Desempenhar - a Football Manager 2021 Tactic

jtaylor1409 · May 29, 2021

Why Desempenhar?

I know that is probably the first thing on your mind. The reason I chose Desempenhar was devised around the Portuguese term “to perform”. I wanted a team that will come together as a unit to carry out the instruction to the letter of the law. Ted Hastings eat your heart out! It would need to play beautiful football and to in doing so fulfil its potential on the football pitch. Desempenhar I thought was perfect for all of those and so the idea was born.

You guys who have followed my blog for a while now will know me mostly for either my FM21 Player Roles Spreadsheet or perhaps the now famed Energieball tactic. Which is currently in its third variation and having excellent success to this day. However, now I am going to tell you more about my latest release.

Desempenhar Tactical Style

With Desempenhar I wanted to try a role I’ve not used before in the Wide Target Man. Not only that but bring back the excellent Wide Playmaker who performed exceptionally well within my Troillongan system with Rosenborg. I felt there was to potential build a whole tactic around these two key positions.

I wanted to continue with the aggressive pass and move football you have seen in my Energieball tactics so far. It will work hand in hand with the Die Maschine philosophy as the attributes focused on for that will work very well within this playing system. So for those of you still following that can seamlessly transition across into this tactic.

Desempenhar is a tactic built to perform. It will play attractive, aggressive pass and move football courtesy of a shorter passing game. We will play an expressive game with the freedom to perform outside of our usual positional constraints, but also be defensively solid at the other end.

Desempenhar – The Formation

Central Defender (Cover)
This position will mirror what you have seen in my Energieball tactics. The more defensive-minded player of the back four-unit. His job will be to drop deeper and sweep up any through balls which fall behind the defensive line. He is instructed to play simple passes only and do so with little to no risk. The KISS method is the perfect way to explain this position.

Ball-Playing Defender (Stopper)
Expected to have a little more talent with the ball at feet. His positional instructions remain the same as the previous version. His main aim is to defend as part of the back four-unit but will push ahead of the defensive line to put pressure on the opposition threat before they get within shooting range. If they make it past this man, then the idea is to have the covering Central Defender sweeping up. This position is encouraged to focus less on dribbling but more on playing through balls to the deep lying playmaker who will be playing as a cover to the back four, and if he isn’t available the wide playmaker out wide left.

Wing Back (Attack)
The wingback will be providing the width out wide. He will run at his man and put in crosses to the far post and will also contribute in midfield to help win possession and also win back the ball where possible with educated pressure.

Wing Back (Support)
Will again look to provide width with the Wide Playmaker looking to move inside. He is on support duty as he will need to provide additional cover in defence and will provide through balls from out wide which will pick out the Wide Target Man and Complete Forward.

Deep Lying Playmaker (Support)
Will be covering the back four and will be operating in the space between the defence and midfield. He will initiate attacking moves with his passing ability to players positioned in more advanced areas. His main outlet will be towards the Wide Playmaker but will also play raking through-passes to the Wide Target Man when the chance is open.

Wide Playmaker (Attack)
The primary creative outlet of the team, he will drift inside to find pockets of space from which he will deliver precise crisp killer balls through to the advancing centre midfielders and will also like to pick out the Wide Target Man who will pull players out of position as the central midfield push forward. The wide playmaker will often come inside to sit in an advanced midfield position between the opposition defence and midfield, this will provide an excellent crossover between himself and the Mezzala who naturally will look to go wide – drawing the opposition out of position in the process.

Mezzala (Support)
A central outlet within the team that will look to drift wide and switch positions with the Wide Playmaker. The Mezzala will look to operate in the half-space areas and will be source of pressure on the opposition back line. We will carry him more so when in the defensive phase but he will provide pressure and work-rate when in the final third, to unlock defences and play in his more advanced teammates.

Central Midfield (Support)
An important role in the centre of our midfield. An additional link between defence and attack, our central midfielder will be more attack orientated in principle. The expectation of him is to perform a variety of different tasks when required across the centre of the pitch. He will look to contribute to each phase of the game. It is, therefore, essential for him to have tactical awareness and a decent level of technical ability for him to be able to carry out those role demands. He is instructed to get further forward when we are in position. Also to roam from the position in order to find space between the lines for us to play into.

Wide Target Man (Support)
A role we have not used in tactics before but decided to give this one a go. The idea behind this was to have him combine with the wide playmaker who would switch raking balls across the pitch to the more advanced Wide Target Man. He would use his strength advantage over the advancing full-back to shield the ball and lay off balls into the path of the onrushing central midfielders and the overlapping wing-back.

Complete Forward (Attack)
An all-rounded attacking threat who will be our main point of goals. He will look to fashion chances for himself and will be the spearhead of the teams attacking moves. He is virtually allowed to do his own thing but will be plenty of play going through him and he will need to be a consistent performer.