possession-focused style like Total Football.

Patiently probe. Maintain possession. The exact elements that we are trying to implement in possession football? And that's exactly what the description suggests. Except it is misleading. To understand this, one needs to understand that team mentality affects different positions differently. By setting it to "positive" for the whole team, it does not mean that all of your players will operate with this mentality. While it is true that player mentality relates to the team mentality, the link is not direct. Defenders and players with Defend duty will always operate on the lower mentality level from the general team mentality. I call this concept the Mentality Ladder. Understanding and mastering how you can manipulate it, is one of the first steps in creating a successful Total Football tactic.

Even on Positive team mentality, your central defenders will operate with "Cautious" individual mentality. A little bit of pressing pressure from opposition can make them go into defensive mode and look for ways to clear the ball to safety. Sometimes with no option but to boot it long over your midfielders.

Importance of Roles and Duties

Ball-playing Defenders are actually not ideal roles for when you want to have lots of possession and patiently build up plays from the back. Especially if you use more than one in your backline.

Their role description says it all. So think twice before setting up a whole backline of BPDs, just because you have technical defenders whose recommended role is Ball-Playing Defender.

Imagine you have two or more such roles in back three? Then read the second paragraph in the image above. Personally, I would only give this role to a truly special player capable of making those hollywood passes on regular basis. That is a player with elite-level passing, vision and decision attributes. Maybe someone like Pirlo who can also dribble and jump. Although if that's the case then maybe he would be better utilized as a libero with more creative freedom. And If you do not have such a player then why not just a simple central defender. He will make simple short passes towards your midfielders and avoid the much riskier long ones. A simple centreback on cover duty will suffice in that case. Especially if you want your other two wide-centrebacks to be more adventurous in how they progress the ball.

There are several ways to set up an effective back three in a progressive possession system. However, the most important thing to remember is, balance. If your tactic asks two of your defenders to move aggressively forward with the ball, then the third needs to be more conservative to preserve the defensive integrity of the formation and cover for the other twos' movement.

Such set-up does not need to be symmetric. For example if your most creative, mobile players are your libero and left centreback then it is okay to set the left wide-centreback with a more conservative duty to provide balance to the backline. This will also let you assign more varied roles to your midfielders.

Such that your right wide-centreback with Defend duty will allow your mezzala to be more aggressive in his forward runs. He will tend to hold his position wide to cover for any potential opposition counters. And he won't dribble forward and overlap as much as his partner on support duty. That is because on the left flank, the presence of the more defensively-minded carrilero gives your left wide-centreback more freedom. The freedom to move forward and act like a real dynamic hybrid between a fullback and a defender.

So now that you have chosen your roles, there is another important element to keep in mind. What about the players' individual mentalities?

For progressive passing game, such as that required by Total Football, you need your defenders' individual mentality to be relatively high. "Defensive" or even "cautious" won't really be sufficient to make them regularly bring the ball forward or stand off intense pressure from opposition. Again, it makes sense because conservative play encourages defenders to take less risks. When faced with a choice between potentially losing the ball to opponent's press or booting it upfield, the defender will almost invariably take the less risky option of sending the ball further away from goal. That is because holding onto the ball and dribbling with it will always be the riskier choice. It will require more skill from the player to achieve successfully. But if you possess the defenders with the right attributes, then why would you not want them to make those kinds of decisions?

When to play Total Football and build up possession from the back you will definitely need very technical elite defenders. But then to unlock their full potential you have to make sure that the tactic itself is allowing them to make the full use of their skills. And that is why in a Total Football tactic, you will need to increase the risk taking across the whole formation, not just the attack and midfield. To do this you need to find an overall team mentality that brings up the individual mentalities of almost all your players to at least "positive" or "balanced".

Ok so you managed to give your wide-centrebacks a "positive" mentality. The next important step is building the rest of the formation around them. That is when your two ball-carrying Wide-Centrebacks decide to bring the ball forward, are there other players in good positions to receive it? For once, you will need a midfielder staying back to offer a safer passing option. And to cover for the centrebacks adventurous movement. Hence a Half Back at DM position is a necessary role in a 3-4-3 Diamond.

Think of this player as your defensive pivot around which the rest of the players move. He is the bottom point of the diamond and essential in providing a point of stability that allows the libero (if you use one) and the wide-centrebacks to be more adventurous. He also has the lowest individual mentality in the formation - "balanced". This makes him the player that's least likely to take the riskier option or to dribble forward during the attack. You will need a player like this if you want to start your attacks with the defenders and not get caught on the counter.

 

It goes without saying that your Half Back has to be a very good player. He does not need to be a very mobile one. But possessing some obvious defensive strengths (including jumping reach) will help greatly as he will be acting like your fourth centreback at times.

The Half Back is the little engine in your Total Football machine. He does not roam around much, mostly staying central in his section of the field. But he does move up and down between DM strata and the backline quite a bit. That is part of his main function as the defensive pivot. He only drops back when the widebacks or libero dribble forward during possession. In this way he always provides a passing option to the other defenders or your sweeper keeper. But even more importantly the Half Back needs the technical skill to be able to pick up and spread the ball ahead of him. Hence the importance of having a player with great vision and passing in the DM slot. You will want someone like Ajax' Daley Blind who can receive the ball in front of the defensive line and see the whole midfield ahead of him. And due to the nature of the 3-4-3 Diamond, he should have numerous passing options ahead of him. As shown in the diagram below. 

Sometimes it is the team instructions that confuse the players and lead to opposite outcomes. For example, telling your keeper to "pass short" while playing with extremely high defensive line. How do you expect him to make precise short passes when the defenders are too high up for such passes? If there are no short pass options available, even the best sweeper keeper will gravitate toward long kicks. So it might be better to allow the keeper to make his own choices on the length of the pass. Instead there is another way to limit his tendency to kick the ball over your defensive line towards the forwards. I tell my keeper to pass only to the centrebacks. This keeps his passing options relatively more open, mixing up the short passes with the occasional medium-length kick. And you are making sure that he is mostly targeting your three centre-backs.

Of course there will be times when all three centrebacks are out of reach of your keeper. And that is why including "play out of from defence" is also required. This instruction is absolutely essential in building up from the back. That is because it instructs both your centrebacks and DM to drop back towards your penalty area. In turn, facilitating their chance of receiving easier short passes from the keeper. While the Half Back should already drop back by default, with this instruction he should do so even more frequently.

"Play out of Defence" has another, more offensive, function. By dropping back when in possession, the centrebacks will pull the opposition midfielders with them. This is especially true when facing a high-pressing side like RB Leipzig or Liverpool. So when their midfielders try to press your ball-playing wide-centrebacks, they will invariably open up more space behind them. Space that your own midfielders can exploit. And that is why you want to have good passers with great decision making in your backline. To be able to see such openings and to act on them quickly. There is no room for hesitation or half-measures in possession football. It is Playing on The Edge to the max. Embrace it in FM22!

Note: Only Defensive instructions are shown. The rest will be revealed in future updates on midfield and attack.

And that's basically all the defensive team instructions I use in my tactic. Not many, but all essential to our build up. And especially to channel the opposition into the middle of the pitch, exactly where our formation gives us an advantage.

Edited October 31, 2021 by crusadertsar

[kalokalitokalo]

It is doable under this ME, which is great.

 

I've adapted PannetonO's total control to a 3-4-3 diamond, tested in holidays with PSG to see how the defense is:

 

 

[04texag]

2 hours ago, kalokalitokalo said:

It is doable under this ME, which is great.

 

I've adapted PannetonO's total control to a 3-4-3 diamond, tested in holidays with PSG to see how the defense is:

 

 

So many AP-S, how does that actually look and perform when playing out?

[gpassosbh]

11 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

Some of you might remember my last ambitious experiment in FM21, with a rather interesting back three.

 

 

At the time it was my attempt at recreating Cruyff's 3-4-3 Diamond. Playing with only one central defender might seem rather foolish to some, or even outright stupid. But to me it revealed one important thing about FM. If you can dream it, and plan it out, then you can probably make it happen. And with enough persistence (as some of the people testing the tactic in that thread showed) you could make almost any formation into a viable and successful system. Even the wildest ones. Or at least have some fun by pushing the game's Match Engine to the very edge. 

 

Now with the revelation of the new updated ME in FM22, and one especially exciting role, I think Total Football is closer than ever! Once again I will be going back to the tactical drawing board with these new tools to see what kind of madness I can craft. Flying Liberos, free-wheeling False 9s, Shadow Strikers Half-space merchants and Free 8s? Or maybe Complete Wingbacks filling in for Wide Forwards. Nothing is out of the question. Anything is possible in this new new season with the new game. If you asked for it, then you might just get it. So without further ado, I'm excited to invite you on another journey of discovering Total Football in FM22. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

 

Part 1)

Drawing Inspiration: Cruyff’s 3-4-3 Diamond & The New Wide-CB Role

Also available in original format (and with clickable images) here: https://dictatethegame.com/football-manager-primer-playing-on-the-edge-with-widecentreback/

Now that we established that Football Manager is a simple game, let me show you an example of how simple it is to recreate a seemingly complicated historic tactic. We will do it step by step. So it might take a few articles to lay out the tactic completely. In this first step we’ll only take a general look at the newest FM role that inspired my FM22. Specifically the Holy Grail of all FM tactics, Total Football. And in FM22, recreating Total Football became easier than ever before. That is because of the introduction of the newest role, Wide Centre-back. As an aficionado of Johan Cruyff’s famous 3-4-3 Diamond, the Wide CB has become my new all-time favourite Football Manager role.

The rest of this guide series will almost exclusively focus on Johan Cruyff’s magnus opus of a tactic. The one he most famously employed during his time managing Barcelona in 1980s-1990s. The 3-4-3 Diamond. I’ll also use this tactic to highlight the new and exciting changes to how individual mentality is handled in FM22. And the effect this has on faithfully recreating Total Football. But more on that in Part 2, coming early in November.

The Team Of Dreams

The above formation allowed Cruyff’s “Dream Team” to win trophies and capture our hearts with its artistry. It was a formation that was never seen before, although it was innovative modification of the classic Total Football formula. Moving away from the typically Dutch 4-3-3, Cruyff flipped the tables on possession-focused attacking football. He did this by showing that two traditional centre-backs were not necessary when Total Football was the goal. In other words, you can afford to play on the edge if your aim is superior possession and attacking intent. But for this to work you need to be able to dominate your opponent through technical superiority on the pitch.

According to Johan Cruyff, it’s more important to maintain superiority in the midfield rather than defend against a potential attack. Attack is the best form of defence. Nearly total control over the game becomes the ultimate goal of Total Football. Thus it’s rather redundant to prepare against an attack that won’t come. Not when you are the superior team and your objective is to maintain control in opponent’s half. Or to win the ball back as quickly as possible so as to continue your hold over the match. So before you read any more, the following tactic is not made for the underdog. And definitely not for the relegation-threatened team. It was actually designed for a small but mean pit-bull competing with the big dogs in Champions League. With a club like Ajax, Club Brugge or even Spartak Moscow, the 3-4-3 Diamond could really shine.

Wide Centreback – Made for Total Football

In Total Football, control of the ball is key and it starts in the back. And the new Wide Centre-Back role can help us achieve exactly this in FM22.

 

 

To achieve “Total” control, Cruyff moved one of his centre-backs into the midfield. Then he asked the two fullbacks to play a hybrid role between central defender, wingback and defensive midfielder. Thus making up the 3-4-3 Diamond’s most interesting aspect, its three-in-the-back. Or more precisely its lack of traditional defence that stays backs and defends. In previous versions of FM I represented this by using a single CB flanked by two IWB(D)s or FB(D)s. But now with the advent of the new Wide Centre-Back role, recreating Cruyff’s 3-4-3 is easier than ever. And more faithful to the spirit if Total Football than ever before.

According to the in-game description, Wide Centre-Back’s main job is to stop the opposing attackers and to clear the ball. This seems pretty much in line with the role a traditional Centre-Back. But unlike standard central defenders, the Wide Centre-Back is encouraged to stay wide in possession. In addition to defending, his other role is to support the midfield like a full-back would. And if you feel adventurous, you could set him on attack duty to really maximize dribbling forward and providing late goal threat!

Lasting Legacy of Johan Cruyff

If you have possession, you don’t need to defend. After all, there is only one ball.

Johan Cruyff

Johan Cruyff singlehandedly introduced a new way of playing football. And in the process revolutionized Spanish football.

Upon becoming manager, first thing Cruyff did was remodel Barca’s tactical philosophy to play Dutch Total Football. Or his version of it. And he did this by changing Barcelona’s tactical and recruitment strategy. Club culture if you will. Barcelona became a Total Football factory on and off the pitch. With the exception of Holland’s Ajax (where Cruyff learned about Total Football) there was no other club like it. And arguably still isn’t.

Of course reform at Barca’s youth academy played a huge part in this. With the new focus on creating Total Footballers, the way Barcelona youth teams trained and how scouts looked for talent had to change. The technical attributes, overlooked before in favour of height and physicality, became the focus of attention under the new system. A whole generation of “diminutive” Spanish footballers, like Xavi and Iniesta, have Cruyff to thank in part for their success. Even Leo Messi’s meteoric rise is partly thanks to Cruyff, if not directly. But this is not an article about that. Barca’s famed La Masia probably deserves a whole book of its own. Here I will talk about tactics. And specifically Cruyff’s 3-4-3 that revolutionized not only Spanish football but possession-focused football as a whole. With its influence still felt in the work of modern managers like Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola.

Andres Iniesta became the model for ideal Spanish footballer in the new millennium.

Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team formation, officially labeled 3-4-3 Diamond was not that different from the 4-3-3 in which Cruyff played during the majority of his footballing career. Barca’s Total Football legacy was in how Cruyff remodeled one of the CB positions into a hybrid free role in defensive midfield. A role, filled by young Pep Guardiola, and tasked with both the midfield and defence duties, depending on the situation. We can view it as some kind of mix between a half-back and a creative regista. Not so far removed from how Guardiola utilized Fernandinho more recently at Man City.

Pep Guardiola – Cruyff’s greatest student at the School of Total Football

At the top of the Diamond, Cruyff placed his other patented hybrid role, that of the False 9. In Cruyff’s Dream Team, Michael Laudrup personified this role. Similarly to Guardiola’s role, it was the Dane’s job to transition between two strata. In Laurdrup’s case, attack and midfield.

Michael Laudrap – Cruyff’s successor to False 9 mantle in Barca’s Dream Team

Cruyff was very familiar with False 9 since he made the role his own while playing at Ajax. The hard working, supporting quasi-striker role became as synonymous with Total Football as Ajax’ patented 4-3-3 formation. While playing as a False 9, Cruyff was a force of nature, and a quintessential Total Footballer. He dropped deep and drifted into midfield where he would help out his teammates with build-up rather than staying near the penalty box like a typical striker. In truth Ajax’s 4-3-3 did not have a central striker. During possession, Cruyff became an extra midfielder who through hard work and boundless creativity made the whole team better. Dutch 4-3-3 was the first truly striker-less tactic.

To me the photo above was always worth a thousand words. The look of resignation on the face of the prostrate player is only surpassed by the elegant grace with which Cruyff glides past the Argentinian keeper. Frozen in time, Cruyff will forever be the razor sharp bird of prey with his eye on the kill. Operating on a wholly different level that opposition could not match. A personification of Totaalvoetbal. But it wasn’t just about #14’s supreme skill with the ball. Johan was often the hardest working player for both Ajax and Dutch side. Cruyff may have worn the iconic #14 but we’ll always remember him as a False 9. It was his innovative use of space that paved the way for Messi and the reemergence of the modern #9.

Johan Cruyff (#14) playing as a False 9, was often the hardest working player for both Ajax and Dutch National Side

These two fluid roles were most obvious reminders that Cruyff the Manager was indeed developing a Total Football system at Barcelona. The interchanging of positions and role swapping were ever-present in Barca’s 3-4-3. And just like in Ajax’s fluid 4-3-3 where attackers sometimes played as defenders and defenders as attackers, the hybrid roles of #9 and #4 were central to the functioning of the tactic. Thanks to Laudrup’s and Pep’s fluid movement and masterful manipulation of space, multiple passing triangles could be created in the midfield. And that is the key to the success of Cruyff’s 3-4-3. In removing one man from defence, he created an actual four men diamond in the midfield. Cruyff understood that in football nothing was better for controlling the pitch than having a midfield diamond. Even defence becomes secondary to an effective diamond.

Total Football – Playing On The Edge

If you have four men defending two strikers, you only have six against eight in the middle of the field. There’s no way you can win that battle. We had to put a defender further forward.

Johan Cruyff

I am a staunch believer in the power of 4-3-3. My fascination with the shape goes back to FM14. And I will always say that it’s the most defensively-solid of all possession-centered formations. However because of its shape it can get rather predictable at times. This is especially evident when it comes up against bottom-heavy parked buses (so common in recent FMs). It does not do very well against such ultra-defensive formations. Unfortunately 4-3-3 is also rather bottom heavy. Do you really need four players staying back when your opponent has no intention of attacking?

With 4-3-3, when facing a parked bus, the ball tends to get stuck in the midfield where your players will pass the ball around endlessly with few attacking avenues open to them. Or even worse, the opponent marks or presses your midfielders leaving very few passing options for your centrebacks. You want them to play from the back but instead they resort to booting the ball long to your attackers. The end result is usually “pointless possession” – more possession than you really need.

Wait? What?! I thought you just said possession was essential. Why is too much possession suddenly a bad thing? Well, it is if it’s not the right kind of possession. Possession with intent.

If your two centrebacks and keeper just pass between each other for 90 minutes, you might be very good at preventing the opposition from scoring but you also won’t be scoring much yourself. The ball will move where the majority of your players are. And this why it is more important to pack your midfield as much as possible. Especially with competent ball-carriers and runners. Essentially players from whom it will be difficult to take away the ball. This will allow the creation of possession with intent as the ball moves through midfield to your three forwards. It will also free up the forward from his midfield duties with dedicated attacking midfielder behind him.

Cruyff saw the inherent problem with the original 4-3-3, which he was very familiar with from his Ajax playing days. And then decided to make a change that would revolutionize Barcelona and football forever. It was rather simple. He made an important shift by moving one centreback higher into DM position and one central midfielder into AMC position. Resulting three in the back, allowed the rest of the team to concentrate on winning the midfield battle and controlling the ball in the opponent’s half.

           F9(S)
W(S)         AM(S)        W(S)
     CAR(S) HB(D) CAR(S)

     WCD(S) BPD(C) WCD(S)

             SK(D)

This kind of set up is only possible if you move one defender higher into the midfield. But what you might lack in defence, is outweighed by the midfield diamond that’s created.

I was criticized for playing three at the back, but that’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard. What we needed was to fill the middle of the pitch with players where we needed it most. I much prefer to win 5-4 than 1-0.

Johan Cruyff

Amazingly, traditional defending didn’t enter Cruyff’s mind. Barca’s keeper Andoni Zubizarreta even recalls asking the Dutchman about how he wanted his team to defend. “How should I know?” was Cruyff’s famously laconic answer. “You decide. You’re more interested in how to defend a corner than me.”

To understand Cruyff’s tactical thinking it’s worthwhile to watch the following video. It is a must-watch viewing for anyone trying to emulate his 3-4-3 Diamond in FM22.

 

To play Johan Cruyff’s 3-4-3 successfully, it is not just the matter of tactics and choosing the right roles. Far from it. You’ll have to start with long-term plan to adapt your club culture both on the academy training field and the transfer market. In order to fit into the Total Football system, every footballer needs to show excellence in three key fields.

1. Technical Excellence because that is important in maintaining control over the ball. I prefer not to call it possession and get hung up on the numbers. The simple idea is you need players who can keep the ball away from opponents or can steal it away easily.
2. Physical Strength to maintain high level of intensity through the whole match. Total Football is not golf. Every outfield play has to run for the whole 90 minutes.
3. Endurance and speed are needed for the other essential aspect of Total Football: Mental Resilience. By combining physically fit and hard-working players, you get footballers who are capable of achieving the main objectives of Total Football. High Hard Press and Possession with Intent.

 

Total Football is not a slow possession game of attrition. It’s a hard pressing, fluid, attacking machine. As seen in the clip above, Dutch total footballers maintained a constant pressure on their opponent. They were always looking to win the ball and maintain the vertical flow of attack. The play that starts at about 20 second mark is my favourite and very representative of this.

Note of Caution

Lets get his out of the way first. When I said that Cruyff was a staunch proponent of “playing on the edge,” I wasn’t kidding. The Total Football style is not for the faint of heart. Especially if your heart stops when you spot opposition strikers behind your defensive line. You will definitely need very good Sweeper-Keeper, BPD-type centreback and two defensively-solid wide centrebacks.

It is not, by any means, a plug and play tactic. Although from early testing it’s apparent that the tactic has the potential for some very good results. Especially if you combine it my Total Football training method. You have to really go all out when developing a Total Football system. No half-measures. Implementing the formation alone will not be enough. You have to make sure that you have suitable players and coaches. Thus changing both your recruitment and youth development strategy to fit the tactic is absolutely essential. And then you’ll need to train players to develop the right attributes to fit the system (topic for future articles).

I need to emphasize that it is not a plug-and-play tactic, eventhough it appears to work well with a variety of teams. So far I tested it with Porto and (surprise!) Ajax. Both of which are not world-class but still possess very technically-gifted squads. Even at the start of the game, these teams have the players that are well-suited to Total Football. Players with great technical and mental attributes.

What this tactic does best is to accentuate midfield control to the point where most of your defending is done through ball possession and pressing the opponents in their own half. As Cruyff idealized, when you possess midfield advantage and control the ball then there is no need for traditional defending. As such this tactic thrives on a very aggressive defending style. But if you do not have “Total Footballers” required for it, then it could turn into a disaster. It is similar to asking a squad with low levels of Aggression, Stamina and Workrate to gegenpress. It just won’t work. Before you can attempt to play Total Football with a club of your choice, you need to make sure that you possess players who are Total Footballers or have the potential to develop into such.

Back Three – The Spine of The Tactic

First of all, look at this attributes profile and guess whether it’s a striker, midfielder or defender in my system.

The right answer is all three. And he will probably be a very good Wide Centreback. You might ask, Crusadertsar why do you need your defenders to be so technical? Don’t you already have enough creative passers in the midfield? Well, not really. While your most creative players will probably gravitate towards the four roles in your midfield diamond, the back three is equally important. If anything, this trio of defenders make up the creative spine of the formation. Most of your attacking plays will start there. So that is why you need make sure that besides being competent defenders they know how to control and pass the ball forward.

The very fluid nature of the tactic, ensures that my back three fan out when in possession, covering the width of the field. I also have team instructions that contribute to wider defensive positioning.

But in FM22 the biggest game changer is definitely being able to play the two outside defenders as wide-centrebacks (with the hard-coded instructions to stay wide and make overlapping runs forward).

This way my three centrebacks can have as many as 3-5 short passing options at all times. During transition phase this is huge! It gets even better when the opposition team tries to press my defenders. When they do this, they will create gaping holes in their own midfield which my midfielders and attackers are more than happy to exploit. As you can see in the example above my wide centreback Mateus Uribe has the ball. He is a very competent passer (he is a retrained midfielder) and already has 3 safe (blue) passing options to #8, #6 or #3. And two riskier (red) options. And given the nature of the diamond, the 5 potential ball receivers themselves have at least 3 other passing options forward. Which is already a good start to the play.

But were the opposition midfielders to press Uribe, then they would be opening up space in the midfield, revealing other, better passing avenues for my wide centreback. Such as to my AMC (#10) and winger (#2). My AMC is a very hard working player who is always looking for the ball and often drops deep or shifts to the wing with the ball. A recipe for an easy overload. And once my winger or AMC have the ball they can dribble with it to get into more dangerous space behind the opposition midfield. All while the opposition midfielders are caught on their backfoot dealing with our adventurous wide centre-backs.

Of course in order for this to work, Mateus needs to possess special qualities as a wide centreback. Besides being able to pass, he must also withstand pressure from opponents trying to steal the ball from him. This is one of the reasons why I prefer to play tall (Jumping Reach) midfielders with decent strength, tackling and marking as my wide-centrebacks.

As a natural defensive midfielder Uribe already possess those qualities as well as being better at passing and ball control. The key attributes here are his Composure, Decisions and Balance. They will help him to maintain possession despite intense pressure from opposing players. So he can receive the ball, attract the attention of opposing midfielders or attackers, withstand their challenges and then coolly pass it to his midfield teammates. While they are not elite-level, his Dribbling and Agility are decent enough. It’s always a bonus to have those two attributes as high as possible when it comes to controlling the ball.

In Total Football an ideal player for any role is one who could fill any position in the formation, from striker to the centreback. While Porto’s squad is not by any means full of Total Footballers, there are some very good well-rounded players. Especially the all-important back three. Intentionally I hand-picked my three defenders to resemble midfielders more than traditional centrebacks or fullbacks. In order to achieve this I have no problem with playing players out of position. Retrained tall midfielders make for best wide-centrebacks. Not being natural in the position has very little penalty on performance.

What’s most important is whether the player has the attributes to perform in the role. At Porto, two of my wide-centrebacks, Grujić and Uribe, are former midfielders and have very little experience as centrebacks. No matter. I chose them for their good positioning, marking and tackling as well their technical prowess to maintain control of the ball. This is where our defending through possession begins. It’s all in the attributes.

Part of the reason why the tactic works so well is having players like Uribe as my wide centrebacks. As you can see he could just as easily slot in as one of the midfielders. And his contribution in team’s possession numbers has been immense. Only a short time after switching to the tactic, Porto has already topped the league in the number and accuracy of passes.

And it’s no small thanks to my wide centre-backs’ contribution in passing from the back. Take into account that this is still a small match sample of 5 games in the beginning of our season.

The beauty of building possession from the back in 3-4-3 Diamond! And seeing how involved the Wide-Centrebacks get. Everything flows through them.

Similarly at Ajax, we have a wealth of talent that can easily straddle the line between midfield and defence. I believe that retraining midfielders to play as defenders is the best way of recreating the roles of Koeman, Ferrer and Sergi from Cruyff’s Dream Team.

While Sergi and Ferrer were acting as wide defenders, the sole central defender Koeman was more akin to an Italian libero/sweeper. Just like Koeman, Lisandro Martinez is comfortable dribbling and bringing the ball up towards the midfield. Once there, his superior technical and mental attributes are more useful in aiding the possession battle than if he was a traditional centreback.

Diamonds Are Forever

So to summarize, the unique quality of Cruyff’s 3-4-3 “active defending” is the two diamonds linking defence to midfield.

To create his double diamond, Cruyff told one central defender to sit deeper sweeping up any loose balls and bring the ball forward when in possession. Basically, it’s your libero-style defender. Then continuing to recreate Cruyff’s system, you place two wide defender/fullback hybrids on both sides of the central defender. Ideally, retrained midfielders excelling in both defending and passing. They also require good mobility to be able to get back into their defensive positions when out of possession. They will need to have jumping reach and other centreback qualities to deal with crosses and intercept opposition attackers. But otherwise playing defensively responsible midfielders with good crossing and dribbling (for when they overlap) is the way to go.

The main advantage of having two diamonds is the multitude of short passing options created. Especially if you have good passers in both your AMC and Defensive Midfielder pivot roles. Cruyff’s priority again was to defend through possession and in turn maintain ball control by always having players to pass to. Therefore the role of the Defensive Midfielder (Dream Team’s Pep Guardiola) becomes key. Because he sits in the hole between the midfield and defence. When the wide-centrebacks and/or central centreback carry the ball forward into the midfield, the DM must drop back to cover for this movement. Half-back might be just the role to mimic this kind of behaviour in the game. But you have to make sure that he has sufficient creativity to excell in the role like Pep did.

In DM position, you’ll need a player similar to your libero. He must be very technical and comfortable on the ball in order to act as your defensive pivot most of the time and a second centreback some of the time. It helps immensely if he has good jumping and other defensive attributes.

Concluding Thoughts

I’ve been thinking long and hard on how to start my tactical journey in FM22. In my time with last year’s FM version, I’ve written about many different formations. Everything from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and 4-1-2-1-2. Overtime my interests shifted away from the obsession with Total Football to a deeper appreciation of the pragmatic dark arts of Zona Mista. And then there was the long-overdue love letter to Jose Mourinho. With such wide focus to management last year, it can be hard to choose one specific tactical direction to take with FM22. I guess it is the perfect example of the great versatility of the game which allows such freedom. Many approaches are viable in FM. And with careful planning almost any tactic can be successful. So the real question becomes, what style of football are you most passionate about?

With the reveal of the wide-centreback, the choice has become quite easy in FM22. I chose to play on the edge. Why defend when you already have the ball? Once a Total Football addict, always a Total Football addict.

The overall team mentality is another choice that has become very easy while developing my tactic. But that’s the topic of my next article, titled “Mentality Ladder”. It will take a deeper, under the hood look at my Total Football tactic. And at the same time, it will examine some very interesting changes to how players individual mentality is handled in FM22. It is really changing the way I set up my tactics. But more on that later. Thanks for reading this far!

Following in your blog, and now following here also. Nice article.

Please, can you share your results with Ajax?

[Adonalsium]

On 27/10/2021 at 13:50, kalokalitokalo said:

It is doable under this ME, which is great.

 

I've adapted PannetonO's total control to a 3-4-3 diamond, tested in holidays with PSG to see how the defense is:

 

 

What do all those three AP(Su) look in the match engine? They must be holding hands all the time.

[endadc]

trying to figure this out but the midfield seems to be misisng something. Vitinho is amazing in the 10 though

[wicksyFM]

100% looking at this style of football this year. Put myself through pure torture and start lower down the leagues and build a whole club. Cant wait

[endadc]

Looking forward to the big update. 

[indyvidu]

On 29/10/2021 at 13:24, endadc said:

Looking forward to the big update. 

haha same! Im playing around with a 3-4-3 cruijff myself. With ajax i had a lot of succes. Now starting with Barcelona. The revival! Just like Cruijff in his days! 

[endadc]

52 minutes ago, indyvidu said:

haha same! Im playing around with a 3-4-3 cruijff myself. With ajax i had a lot of succes. Now starting with Barcelona. The revival! Just like Cruijff in his days! 

i have switched formation with newcastle until i can get a squad capable of playing this. in my second season 14 games in and in third. 

[endadc]

3 hours ago, indyvidu said:

haha same! Im playing around with a 3-4-3 cruijff myself. With ajax i had a lot of succes. Now starting with Barcelona. The revival! Just like Cruijff in his days! 

Barca is definitely gonna be the playthrough, just gonna wait for crusdar to have more information available. Last years inverted wingback tactic was great  

[crusadertsar]

I posted Part 3 above. It's the first part of the greater tactical update. This one is focused on my defenders and manipulating their individual mentalities in order to get better progressive possession and build up from the back.

Happy Halloween everyone 

Edited October 31, 2021 by crusadertsar

[endadc]

3 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

I posted Part 3 above. It's the first part of the greater tactical update. This one is focused on my defenders and manipulating their individual mentalities in order to get better progressive possession and build up from the back.

Happy Halloween everyone 

Oh Savage, Looking forward to more updates. Think i will start that Barca Save now. 

[endadc]

Not to put any pressure, but @crusadertsar do you know when the full approach will be available?

[indyvidu]

6 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

I posted Part 3 above. It's the first part of the greater tactical update. This one is focused on my defenders and manipulating their individual mentalities in order to get better progressive possession and build up from the back.

Happy Halloween everyone 

Thanks brother!!
Nice read again! Happy to implement it and play around with it! 
And looking forward for the other updates! 

[alanfishead]

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

@crusadertsar sorry if I've missed it but will you be covering scouting at all? I'd be interested to see how you set up your scouting network and assignments for this approach.