Gremio tactical evolution

[OWD]

Started the second season pretty well, winning Gaucho State league convincingly. However, after some injuries to key midfielders, and a couple of acquisitions, I had to change my tactics.

 

 

 

Initially I came up with this possession style, and the idea was to play a few games and tweak it accordingly. To be honest, I felt lazy and 10-15 games in I didn't really change anything.

We are mostly doing well, tied for the first place in the league and all, however I am not happy with our tactical approach overall. Reasons being:

• not enough goals scored;
• BBM had to contribute with goals more than I would care to admit;
• poor ratings and not enough contribution from our front four.

 

The whole idea was to get the most of our front four, Alisson, Everton, Luan and Vargas. So that is what I would like - to get the most out of them, and to dominate games, since we're probably the best team in South America, at least offensively.

I don't care about possession numbers, but I figured that would be a good way to assert ourselves, controlling the possession.

 

I am going to rethink our tactical approach tonight. I would like to ask you to look at our players, and chip in with suggestions on how would you play, and especially, how would you get the most out of the four mentioned players.

Screenshots coming in the next post.

 

 

[OWD]

Front four  --  Key players and guys I would like to build around:

Spoiler

 

 

Midfield:

Spoiler

 

Defence and GK: (Wingbacks really played well!)

Spoiler

 

Front four subs: (some good players there!)

Spoiler

 

[Experienced Defender]

35 minutes ago, OWD said:

I would like to ask you to look at our players, and chip in with suggestions on how would you play, and especially, how would you get the most out of the four mentioned players.

I would probably use a 4141dm wide system for this team, rather than 4231 (to begin with). That would allow for some more penetration from deep, which seems to be what you need most at the moment, but would also give you a nice opportunity to be more creative/adventurous with roles, especially in the midfield and up front.

If you want me to tell you exactly how I would set up a primary (basic) tactic, I'll be glad to share my thoughts with you 

[zlatanera]

If Everton and Alisson can play at MR / ML (and I think I recall from repeat encounters of Gremio when managing River Plate that they can?) then why not try a 4411? The lower starting position naturally gives them more space to work with, which can help when using guys whose dribbling is a weapon.

[OWD]

18 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

I would probably use a 4141dm wide system for this team, rather than 4231 (to begin with). That would allow for some more penetration from deep, which seems to be what you need most at the moment, but would also give you a nice opportunity to be more creative/adventurous with roles, especially in the midfield and up front.

If you want me to tell you exactly how I would set up a primary (basic) tactic, I'll be glad to share my thoughts with you 

 

4-1-4-1 DM Wide is in fact what I used before, and has carried me to the Gaucho State trophy. However, with the addition of Vargas, I would like to get him in the starting 11, therefore 4-2-3-1.

And yes, I would like to hear how would you set up stuff.

 

 

12 hours ago, zlatanera said:

If Everton and Alisson can play at MR / ML (and I think I recall from repeat encounters of Gremio when managing River Plate that they can?) then why not try a 4411? The lower starting position naturally gives them more space to work with, which can help when using guys whose dribbling is a weapon.

 

Sure, I could try that, although I feel I still need to figure out how to set up the two central players.

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, OWD said:

I would like to hear how would you set up stuff

So we are talking about how I would set up a 4141dm wide system specifically with your players. I'll first describe the basic tactic and then explain its elements.

Roles & duties

F9

IFat                                           Wsu

BBM        MEZat

DLPde

WBsu     CDco     CDde      WBde

SKde

Who would play where and what PIs I would give the players:

GK/SKde - Cesar - no PIs (if he had better passing, first touch and technique, I would play him as a SK on support, but unfortunately he doesn't)

DL/WBsu - Capixaba - no PIs

DR/WBde - Gomes - sit narrower

DCL/CDco - Kannemann - stay wider, take fewer risks, hold position

DCR/CDde - Geromel - take fewer risks

DM/DLPde - Bobsin - mark tighter, close down less 

MCL/BBM - Henrique - mark tighter

MCR/MEZat - Pyerre - mark tighter, close down more

AML/IFat - Vargas/Everton - no PIs

AMR/Wsu - Everton/Alisson - cross from byline 

ST/F9 - Luan - roam from position, close down more

NOTE: This setup of roles and duties is based on:

- your players' attributes, traits and (in certain cases) footedness

- mutual interaction between the roles as parts of an integrated tactical systems

What I like about your players in terms of their traits:

- Alison - cuts inside from both wings (meaning he tends to play as an IF even when he's given a winger role)

- Everton - tries killer balls and cuts inside from the left (advice: learn him to cut inside from the right wing as well)

- Vargas - cuts inside from the left, tries killer balls and likes to switch the ball to the other flank (which is one of my favorite traits when the player has right attributes, and Vargas has all that are needed)

- Pyerre - gets forward whenever possible and dictates tempo (both traits suit the mezzala role very well)

- Henrique - gets forward whenever possible (an always welcome trait for a BBM)

- Bobsin - dictates tempo and tries long passes (a nice combo for a playmaker operating from deep; advice: train him as a half-back to improve his defensive attributes, but put the additional focus on passing)

What I don't like about your players in terms of their traits:

- Kannemann - dives into tackles (a potentially risky trait for a CB, especially when playing with a higher d-line)

- Geromel - tries to play way out of trouble (a risky one for a defender, especially one without extraordinary technical skills)

Which mentality and team instructions would I use, i.e. start most of the matches with? Given that your team is (should be) good enough to control the play and dominate most opponents, but (preferably) not in a boring "possession for the sake of possession" way, I would go with these basic settings:

Mentality - Positive (I think it provides an ideal balance that allows you to dominate the game but without being too adventurous and rushed, especially since your defense might prove to be an issue)

In possession - shorter passing, play out of defence, higher tempo, work ball into box, be more expressive, overlap left and underlap right (the last two in order to make your deeper and more advanced wide players closer to each other in the build-up phase of your attacks, so that more passing options would be available within smaller areas of the pitch, allowing the play to be more diversified and with more players involved)

In transition - counter, distribute to CBs and FBs (optional instruction - regroup - because of the aforementioned potential weakness of your defense)

Out of possession - higher d-line, higher LOE, prevent short GKD (optional instruction - use tighter marking - because it's a safer way to put more pressure on the opposition than is more urgent pressing or get stuck in)

If you have any questions/suggestions, you are welcome!

 

 

[OWD]

Thanks a lot for your input. The setup which you posted is quite similar to what I was playing before, although it is a bit more refined.

The key problem with a setup like that is that Everton and Vargas cannot play at the same time, and the two are by far our best players. And most paid players, and best prospects, etc.

I must admit that I have bought Vargas having in mind that this might be the issue. Just couldn't miss the opportunity to get him on the cheap. It was a correct decision; worst case scenario, I will sell him with a profit. But I would still like to see what could the two of them do working in conjunction...

[Experienced Defender]

2 hours ago, OWD said:

The key problem with a setup like that is that Everton and Vargas cannot play at the same time

Of course they can. Vargas as an IFat on the left (AML) and Everton as a Wsu (AMR). That combo would be my first choice.

[OWD]

Oh sorry, somehow I misread that Everton was your first choice on AMR, before Alisson.

[OWD]

A little update: I played a lot since the last post.

I couldn't get 4-2-3-1 to work. It wasn't all bad, we were winning quite a few games, but it was mostly due to having the best squad, rather than the best setup.

I moved Almada (loan) and Everton (transfer), and went back to 4-1-2-2-1. In short, it works better.

So my current plan is to refine the current setup and to learn more about the two formations in general. I will be posting some stuff in the next few days, so if anyone is interested to either look at Gremio, or to look at my tactical evolution, you are welcome to participate in any way.