A Career of Vertical Football

[lucatonix]

Introduction

For those that have followed my previous FM tactical posts, they may be surprised by the title of my thread. Being a supporter of Arsenal and having often favoured their short passing and movement based style of football; I have never strived to create efficient vertical football before. This thread will hopefully open this style of football to greater use within the SI Community as one form of vertical football in one way or another is becoming more and more popular in European Leagues with managers such as Bielsa, Mourinho, Vilas Boas and Steve Clarke all utilising it.

A 6 Year Stint at Bari

My 6 seasons at Bari really brought direct vertical football into my tactical repertoire. These 7 seasons showed me how to exploit transitions in an efficient and ruthless manner and made me far more partial towards this style of football.

Part 1 - Promotion at all Costs

In my first season at Bari, I set myself the task of promotion and once in Serie A, I would then impose tactical style upon the team; creating my own unique blend of movement and shortish passing. With this in mind I took a look at the starting Bari squad and saw immediately that it was strong in parts but also weak in other areas.

In defense there was a distinct lack of depth and a lack of a quality RB. We do however have 2 good CBs in the aerially strong Borghese and the intelligent but poor aerially Polenta and a solid LB in Claiton.

In midfield there was a lot of players but mostly distinctly average for Serie B and no defensive minded midfielders. As well as this there really was a lack of creativity within the midfield. However there is a super player in Daniele Sciaudone. It is rare to find such a complete player at this level and this enabled him to be supremely versatile. I foresaw a big midfield role for him in the 1st 11.

On the wings there was a variety of incomplete one dimensional players. Iunco is supremely fast and good at dribbling but not much else. Gustavo Aprile is good technically but lacks pace. Rivaldo Gonzalez is pretty average.

Upfront there is an abundance of players and a couple of really good players. Ghezzal is clearly above this level and will be highly sought after from day one. Caputo appears to have all the attributes to be a good DLF and Grandolfo a more than ample understudy.

The team appeared to suit a 4231 but with poor central midfielders and a lacklustre defense behind the starters I wanted more protection for the defense. Thus I was hoping to play a 433. Hence I needed to find some DMs and creative midfielders as well as a defender and a winger in order for this to work.

With finances in a dire state I decided that in order to have a chance of keeping afloat financially if I missed promotion, then I had to sell Ghezzal. The £1.4m that came in all went straight to the bank. However with Ghezzal off the wage bill, I had some room for some free transfers. I swiftly brought in 5 frees: Mathias Abel (a tall CB/RB); Cristiano Zanetti (a creative and intelligent DM); Omar Milanetto similar to Zanetti; Simone del Nero and Luciano for the wings.

Now you have an idea of the squad, I can delve slightly into the tactics of my team. I went for a pretty simple direct and fast 433 but wanted to protect the defense so used two DLPs to hold station in front of them, with Sciaudone breaking forward from midfield. The wingers were pretty one-dimensional with Iunco being used as an impact player from the bench or against slow defenses.

The performances weren't pretty, but the opposition struggled to deal with the directness of my two wingers and Sciaudone breaking forward. With those 3 attacking threats as well as Caputo we scored lots of goals which were spread pretty evenly across the attacking players.

Surprisingly with everyone dropping points left, right and centre; we had managed to win Serie a despite drawing 11 games.

Part 2 - From 433 to 442 and back again. A struggle for a tactical identity

2013/14

Upon entering into Serie A I was faced with the problem that we still lacked the creative players to play my short passing style of football and with a lack of money I couldn't change that any time soon. So I decided to keep with our direct approach.

Once again I was relying on free transfers but also loans to get by and picked up 10 players revamping the squad after losing many of our players from last season as they left from unreasonable contract demands and loan contracts expiring. The pick of players that arrived was the well-known powerful striker Odion Ighalo. He had the attributes to be the new target man to hold the ball up for our on-rushing midfielders.

The main differences from last year is that the increase in midfield and defensive quality in personnel means that there is a reduced need for holding players in the midfield. Hence Enoh a much less creative but better defensively player than the ageing duo of Milanetto and Zanetti makes the starting line-up. This frees up the second CM to be a more technically capable player, Perez and venture forward more as an advanced playmaker support. There is hence less onus on Sciaudone to be such a focal point in midfield and he his now a box to box. The wingers are faster and more technically able but still favour a fast, direct approach rather than the passing one that I still favoured at this point.

Hence I still utilised the direct football that was so successful in my first season. I managed to overachieve and qualify for the Europa League.

It is important to note that the only free transfer that did not enter the first team was, the young playmaker, Muhammed Demirci which shows that I was hoping in the future to move away the direct approach used.

2014/15

Finally with a transfer budget, I was able to add much needed depth and quality to the squad, completely revamping the squad. I picked the most successful loan signings on frees: Ighalo, Barretto, Rossi as well as a couple others Biabiany (a super fast, direct dribbler), Polenta (intelligent defender I had in my first season on loan), attacking fullbacks Luca Antonelli and Jonathon, and Javi Garcia on loan. The big signings were young defender Joao Alberto, creative midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and marquee striker Erick Torres. I also signed young striker Cesare Magro.

Even just from the signings this can be seen as a confused season from a tactical point of view. I was trying to formulate a team that could possibly challenge Juventus for the league but there was no obvious logic to my signings. There were direct players bought like Biabiany and Ighalo but also more technical players like Torres and Shelvey as well as Galloppa. Such confusion translated to trying to pick a formation to shoehorn both Ighalo and Torres whilst keeping my defensive solidarity. After much deliberation I settled on a 442:

Once again the obvious choice was to go direct and but this time utilise the wings to get balls into the box for my tall strikers to latch onto. Although the results were good, I was uncomfortable with losing the men in centre of the pitch. At times I moved to 4132 in order for a greater midfield presence:

2015/16

After struggling to find a tactical identity in the last year, I decided to move back to a 433. It was another season of confused transfers from a tactical standpoint. I bought the technical wingers Jaime and El Shaarawy but then also bought KP Boateng and one FB comfortable on the ball (Cesar Cortez), one that is not (Philippe Fontaine). I then capped it off with the signing of the very talented Turkish international striker Sinan Altinok. However Altinok was a very confused signing with already possessing 2 good strikers and Altinok does not possess the creativity nor the technical ability to play as a deeper striker to link up play.

I'd now created a very confused looking squad with half a team that suited a direct physical game and half a team that suited a short passing game and half a team that preferred a more direct game.

To solve this tactical conundrum I decided to go direct as that was what my team knew and suited my new star striker:

Going direct and pressing agressively suited the physical midfield trio, and allowed for swift attacks which the fast and technical trio upfront could thrive upon to create chances from the waves of attacks. The football was effective defensively with Simao being a combative DM, Galloppa a defensively able DLP and Boateng a physical specimen with the aggression, determination and work rate to win the ball back.

Getting the ball forward quickly to Boateng, a winger or more directly to the striker allowed for attacks to be carried out quickly and efficiently at an unset defense during transition. It was brutal at times, especially against the ageing squads as they struggled with the physicality of the game. It was this season in which we won the league, the Europa League and the Italian Cup with now the 2nd best squad in Italy that I finally saw the potential in vertical football.

Part 3 - An identity in verticality

2016/17

After the previous season success with vertical football, I sought to add to the team to improve its verticality as well as find a formation that would utilise my star players: Altinok, Torres and El Shaarawy, a 4231.

This change in the tactical future of the club meant that there was a change in focus in the type of player joining and being used by the club. This can be seen as Muhammed Demirci who appeared ready to have a break through season but lacked the stamina, strength and work rate to suit a high press vertical style of football and was instead loaned out to Catania; with his place in the squad taken by the promising physical and creative DM Josh Sharp. Another casualty of the pursuit for vertical football was the technical winger Fausto Rossi, who just wasn't efficient enough and was loaned out to Empoli being replaced by Coutinho. The only other signing in the summer of 2016 was Victor Peixoto, a direct RW prospect, who was loaned out immediately.

By moving to a 4231 (with 1 DM), the team can now field a stronger attacking presence with both Torres and Altinok on the field with Boateng available as a more defensively disciplined option at AMC. Not only this, we were able to press higher up the pitch more effectively. We also have more targets to hit further up the pitch upon winning the ball back enabling us to bypass the opposition midfield more quickly and drive at the heart of the defense, which is particularly useful in Italy with the prevelance of 4132, 4312 and 352.

The tactic was finally fully suited to the set of players and it really showed on the pitch in domestic competition. Upon winning the ball back in midfield we always had 2 players immediately driving towards goal in El Shaarawy and Altinok. Jaime supported on the left flank whilst Torres dropped deep towards the ball creating space for the onrushing players. This combination of movement when the ball is worked at pace moving towards the defensive line rushes the defense into making rash decisions often leaving one man free in the process leading to a goal scoring opportunity. This is the beauty of attacking during the transition.

Despite the impressive performances domestically, in Europe where teams played more conservatively and the quality was higher the team struggled to get behind the midfield as regularly and hence we were not as efficient and ruthless on the transition. As well as this with men further forward, the opposition were able to get dangerously behind my wingers and AM to dictate too much play. For this reason in Europe I moved back to the 433 of last season. This took us to the final where we lost to Liverpool in extra time.

2017/18

In an attempt to claim the ultimate prize, the European Champions' League, I decided I needed some inspiration on how to adapt the 4231 so it is more defensively minded yet retains its potency on the transition to attack. I thought of Real Madrid under Mourinho as they are one of the best on the transition. Seeing how they used Ronaldo as the focal point on the wing, I considered moving Altinok to the wing from AMC thus being able to use a more defensively aware player there which should help in Europe with regaining possession. I also moved the AML back to ML as I wanted him to track back far more allowing Altinok to stay higher up the pitch without as much consequence defensively. At RB I replaced the ageing Jonathan with the much more defensively minded but quicker and physical beast Dario Cordon:

This tactic progression sacrifices some pressing ability higher up the pitch to be more solid in the medium and lower defensive blocks which are more important in Europe. The more defensive outlook and nature of my team meant they were not as dominant in the league but we did conquer Europe defeating Juventus in the final.

This final tactic embodies everything Bari and its progression also marks my progression as a manager away from possession and towards a style of vertical football.

Conclusion

At the end of this season I felt there was nothing left for me at Bari. I had achieved my ultimate goal of the Champions' League; had exhausted the progression of the tactic; the team still wasn't particularly rich and so had to keep selling the technical assets I had acquired in the earlier seasons. There was nothing really left for me in Bari so when Barcelona came calling I swiftly moved to impose my newly found tactical identity of verticality with the masters of tiki-taka. Section 2 coming soon...

I hope this start to the thread helps people to see tactics as a progressional entity from season to season that ought to change as your goals change and your players change. I also hope it allows people to see vertical football as a viable option to possession-based tactics. On a side-note I also hope it allows people to see the complexity that can be achieved with the TC and embrace it as it really makes tactics much more relatable to the real world.

[Spart]

Fantastic OP, lucatonix. Really interesting to see how you altered your team and approach per season.

[lucatonix]

Thanks, impressed you managed to get through it all. I think the next addition with Barcelona should be quite interesting as well as when I take over RC Lens. Somehow I'm also planning to add international management as well.

[Spart]

Well the diagrams definitely helped to make it. Will be looking forward to reading the next update.

How are Barcelona and what sort of state are they in at the moment? Are you taking over champions or needing to raise them back up to the top level?

[lucatonix]

Well the diagrams definitely helped to make it. Will be looking forward to reading the next update.

How are Barcelona and what sort of state are they in at the moment? Are you taking over champions or needing to raise them back up to the top level?

They were champions but the previous manager had decided not to bother with buying any players so the squad was really small and ageing. A strong first 11 and a dire second well about 4/5. The Barcelona segment of my career is more about mixing the technical ability present in the squad, with some new talent and thus mixing the old tiki-taka style with vertical football.

[Anderz11]

Am I missing something? What do you mean exactly by "Vertical Football"?

Sorry if I'm being stupid!

[ModernLefty]

Vertical Football, is direct fast football, that looks for the team to go quickly from defence to attack, by using longer passes and doesn't put an emphasis on keeping heavy control of possession. Think the current Borrusia Dortmund style.

P.S. Great thread Lucatonix, I've been on a similar journey and the football that my Tottenham team is now playing is pretty stunning, it's lovely when it all works out.

[jaycar]

A very interesting read, I take it this all mostly based on a counter attacking style?

[lucatonix]

A very interesting read, I take it this all mostly based on a counter attacking style?

It depends if by counter attacking you mean actually sitting deep and drawing the opposition out before countering. If so not exactly as vertical football is normally more proactive with pressing to get the ball back. This naturally leads to some opportunities to instigate a counter attack on the unset defense (but not a traditional sit back and hit on the break counter attack).

So vertical football, uses direct passes to take advantage of an unorganised defense as the opposition players are transitioning from attack to defense. This doesn't have to be a counter attacking team although they will normally be effective on the counter. What I mean by this is a team that employs vertical football and is in control of the match will often have lots of waves of attacks, rather than an Arsenal or Barcelona who maintain a consistent pressure with possession in the final third. Think Tottenham or Dortmund at the moment for advocaters of vertical football.

[jaycar]

Yes, that was my main question, whether it was more of the style that Dortmund use. Very good stuff, the wingers used in your 4-3-3, were they inside forwards? The rest of the roles in the formations are very nicely described with the very handy diagrams.

I have a very strong urge to try this style after work

[mikcheck]

It depends if by counter attacking you mean actually sitting deep and drawing the opposition out before countering. If so not exactly as vertical football is normally more proactive with pressing to get the ball back. This naturally leads to some opportunities to instigate a counter attack on the unset defense (but not a traditional sit back and hit on the break counter attack).

So vertical football, uses direct passes to take advantage of an unorganised defense as the opposition players are transitioning from attack to defense. This doesn't have to be a counter attacking team although they will normally be effective on the counter. What I mean by this is a team that employs vertical football and is in control of the match will often have lots of waves of attacks, rather than an Arsenal or Barcelona who maintain a consistent pressure with possession in the final third. Think Tottenham or Dortmund at the moment for advocaters of vertical football.

Hi lucatonix. How would you replicate Dortmund or Tottenham style in FM? Maybe control strategy with counter attack box ticked?

[jaycar]

Control, more pressing, more direct, use a formation that can press high up the pitch like a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1, maybe use the hassle opponent and push higher shouts. IMHO.

Maybe also less aggressive tackling?

[lucatonix]

Hi lucatonix. How would you replicate Dortmund or Tottenham style in FM? Maybe control strategy with counter attack box ticked?

I would probably go control. More direct, more pressing, perhaps more aggressive tackling, maybe more roaming. I'm unsure whether I'd tick counter attack as I'm not a massive fan of how they work in game as far too often the players rush forward without thought of actually supporting the ball player leaving him stranded.

[lam]

What i like about this post, amongst many things, is how you describe what sort of player you use and why.

The part early in the thread about not needing two DLP is very interesting. Despite not posting as much I see so many threads where people use the exact same formation AND tactic year after year after year........

It's exactly as you said, as you bring in more technicaly/physically/mentally strong personel, they are capable of more things, so you should use them that way.

LAM

*EDIT*

You even made up a new word....... lol

It would be interesting to see how you setup the team instructions. Did you simply use the philosophy or were you tweaking? I have no intention of playing direct (well, perhaps I might now), but I'm always intruiged to see how people setup with different teams.

[lucatonix]

What i like about this post, amongst many things, is how you describe what sort of player you use and why.

The part early in the thread about not needing two DLP is very interesting. Despite not posting as much I see so many threads where people use the exact same formation AND tactic year after year after year........

It's exactly as you said, as you bring in more technicaly/physically/mentally strong personel, they are capable of more things, so you should use them that way.

LAM

*EDIT*

You even made up a new word....... lol

It would be interesting to see how you setup the team instructions. Did you simply use the philosophy or were you tweaking? I have no intention of playing direct (well, perhaps I might now), but I'm always intruiged to see how people setup with different teams.

Regarding team instructions, I can't actually post the tactics since I'm now in 2024 managing RC Lens and England, and so don't have a copy of the tactics at hand. If there is a specific tactic that interests you I can try and reproduce the team instructions and roles from memory or delve into the archived tactics to see if they are still there but I don't think I kept a copy unfortunately. I can say that I used the TC with every now and then very minor tweaks such as roaming, marking, tackling etc...

However as I move onto talking about managing Barcelona and RC Lens then I can show some more tactical instructions, since I still have those tactics.

[llama3]

Nice to see Lucatonix. Loved it when on FM10 i played counter-attacking, compact football with the Ivory Coast to great effect. Like having options.

[iMan]

I've had this in mind with all my tactics in fm but have been using an attacking strategy with short passing to great affect.

I don't think a Bielsa style of vertical football is in the passing but more the mentality.

Bielsa for example likes short forward passing not constant long balls. Klopp and Boas also favour shorter passing. There not constantly booting it forward. They tend favour short forward passes.

An attacking mentally is the one that will make players look forward the most for passes but with shorter passing I still see those on the ground combinations and quick passing moves as opposed to a constant stream of long balls.

[Bluebird123]

Great read.

[lucatonix]

I've had this in mind with all my tactics in fm but have been using an attacking strategy with short passing to great affect.

I don't think a Bielsa style of vertical football is in the passing but more the mentality.

Bielsa for example likes short forward passing not constant long balls. Klopp and Boas also favour shorter passing. There not constantly booting it forward. They tend favour short forward passes.

An attacking mentally is the one that will make players look forward the most for passes but with shorter passing I still see those on the ground combinations and quick passing moves as opposed to a constant stream of long balls.

I wouldn't describe Bielsa's teams as utilising short passing generally. They keep the ball on the ground but they employ a much more direct (both forwards and in length) style of passing than say Arsenal and Chelsea of last season.

Bielsa does mix however direct and short passes to create interplay once the ball has been moved into attacking positions to create space.

[lucatonix]

I've had this in mind with all my tactics in fm but have been using an attacking strategy with short passing to great affect.

I don't think a Bielsa style of vertical football is in the passing but more the mentality.

Bielsa for example likes short forward passing not constant long balls. Klopp and Boas also favour shorter passing. There not constantly booting it forward. They tend favour short forward passes.

An attacking mentally is the one that will make players look forward the most for passes but with shorter passing I still see those on the ground combinations and quick passing moves as opposed to a constant stream of long balls.

I wouldn't describe Bielsa's teams as utilising short passing generally. They keep the ball on the ground but they employ a much more direct (both forwards and in length) style of passing than say Arsenal and Chelsea of last season.

Bielsa does mix however direct and short passes to create interplay once the ball has been moved into attacking positions to create space.

[kameikazi]

Im impressed with the whole thread, i really want to know how do you do your scouting to find free transfers of value or get good players for low prices? what tips or pointers can you give as to how to sift through different leagues or lower leagues for talent? I would really appreciate your knowledge..