Counter Attack vs Fast Tempo?

[SiN8]

Can someone explain to me the difference between counter attack versus fast tempo? My understanding is that tempo dictates how quickly players get the ball forward. How is counter attacking different in this respect? Any advice on how to use it effectively? Thanks.

[Cleon]

Tempo

Tempo dictates the speed and urgency your team plays with. The slider ranges from Slow to Quick, and the further right you move the bar, your team will play a more up-tempo game and look to make things happen quickly and sharply. The tempo employed by your team can affect the success of your passing – it is entirely possible to play a quick, short passing game but when you increase the speed of something, mistakes can become more likely

Tempo will increase the urgency of everything. So passes in particular will be faster if you use a fast tempo. It doesn't mean that they'll look to move the ball forward as quick as possible though. It just means play in general will be faster. Someone set to to through balls often will look to utilise this as soon as he has the chance. On a slower tempo he will be less wreckless in attempting them (depending on his attributes).

Counter Attack:

The counter attack option is best used by an underdog facing a superior opponent or a team with players capable of launching attacks at high speed with a directness about their play. They will tend to sit back in their own half and allow the opposition to have the ball in ‘harmless’ positions before imposing pressure, taking the ball, and countering.

Counter attacking basically commits men forward and you look to get the ball forward to attacking positions quickly. There have been lots of posts going into lots of detail about counter attacking and the best way to employ them. Some of them are down near the bottom of the first page. It might be worth having a read of them