A while back, I decided to try and finally make a tactic. I wanted to do two things. First, I wanted to emulate Jurgen Klopp's Gegenpressing style that he uses at Dortmund. Second, I wanted to make use of two interesting roles -- the Regista and the Enganche. After a lot of tweaking and testing, I got this.
Here are the results of my first season testing with Arsenal. 95 points, 20 clear of 2nd placed Liverpool and +65 GD. Not bad for a first season! I only made three signings in my first season. The most important by far was Blaise Matuidi (more on this later).
Go Route One: "instructs players to look to get the ball in the attacking third with increased urgency". Like I said, the tactic is all about urgency. When the ball is won back, preferably in midfield, you want your players to play urgent, high tempo passes and get that ball into the final third. Because you just broke up an attack, the opposing team will be disoriented, disorganized and will be rushing players back. The tactic exploits this weakness.
Play Out of Defence: If the ball is won back in defence, you want to play accurate, direct passes out of defence. Do not clear the ball! More often than not, you'll give it away and waste a possession.
Drill Crosses: "will instruct players to play quick and powerful crosses into the penalty area with the intention of catching a defender off guard". The tactic is all about being quick and powerful enough to catch the entire opposing team off guard. Never use floating crosses with this tactic. The ball will hang in the air long enough for opposing defenders to get back into position. You want to use drilled crosses to catch them off guard and exploit this weakness.
Look for Overlap: More on this later.
Much Higher Defensive Line: Your defensive line has to be very high in order to win the ball back in midfield. More on this later.
Hassle Opponents/Stay on Feet/Use Tighter Marking: You want to hassle and tightly mark opponents to force mistakes and win back possession, but because your defensive line is so high, you cannot afford to dive into tackles and lose your man. Your players have to stay on their feet and be able to chase after defenders. (More on this later).
Much Higher Tempo: "will ask the team to go about their business in a more urgent fashion, moving the ball around quickly and decisively, using the intensity of their approach to unsettle the opposition and eventually tire them out." Pretty self-explanatory. Urgency, quick ball movement, intensity and unsettling the opposition to force mistakes and create CCCs.
Be More Disciplined: "will ask players to play as part of a robust and focused tactical shape in order to make the team a stronger collective group." This is absolutely key. The team must defend and attack as a team, pressing together and working together to intercept passes and force mistakes, and attacking together to move the ball around quickly to force defensive errors. No one can hold on to the ball and dribble for long periods of time, the ball has to move.
The tactic is set to Attacking and Very Rigid. High-tempo possession is kept in the final third (attacking). The team works together as a unit and there is no place for individual brilliance. Everyone has to follow instructions to the letter (very rigid).
The first picture is the formation with player roles, and the second is player stats in February 2015 (second season).
Inside Forwards & Wing Backs: My wingers are currently set as Inside Forwards (Support), but Inside Forward (Attack) will work just as well. The Inside Forwards in this team are players that could just as well operate as Advanced Playmakers. You should not use any pure wingers in this team. They have to have good passing ability. The Inside Forwards will cut inside diagonally and slot right in front of the AM and behind the Striker. From here, they play through balls to my Striker, Costa. As you can see, halfway through the season, Cazorla as 8 assists and Di Maria has 12. Costa also has 9 assists, usually from one-two passes between him and the Inside Forwards.
The Wing Backs are a very important part of the tactic. I used to play with simple full-backs, and this led to a big problem. The team wasn't playing wide enough. In summer 2014, I brought in Luke Shaw and Dani Carvajal to remedy this. They are set to overlap right when my inside forwards cut inside, giving the inside forwards another passing option. Luke Shaw already has 10 assists in February. The wing backs widen the formation and stretch the opposing defence even more, forcing even more errors.
GK, Center-Backs and the Regista: The GK is a Sweeper-Keeper. He ventures forward and rushes out when the high back four are caught out. He also starts fast counter-attacks with direct passes.
In the beginning, my high back line was getting caught out by lobbed balls and through passes all the time. To fix this, I set one CB as a CB (Cover) to sit a little bit behind the other defender and catch breaking players and intercept through balls. Both CBs should be fast players able to run back and defend. They should also be able to intercept passes and start a quick attack.
The Regista is one of the keys to the formation. The Regista is described as "a more aggressive version of the deep-lying playmaker suitable for possession-oriented systems that press high up the pitch. Given complete freedom to dictate play from deep positions, the Regista offers a dynamic and unpredictable creative outlet from behind the attack who seeks to maintain intense pressure y constantly looking for new chances as his more advanced teammates get into attacking positions".
If the Regista has good tackling skills, he will be very aggressive in defensive midfield. He will harass the opponent's attacking midfielders and force mistakes. The Regista is a mix between the creative Deep-Lying Playmaker and the aggressive Ball-Winning Midfielder. Once he wins back the ball, he will immediately pick out a pinpoint pass towards one of your forwards and launch an attack. More than anyone else, the Regista starts your attack and unlocks the opposing defence.
Central Midfielder and Enganche: The CM(S) will look to spray through balls to the inside forwards or unleash a marauding full-back. Usually, however, he is the link between the defense and the Enganche. He can occasionally get into goalscoring positions -- so far, Cesc Fabregas has 11 goals and Jack Wilshere has 8.
The Enganche is a very important player. The Enganche is a static pivot around which the entire attack revolves. Last year in this position, Mesut Ozil grabbed 18 goals and 22 assists. Despite these stats, the function of the Enganche isn't to get goals or assists. He dictates the high tempo of your offense and sends out through balls to any of your forwards. The Enganche is "the side's prime creator, a hook that joins midfield and attack (...) and becomes a pivot to his team as they move around him". The entire team revolves around your Enganche. When the ball is won back and an attack is launched, the ball should almost always go through the Enganche. He is the true midfield maestro -- around him you have marauding full-backs waiting for a through ball, a central midfielder capable of testing the opposition 'keeper, inside forwards making runs and a striker ready to pounce at any pass. The Enganche has to be a creative player that doesn't need to roam around the pitch to create. He must be able to pick out a pass that weakens and disorients the opposition and completely unlocks it.
Striker: Last season, Diego Costa scored 51 goals in 51 appearances. The striker needs to have the pace to pick up on through balls from the Enganche, Inside Forwards and Regista, and he needs to be good in the air to get crosses from your wing-backs. More than anything, he needs to have the clinical finishing to cap off your football and the ability to make space for himself and passes to him. Make sure to tick the "move into channels" player instruction for your striker.
Download link:http://speedy.sh/v6WPQ/Gegenpressen-2.0.tac
Here are the results of my first season testing with Arsenal. 95 points, 20 clear of 2nd placed Liverpool and +65 GD. Not bad for a first season! I only made three signings in my first season. The most important by far was Blaise Matuidi (more on this later).
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The Tactic
This tactic is based on a few key concepts.
The Tactic
This tactic is based on a few key concepts.
- Very aggressive pressing and defending. The ball is won back as high up the pitch as possible.
- This tactic uses the "Go Route One" instruction. When the ball is won back, there is an immediate transition from defense to attack.
- Players pass out of defense and get precise direct passes into the final third as fast as possible!
- Very high tempo that unsettles the enemy defense. The ball moves very quickly, exploits enemy weaknesses and finds its way through to the goal.
- Constantly play with urgency and intensity, like you're 90 minutes in and you need a goal!
- The players work as a cohesive unit. There is no superstar in the team. There is no selfish play -- the ball moves from back to front quickly and with a purpose.
Go Route One: "instructs players to look to get the ball in the attacking third with increased urgency". Like I said, the tactic is all about urgency. When the ball is won back, preferably in midfield, you want your players to play urgent, high tempo passes and get that ball into the final third. Because you just broke up an attack, the opposing team will be disoriented, disorganized and will be rushing players back. The tactic exploits this weakness.
Play Out of Defence: If the ball is won back in defence, you want to play accurate, direct passes out of defence. Do not clear the ball! More often than not, you'll give it away and waste a possession.
Drill Crosses: "will instruct players to play quick and powerful crosses into the penalty area with the intention of catching a defender off guard". The tactic is all about being quick and powerful enough to catch the entire opposing team off guard. Never use floating crosses with this tactic. The ball will hang in the air long enough for opposing defenders to get back into position. You want to use drilled crosses to catch them off guard and exploit this weakness.
Look for Overlap: More on this later.
Much Higher Defensive Line: Your defensive line has to be very high in order to win the ball back in midfield. More on this later.
Hassle Opponents/Stay on Feet/Use Tighter Marking: You want to hassle and tightly mark opponents to force mistakes and win back possession, but because your defensive line is so high, you cannot afford to dive into tackles and lose your man. Your players have to stay on their feet and be able to chase after defenders. (More on this later).
Much Higher Tempo: "will ask the team to go about their business in a more urgent fashion, moving the ball around quickly and decisively, using the intensity of their approach to unsettle the opposition and eventually tire them out." Pretty self-explanatory. Urgency, quick ball movement, intensity and unsettling the opposition to force mistakes and create CCCs.
Be More Disciplined: "will ask players to play as part of a robust and focused tactical shape in order to make the team a stronger collective group." This is absolutely key. The team must defend and attack as a team, pressing together and working together to intercept passes and force mistakes, and attacking together to move the ball around quickly to force defensive errors. No one can hold on to the ball and dribble for long periods of time, the ball has to move.
The tactic is set to Attacking and Very Rigid. High-tempo possession is kept in the final third (attacking). The team works together as a unit and there is no place for individual brilliance. Everyone has to follow instructions to the letter (very rigid).
Positions
Every single player has a very specific and vital role to play. In this formation, players are like puzzle pieces. If you take one out, the puzzle (and tactic) are incomplete and everything will crumble around you.
The first picture is the formation with player roles, and the second is player stats in February 2015 (second season).
Inside Forwards & Wing Backs: My wingers are currently set as Inside Forwards (Support), but Inside Forward (Attack) will work just as well. The Inside Forwards in this team are players that could just as well operate as Advanced Playmakers. You should not use any pure wingers in this team. They have to have good passing ability. The Inside Forwards will cut inside diagonally and slot right in front of the AM and behind the Striker. From here, they play through balls to my Striker, Costa. As you can see, halfway through the season, Cazorla as 8 assists and Di Maria has 12. Costa also has 9 assists, usually from one-two passes between him and the Inside Forwards.
The Wing Backs are a very important part of the tactic. I used to play with simple full-backs, and this led to a big problem. The team wasn't playing wide enough. In summer 2014, I brought in Luke Shaw and Dani Carvajal to remedy this. They are set to overlap right when my inside forwards cut inside, giving the inside forwards another passing option. Luke Shaw already has 10 assists in February. The wing backs widen the formation and stretch the opposing defence even more, forcing even more errors.
GK, Center-Backs and the Regista: The GK is a Sweeper-Keeper. He ventures forward and rushes out when the high back four are caught out. He also starts fast counter-attacks with direct passes.
In the beginning, my high back line was getting caught out by lobbed balls and through passes all the time. To fix this, I set one CB as a CB (Cover) to sit a little bit behind the other defender and catch breaking players and intercept through balls. Both CBs should be fast players able to run back and defend. They should also be able to intercept passes and start a quick attack.
The Regista is one of the keys to the formation. The Regista is described as "a more aggressive version of the deep-lying playmaker suitable for possession-oriented systems that press high up the pitch. Given complete freedom to dictate play from deep positions, the Regista offers a dynamic and unpredictable creative outlet from behind the attack who seeks to maintain intense pressure y constantly looking for new chances as his more advanced teammates get into attacking positions".
If the Regista has good tackling skills, he will be very aggressive in defensive midfield. He will harass the opponent's attacking midfielders and force mistakes. The Regista is a mix between the creative Deep-Lying Playmaker and the aggressive Ball-Winning Midfielder. Once he wins back the ball, he will immediately pick out a pinpoint pass towards one of your forwards and launch an attack. More than anyone else, the Regista starts your attack and unlocks the opposing defence.
Central Midfielder and Enganche: The CM(S) will look to spray through balls to the inside forwards or unleash a marauding full-back. Usually, however, he is the link between the defense and the Enganche. He can occasionally get into goalscoring positions -- so far, Cesc Fabregas has 11 goals and Jack Wilshere has 8.
The Enganche is a very important player. The Enganche is a static pivot around which the entire attack revolves. Last year in this position, Mesut Ozil grabbed 18 goals and 22 assists. Despite these stats, the function of the Enganche isn't to get goals or assists. He dictates the high tempo of your offense and sends out through balls to any of your forwards. The Enganche is "the side's prime creator, a hook that joins midfield and attack (...) and becomes a pivot to his team as they move around him". The entire team revolves around your Enganche. When the ball is won back and an attack is launched, the ball should almost always go through the Enganche. He is the true midfield maestro -- around him you have marauding full-backs waiting for a through ball, a central midfielder capable of testing the opposition 'keeper, inside forwards making runs and a striker ready to pounce at any pass. The Enganche has to be a creative player that doesn't need to roam around the pitch to create. He must be able to pick out a pass that weakens and disorients the opposition and completely unlocks it.
Striker: Last season, Diego Costa scored 51 goals in 51 appearances. The striker needs to have the pace to pick up on through balls from the Enganche, Inside Forwards and Regista, and he needs to be good in the air to get crosses from your wing-backs. More than anything, he needs to have the clinical finishing to cap off your football and the ability to make space for himself and passes to him. Make sure to tick the "move into channels" player instruction for your striker.
Download link:http://speedy.sh/v6WPQ/Gegenpressen-2.0.tac
I used to write stories, but now Tactics take over and are a lot more interesting. Pilif, you got any good tactics?
