A 4-3-1-2 inspired by Marco Giampaolo

[Pompey_Dan]

In recent years Marco Giampaolo has impressed many with stints in charge of Empoli and, more recently, Sampdoria.  Arguably, the (Swiss born) Italian has over-achieved with both clubs whilst playing an entertaining brand of football.  When news of Maurizio Sarri's departure from Napoli first broke the media identified the 50 year old Giampaolo as a possible replacement.

Giampaolo almost exclusively uses a narrow 4-3-1-2 formation with the emphasis on positional play, ball retention and playing out from the back.  These are some of the more interesting mechanisms Giampaolo employs to achieve his particular style of play:

• Full Backs who stay deep and help circulate the ball
• Midfielders & Forwards using lateral movements to create space
• Encouraging the side to stay compact, even in possession

I found his unique interpretation of the 4-3-1-2 intriguing and was eager to see if I could successfully recreate Giampaolo's style of play in FM18.  I’ve put some of my thoughts and observations together in this thread.

The Tactic

I have started a save in Marco Giampaolo’s native Italy as manager of Bari, a Serie B team with promotion aspirations.  Here is my interpretation of his preferred formation:

I am using just three team instructions (“shorter passing”, “play out of defence”, “use offside trap”) and two player instructions (the goalkeeper “distributes to Centre Backs” whilst the DLF is asked to “move into channels”).

Build up play and the use of cautious Full Backs

When a team lines up in a narrow 4-3-1-2 formation one would expect to see the Full Backs  push on when their team is in possession, stretching the midfield.  Not in a Marco Giampaolo side!  The Italian prefers his Full Backs to stay deep in a back four with the centre backs, this provides a stable base from which the team can safely play the ball out.  Under Giampaolo both Empoli and Sampdoria have placed the emphasis on retaining possession originating from deep in their own half due, in no small part, to their defensive arrangement.

To replicate this defensive set-up in FM18 I have opted to use a Wing Back (Defend) on each flank; here is the in-game description for that particular role:

This is what I want; I won't be encouraging crosses as a primary means of scoring and am looking to the midfielders and forwards to provide ‘situational’ width when needed.  As these average position charts illustrate, even when the team is in possession the Wing Back (Defend) does not venture too high up the pitch.  I want to use this shape to promote defensive stability and good ball circulation from deep.

Here is the first of two clips; it shows the left sided Wing Back maintaining a position behind the ball.  When the Bari No. 21 finds himself crowded out the Wing Back (No. 3) provides an out ball.  Possession is quickly recycled via the Wing Back and the ball is played into a more dangerous position leading to a shot on goal.  See how the lateral movement of the midfielders/forwards has created space for the DLP.  He is unmarked and free to receive the ball and pick out a vertical pass – but more on this later.

A more adventurous Full Back would probably have moved ahead of the midfielder and made themselves available to put a cross into the box.  I am not saying there is anything wrong with this, it is just not how I intend the team to play.

As well as establishing a solid base to play the ball out of defence Giampaolo’s decision to deploy deep lying Full Backs ensures a quick defensive transition when needed.  In this next clip the Bari No.9 mis-controls a pass and gives away possession.  Because the Wing Backs stayed back during the build-up play the defensive transition is quick and the team are able to prevent a quick counter attack.

Creating space through lateral movement

On the right and left of my midfield three, either side of a Deep Lying Playmaker, sit two Mezzalas.  Here is the in-game description for this role:

Like Giampaolo, I want to encourage these midfielders to move horizontally into the half spaces and wide areas and I want the opposition midfielders to follow.  What I am hoping is that this lateral movement will create space in the centre of the pitch for the Attacking Midfielder to drop into and promote vertical passes up to him.

In the clip below follow themovement of the Bari No. 7 (in white) and watch how the Roma No. 8 follows him wide; see how this opens up space for the pass into our Attacking Midfielder (No. 11) who initiates an attack.  This is exactly the sort of movement I am trying to recreate.

The downside to using Mezzalas is that the flanks can be left exposed, especially if the opposition Full Backs push on and ‘double up’ on our wide defenders; this is something I will need to watch out for in future games.

So far, so good

The early signs are encouraging, using some of the mechanisms employed by Marco Giampaolo, Bari are dominating possession and creating chances. The formation is naturally compact (there really is no need for the “play narrower” shout) and our defensive shape is sound.  Particularly pleasing was a pre-season game against Roma - we lost the match but the team were performing almost exactly as I wanted them to and demonstrating the Giampaolo mechanisms I had built into the tactic.  Losing to a Roma side who are 5-1 for the title and whose first team squad are valued at 27 times that of Bari's came as a surprise to no-one.  However, the team from the South-East outclassed and outperformed the Serie A outfit for much of the game and, for the want of better finishing, they could have come away with more.

 

Some source material:

https://spielverlagerung.com/2016/05/13/team-analysis-empoli/

https://www.esdfanalysis.com/manager-analysis/marco-giampaolos-sampdoria/

 

 

[Pompey_Dan]

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[Pompey_Dan]

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[westy8chimp]

Excellent 

[Park]

Great read.  Very well written.

I read that ESDF article a little while back and found the full backs staying back to build possession intriguing, as it's the opposite of how most teams go about it these days.

Good luck for your season.

[Batuhan]

Great ideas! 

Good luck with your save, and I am looking for more.

[ericstpeter]

I might have missed it but what is your overall mentality and shape? Standard/Flexible or?

[Robson 07]

Well done @Pompey_Dan its a good looking tactic and a great post.

[Pompey_Dan]

Thank you everyone for those kind words of support.

 

18 hours ago, ericstpeter said:

I might have missed it but what is your overall mentality and shape? Standard/Flexible or?

You didn’t miss it, I didn’t mention it!    Unless I am specifically building an attacking or defensive tactic I tend to always start on standard/flexible.  This is very much a work in progress; one could argue that the team would benefit from a “structured” shape given our patient/possession-based approach, whilst a “fluid” shape may enhance the team’s compactness.  I am happy with "flexible" for now.

 

I will be adding to the thread once I’ve played a few more games and analysed the tactic further. Until then, here is a neat little goal which demonstrates much of what was included in the OP… patient approach play, creating space by stretching the opposition, using deep lying Wing Backs to help recycle possession.

24 passes and 9 out of 10 outfield players involved in the build up...

 

[Southern Buddie]

This has the potential to be the best thread I've read this  version.

[warlock]

40 minutes ago, Southern Buddie said:

This has the potential to be the best thread I've read this  version.

There's stiff competition, but I'll be following with interest. 4312 was my favourite formation in FM17 but I've struggled to get it working as well this year. Even though the new roles (mezzala, carrilero) should - in theory - make it easier.

[john1]

Brilliant write up  Will be following this  

[Rasnaldo]

Good luck with the tactic and really great thread. I can't wait for more.

[Soldatino]

I'm looking forward to this thread. I really like the idea of wing backs of defend duty, I should try that myself as an 4312 enthusiast. Can I ask you what is the reasoning behind the DLP having move into channels PI?

[coach vahid]

The Pi move into channels is not for DLP but for the DLF...

[Sinbad7104]

Having just read the following articles I was eager to try and get this translated into fm19 and stumbled across this thread which was a touch. 

 

I've just taken over Sampdoria after they were relegated and thought it'd be nice to get them back on track by going back to what's working for them irl. 

 

I highly doubt I'll be able to get it working as I don't have Scooby what I'm doing. (Serial plug and play downloader) but this has defo given me a good base to work from. 

First thing that did spring to mind though was using carrileros instead of Mezzalas although seeing your example using the Mez above Im not to sure now. 

 

Anyway the aforementioned articles that led me here.. 

 

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/marco-giampaolo-sampdoria-tactical-analysis/amp&ved=2ahUKEwiO28yGl5ThAhWLXRUIHYfpAM0QFjAEegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw3ITHrTQvZ-gjsauUm2ypx6&ampcf=1&cshid=1553208083331

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://totalfootballanalysis.com/head-coach-analysis/tactical-and-recruitment-analysis-long-read-the-sampdoria-model/amp&ved=2ahUKEwiO28yGl5ThAhWLXRUIHYfpAM0QFjAFegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw3EQ0Lcs_oG2htcbMrfrIbM&ampcf=1&cshid=1553208083331

 

Oh and a good old Tifo video.. 

 

 

[Overmars]

One nice thing about this is that a simple change of roles on the fullbacks can increase the aggression of the tactic when you need a goal. You really only need about 5 positions as well, so squad building and covering for injuries becomes easier.

[Sinbad7104]

 

 

What I've got together so far.

The only player instructions I've got are

• DLP - Direct passing, It was Torreira's job to play penetrating passes forward.
• Wingbacks - Sit Narrow as I want to keep it nice and solid line at the back
• AM - Take more risks, Moves into channels, He's the man I'm relying on for my creativity on the most part so im hoping he'll get into spaces and play the front men in
• ST - Got them both to close down more

 

The only two competitive games I've played so far 

The goal I conceded was a pen so im not to worried about that

Not the worst result all things considered.

 

As you can see in both games though the strikers are pretty much nonexistent 

im fairly happy with it so far. Hopefully someone far more knowledgeable than me will be able to improve it though.

4-3-1-2 Narrow - Custom .fmf

[zlatanera]

@Sinbad7104 how have you progressed with your tactic? I've used the same resources you posted (I previously read the ones @Pompey_Dan shared so they probably influenced me too) and came up with this:

DR / DL - Sit Narrower

AMC - Take More Risks / Close Down More

STCR - Close Down More

STCL - Close Down More

Unsurprisingly, outside of the shape there are similarities between our tactics. I have Quagliarella on Attack as I want to get a 20-goal season out of him and support strikers have very low mentalities I'd worry he'd be too much of a provider. I also haven't touched defensive / attacking shape as I figured its a naturally narrow formation anyway - just telling the wing backs to tuck in should leave us very compact. 

I've only played 2 games so far - a 3-1 win at home against Benevento in the cup and them completely controlled a 0-0 draw against Lazio at the Olimpico. Given they played a 343 with 3 strikers I was pleased we were able to play through / around their press (I do key highlights and there weren't many). 

[Sinbad7104]

I haven't actually continued with it as it was stressing me out a bit. I can feel myself boring of my current save though so I'll probably carry on again soon. 

Be good to see how you get on though. 

 

[zlatanera]

My imitation appears to be slightly too accurate...in real life after 28 games Sampdoria are 9th, in-game after 11 games we're 10th.

Going off the Serie A website, these are the only stats I can accurately compare (their "assist" appears to be "chances created" but I don't how they're calculated compared to FM)

Goals: real life - 5th, game - 5th

Shots on target: real life - 9th, game - 10th

Cross completed: real life - 19th, game - 18th

I can't find possession but FM calculates it different to the likes of Opta - anyway I'm averaging 61%. I haven't gotten Quagliarella's production like real-life, but then again his 11-game run started match day 10, I've just completed match day 11 so plenty of time and he is my top scorer so far (1 pen, 1 fk, 4 open play)

 

 

[Sinbad7104]

9 minutes ago, zlatanera said:

My imitation appears to be slightly too accurate...in real life after 28 games Sampdoria are 9th, in-game after 11 games we're 10th.

Going off the Serie A website, these are the only stats I can accurately compare (their "assist" appears to be "chances created" but I don't how they're calculated compared to FM)

Goals: real life - 5th, game - 5th

Shots on target: real life - 9th, game - 10th

Cross completed: real life - 19th, game - 18th

I can't find possession but FM calculates it different to the likes of Opta - anyway I'm averaging 61%. I haven't gotten Quagliarella's production like real-life, but then again his 11-game run started match day 10, I've just completed match day 11 so plenty of time and he is my top scorer so far (1 pen, 1 fk, 4 open play)

 

 

Brilliant. 

[zlatanera]

On 30/03/2019 at 00:56, zlatanera said:

My imitation appears to be slightly too accurate...in real life after 28 games Sampdoria are 9th, in-game after 11 games we're 10th.

Going off the Serie A website, these are the only stats I can accurately compare (their "assist" appears to be "chances created" but I don't how they're calculated compared to FM)

Goals: real life - 5th, game - 5th

Shots on target: real life - 9th, game - 10th

Cross completed: real life - 19th, game - 18th

I can't find possession but FM calculates it different to the likes of Opta - anyway I'm averaging 61%. I haven't gotten Quagliarella's production like real-life, but then again his 11-game run started match day 10, I've just completed match day 11 so plenty of time and he is my top scorer so far (1 pen, 1 fk, 4 open play)

 

 

So I lost my appetite for this save, but I pushed myself to play 29 games and compare myself with real life Samp.

Points: real life - 45 (7th, level with 8th and 9th, game - 48 (7th, level with 6th). incidentally both in real life and my game Torino are level on points with Sampdoria: irl Samp lead, in-game Torino lead.

I could definitely win more by having more aggressive WBs and more conservative CMs given there is perceived to be a slight boost to the effectiveness of crosses vs. passes in-game compared to real life, but that's not the point so lets look at some more stats (not all of Serie A's stats are directly comparable, in particular they weirdly show the average amount of time spent in possession per game rather than a %. Sampdoria average around 28 minutes).

Goals: real life - 5th (50), game - 4th (44)

Shots on target: real life - 8th (159), game - 9th (174)

Cross completed: real life - 19th (136), game - 19th (119)

Conceded: real life - 8th best (38), game - 5th best (29)

We have the best pass completion ratio, (80%) and most passes completed (over 3,000 more than Napoli in 2nd).

Despite no instruction, we're 19th for dribbles too which further shows our pass-first way of playing. 

We occasionally get some beautiful goals where the DLP and two CDs have deep possession before it finds its way to a MEZ, then the AM and either a striker or a wing back to cross for the other striker to finish. 

Other than a 4-0 hammering by Inter in the cup we've only lost by 1 goal margins.

 

I'm calling this a success! 

[nick1408]

Why choose wingbacks on automatic and not support? Do they not revert to support when the mentality is set to balanced?

[zlatanera]

3 hours ago, nick1408 said:

Why choose wingbacks on automatic and not support? Do they not revert to support when the mentality is set to balanced?

Yes, their mentality is the same. But the difference is in the hard-selected PIs.

WB-Su: Run Wide WIth Ball, Get Further Forward

WB-Au: Run Wide With Ball

The reason most people have been using WB-De in this replication attempt is because there's no way Giampaolo has "Get Further Forward" on his full backs. But they still do provide situational width, so I think Run Wide With Ball is appropriate, combined with Sit Narrower when out of possession. WB-De is just too defensive, WB-Su has an unwanted PI therefore WB-Au on Balanced is the most appropriate choice for me.

[warlock]

1 hour ago, zlatanera said:

WB-De is just too defensive, WB-Su has an unwanted PI therefore WB-Au on Balanced is the most appropriate choice for me.

That's some pretty smart analysis right there 

[zlatanera]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

That's some pretty smart analysis right there 

I normally overlook Automatic roles, as I tend to play on Balanced where they are all basically Support, or quite extreme Attacking or higher using a bunch of specialist roles. WB-Au is the only one that has different instructions from the Support role. 

[Jean0987654321]

I'm having a bit of success with WB (D) but that is combined with the PPM "Gets Further Forward"