fmcalciomaestro
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Hi guys, this time I bring you my emulation of Razvan Lucescu's Paok Salonicky.
Recreating Răzvan Lucescu's PAOK in Football Manager 2024: A Tactical Guide
Perfecting the tactical replication of Lucescu's PAOK in Football Manager 2024 is a fascinating journey that demands attention to detail and a deep understanding of every phase of the game. Moving away from bullet points for a more fluid narrative, let's dive into how to construct this winning philosophy, integrating individual instructions for your players.
Mentality: The Balance Between Audacity and Caution
Your team's mentality should oscillate between Positive and Balanced, depending on the match context and the strength of the opponent. Lucescu's PAOK is never reckless, yet it's certainly not timid. A "Positive" mentality will encourage players to take more risks in attack, pushing them to seek vertical passes and decisive plays, while still maintaining a solid defensive foundation. If you're facing teams of equal or superior quality, a Balanced mentality will allow you greater control, and you can compensate with more offensive team instructions and aggressive pressing to maintain Lucescu's imprint without overcommitting.
In-Possession Phase: Building, Progressing, and Finishing with Decisiveness
When PAOK has the ball, their play is deliberate but always geared towards speed and verticality. Regarding width, set the team instruction to Fairly Narrow and pair it with specific roles for your overlapping full-backs, such as Wing-Backs (Support/Attack). This ensures the flanks are always a viable option for stretching play and creating numerical superiority.
The tempo is Higher and will allow your players to make quick decisions, exploiting transitions without losing control of the ball. Avoid a very high tempo that could lead to rushed and inaccurate passes. The passing style should lean towards Shorter Passing o to encourage quick triangulations and intricate play. The Pass Into Space instruction is crucial, as it encourages players to look for runs and penetrations behind the opponent's defense—a hallmark of Lucescu's game.
For building out from the back, enable the Play Out Of Defence and use the overlap instruction on both side to exploit width through the wing-backs.
In the finalization phase, crosses will be low to exploit cutbacks, while we don't need any other insructions since Lucescu prefers to let the players decide if crossing the ball early into the box or play it patiently.
Transition Phase: From Winning Ball to Attacking the Opponent
Transitions are the true heartbeat of PAOK's play. When your team loses possession, the reaction must be immediate and fierce. The Counter-Press instruction is absolutely fundamental; as soon as possession is lost, players must aggressively try to win it back without hesitation, mirroring Lucescu's gegenpressing.
Once possession is regained, the priority is immediate verticality. The Counter instruction is crucial: players will look for depth and open spaces to attack an unbalanced and unprepared opponent's defense. As for the goalkeeper, his actions with the ball must support this rapid pace. Set Distribute To Centre-Backs and take short kicks to let the goalkeeper build up from the back.
Out-of-Possession Phase: Defensive Organization and Aggression
The defensive phase of PAOK stands out for its organization and measured aggression.
The defensive line should be set to Much Higher to reduce the space between defense and midfield and favor pressing. Although Lucescu's team sometimes doesn't shy away from high pressing, they generally set up in a Medium block, thus keeping the two lines very close to each other.
The pressing frequency should be Much More Often to maintain constant and suffocating pressure on the opponent's ball carrier and his teammates. Regarding tackling, set Get stuck in to reflect the aggression in individual duels and man-marking; however, carefully evaluate the characteristics of your defenders to avoid excessive fouls or cards, especially if they don't excel in tackling and discipline.
The offside trap is a very effective complementary option with a high defensive line.
To enable it, select the instruction Step Up More, which allows you to surprise opposing attackers. Finally, to direct opponents away from the penalty area, set Trap outside, an essential instruction to clog the center of the pitch, forcing the opponent to play in less dangerous areas and attempt crosses from more unfavorable positions, where they can be put under pressure.
Individual Player Instructions
To bring this tactic to life, player roles and individual instructions are fundamental:
I won the treble (Greek Championship and Championship Play-offs, Greek Cup, and UEFA Conference League). As always, I tested the tactic in a single season (2024-25) with the database updated to the latest transfer window (January 2025), the start date file that makes it possible to begin the season in June 2024, and the file to block the transfer market until April 1, 2025.
More details in my video on my Youtube channel FM Calcio Maestro, please like and subscribe if you like my contents.
In my Patreon page you can find the fmf file and tactic analysis both for the fm 24 tactic and reality tactic
If you want to support my work please subscribe, thank you very much
Recreating Răzvan Lucescu's PAOK in Football Manager 2024: A Tactical Guide
Perfecting the tactical replication of Lucescu's PAOK in Football Manager 2024 is a fascinating journey that demands attention to detail and a deep understanding of every phase of the game. Moving away from bullet points for a more fluid narrative, let's dive into how to construct this winning philosophy, integrating individual instructions for your players.
Mentality: The Balance Between Audacity and Caution
Your team's mentality should oscillate between Positive and Balanced, depending on the match context and the strength of the opponent. Lucescu's PAOK is never reckless, yet it's certainly not timid. A "Positive" mentality will encourage players to take more risks in attack, pushing them to seek vertical passes and decisive plays, while still maintaining a solid defensive foundation. If you're facing teams of equal or superior quality, a Balanced mentality will allow you greater control, and you can compensate with more offensive team instructions and aggressive pressing to maintain Lucescu's imprint without overcommitting.
In-Possession Phase: Building, Progressing, and Finishing with Decisiveness
When PAOK has the ball, their play is deliberate but always geared towards speed and verticality. Regarding width, set the team instruction to Fairly Narrow and pair it with specific roles for your overlapping full-backs, such as Wing-Backs (Support/Attack). This ensures the flanks are always a viable option for stretching play and creating numerical superiority.
The tempo is Higher and will allow your players to make quick decisions, exploiting transitions without losing control of the ball. Avoid a very high tempo that could lead to rushed and inaccurate passes. The passing style should lean towards Shorter Passing o to encourage quick triangulations and intricate play. The Pass Into Space instruction is crucial, as it encourages players to look for runs and penetrations behind the opponent's defense—a hallmark of Lucescu's game.
For building out from the back, enable the Play Out Of Defence and use the overlap instruction on both side to exploit width through the wing-backs.
In the finalization phase, crosses will be low to exploit cutbacks, while we don't need any other insructions since Lucescu prefers to let the players decide if crossing the ball early into the box or play it patiently.
Transition Phase: From Winning Ball to Attacking the Opponent
Transitions are the true heartbeat of PAOK's play. When your team loses possession, the reaction must be immediate and fierce. The Counter-Press instruction is absolutely fundamental; as soon as possession is lost, players must aggressively try to win it back without hesitation, mirroring Lucescu's gegenpressing.
Once possession is regained, the priority is immediate verticality. The Counter instruction is crucial: players will look for depth and open spaces to attack an unbalanced and unprepared opponent's defense. As for the goalkeeper, his actions with the ball must support this rapid pace. Set Distribute To Centre-Backs and take short kicks to let the goalkeeper build up from the back.
Out-of-Possession Phase: Defensive Organization and Aggression
The defensive phase of PAOK stands out for its organization and measured aggression.
The defensive line should be set to Much Higher to reduce the space between defense and midfield and favor pressing. Although Lucescu's team sometimes doesn't shy away from high pressing, they generally set up in a Medium block, thus keeping the two lines very close to each other.
The pressing frequency should be Much More Often to maintain constant and suffocating pressure on the opponent's ball carrier and his teammates. Regarding tackling, set Get stuck in to reflect the aggression in individual duels and man-marking; however, carefully evaluate the characteristics of your defenders to avoid excessive fouls or cards, especially if they don't excel in tackling and discipline.
The offside trap is a very effective complementary option with a high defensive line.
To enable it, select the instruction Step Up More, which allows you to surprise opposing attackers. Finally, to direct opponents away from the penalty area, set Trap outside, an essential instruction to clog the center of the pitch, forcing the opponent to play in less dangerous areas and attempt crosses from more unfavorable positions, where they can be put under pressure.
Individual Player Instructions
To bring this tactic to life, player roles and individual instructions are fundamental:
- Goalkeeper: Sweeper Keeper (Support)
- Right Back: Full-Back (Support): close down more, tackle harder, stay wider.
- Left Back: Wing-Back (Support): close down more, tackle harder.
- Center Backs: One Ball-Playing Defender (Defend, no instructions) alongside a Central Defender (Defend) with instructions: mark tighter, close down more.
- Left Defensive Midfielder: Meité: Half-back (Defend): close down more, tackle harder. He drops between the two center-backs to help in build-up and as a defensive shield.
- Right Defensive Midfielder: Camara: Segundo Volante (Support): close down more, tackle harder, move into channels, get further forward. Without forgetting defensive duties, Camara often pushes forward to help the attacking phase, creating numerical superiority in the opponent's half and even making runs into the box when the opportunity arises.
- Attacking Midfielder: Attacking Midfielder (Support): close down more, tackle harder, roam from position, get further forward.
- Wingers: On the left, an Inverted Winger (Attack, close down more, tackle harder) to cut inside. On the other side, a Winger (Attack) with their strong foot to cross (close down more, tackle harder. )
- Central Striker: Complete Forward (Attack): close down more, tackle harder.
I won the treble (Greek Championship and Championship Play-offs, Greek Cup, and UEFA Conference League). As always, I tested the tactic in a single season (2024-25) with the database updated to the latest transfer window (January 2025), the start date file that makes it possible to begin the season in June 2024, and the file to block the transfer market until April 1, 2025.
More details in my video on my Youtube channel FM Calcio Maestro, please like and subscribe if you like my contents.
In my Patreon page you can find the fmf file and tactic analysis both for the fm 24 tactic and reality tactic
If you want to support my work please subscribe, thank you very much