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JULEN LOPETEGUI’S WEST HAM 2024-2025 VISION
Hi everyone, this time I'm bringing you an analysis of Julen Lopetegui, focusing on his past experiences with Sevilla, the Spanish national team, and Wolves. How might West Ham shape up under his guidance?
West Ham have secured their new head coach, and on the surface, he appears to be the progressive tactician that fans were hoping for.
Lopetegui enjoyed significant success at Sevilla, achieving three consecutive top-four finishes and winning the UEFA Europa League. He also managed to lift Wolverhampton Wanderers from the bottom of the Premier League to a safe mid table finish in the 2022/23 season.
While Lopetegui's tactics represent a clear shift from the low-block, cautious football of his predecessor, David Moyes, this appointment might not entirely satisfy West Ham supporters who are eager to see more attacking play at the London Stadium.
Lopetegui's teams are often solid but not spectacular, possession-oriented but slow, and while effective, they aren't known for their attacking flair.
The key statistic: In LaLiga, Lopetegui’s teams scored 181 goals in 131 matches, averaging 1.38 goals per game. By contrast, Moyes’s West Ham have netted 248 goals in 169 Premier League games since his return, with an average of 1.47 goals per match.
While there's more to football than just goals, they remain a good measure of how entertaining a team is. Wolves fans, though appreciative of Lopetegui’s achievements, wouldn’t describe his brand of football—23 goals in 23 league games—as particularly thrilling.
Nonetheless, Lopetegui has a strong track record, and the tactical shift he’ll bring to West Ham could be a refreshing change.
HOW TO REPLICATE THIS TACTIC IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2024
Tactic Overview
To emulate this tactic in Football Manager 2024, I started from a 4-3-3 formation and a positive mentality.
As said before, Lopetegui’s approach emphasizes patience, building attacks from the back, dominating possession, often using short, precise passing to maintain control of the ball. He aims to suffocate opponents and prioritizing defensive solidity, this strategy allows his teams to dictate the pace of the game and control the flow, though it sometimes leads to fewer goal-scoring opportunities.
So, in possession, we will have a fairly wide attacking width because Lopetegui typically prefers a balanced approach, even if the midfield is narrow, full-backs and wingers will provide width. Of course, overlap left and right will also be important instructions. Focus play through the middle will help our players to narrow the pitch and overload spaces in the central areas, while width and crosses will be provided by the two wing-backs
Play out of defense, much shorter passes and lower tempo to retain possession as much as possible, but you can change it to slightly shorter and lower if you want to play in a less boring way.. Lopetegui is very careful in defense, that’s why I chose to be more disciplined.
In the final third, since Lopetegui wants his players to be patient, I selected dribble less and play for set pieces. This helps our team to retain possession and also to get important scoring opportunities exploiting set pieces. Besides,during his reign at Sevilla, El-Nesyri benefited a lot of crosses and with Fullkrug as new West Ham forward, floated crosses can be a perfect option. For this reason, despite it being a possession based tactic, I don’t ask our players to work the ball into the box, but I leave them free to decide.
In transition, gegenpressing is a must (counter-press) because Lopetegui wants his players to win the ball back as soon as possible, but after they won the ball they will restart playing patiently and maintaining possession and as you know, in Football Manager you can do so by selecting the “hold shape” instruction.
Out of possession, high defense and high pressing line to restrict the gap between the lines and press the opponent high. Pressing will not be very aggressive because Lopetegui wants his team to avoid being caught off-guard by long balls, so this time I’ll go for a slightly more often pressing combined with drop off more, trap outside.
In possession
In transition
Out of possession
Player roles and instructions
Player movements: in red defensive movements, in blue attacking movements
Gk: Areola: Sweeper-keeper (defend)
Wing-backs
We want our two full-backs to be extremely aggressive and provide all the width, but Wan-Bissaka’s peerless defensive qualities can be more useful if we set his duty to support
RFB: Wan-Bissaka: Wing-back ( support): cross more often, run wide with the ball, stay wider.
LFB: Emerson Palimeri: Wing-back in attack : cross more often, run wide with the ball, stay wider.
Central defenders
For Lopetegui, central defenders must lead the defensive line and they must know where to stay higher and when to drop deeper instead. One defender can help more in building the play while the other will have only defensive tasks. If we want to create a back three in possession with a midfielder dropping deep between the two central defenders, we can ask both to stay wider and cover spaces left by the wing-backs.
RCD: Todibo: Ball-playing defender (defend): stay wider
LCD: Kilman: Central defender (defend): stay wider, take fewer risks. He will focus only on defending and we don’t want him to lose the ball or leave space behind him so we ask him to take fewer risks.
Defensive midfielder
Edson Alvarez’s role. He will be responsible for dropping deeper between the two central defenders to create a back trio and also to cover spaces left behind by the midfielders. Besides, he will help in possession. The right role for him is a half-back.
DM: Edson Alvarez: Half-back- defend: mark tighter, close down more, take fewer risks.
Central midifelder
The midfielder trio is the core of Lopetegui’s formation, both in attack and defense. They must help in possession and attack and also cut the opponent’s passing line, besides, they must be careful not to be caught off-guard by long balls.
RCM: Guido Rodriguez: central midfielder-support: he will stay wider to cover spaces left by the right wing-back. For this reason, you can also choose a carrilero role for him, but I chose the central midfielder role because it has more instructions available for editing. So I will instruct him to stay wider, mark tighter, close down more.
LCM: Lucas Paquetà: Advanced playmaker-attack: roam from position, get further forward, close down more and tackle harder.
As mentioned in the analysis above, when pressing, Lopetegui’s teams often transition to a 4-4-2. In this system, an advanced central midfielder moves up to join the striker in the first line of pressure, a consistent feature of Lopetegui’s defensive strategy designed to disrupt build-up play and force mistakes.This will be Paqueta’s task
Wingers
Lopetegui likes inverted wingers and this is why we must use the inverted winger role here.
RW: Kudus (or Bowen): Inverted winger-attack: roam from position, shoot more often, sit narrower, close down more.
LW: Summerville: Inverted winger-attack: sit narrower, close down more, shoot more often, roam from position.
Striker
Lopetegui likes forwards who drop down and link the play, with Fullkrug, he has the perfect target forward who will press, disrupt the opponent’s play when they build from the back and link the play, creating spaces and opportunities for his teammates, especially wingers.
CF: Fullkrug: Target forward-support (you can use attack too here): roam from position, move into channels, shoot less often.
English Premier League Stats
More details in my video here
Hi everyone, this time I'm bringing you an analysis of Julen Lopetegui, focusing on his past experiences with Sevilla, the Spanish national team, and Wolves. How might West Ham shape up under his guidance?
West Ham have secured their new head coach, and on the surface, he appears to be the progressive tactician that fans were hoping for.
Lopetegui enjoyed significant success at Sevilla, achieving three consecutive top-four finishes and winning the UEFA Europa League. He also managed to lift Wolverhampton Wanderers from the bottom of the Premier League to a safe mid table finish in the 2022/23 season.
While Lopetegui's tactics represent a clear shift from the low-block, cautious football of his predecessor, David Moyes, this appointment might not entirely satisfy West Ham supporters who are eager to see more attacking play at the London Stadium.
Lopetegui's teams are often solid but not spectacular, possession-oriented but slow, and while effective, they aren't known for their attacking flair.
The key statistic: In LaLiga, Lopetegui’s teams scored 181 goals in 131 matches, averaging 1.38 goals per game. By contrast, Moyes’s West Ham have netted 248 goals in 169 Premier League games since his return, with an average of 1.47 goals per match.
While there's more to football than just goals, they remain a good measure of how entertaining a team is. Wolves fans, though appreciative of Lopetegui’s achievements, wouldn’t describe his brand of football—23 goals in 23 league games—as particularly thrilling.
Nonetheless, Lopetegui has a strong track record, and the tactical shift he’ll bring to West Ham could be a refreshing change.
HOW TO REPLICATE THIS TACTIC IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2024
Tactic Overview
To emulate this tactic in Football Manager 2024, I started from a 4-3-3 formation and a positive mentality.
As said before, Lopetegui’s approach emphasizes patience, building attacks from the back, dominating possession, often using short, precise passing to maintain control of the ball. He aims to suffocate opponents and prioritizing defensive solidity, this strategy allows his teams to dictate the pace of the game and control the flow, though it sometimes leads to fewer goal-scoring opportunities.
So, in possession, we will have a fairly wide attacking width because Lopetegui typically prefers a balanced approach, even if the midfield is narrow, full-backs and wingers will provide width. Of course, overlap left and right will also be important instructions. Focus play through the middle will help our players to narrow the pitch and overload spaces in the central areas, while width and crosses will be provided by the two wing-backs
Play out of defense, much shorter passes and lower tempo to retain possession as much as possible, but you can change it to slightly shorter and lower if you want to play in a less boring way.. Lopetegui is very careful in defense, that’s why I chose to be more disciplined.
In the final third, since Lopetegui wants his players to be patient, I selected dribble less and play for set pieces. This helps our team to retain possession and also to get important scoring opportunities exploiting set pieces. Besides,during his reign at Sevilla, El-Nesyri benefited a lot of crosses and with Fullkrug as new West Ham forward, floated crosses can be a perfect option. For this reason, despite it being a possession based tactic, I don’t ask our players to work the ball into the box, but I leave them free to decide.
In transition, gegenpressing is a must (counter-press) because Lopetegui wants his players to win the ball back as soon as possible, but after they won the ball they will restart playing patiently and maintaining possession and as you know, in Football Manager you can do so by selecting the “hold shape” instruction.
Out of possession, high defense and high pressing line to restrict the gap between the lines and press the opponent high. Pressing will not be very aggressive because Lopetegui wants his team to avoid being caught off-guard by long balls, so this time I’ll go for a slightly more often pressing combined with drop off more, trap outside.
In possession
In transition
Out of possession
Player roles and instructions
Player movements: in red defensive movements, in blue attacking movements
Gk: Areola: Sweeper-keeper (defend)
Wing-backs
We want our two full-backs to be extremely aggressive and provide all the width, but Wan-Bissaka’s peerless defensive qualities can be more useful if we set his duty to support
RFB: Wan-Bissaka: Wing-back ( support): cross more often, run wide with the ball, stay wider.
LFB: Emerson Palimeri: Wing-back in attack : cross more often, run wide with the ball, stay wider.
Central defenders
For Lopetegui, central defenders must lead the defensive line and they must know where to stay higher and when to drop deeper instead. One defender can help more in building the play while the other will have only defensive tasks. If we want to create a back three in possession with a midfielder dropping deep between the two central defenders, we can ask both to stay wider and cover spaces left by the wing-backs.
RCD: Todibo: Ball-playing defender (defend): stay wider
LCD: Kilman: Central defender (defend): stay wider, take fewer risks. He will focus only on defending and we don’t want him to lose the ball or leave space behind him so we ask him to take fewer risks.
Defensive midfielder
Edson Alvarez’s role. He will be responsible for dropping deeper between the two central defenders to create a back trio and also to cover spaces left behind by the midfielders. Besides, he will help in possession. The right role for him is a half-back.
DM: Edson Alvarez: Half-back- defend: mark tighter, close down more, take fewer risks.
Central midifelder
The midfielder trio is the core of Lopetegui’s formation, both in attack and defense. They must help in possession and attack and also cut the opponent’s passing line, besides, they must be careful not to be caught off-guard by long balls.
RCM: Guido Rodriguez: central midfielder-support: he will stay wider to cover spaces left by the right wing-back. For this reason, you can also choose a carrilero role for him, but I chose the central midfielder role because it has more instructions available for editing. So I will instruct him to stay wider, mark tighter, close down more.
LCM: Lucas Paquetà: Advanced playmaker-attack: roam from position, get further forward, close down more and tackle harder.
As mentioned in the analysis above, when pressing, Lopetegui’s teams often transition to a 4-4-2. In this system, an advanced central midfielder moves up to join the striker in the first line of pressure, a consistent feature of Lopetegui’s defensive strategy designed to disrupt build-up play and force mistakes.This will be Paqueta’s task
Wingers
Lopetegui likes inverted wingers and this is why we must use the inverted winger role here.
RW: Kudus (or Bowen): Inverted winger-attack: roam from position, shoot more often, sit narrower, close down more.
LW: Summerville: Inverted winger-attack: sit narrower, close down more, shoot more often, roam from position.
Striker
Lopetegui likes forwards who drop down and link the play, with Fullkrug, he has the perfect target forward who will press, disrupt the opponent’s play when they build from the back and link the play, creating spaces and opportunities for his teammates, especially wingers.
CF: Fullkrug: Target forward-support (you can use attack too here): roam from position, move into channels, shoot less often.
English Premier League Stats
More details in my video here