Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023

[crusadertsar]

This first appeared on Dictatethegame.com. If you wish to see it in its original format and with higher quality pictures then you can always check out the link. But I'm reposting my article here to hopefully generate some discussion about a topic that I started to enjoy a lot in the last few versions of Football Manager; assymetric formations and creating overloads. Can they be as effective in the game as they are in real life, eg. Pep Guardiola's recent success with strategic overloads. Please drop your thoughts and comments below on Dictatethegame twitter page. 

There seem to exist many misconceptions out there about what exactly it means to overload in football and how to create overloads within football manager tactical engine. This article is meant to be an easy to follow, step-by-step guide on how to successfully create overloads with any team and at any level. It does not present an exploit win-all plug-in tactic but it should hopefully make scoring goals, and winning, more consistent for your club.

What is Overload?

In football, an overload can be defined as the intentional tactical ploy used by an attacker to force the opponent to over-commit more players on one side (hence overloading that side) while at the same time leaving his other flank or central area more open to be exploited by the attacker. This way dangerous 1v1 or even 2v1 situations can be created on the exposed flank.

Essentially any situation where more players than usual penetrate a zone, can be called an overload. Thus flanks are often used as the usual zones for overloading by wide players and central players moving wide. In response to this threat, the defending manager has no choice but to react by directing more players into the area or allow the attacker to outnumber them in this zone. If they let the opponent’s central midfielder drift wide unmarked, his presence with both the winger and the full-back will create a three-on-two out wide, putting a lot of pressure on the defender’s wide players which could lead to a goal. Or they could tell their own central midfielder or defensive midfielder to move wide so as to prevent the opponent in getting numerical advantage there. Albeit at the expanse of leaving space in the center of the pitch for wingers or onrushing midfielders to exploit. No matter how the opponent reacts, you will be causing a lot of trouble for them the moment you decide to overload one flank. So far so good?

There is more to it though. The other, and by far the more dangerous, aspect of overloads lies in how you decided to take advantage of the space that is invariably freed up in the middle and on the opposite flank from the overloaded one. The careful use of roles and player instructions is essential here and makes all the difference between unlocking the opponent’s weaker flank or conceding an important goal during their counter-attack.

Effective overloads are not as simple as putting all your players on one side of the field and hoping that it will attract the opposing team there and leave them wide open elsewhere. If not done correctly, the opponent might just think you are being barmy, see your attempt to overload them for a feint that it is, and instead hit you hard on your own exposed center or flank. In reality, as well as in Football Manager, you need to convince the opposition of the seriousness of your threat to force them reallocate players there.

How to overload? – A Three Pronged Assault Method

A threatening overload can be created via three principal methods. Alone, none of them are guaranteed to shift your opponent’s attention to one flank but a combination of two or all three should effectively lead to an overload. Here is how.

1)Using Specific Roles

Concentrating playmaker roles to draw the ball and other more cautious supporting roles to tie up the opponent on one side of the field is one important way to create overloads. In on itself it can be effective in bogging the opponent down on one side of the field, but without dynamic attacking options and runners on the opposite flank it can be more of a hindrance than help. So when you decide to go with the strategy of using roles to create overloads, make sure that you put at least one role with an attacking duty on the flank which you want “unlocked” (the one opposite from the overloaded side). This can either be a raumdeuter, poacher or a winger. Those are just examples, as there are several options here as long as you choose a role that directs the player to go forward, actively looking for free space from which to attack the goal. Even a more creative role such as a trequartista or inside forward (attack) could theoretically work here.

I chose a raumdeuter for my own experiment, because it is the original “space investigator” role, made famous by Bayern’s Thomas Muller and as such is hardcoded to roam around in the half-spaces and take advantage of overloads. Bayern’s tactical system has been made famous in how it utilized inverted wingbacks and wingers to create overloads and unlock defences.

Under Guardiola, Bayern’s Lewandowksi, Lahm, Boateng and Muller would overload one flank, allowing another player, a winger (usually Costa due to his power and speed) a clear 1v1 on the other flank, potentially leading to a scoring opportunity or a good cross.

Overloading is a common strategy for big sides like Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Napoli, who are usually a favoured side and thus need to find creative ways to play through the low defensive blocks, parked buses, used by most other clubs they face in the league. Pep Guardiola pioneered the strategy of shifting the opponent’s defensive block during his time with Bayern, mostly through the smart use of roles rather than intentional asymmetric formations. A practice he took with him to Manchester City where it allowed him to win two league titles and three league cups so far.

Pep Guardiola – The Grand Master of Overloads

2) Using Asymmetry

On its own the use of an asymmetric formation might not guarantee an effective overload. Yet I have found that when coupled with the above-mentioned ball-magnet and support-focused roles, the tactical shape you use can aid in shifting the defensive block to the side of your choosing. You do not need to make drastic changes or form completely unbalanced formations. I often see the so-called Plug-and-Play tactics where the creator positions the majority of their team towards one flank with only one lonely attacking winger or wingback on the other flank. At first it might seem like a clever exploit but it will not actually work at all. If anything it will make your defence more exposed and help you to leak a lot of goals, not to score them. The formation you create still needs to be balanced and realistic without being too wild. Some slight asymmetry can definitely help though, especially when there is good synergy with custom Player Instructions and Preferred Player Moves (PPMs) on some players. As an example, here is the formation that I am currently using with Fiorentina.

Note the roles and their locations on the field. Also keep in mind that while I’m trying to show the roles and the general asymmetry, the tactic is still a work in progress. Thus the team instructions shown here are not necessarily the ones I will be using, but more on that later.

3) Using Player Traits and Instructions

Player Traits, Team and Individual Instructions are important but will not in on themselves guarantee overloads. Nevertheless, let us take a look at how they can help. In my Viola save, this is how a typical overload will usually progress. My advanced playmaker, Matias Vargas, has Likes to Switch Ball to other side trait and I have him shifted to the right side to best take advantage of it. At times when he is in possession of the ball and surrounded by opposition players, he will act on his PPM to launch a direct pass to the other exposed flank where my wingback or raumdeuter are ready to pounce on the goal. My raumdeuter, wonderkid Federico Chiesa, has the Gets forward trait which is invaluable in helping him get into dangerous attacking positions on that wing. For him to be effective, I need him to be aggressive with his forward runs and not have him hesitating with the ball. Using asymmetry, my striker is also shifted to right flank. He is instructed to stay wider to the right which will hopefully draw more defenders to that side. The idea is simple. As I build up play, slowly moving the ball through the players on the right side of the pitch, I pull the opposition defensive block from the center to the right flank in reaction to my build up. When the ball is switched quickly to the left side, it is likely to pit my best wide attacker in a favorable 1v1 against the opposition’s full-back and/or winger.

I’m not a fan of using many team instructions in my tactics, usually preferring to set up how I want my teams to play through the specific use of roles and mentality. Already by having the right combination of support duties (on the side you want overloaded) and attack duties, you should see overloads happening. Yet the following suggested instructions would still help in enhancing your overloads and help them occur more frequently.

Some might argue that you want to Focus play down the wing that you want overloaded (so Right wing in my case) but I believe that it is better to focus it down the wing which you want to unlock. This instruction is basically telling all your players close to the selected flank to play with more attacking mentality than what is signified by the general mentality (Positive/Control in mine). This means that these players will be making more forward runs, trying to get into goal-scoring positions. This is exactly what I want my raumdeuter and attacking wingback to do. On the other hand, my right flank players I want to be more patient in their slow build-up approach. I need them to be the anvil to the hammer of my left flank. All of my other instructions will be used to enhance this basic idea.

Having Counter-Press is actually counter-productive in creating overloads as it instructs the whole team to actively press and chase the ball around the field, breaking from their formation in the process. On the other hand, I want my team to work in two distinct halves. The Overload “Anvil” flank will be doing most of our pressing and closing down, and in general retaining the ball as long as possible. It helps to put Close Down More individual instruction on all these players. The other “Hammer” flank should focus purely on making runs into space and to “envelop” the enemy on their exposed flank. If possible, tell these players to Close Down Less.

Hammer and Anvil – The concept of Tactical Envelopment

In essence, this is an ancient military concept, used as far back as 4th century BC by Alexander the Great. The idea being that you want you main force of heavy infantry to tie up the enemy forces while your lighter strike force of fast cavalry flank them on the side. Known as the Hammer and Anvil or the Envelopment Attack, it was used by a multitude of commanders to cause devastating loses to the opponent. Having evolved out of horse and pike battles of Ancient Era, it transitioned into the modern tank warfare and now onto the football field.

Pass into Space, Low Crosses and Be More Expressive – are all useful to have. In combination these instructions will hopefully encourage more adventurous passes to my raumdeuter once he is good position to receive them. For this reason, it is very important that this player has good acceleration and mental attributes (especially Off the Ball and Anticipation).

Having your team Play Wider will also hopefully allow more space to be created for your left wing attacker while the ball is drawn to right wing and the opponent is stretched in that direction.

Using Lower Line of Engagement and Counter is there to create more space for my left wing to exploit. The idea being that we want to draw the opponent deeper into our half before trying to win the ball back but when we do our left wing needs be quick to transition into a counter-attack. Please note that while in the screenshot I have Higher Defensive Line active, it might need to be lowered to further help with creating exploitable space behind opponent’s defensive block.

Having revealed the major ways in which you can use the tactical system to your advantage in creating overloads, I encourage you try these tips and to see for yourself why Guardiola has been so successful at Bayern and Man City. Overloads have been central to his tactical vision and while the pure concept is not original (is Pep secretly a student of military history?) it can be deadly effective with the right team. Yet it is probably a concept that will not work every time and with every team. In order to tie up the opponent’s defensive block on one side, you need players with the right combination of attributes to facilitate possession and retention of the ball for as long as possible. They will need relatively good (around 15) values in Passing, First Touch, Composure, Agility and Balance. Of course this can be adjusted according to the level at which you are playing. So as long as you keep that in mind I wish you fun experimentation and good luck in your own field general career. Thank you for reading and let us know your thoughts @ Dictate The Game’s Facebook and Dictate The Game’s Twitter

Pep Guardiola – A portrait of a triumphant general directing his troops to yet another victory

Edited February 28, 2023 by crusadertsar

[craigd84]

Great stuff! 

[crusadertsar]

5 hours ago, craigd84 said:

Great stuff! 

Thanks mate! Glad you enjoyed it

[craigd84]

I also liked the idea you focus play down the opposite side of the overload. Thats how i understand exploiting too... I made a 4 33 0 on last years with Ajax with two Raumdueters, and focused play down one side and my LW one banged in a lot of goals. 

[crusadertsar]

56 minutes ago, craigd84 said:

I also liked the idea you focus play down the opposite side of the overload. Thats how i understand exploiting too... I made a 4 33 0 on last years with Ajax with two Raumdueters, and focused play down one side and my LW one banged in a lot of goals. 

I tried focusing on the side of the overload at first and it didn't work as well. So settled on focusing on opposite side.

[craigd84]

yeah because not only do they look to keep ball they also look to attack through it totally negating the right side if my memory serves me correctly.

[ivanbox]

Good work!

What about City current tactic? Any advices?

 

 

[sporadicsmiles]

On 15/06/2019 at 00:29, crusadertsar said:

Hammer and Anvil – The concept of Tactical Envelopment

This reminds me of my current total war campaign (and every total war campaign actually). Since I am fond of using The Art of War to generate ideas for how to manage, I approve of using battle tactics in football!

I think your first and third points are key. I usually avoid using asymmetry in tactics, as it will affect my defensive shape as much as my attacking, and this can cause issues all on its own.

Looking at the figure I quoted, I think you have highlighted an absolutely key point that a lot of people may miss when they are learning the game. Football is a team sport. They attack as a unit, and so you need to consider the entire formation. Players are your units. What is each player doing, and how does it help you win? How is the opposition going to respond to what you are doing and how can you exploit that. Creating overloads to drag a defense out of position and create space on a different area of the pitch is absolutely critical for creating successful tactics. Especially for managing top sides, when you have to create your own space.

To give a specific example of one of the common ways I do this. I pair an IF(A), FB(A) on the same flank, and on the same side of the midfield I have a playmaker. Attacking down that flank will concentrate 3 players (4 if you have a support role for your striker and he moves into the half space). This will draw defenders to one side, which automatically creates space in the center and the opposite side of the pitch. You then have roles such as CM(A), BBM(S), W(S), IF(S) on the opposite flank to exploit this. A DM who sits and holds to act as a pivot helps. This would be something similar to the top right example in the quoted picture. Fix the force on one side, attack it on the other.

I would love to see other people share how they create overloads too, I think it would be very beneficial to anyone who is learning how to think globally with player positions, roles and duties.

[crusadertsar]

15 hours ago, ivanbox said:

Good work!

What about City current tactic? Any advices?

 

 

Thanks! If you are trying to recreate Man City, I would use either Sane or Sterling as the attacking flanking force to unlock the opponent defence. While at same time concentrate your playmakers on the opposite side. So use Silva in deeper position as Mezzala and Debruyne (subbed by Foden) on the wing. De Brunei even comes with handy "likes to switch ball to the other side" trait.

[crusadertsar]

@sporadicsmiles Thank you for the thoughtful reply. Couldn't agree more with you on the army analogy and the importance of thinking of the whole team as a group of unit. I'm thinking of doing more military crossover tactics maybe

And also thanks for giving example of how you create overloads. I like your method. Would love to see how others create overloads as well.

[rouflaquettes31]

Hi and thanks for your article!

I don't understand very well the defense part.

If opposition attacks on the right (so your left side or hammer side), who defend? The wing back? Because I suppose the Raumdeuter doesn't participate a lot to defensive work.

If opposite team plays with a winger on the right, it could be difficult for your team in transition phases, right?

 

[ivanbox]

3 hours ago, crusadertsar said:

Thanks! If you are trying to recreate Man City, I would use either Sane or Sterling as the attacking flanking force to unlock the opponent defence. While at same time concentrate your playmakers on the opposite side. So use Silva in deeper position as Mezzala and Debruyne (subbed by Foden) on the wing. De Brunei even comes with handy "likes to switch ball to the other side" trait.

Thanks! I will try!

[crusadertsar]

4 hours ago, rouflaquettes31 said:

Hi and thanks for your article!

I don't understand very well the defense part.

If opposition attacks on the right (so your left side or hammer side), who defend? The wing back? Because I suppose the Raumdeuter doesn't participate a lot to defensive work.

If opposite team plays with a winger on the right, it could be difficult for your team in transition phases, right?

 

I understand your concern but that is why I had a holding midfield to compensate for wingback and raumdeuter being more offensive. I actually switched from bbm to dlp on that side. And it helps switching the tactic depending on the opposition.  I will use my raumdeuter and wingback always on the side where opponent has weaker, aka slower winger or wingback. Also the whole point of overloads is to expose the ai so if they actually use enough players to threaten me on my raumdeuter flank, then chances are that they will be destroyed on the side that I'm overloading.  It's a sort of catch 22 for ai. On that side I have 5 or at times 6 players. I never see AI ignore such threat. So in other words, I wouldn't worry too much about their counterattacks

[rouflaquettes31]

Ok! It's often the same question : put a 'defensive' winger to defend against dangerous wing back,

or put a dangerous winger to prevent opposite wing back to attack. You choose the second one ;-)

Anyway, your article gives me some ideas to improve my tactic. Thank you!

[Experienced Defender]

On 18/06/2019 at 08:03, sporadicsmiles said:

I would love to see other people share how they create overloads too, I think it would be very beneficial to anyone who is learning how to think globally with player positions, roles and duties

Okay, let's assume I want to build attacks on the left before switching play to the right for my players attacking the space(s) there. One possible way can be:

4-4-2

DLFsu    PO

 

WMsu    DLPsu    CMde     Wat

 

FBsu       CD      C  D      WBde

4141DM Wide

DLFsu

APsu                                    Wat

CAR     CMat

HB

FBat       CD      CD       IWBde

4231 (the most risky and hence tricky one)

PFsu

IFsu             TQ              RMD

DLPsu     CMde

 

FBat       CD      CD       IWBsu

I think the idea is clear. Of course, besides roles and duties, team and player instructions will also play an important part. When I look to base a tactic on overloads, the Play out of defence TI is a must. Other instructions can vary. I also tend to use the overlap on the more attacking side in order to reduce the mentality gap between the fullback and his more advanced attack-duty partner, but that's just my personal preference and is clearly not necessary (especially not necessary in the last 4231 example, since the IWB is on support rather than defend duty, meaning he'll be exactly where I want him without a need for the overlap TI).

[crusadertsar]

@Experienced Defender Thanks for sharing! Those are great setups. Good call on Overlap instruction. Also was wondering what your reason is for making "Play out of defense" essential? I figure it's good building up possession slowly. But I figured that to keep possession on the overloaded side Control mentality and support duties would be sufficient. But maybe I'll need to add it to my tactic

[crusadertsar]

13 hours ago, rouflaquettes31 said:

Ok! It's often the same question : put a 'defensive' winger to defend against dangerous wing back,

or put a dangerous winger to prevent opposite wing back to attack. You choose the second one ;-)

Anyway, your article gives me some ideas to improve my tactic. Thank you!

Glad it helped with your tactic And yes I'm a believer that good offense is the best defense 

[Experienced Defender]

1 hour ago, crusadertsar said:

Also was wondering what your reason is for making "Play out of defense" essential? I figure it's good building up possession slowly. But I figured that to keep possession on the overloaded side Control mentality and support duties would be sufficient. But maybe I'll need to add it to my tactic

Your assumption is basically spot on - it does have to do with possession-based styles. Because when I use overloads as a tactical weapon, I do it only in situations when I look to control the match and dominate. And when I say "possession" football, I do not refer only to patient possession styles like tiki-taka, but to all that imply controlling the game. In fact, I never play slow and patient possession styles - I am a fan of hardcore English/British football 

On the other hand, I don't see much point in using overloads when I (want to) play rather defensive and counter-attacking football, simply because I don't want to keep possession in any area of the pitch for too long. Instead, I want to have as fast transitions as possible.

[Purplejesus]

14 hours ago, Experienced Defender said:

Okay, let's assume I want to build attacks on the left before switching play to the right for my players attacking the space(s) there. One possible way can be:

4-4-2

DLFsu    PO

 

WMsu    DLPsu    CMde     Wat

 

FBsu       CD      C  D      WBde

I find this setup quite interesting. Now I actually just watched BTN video on Overloads.
 

Spoiler

 

So the theory here, is that the overloading side is on attack in order to draw defenders and midfielders out of position in order to make room for the right side attacking the empty space. Now this is done with midfielders on attack duty. So im curious to see how well supporting roles can/will do the same thing. Are defenders really going to be threatened and leave their position against a DLP and WM on support?

Have you actually tried this, or is it just theory crafting? If you haven't I might do the experiment when i get home. 

BONUS INFO: I am currently managing FC Nordsjælland (as they are pretty much a danish discount version of Ajax) trying out almost the exact 4-4-1-1 shown in the video with great success as they really have great players for this.

[crusadertsar]

@Purplejesus Great video! Rashidi is a tactical genius and always thinks up great tactics. I actually tested it out for half a season with Fiorentina. Sitting in 5th so far so doing much better than my media prediction. Managed to beat Juventus. But more testing is probably required.

[andrewsgn]

On 18/06/2019 at 02:03, sporadicsmiles said:

To give a specific example of one of the common ways I do this. I pair an IF(A), FB(A) on the same flank, and on the same side of the midfield I have a playmaker. Attacking down that flank will concentrate 3 players (4 if you have a support role for your striker and he moves into the half space). This will draw defenders to one side, which automatically creates space in the center and the opposite side of the pitch. You then have roles such as CM(A), BBM(S), W(S), IF(S) on the opposite flank to exploit this. A DM who sits and holds to act as a pivot helps. This would be something similar to the top right example in the quoted picture. Fix the force on one side, attack it on the other.

This is very similar to the overload I created by accident. My setup is loosely based on van Gaal's 1998/99 Barcelona team with Rivaldo, Figo, Guardiola, Kluivert, Luis Enrique, Cocu, etc. I set this up thinking the IF(A) and CM(A) would be goal scorers but they have turned into the creators. I score a lot of goals because the IF, MEZ and WB overload the left side so when they pass back to the right the CM(A), W(S) and PF(S) are usually in a 3v2 situation. My CM(A) leads the team in assists and the PF(S) and W(S) lead the team in goals. 

PF(S)

IF(A)                                   W(S)

MEZ(S)     CM(A)

DLP(D)

WB(S)       CD      CD       FB(S)

Edited June 20, 2019 by andrewsgn

[crusadertsar]

@andrewsgn ...Rivaldo, Figo, Guardiola, Kluivert, Luis Enrique, Cocu... 

What a great squad they had!

[Experienced Defender]

5 hours ago, Purplejesus said:

So the theory here, is that the overloading side is on attack in order to draw defenders and midfielders out of position in order to make room for the right side attacking the empty space. Now this is done with midfielders on attack duty. So im curious to see how well supporting roles can/will do the same thing. Are defenders really going to be threatened and leave their position against a DLP and WM on support?

In this video, Rashidi offered 3 different examples of an overload. The one you are referring to is the only one where attack duties were used to create an overload. In the other two, the overloads were created by support duties (coupled with appropriate roles, such as PM, MEZ, DLF). So there are different types of overload, depending on where and how you want to create it.

[Experienced Defender]

5 hours ago, Purplejesus said:

Have you actually tried this, or is it just theory crafting? If you haven't I might do the experiment when i get home

I've tried this particular type of overload (the 442 one) with Brighton on several occasions. It has not worked equally successfully every single time, but can always be improved with a couple of tweaks.

[andrewsgn]

Here's an example of the overload I mentioned a few posts above. By overloading the left we are able to create a goal with a few simple passes back to the right.

Hourihane (DLP-D) plays a ball out to my left back, Taylor (WB-S). Norwich is playing a 4-2-3-1 and are narrow and compact with all but their striker behind the ball.

 

Taylor cuts the ball back to Lansbury (MEZ-S). El Ghazi (IF-A) is just inside of Lansbury. Both of Norwich's DM's have shifted over.

 

 

El Ghazi stops his run and Lansbury plays a simple ball to him. Because the DM's have shifted we have a 3v2 with Grealish (CM-A) unmarked right at the edge of the box.

 

El Ghazi plays the ball to Grealish who taps it over to Bolasie (W-S) who has a clear shot and scores the goal. 

 

As I mentioned I kind of stumbled into this but it's proving very effective. Granted, Aston Villa are one of the stronger Championship teams, but we've scored 38 goals so far in 15 matches. My AMR's (Bolasie and Adomah as W-S) have combined for 11 goals. My striker, Abraham, has 11 goals and 5 assists. Grealish leads the team with 7 assists as CM(A).  

[dokera]

52 minutes ago, andrewsgn said:

Here's an example of the overload I mentioned a few posts above. By overloading the left we are able to create a goal with a few simple passes back to the right.

Hourihane (DLP-D) plays a ball out to my left back, Taylor (WB-S). Norwich is playing a 4-2-3-1 and are narrow and compact with all but their striker behind the ball.

 

Taylor cuts the ball back to Lansbury (MEZ-S). El Ghazi (IF-A) is just inside of Lansbury. Both of Norwich's DM's have shifted over.

 

 

El Ghazi stops his run and Lansbury plays a simple ball to him. Because the DM's have shifted we have a 3v2 with Grealish (CM-A) unmarked right at the edge of the box.

 

El Ghazi plays the ball to Grealish who taps it over to Bolasie (W-S) who has a clear shot and scores the goal. 

 

As I mentioned I kind of stumbled into this but it's proving very effective. Granted, Aston Villa are one of the stronger Championship teams, but we've scored 38 goals so far in 15 matches. My AMR's (Bolasie and Adomah as W-S) have combined for 11 goals. My striker, Abraham, has 11 goals and 5 assists. Grealish leads the team with 7 assists as CM(A).  

What Mentality/TI/PI do you use? Is it possible that it affected on CM(A)/IF(A) to create chances and W(S)/PF(S) to score goals?

[andrewsgn]

24 minutes ago, dokera said:

What Mentality/TI/PI do you use? Is it possible that it affected on CM(A)/IF(A) to create chances and W(S)/PF(S) to score goals?

This is my current setup:

I drop Overlap Left when I use a WB(S) as DL. The WB(D) is something I'm experimenting with as I find WB(S) crosses too much and Taylor is not a good crosser or dribbler. I was also a little vulnerable on this flank with an IF(A) and MEZ(S).

For PI's:

IF(A) - Sit Narrower, Roam From Position, Close Down More

W(S) - Close Down More

MEZ(S) - Close Down More

CM(A) - Roam From Position, Close Down More

DLP(D) - Take More Risks, Close Down Less

FB(S) - Sit Narrower, Take Fewer Risks

 

 

 

[Experienced Defender]

30 minutes ago, andrewsgn said:

This is my current setup:

A very nice, simple and well-balanced tactic 

[crusadertsar]

16 hours ago, andrewsgn said:

This is my current setup:

I drop Overlap Left when I use a WB(S) as DL. The WB(D) is something I'm experimenting with as I find WB(S) crosses too much and Taylor is not a good crosser or dribbler. I was also a little vulnerable on this flank with an IF(A) and MEZ(S).

For PI's:

IF(A) - Sit Narrower, Roam From Position, Close Down More

W(S) - Close Down More

MEZ(S) - Close Down More

CM(A) - Roam From Position, Close Down More

DLP(D) - Take More Risks, Close Down Less

FB(S) - Sit Narrower, Take Fewer Risks

 

 

 

Sometimes simplicity is most effective. Great set up

[Ugeine]

I don't think I properly understood the concept of overloading until I read this. I've tried implementing a few of these player role suggestions into my gameplan and I've definitely noticed more space opening up on the opposite flank. Really good post, cheers!

[crusadertsar]

9 hours ago, Ugeine said:

I don't think I properly understood the concept of overloading until I read this. I've tried implementing a few of these player role suggestions into my gameplan and I've definitely noticed more space opening up on the opposite flank. Really good post, cheers!

Thats awesome mate! Makes me happy that I was able to help you

[KingRoyston]

With inspiration from this excellent thread (thanks crusadertsar) and a few others I created a 4-1-2-3 tactic for Marseille in order to try and consistently isolate opposition defenders our best player by a mile - Thauvin.

As you can see from the screenshots below- it worked pretty well!!

 

 

[KingRoyston]

Also ended up with wins in the French Cup and the Ligue Cup for a Domestic Treble in the first season. 

The tactic used the combination of a FB(A), BBM(S) and AP(A) on the left to circulate possession then releasing Thauvin as a Trequartista from the RW position.  I found the Trequartista role to have excellent movement for this purpose, it uses aggressive vertical runs but does not cut in as early as Inside Forwards, or stay as wide and isolated as a Winger.  The full set-up is below.

A really fun season, and I would say Thauvin is one of the best players I have managed on FM19, he is an absolute monster of a player and loyal also - not interested in Man U or Real's advances after his insane first season! 

[crusadertsar]

Glad to hear the feedback @KingRoyston and congrats on the achievements. Always a pleasure to hear about how someone is inspired by something I wrote about and develop something special out of it. Great work!

[tyro]

I love the analogy. I never thought about it this way. 

[denen123]

These are the sort of threads i love to read. Smart, readable and gives much more insight than the regular "plug & play". BustTheNet videos have also enlightened me on overloads and i agree that putting so many players on one flank to "create overloads" is not necessarily the best option. There are useful alternatives like you've pointed out in the above. I'm using presently a IFsu, Volat,Wbat and a roaming CFsu to create such on a flank to free up my Wat, so it is effective. Using playmakers is good, but IFsu naturally have "vision" as one of their "attribute" requirements and they switch ball to other flanks if they spot a runner, regardless. So wide playmakers can have alternatives in an IF. 

Wanted to reiterate that this is excellent as a thread. Callejon is my "freed up player" and he's been 8 goals and 7 assists in 16 games so far(FM19). Expecting more threads.

[crusadertsar]

@denen123 Thanks for the kind words mate! Im glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. Hopefully the concepts will still be applicable to Fm20. @Rashidi bustthenet videos were one of my inspirations for this actually. Loved the elegant way he would create overloads. In real life Pep emulated Marcelo Bielsa's approach to overloads. I actually took the concept of overloads to the source in my new thread about Manchester United using Bielsa style tactic. There I will be expanding upon the idea of using roles to create overloads. So if you liked this one you might like that thread too 

Edited November 8, 2019 by crusadertsar

[Bakiano]

Very nice and useful thread, never thought about overloading until now. I am managing RB Leipzig, it's still early season but I managed to play 442 and still keep improving my tactic. So reading this thread, I thought about this setup:

                    DLFs     PFa

                                                    RMDa

IWs             MEZa    DLPs

 

IWBs           BPDd    CDd          WBa

                             SKs

 

So what do you think about this?

[crusadertsar]

8 hours ago, Bakiano said:

Very nice and useful thread, never thought about overloading until now. I am managing RB Leipzig, it's still early season but I managed to play 442 and still keep improving my tactic. So reading this thread, I thought about this setup:

                    DLFs     PFa

                                                    RMDa

IWs             MEZa    DLPs

 

IWBs           BPDd    CDd          WBa

                             SKs

 

So what do you think about this?

That looks very nice set up for unlocking your Raumdeuter. Pressing forward is a good alternative to advanced forward especially if you have a hard working physical player. I love it. I like what you are doing on the left side with inverted wingback, mezzala and inverted winger. But i would also go as far as inverting the other wingback also to draw the opposing winger or fullback away from right wing and into the middle. I've been experimenting with dual inverted wingbacks in fm20 and i think it's going to make this system even better. Planning to post something about it on my Manchester United thread soon. Cheers!

[Bakiano]

19 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

That looks very nice set up for unlocking your Raumdeuter. Pressing forward is a good alternative to advanced forward especially if you have a hard working physical player. I love it. I like what you are doing on the left side with inverted wingback, mezzala and inverted winger. But i would also go as far as inverting the other wingback also to draw the opposing winger or fullback away from right wing and into the middle. I've been experimenting with dual inverted wingbacks in fm20 and i think it's going to make this system even better. Planning to post something about it on my Manchester United thread soon. Cheers!

Well, I made a little changes from the initially setuo. I changed the left IWBs to FBs and DLPs to DLPd because I played against an opponent that used two strikers and one AMC. I won the game 1-2, was playing away against weaker team,and both goals came from the left side. Didnt like the right WBa, lost the ball many times. Maybe will try him as a IWB but don't know what duty to use him.

 

As for the PF, I have two strikers that are primary PF(Werner and Poulsen).

 

My left IW is Forsberg who has ppm to flank to the other side which is very helpful like you said in your thread.

 

Would love to see your progress with two IWB-s.

[Hovis Dexter]

On 20/06/2019 at 17:56, andrewsgn said:

This is my current setup:

I drop Overlap Left when I use a WB(S) as DL. The WB(D) is something I'm experimenting with as I find WB(S) crosses too much and Taylor is not a good crosser or dribbler. I was also a little vulnerable on this flank with an IF(A) and MEZ(S).

For PI's:

IF(A) - Sit Narrower, Roam From Position, Close Down More

W(S) - Close Down More

MEZ(S) - Close Down More

CM(A) - Roam From Position, Close Down More

DLP(D) - Take More Risks, Close Down Less

FB(S) - Sit Narrower, Take Fewer Risks

Recently, I've normally used a flat 4 4 2 but after reading this thread I thought I'd use your tactic as a starting point and adapt it as I played through the season. In the event I used for all but the first two competitive matches of the season and didn't make any alterations. I'm playing Lyon and ended up winning the domestic cup and league double. The highlight of the season was a 6-1 home win against PSG - not a big a highlight as a certain real life 6-1 away win but a highlight nevertheless.  Many thanks for sharing this with us.

Edited February 28, 2020 by Hovis Dexter

[sejo]

Great topic guys!

So if I've understood well, it works like these: overloading the most attacking flank focusing play there to have the other flank with more space. Is it correct?
So how would you setup a 41221 considering that my best player is a IW left footed on attack?

Thank you!

Edited February 28, 2020 by sejo

[sporadicsmiles]

3 hours ago, sejo said:

So if I've understood well, it works like these: overloading the most attacking flank focusing play there to have the other flank with more space. Is it correct?

Basically yes. The idea of an overload is to put many players in one area of the pitch. You are making the opposition choose between covering the extra players, or staying narrow and risking overlaps with no cover (which usually results in players being committed anyway). You can create overloads in various places, not just the flanks. For example, a deep midfield overload will dare the AI to come and close you down and leave space between attack and midfield. Think creatively!

3 hours ago, sejo said:

So how would you setup a 41221 considering that my best player is a IW left footed on attack?

So you want the left footed wide player to be the main beneficiary? So playing on the right hand side of the teams most likely. Here is how I would do this. You would want to roles that stay wide in attack on the left. I typically use a W(S) and a FB(A), but anything that stays wide works here. You force the commit defenders. Then you can use a MEZ(A) on the left of midfield. Puts another body on your left flank. That is 3 players now. The AI has to respond, so will commit its defence that way. I then will play with a playmaker in midfield. Lets say a DLP(S) in the DMC strata. He is the pivot you will turn the attack around. The other midfielder just needs to be there to occupy the midfield. He is a decoy in this type of attacking phase, his job is to keep a player watching him. You could even go for overkill here and use a double overload. The right fullback as an IWB(S) to add a body to midfield and draw players that way too. 

Then the striker would be a DLF(S). So he can drop off the defence a little and hopefully draw a defender. The right winger (your best player) can be an IW(A), or an IF(A), as you wish really, see what works. He will be the one really running into the space you are trying to create. He has to beat his fullback 1v1, and then he will have a scrambling covering to beat.

In this idea, you can imagine goals coming from left wing crosses, through balls from the DLP (or another midfielder), passes from DLP to DLF and on to the IW/IF. The downside is that you are committing a lot of people to this attack, so you have to be wary of counter attacks. 

This is just one idea. 

[sejo]

@sporadicsmiles thank you so much, I'm working on it with your suggestions. At the moment, I have 3 big problems:

• my winger tends to dribble at every opportunity, but doesn't really have an end product (and they have very bad ratings)
• possession is often useless
• teams that sit down have more possession (which makes no sense to me)

It seems to me also that my team lacks of penetration: the MEZ is pretty conservative, I'm trying the other central midfileder on CMa

Edited March 1, 2020 by sejo

[crusadertsar]

If you like to see my article in its original format:  https://dictatethegame.com/2020/03/02/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-love-4-3-3/

It seems that midway through the life-cycle of every Football Manager game there comes a time for change. It is usually when long-running saves start feeling stale. And a new challenge is needed to keep the game fresh. Sometimes it is a matter of changing up the tactics. The recent major Match Engine update has made me realize that my tactics were not doing what I wanted. We were winning games, but not in the way I wished. So I came to a hard decision. It is never easy to set aside a tactic, or club that you invested time into. So this is the kind of worrying that went through my mind, until I rediscovered the fun of FM20. Instead of recreating historic style or tactic I decided to take up the challenge of what I love most about football, scoring goals. All while fine-tuning my favourite 4-3-3 Formation.

 

It all Began with a Goal

 Gabriel Batistuta - The Argentinian Goal Machine

I love to score goals in Football Manager. But not just any goals. I like to see a variety of goals that result from intricate build up. Not just lucky goals from scrambles caused by set pieces. After my initial attempts at recreating classic Dutch Total Football, I finally settled on 4-3-3 system by drawing some inspiration from one of Cruyff's students. And this time I do not mean Bielsa. The final 4-3-3 that I've settled on should to lead to varied goals from different players. By applying concepts of Guardiola's Positional Play, the overloads generated will create space for your players to exploit in interesting ways. You will see quick cutback goals, worldly long shots from midfield, and real "fox in the box" beauties.

The "fox in the box" poacher is one of my favourite roles in football. Legendary Serie A players like Inzaghi, Batistuta and Shevchenko, stood larger than life due to their goals-scoring exploits. These fantasistas especially impressed on this young Ukrainian boy watching football in late 90s. To this day nothing reminds me of Serie A's Golden 1990s Era as its absolute fascination with the pure goal-scoring strikers. The poacher acted as the perfect posterboy for the beautiful game, stripping it down to its absolute essence. At its most basic, football is about outscoring your opponent. Even if it's only by one goal. And scoring goals is not easy, although players like Fiorentina's "Batigol" Batistuta made it look easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYGxua-HUGM

In Football Manager, as in real life scoring lots of goals is not a simple thing. It's the reason why plug-and-play tactics and tactic guides exist. FM enthusiasts will always look for ways to "break" the game and set virtual goal-scoring records. Without going into tactical exploit territory, I tried my own hand at trying to define that magic formula for a goal-scorer in FM19. Since switching to FM20, scoring lots of goals has not gotten any easier. Or so many of the users on the popular Sports Interactive forums claim. In this article I would like to simplify the elements which I believe are essential to scoring goals within one of my favourite formations, 4-3-3. As I believe in FM20 it can be a real goal-machine formation.

Recipe for Success

Now I am going to take the less popular view and say that scoring goals is easy in FM20. Provided you know what you are doing. All it takes is having a clear plan and knowing your players. When you fit a player into his ideal role then you are half way to making a successful tactic. The other half comes from the tactic you play him in.

Firstly, your players and their attributes and traits will tell you who your goalscorers are and who will be the creators. In any successful tactic you will need at least two consistent sources of goals. The rest will need to focus on either support or defence. Initially attribute analysis will help you filter your attackers. Once you have a likely group, you will need to narrow it down further by carefully studying their attributes. The ones with the most well defined key attributes is what you are looking for. While well-rounded attackers are useful, they won't be your 20+ goals per season goal-machines. The best goal-scorers do not necessarily need to be central strikers. But like a typical poacher, they need to be exceptionally good in at least one thing.

I always look for players with very high values in Off the Ball, Acceleration, and Dribbling coupled with strong mentals. They usually tend to be my best scorers. Players like Fiorentina's Federico Chiesa or Arsenal's Nicolas Pépé.

Cogs in The Machine

The second part of scoring goals, is knowing what kind of tactical system will get the best from your players. The saying that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts has never been more true. In football a collection of individual stars will never win anything. While a well-oiled machine of a team will almost always overachieve despite its individual limitations. Sticking with a well-honed balanced tactic will always overachieve more than an overly aggressive one. This has never been more evident than with Guardiola's Positional Play philosophy. At its height, it not only allowed Barcelona to win two Champions Leagues but helped Messi break world records. In 2012 under Guardiola, he scored 91 goals beating the previous record held by Gerd Müller (85 in 1972). Yet Leo played as a False9 support striker, while Müller was one of the deadliest poachers of his time.

 Gerd Müller's record of 365 goals in Bundesliga could fit a goal-a-day calendar. It still stands.

From Center to Wing - Changing Striker Paradigm

"I like the ball, I love the ball. To score a goal you need the ball. So as much as you have it and your percentage is higher, you have more chances to score." - Pep Guardiola

Messi has always been the exception to the rule. If it hadn't been him spearheading Guardiola's Barca then Villa probably would have been the goal-machine of the 2012 campaign. Villa was one of the best strikers in Spanish history. But due to his speed and exquisite technical skills, Pep could play him wide. From the left flank, he would perform curved runs to the penalty box and finish attacks. He was exactly the kind of player that best exploited the overload that Guardiola would create on the opposite wing.

 Messi-Villa - one of most productive False9-Inside Forward partnerships in Barca's history

The rise of a wide forward as the team's primary goal-scorer reflected modern football's increasing importance of midfield control. This control is generally won through aggressive pressing and Tiki-Taka-style short passing. Something that most average teams just cannot keep up with on a pure technical level. Top teams like Barcelona, and Man City play in the way that puts a lot of emphasis on winning games through winning the midfield battle. This led to dramatic decrease in free space for traditional central strikers to exploit in the middle of the field.

On the other hand, the inside forward has prospered in the Europe's top five leagues. In recent years it has not been typical central strikers that score most goals at top flight. But it's inside forwards like Raheem Sterling, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappé who dominate record charts. And it is a trend that has been going on for a while. Just look at the most prolific attacking partnerships in the last decade. Great pairing s such as Lewandowski and Thomas Muller, or Benzema-Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

Similar to Villa-Messi partnership above, Ronaldo and Benzema had almost perfect chemistry during their years together at Madrid. Benzema, operating centrally as a False9, used his teamwork, tactical intelligence, and attacking movement to draw opponents out of position. This created spaces for Ronaldo to make dangerous attacking runs into the center of the area from the left wing,

4-3-3 and Guardiola's Progressive Possession Style

Now I am going to go ahead and repeat what I already said before. In my opinion, the 4-3-3 is the most versatile and balanced shape in FM20. And probably in football in general. It is due to the fact that 4-3-3 (and its 4-1-4-1 DM variant) unlike the 4-4-2, values the inside forward. In its embrace of the inside forward it is very much a forward-thinking modern formation. With the advent of modern tactics that favour heavy pressing and possession, the middle of the field becomes overcrowded. The only open space that can still be found is often on the wings. It's where inside forwards can take advantage of their superior speed and dribbling unlike the less mobile traditional Number9 strikers. At the same time, quick and creative False9 like Messi can have great chemistry with inside forwards.

In attack, 4-3-3 can offer both dangerous width and plenty of chances for overloads with the right roles. And most importantly with the correct balance of roles, defence can easily cover for the forwards' adventurous attacking movement. It is surprising how defensively solid it can be even with as many as 5 players going into attack.

Therefore it is no surprise that 4-3-3 has been favoured by some of the most attack-oriented managers. Both Pep Guardiola in his Positional Play philosophy and Maurizio Sarri (Sarriball) played with some type of 4-3-3. Both are also staunch practitioners of Vertical Tiki-Taka, or progressive possession style. And if you are a top team and not playing progressive possession, then you are doing something wrong. Progressive Possession is possession with an attacking intent. It is not possession for the sake of possession that the classic Tiki-Taka has erroneously become known for. Progressive Possession is key to Guardiola's Positional Play.

Guardiola never cared about possession alone. Pep is unique among football managers, is that he is not just looking to win but to win in style. In his case, it is Progressive Possession style. Possession numbers in themselves are not important to him. What is important to Guardiola is keeping the ball long enough to enforce his vision of football on the game. Pep's vision of a perfect game is that of the constantly forward-moving attack. In this the other side has no choice but to play by his rules. And what are these rules you might ask? Read on.

Taking Control of the Half-Space

At Manchester City, Pep has revolutionized the traditional role of the #10 advanced playmaker. He made it a hybrid of the #10 and central midfield runner #8. Pep's two hybrid 8/10s David Silva and De Bruyne start in midfield but then as the ball is gained, move up to occupy half-space positions, just below the striker. While Silva holds back more to act as a traditional playmaker, De Bruyne uses his physicality to drive forward and link-up with attackers at the edge of the penalty area.

With the two wide attackers stretching the opposition defence on the wings and the False9, Sergio Aguero, dropping deep centrally, Man City's deadly 5-Pronged Attack is formed. You can see it in action in the image below. There De Bruyne is moments away from delivering a pin-point cross to Aguero. The False9 can then make the decision to shoot on goal or quickly pass to one of the wingers. As the ball shifts opponent's attention to Aguero, the wingers find themselves with plenty of open space. They can cut in unopposed towards goal and shoot.

This beautiful play of quick passes and one-twos is only made possible through the occupation of the half-spaces. When the midfield is congested with players moving into half-space channels, there is bound to be a lot of space created on the wings. There we have quick wingers to take advantage of the 1v1s created.

Overloads, Cutbacks and Runners

Guardiola always instructs at least one wide players to stay on the far-side from the overloaded side. At Barcelona he used players such as Thierry Henry, Villa, and Alexis Sanchez to generate cutbacks. The width generated in this way, created space for the midfield diamond of the likes of Messi and Iniesta. Many wrongly accuse Guardiola's Barcelona of seeking possession for the sake of possession. They could not be further from the truth. Guardiola uses midfield ball possession as a way to attract the opposition there. This in turn overloads the center and frees the two wingers. They can then get isolated against their respective fullback in, usually favourable for the winger, 1v1. At its core this simple concept is the central tenant of Positional Play and key to Pep's success. Simply, overload and isolate.

Origins of Positional Play

Guardiola's Positional Play or Juego de Posición is the tactical philosophy behind three of his most successful clubs. He first developed it at Barca, where he won everything he possibly could. His next Bayern stint was as impressive, even without Champions League glory. Finally moving to England, allowed Pep a whole new playing field and footballing culture to bend to his will. Arguably he has not reached City's full potential. But anything is possible now after he spent a few years assembling his perfect team.

At the Camp Nou, Guardiola had The Perfect Team. He knew that his best players were his midfielders, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets. So naturally Guardiola developed a tactical system to get the most of their collective strengths. Thus Juego de Posición was born in Barcelona in 2010. By shifting Leo from his natural attacking midfield position into that of a creative False 9 striker, Pep changed everything. Leo became the crucial centerpin to Pep's 4-3-3 system just like Cruyff was to Ajax 4-3-3 of 1970s.

Undoubtedly the key was Messi. Pep chose him as the team's unorthodox central striker. Leo did not fit the typical central striker role of a targetman who holds up the ball and bullies defenders. No, instead he amazed the world with his dribbling and mastery of the ball. Both of which drew opponents to him like flies to raw meat while his teammates were left free to attack. In midfield behind Messi there were the playmaking talents of Xavi and Iniesta. Completing the bottom of this diamond was Sergio Busquets who with his positioning and passing linked the midfield with defence.

The Perfect Team, Perfect Roles

So to summarize, in order to play by Guardiola's Rules of Positional Play, you will need:

1. Control the Half-Spaces (or channels if you will)
2. Overload the midfield through numerical superiority
3. Use inverted wingbacks to help in the midfield control and overload
4. At the same time free up space on at least one flank and have your most dangerous attackers exploit it.
5. Keep the ball as much as possible and if you lose it win it back immediately. Thus high defensive line and aggressive pressing are needed.
6. Start attacks from the back, getting the centrebacks involved in the buildup.

These should give you the rough idea on the team instructions that we will need. The next part is making sure that each player performs a specific role on the field. Again, like cogs in the machine. You will need a perfect player for each role. By this I do not mean the absolutely best, world-class player. But one that is perfectly suited to play that role due to his key attribute distribution. I will go into more detail on this in the next article where I will present the final tactic. For now these are the player roles you will need. I am using the legendary 2010-2011 Barcelona team as an example of the basic archetypes.

• Valdes was the classic sweeper keeper. His role was essential when playing with a high defensive line. He also acted as an extra player to help in maintaining possession and building attacks up from the back.
• Piqué and Mascherano were the ball-playing central defenders who were comfortable carrying the ball closer to midfielders or fullbacks to gain better passing angles. They were also mobile enough to drop back and cover. So you typical slow and strong defender who can only hoof the ball cannot apply.
• Alves - was the complete wingback with freedom to roam forward. Especially when both Xavi and Iniesta joined the attack. At the same time Abidal was his more conservative partner on the left. He acted like a third centerback at times. Thus defensive balance was kept.
• Busquets - Pivot - the only real specialist role in the whole formation. He was the all-important defensive midfield pivot. Busquets fit into Barcelona’s system perfectly and was the key defensive foil to Messi's free "Cruyff" role. His timely interceptions coupled with exquisite composure and positioning contributed greatly to maintaining possession and shielding the defence.
• Xavi - Controller- also an important role in the midfield. He was basically a classic #10 who dictated the team's tempo. He was also key in recycling possession towards areas that opened up after the opposition would overload his side of the field. It helped greatly that he was always able to control the ball even in the face of the most intense opposition pressure.
• Iniesta - Needle Player - who will thread the whole between your midfield and opponent's defence. As a #8 Iniesta acted like an attacking midfielder who carried the ball forward into dangerous areas. In this he was helped by his unrivaled dribbling skill and low stature (and centre of gravity).
• Pedro - was the versatile winger who hugged the touchline and provided width on the side Guardiola wished to overload. It also allowed Alves cut inside from his fullback position. Sometimes he would cut inside to support Messi and leave room for overlapping Alves on the wing.
• Villa - Shadow Striker - would also stay wide on the left, seemingly harmless as the second winger. But the moment that there was an overload created on the right, his more dangerous side would emerge. Then he would drift inside in a difficult-to-mark curved run toward the penalty box. His reputation for finishing attacks made him into one the best strikers in Spanish history.
• Messi- "Cruyff" Role - Catalyst. Those who read my previous article on Total Football, are probably familiar with Cruyff's all-important role to Dutch 4-3-3. Best player on the team and the brain of the formation. Guardiola gave him the full freedom to drop deep, drift to the wings or just roam around. The opposition defenders had no choice but follow him. By his mere movement, Leo created space for his teammates. What a real False9 must be.

 You can find the download for the preliminary version of this tactic at the end of the article. Mind you, it is bound to change as I test and report on in future articles.

Again these roles are not meant to be exact replication of 2010 Barca but rather an inspiration for my Total Football 4-3-3 Tactic's Roles. It's more of a general amalgam of styles from three of Guardiola-led clubs. For instance, while Alves did a lot of roaming, he did not really act like an inverted wingback. Guardiola did not start using inverted wingback until his Bayern days. What all his tactics between 2010 and 2020 have in common is that 4-3-3 shape (4-1-4-1DM wide if you will). As well as his constant drive to create overloads. That is something that he learned from his great mentors, Cruyff and Bielsa. And is also something that I myself too cannot stop doing. Once you seeing Total Football everywhere, it is hard to go back to playing football any other way.

 Dutch 4-3-3 - Passing Triangles Everywhere

Hopefully you enjoyed this rough overview to Guardiola-style 4-3-3. It also happened to be Dutch Total Football formation of 1970s. The formation that brought a lot of success to both Ajax and Dutch National Team. It was eventually brought to Spain and Barcelona by Johan Cruyff, where it was learned by Pep Guardiola. Thus it has been refined over two generations. Currently it is a very versatile shape that can bring the best out of your attackers. And help you score lots of goals of course. It is not every formation that provides passing triangles everywhere. And no other shape is easier for keeping possession with short passes. Hopefully I will be able to prove this in the future entries in this 4-3-3-inspired series. Until then happy testing and thank you for reading! And feel free to follow us @ Dictate The Game’s Facebook and Dictate The Game’s Twitter!

NEXT ARTICLE: I will be following in the steps of Bielsa and Guardiola, as I revive Dutch 4-3-3 one Role at a time. Also, I'll have a Royal time unveiling the club for this challenge.

Tactic In-Progress Download: https://ufile.io/y5tcz3wn

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2020 by crusadertsar

[chief_lucas]

@crusadertsar this is incredible work. I've taken on your principles of play and created a tactic with my Leeds team and the results are unreal. We're playing some genuinely excellent football.

[burnum]

Awesome. This is exactly the way I want my teams to play, although I've struggled mightily so far on FM20...

[crusadertsar]

2 hours ago, chief_lucas said:

@crusadertsar this is incredible work. I've taken on your principles of play and created a tactic with my Leeds team and the results are unreal. We're playing some genuinely excellent football.

Thanks and glad to hear it's working so well for you. Leeds is a great choice for Total Football as Bielsa is one of the big proponents of that style. I think you might be able to use Hernandez as a False 9 and he will probably flourish in that role at least for a season or two before his physical attributes drop too much.

[Margent2]

love this but out of interest who do you expect to score the goals

- barcelona - Messi obviously scored the goals but hes a rare talent. and then inside forwards popped up, but often on the right side Alves would provide width with pedro moving slightly inside being a more direct threat.

-bayern/ city - lewa/muller/aguero - mostly goals from aguero and also wingers at city. inverted wingbacks creating central overloads to prevent counters

 

i can see the aim of your system is to merge the best of both, i.e. inverted wingbacks and false 9. but who is meant to provide width and score goals?

 

[crusadertsar]

14 minutes ago, Margent2 said:

love this but out of interest who do you expect to score the goals

- barcelona - Messi obviously scored the goals but hes a rare talent. and then inside forwards popped up, but often on the right side Alves would provide width with pedro moving slightly inside being a more direct threat.

-bayern/ city - lewa/muller/aguero - mostly goals from aguero and also wingers at city. inverted wingbacks creating central overloads to prevent counters

 

i can see the aim of your system is to merge the best of both, i.e. inverted wingbacks and false 9. but who is meant to provide width and score goals?

 

Good questions! Like I mention in the article the main aim of this experiment was to get the best out of my left wide attacker. For now I'm using inside forward role there but that might change. The whole system, with the overload on the right is built around providing more space for him in the left wing. The secondary scorers are meant to be mezzala and right inverted winger. For this you will need players with specific attributes and PPMs (especially IWB) and I will go into much more detail on this in my next article. Just to give you an idea Ajax' Quincy Promes works like a treat in IWB with many penetrating dribbles and he often scores. Opposition midfielders and fullbacks just cannot keep up with him coming in from deep. And then it's too late and he is near the penalty area, bam!

Especially as I test more and gets more crystalized. The right Inverted Winger is actually meant to provide width, as i instruct him individually to stay wider. So far it works okay but maybe not as well as wish without stay wide or Hug the line PPMs. Ideally i would like this player to choose when he stays and when he cuts in depending on flow of game ( sort of how Pedro played). But this might not be possible in current ME. What i know for sure is that I despise the standard winger role because all it does is cross and dribble. I would love a generic Attacking Wide Midfielder role to customize as wish, as we do in midfield strata. But can always hope for fm21 or fm22 

Edited March 3, 2020 by crusadertsar