Leading on from my 20 Tactics of the 2000s thread, I've decided to propose 20 separate challenges relating to feats accomplished (or not-quite-accomplished) by their corresponding teams on the list. Some of the challenges will be more time consuming than others, but all should be pretty light-hearted and enjoyable. A nice change from the sweaty, stressful Blue Square North save you might have going on
If you'd like to use my attempt at representing the tactics used by each team then you can download them here. Don't forget to post news and screenies of your progress! Let the challenge(s).. begin!20. Sevilla 2005-07.Win some trophies using a basic 4-4-2. Nothing too complicated here, just adjust your tactic to suit the players at hand. Given the apparent demise of the 4-4-2 across the big leagues in Europe, this could prove to be an interesting one.
19. France Euro 2004. Win an international competition by playing as many star players as possible, using an adventurous shape. Ultimately this France team was unsuccessful, so it's up to you to disprove the theory that 'you can't win anything just by cramming all your best players in the same team'.
18. Australia World Cup 2006. Gain success using a relatively small footballing nation with 6 in the midfield. Try and do as Australia did by packing the middle of the park with versatile talent and reaching a respectable round of an international competition. Lots of nations would be appropriate for this one, from Finland to Bolivia and back again.
17. Bologna 2001/02. Qualify for Europe using an uninspiring club with a lone target man up front. Stoke City fans rejoice: this is the tactic for you.
16. Senegal World Cup 2002. Shock the world by taking an African nation to the semi-finals of the world cup playing counter-attacking football. This challenge is a must. Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique; take your pick.
15. Brazil 2007-09. Play fluid, attractive football and an interesting shape with one of the big nations, winning an international competition on the way. Brazil have pioneered interesting formations and interchanging fluidity over the years, let's see if you can do the same.
14. Milan 2002-07. Using a winger-less formation, win the Champions League by fielding three or more playmakers in the centre of the field. The Milan side was built around Andrea Pirlo, with Seedorf, Rui Costa and later Kaka all adding to the creativity down the middle. Who will you recruit?
13. Chelsea 2004-06. Win a major league title by at least 12 points using a 4-3-3. Shouldn't be too much of an ask for Barcelona users, but I'd be much more impressed to see a Scudetto winning Lazio side, for example.
12. Brazil World Cup 2002. Win the World Cup playing attacking football with defenders. The world cup winning Brazil side, for some reason, included no less than seven fairly defensive players, yet still attacked with as much force as any side in recent history. Anyone think they can match such fluidity?
11. Valencia 2001-04. Win back to back titles using an 'outsider' challenger playing attractive football with a lone striker. Benitez won La Liga twice with Valencia using a relatively unheard of 4-2-3-1 shape. Using a big club, but one with little domestic success in recent years (i.e Roma, Arsenal), you must do the same.
10. Roma 2000/01. Using 3 in defence and a creative Trequartista, achieve domestic glory. Roma were a balanced side that relied on the magical spark of Totti to craft their success. Mario Gotze or Christian Eriksen could emulate his role for their respective clubs.
9. Arsenal 2001-04. Unambitious shape + undefeated season. A tough one - no wacky formations or crazy tactics allowed. The success relies on your innovation in the player instructions department and your assessment of 'the task at hand'. Don't go to Old Trafford expecting a win, play it cautiously if you want to complete this challenge.
8. Czech Republic Euro 2004. Win an international competition playing attacking football with an unfancied nation. The 'Czech Republic' may not be synonymous with footballing glory, but the way the Czech side of 2004 attacked was admirable. Playing as a nation like Russia, Croatia or Uruguay, achieve success on the international stage.
7. Spain Euro 2008. Playing possession football with a lone striker and three or four playmakers, bring due success to a frustrated nation. Spain won it's first major international trophy for decades in 2008, using a tiki-taka philosophy. Try and do the same with one of the following nations: England, Portugal, Argentina, Netherlands, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Chile, Sweden.
6. Bayer Laverkusen 2001/02. Win the treble with a European underdog in a disciplined fashion. This could be with Montpellier, At. Madrid or even Leverkusen themselves. Using something similar to Leverkusen's 4-1-4-1 formation, try and accomplish the treble they so unfortunately couldn't.
5. Roma 2005-07. Win a domestic cup playing a 4-6-0 false 9. My attempt at recreating this formation can be found in the download package, but I'm still unsure as to how well false 9 tactics work in FM. Either way, if you can master the false 9 tactic and achieve some success, post it up.
4. Porto 2002-04. Win the Champions League with a club from a smaller footballing nation, within the first few years of the save. I'm not going to make any style compulsory because this challenge should be tough enough already. I'd absolutely love to see someone lift the trophy with Ajax, Anderlecht, Kiev or one of the Moscow clubs.
3. Manchester United 2006-09. Win the top domestic league 3 years in a row, using a variety of tactics and players. For this challenge, the aim is to win continuous league titles with no fixed tactic or starting XI. I want to see the whole squad playing a part in your inevitable success!
2. Barcelona 2008/09. Using a possession tactic, win every competition entered in a specific season. Do it like Pep and dominate world football for at least one year, playing attractive football at the same time. No need to play as the Catalan giants, though: it would be equally as pleasing to see Swindon Town claim League One, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Football League Trophy all in the space of a season.
1. Greece Euro 2004. Grind your way to victory in an international tournament playing defensive football with an extremely unlikely contender. Greece were 250-1 to win Euro 2004, but they somehow managed to squish and squeeze their way to the trophy. Can you lead a surprise-package nation through qualifying and onto the ultimate prize in a major international competition? Recommended nations: Switzerland, Norway, Ecuador, Egypt.
So that's all of them! Hopefully one or two might appeal to you. There's no major rules-list or points-system, just inspiration for what will hopefully lead to some interesting and imaginative saves! Don't forget to check out my original thread regarding the 20 Tactics idea and download the full package, too. Good luck with any challenges you wish to attempt, and please post your progress
Last edited: