I didn't buy FM23 until like March, because I had got so tired of the unrealism that came with all the maxed-out pressing in previous versions. But then I gave it a go and started a test save with Atlético like I usually do. We won La Liga in the first season using a low-block 442 on a cautious mentality the whole year. This would never has happened in the last few versions of the game, so there is hope at last.
What I did was dig into my memory and recreated Simeone's first title-winning tactic from 2013-14 as faithfully as I could (he since then has moved on from the 442 and won the second title with a 532). I didn't even bother with set-pieces, instead left them on default, beacuse I wanted to see if the tactic worked in and itself.
We were not the best defensive team in the league unfortunately, so the system definitely needs more refinement. But we scored the most goals and wasn't even close.
Here's the tactic and the thinking behind it.
Please note that I flipped the sides of the formation compared to Atlético 2013-14 to fit my current players better. Otherwise it's pretty much what they were playing that season. I didn't use any player instructions, no OI's, no set-pieces like I said. We went by training schedules set up by the Assman. Did minimal in-game management. I bought Bennacer in January because I needed to replace Llorente whom I had sold to Tottenham a few days before. Took Santos Borré on loan, because that's the closest version of Diego Costa I could realistically bring in, and then rotated him with Depay at PF (the latter's no PF by any means, but did score a sh*tload of goals). Sold Correa and Morata at the beginning of the season. I would say if this was a proper save, with all the details carefully set up and with constant analysis, we would've done a lot better than we did this way. I'm talking about a difference of 10-15-goals, give or take. Definitely would've conceded less.
So the idea is to let the other team come at us, force them to the flanks, maintain our shape and then aggressively hit them in the mouth, so to speak. In possession, we don't want to aimlessly hoof the ball, instead choose our opportunities, keep the players close to each other, get up the field quickly and in numbers, but don't pass the ball around sideways. We want to be decisive both in and out of possession.
You do need specific types of players for this to work, but Atlético mostly already had them, so I had an easy job implementing this. All players have to have aggression, work rate, concentration and teamwork. At least decent bravery and stamina is a must as well. Your most important players are the GK (you need a very good one), the full-backs (defensively solid, good at going forward, and the WB - the Filipe Luis role - has to have good dribbling too) and the DLF (the Viila/Griezmann role). The DM's (Gabi and Tiago back in the day) need all the concentration, teamwork, work rate and positioning that you can find. The wide midfielders are the ones I've had the most fun with. Sometimes I played opposite footed players there if I wanted them to cut inside more. Other times I just played one or both on his strong side when I wanted to maximise early crosses.
This post is already getting too long, so I have only one thing left to say: Viva El Cholo!
I didn't buy FM23 until like March, because I had got so tired of the unrealism that came with all the maxed-out pressing in previous versions. But then I gave it a go and started a test save with Atlético like I usually do. We won La Liga in the first season using a low-block 442 on a cautious mentality the whole year. This would never has happened in the last few versions of the game, so there is hope at last. What I did was dig into my memory and recreated Simeone's first title-winning tactic from 2013-14 as faithfully as I could (he since then has moved on from the 442 and won the second title with a 532). I didn't even bother with set-pieces, instead left them on default, beacuse I wanted to see if the tactic worked in and itself. We were not the best defensive team in the league unfortunately, so the system definitely needs more refinement. But we scored the most goals and wasn't even close. Here's the tactic and the thinking behind it. Please note that I flipped the sides of the formation compared to Atlético 2013-14 to fit my current players better. Otherwise it's pretty much what they were playing that season. I didn't use any player instructions, no OI's, no set-pieces like I said. We went by training schedules set up by the Assman. Did minimal in-game management. I bought Bennacer in January because I needed to replace Llorente whom I had sold to Tottenham a few days before. Took Santos Borré on loan, because that's the closest version of Diego Costa I could realistically bring in, and then rotated him with Depay at PF (the latter's no PF by any means, but did score a sh*tload of goals). Sold Correa and Morata at the beginning of the season. I would say if this was a proper save, with all the details carefully set up and with constant analysis, we would've done a lot better than we did this way. I'm talking about a difference of 10-15-goals, give or take. Definitely would've conceded less. So the idea is to let the other team come at us, force them to the flanks, maintain our shape and then aggressively hit them in the mouth, so to speak. In possession, we don't want to aimlessly hoof the ball, instead choose our opportunities, keep the players close to each other, get up the field quickly and in numbers, but don't pass the ball around sideways. We want to be decisive both in and out of possession. You do need specific types of players for this to work, but Atlético mostly already had them, so I had an easy job implementing this. All players have to have aggression, work rate, concentration and teamwork. At least decent bravery and stamina is a must as well. Your most important players are the GK (you need a very good one), the full-backs (defensively solid, good at going forward, and the WB - the Filipe Luis role - has to have good dribbling too) and the DLF (the Viila/Griezmann role). The DM's (Gabi and Tiago back in the day) need all the concentration, teamwork, work rate and positioning that you can find. The wide midfielders are the ones I've had the most fun with. Sometimes I played opposite footed players there if I wanted them to cut inside more. Other times I just played one or both on his strong side when I wanted to maximise early crosses. This post is already getting too long, so I have only one thing left to say: Viva El Cholo!
