Hi all,
I've recently been struggling to get into a save but I've finally found something I can put my passion into. Barcelona have a development model and playing style that any football fan, player or manager admires. As I'm sure you know, Barca have a terrific record of developing players through their youth system known as 'La Masia' and they a tiki-taka style that is breathtaking at times. I've decided that I want to emulate this in every way possible and I have chosen to do so with Genk of Belgium. This thread will focus predominantly on the tactical elements but I will also have snippets on player development.
Tiki-Taka Tactic - Working Progress
First off I would like to state that this tactic is not one created for instant success. It's a philosophy and may take years to dominate the world, unless of course you have world class players to begin with. If you are looking for a solid, effective tactic my Sacchi Tactic very rarely disappoints, so the link to that:
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2013-tactics-training/116467-arrigo-sacchis-4-4-2-high-pressure-attacking-tactic-top-teams-underdogs.html
I've gone for an approach that isn't quite as attacking as Barca's style, mainly because a weaker team playing as gung ho is obviously a lot more likely to give the ball away and even more susceptible to deadly counter attacks against. Therefore I have only gone with one really attacking wing back, on the left, with the DR playing a more traditional supporting full back role. To cover for when the DL bombs forward, I have a Deep lying play maker in the MCL position, meaning that if the ball is lost, we already have 3 players back in the DCs and Anchor man and also the deep lying playmaker and right back that can get back into place quickly to help break it up. The rest of the tactic is set up very much like Barca's tiki-taka approach and this screenshot gives a good overview:
One problem you will come up against whilst using the 4-3-3 is that teams will camp their defence, blocking off any chances you may have. This can result in a lot of 0-0s or even 0-1s if the other team get lucky on the counter. To overcome this I have a created a more attacking 4-2-3-1 version. If I am dominating a game (65%+ possession) but failing to create any real chances, after 20 mins in I will switch to this. Once I go 1 up (or 2-0 against weak sides) I switch back to the 4-3-3.
Player Roles
GK - Sweeper Keeper (Defend) Valdes. Is your pretty standard sweeper keeper, will not do anything too outrageous but will be required to be able to rush out to meet long balls when the defence has pressed up.
DR - Full Back (Support) Quite Dani Alves. This is the only player role in my tactic that really differs from Barcelona's. Alves is a very gung ho full back, whereas in this tactic you'll require a more balanced one that is defensively solid but still contribute to the attack.
DL - Wing Back (Attack) Jordi Alba. Will bomb forward and act like a winger in attack, and will even score a few.
DCs - Defender (Defend) Puyol and Pique. I've not gone for anything too fancy here, though with a very fluid/attacking philosophy they still have reasonable creative freedom to spray passes where required.
DM - Anchor Man (Defend) Sergio Busquets. The man who sits and provides support for backwards passes and ready to beak up attacks. You'll want someone who's top class defensively, but also good enough technically to not give the ball away.
MCR - Advanced Playmaker (Support) Andres Iniesta. The most attacking central midfielder, will need great vision, passing and technical ability.
MCL - Deep Lying Playmaker (Support) Xavi. The heartbeat of the team. You'll want someone who can really control the game here, anyone with poor technical and mental ability is a big no go. Ideally sound defensively so they can cover for the left wing back when the opposition counter attack.
AMR - Winger (Attack) Pedro. Normally the winger will hug the touchline and put in crosses. However this winger moves into channels and has crosses on mixed, so it will be up to them how they support the attack. Ideally you'll have a two-footed player who can go to the byline, cut inside and become a second striker.
AML - Inside Forward (Attack) Neymar. This player loves a dribble and a goal. Will cut inside causing all sorts of problems, whilst also creating space for the left wing back to drive into.
FC - Trequartista (Attack) Messi. Now this was the hardest position to get right. Of course Barca have Messi and there's no stopping him. I wanted to emulate his role. The FC is assigned as playmaker and also target man that runs onto the ball. The idea behind this is that in the build up play he will drop in deep (Trequartista has forward runs as rarely) to receive the ball as much as possible. He will then either a) pass back to keep possession b) look for a through ball for AMR/L to latch onto c) drive at the defence. However as a target man run onto ball, in the penetration stage he will often find himself in a more natural striker position. Therefore the players around him will look to play him through balls to finish. Of course you'll need a trequartista with pace for this, if you're using a Totti type I'd advice changing the TM supply to feet. Also, you need to be thinking Messi. A Carlton Cole / Andy Carroll type player will not work in this role!
The only thing in particular I have done is ensure that Attacking Movement is the focus in training. Also high intensity in training and rest only after match, so that they are training as much as possible. I have not tampered with shouts, opposition instructions, though it would be interesting to look into it.
Results
At the moment it is very much a working progress. I have only tested it with Genk and I have done a lot of tweaking throughout and I'm finally happy with what I've got. I'd love feedback to be able to develop it further. But I did win the league in the first season very comfortably, going on a 30 game unbeaten run on the way. Here's a couple of screen shots:
I hope you have found this helpful and good luck with the tactic. Feel free to make tweaks and feedback as I'm sure there could be further developments. As tactics are only a small part of the Barca ethos, I am also interested in going into further discussion on player development and philosophy, should people be interested in that.
Cheers!
I've recently been struggling to get into a save but I've finally found something I can put my passion into. Barcelona have a development model and playing style that any football fan, player or manager admires. As I'm sure you know, Barca have a terrific record of developing players through their youth system known as 'La Masia' and they a tiki-taka style that is breathtaking at times. I've decided that I want to emulate this in every way possible and I have chosen to do so with Genk of Belgium. This thread will focus predominantly on the tactical elements but I will also have snippets on player development.
Tiki-Taka Tactic - Working Progress
http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2013-tactics-training/116467-arrigo-sacchis-4-4-2-high-pressure-attacking-tactic-top-teams-underdogs.html
I've gone for an approach that isn't quite as attacking as Barca's style, mainly because a weaker team playing as gung ho is obviously a lot more likely to give the ball away and even more susceptible to deadly counter attacks against. Therefore I have only gone with one really attacking wing back, on the left, with the DR playing a more traditional supporting full back role. To cover for when the DL bombs forward, I have a Deep lying play maker in the MCL position, meaning that if the ball is lost, we already have 3 players back in the DCs and Anchor man and also the deep lying playmaker and right back that can get back into place quickly to help break it up. The rest of the tactic is set up very much like Barca's tiki-taka approach and this screenshot gives a good overview:
One problem you will come up against whilst using the 4-3-3 is that teams will camp their defence, blocking off any chances you may have. This can result in a lot of 0-0s or even 0-1s if the other team get lucky on the counter. To overcome this I have a created a more attacking 4-2-3-1 version. If I am dominating a game (65%+ possession) but failing to create any real chances, after 20 mins in I will switch to this. Once I go 1 up (or 2-0 against weak sides) I switch back to the 4-3-3.
Player Roles
DR - Full Back (Support) Quite Dani Alves. This is the only player role in my tactic that really differs from Barcelona's. Alves is a very gung ho full back, whereas in this tactic you'll require a more balanced one that is defensively solid but still contribute to the attack.
DL - Wing Back (Attack) Jordi Alba. Will bomb forward and act like a winger in attack, and will even score a few.
DCs - Defender (Defend) Puyol and Pique. I've not gone for anything too fancy here, though with a very fluid/attacking philosophy they still have reasonable creative freedom to spray passes where required.
DM - Anchor Man (Defend) Sergio Busquets. The man who sits and provides support for backwards passes and ready to beak up attacks. You'll want someone who's top class defensively, but also good enough technically to not give the ball away.
MCR - Advanced Playmaker (Support) Andres Iniesta. The most attacking central midfielder, will need great vision, passing and technical ability.
MCL - Deep Lying Playmaker (Support) Xavi. The heartbeat of the team. You'll want someone who can really control the game here, anyone with poor technical and mental ability is a big no go. Ideally sound defensively so they can cover for the left wing back when the opposition counter attack.
AMR - Winger (Attack) Pedro. Normally the winger will hug the touchline and put in crosses. However this winger moves into channels and has crosses on mixed, so it will be up to them how they support the attack. Ideally you'll have a two-footed player who can go to the byline, cut inside and become a second striker.
AML - Inside Forward (Attack) Neymar. This player loves a dribble and a goal. Will cut inside causing all sorts of problems, whilst also creating space for the left wing back to drive into.
FC - Trequartista (Attack) Messi. Now this was the hardest position to get right. Of course Barca have Messi and there's no stopping him. I wanted to emulate his role. The FC is assigned as playmaker and also target man that runs onto the ball. The idea behind this is that in the build up play he will drop in deep (Trequartista has forward runs as rarely) to receive the ball as much as possible. He will then either a) pass back to keep possession b) look for a through ball for AMR/L to latch onto c) drive at the defence. However as a target man run onto ball, in the penetration stage he will often find himself in a more natural striker position. Therefore the players around him will look to play him through balls to finish. Of course you'll need a trequartista with pace for this, if you're using a Totti type I'd advice changing the TM supply to feet. Also, you need to be thinking Messi. A Carlton Cole / Andy Carroll type player will not work in this role!
Supporting Elements (Training Etc.)
The only thing in particular I have done is ensure that Attacking Movement is the focus in training. Also high intensity in training and rest only after match, so that they are training as much as possible. I have not tampered with shouts, opposition instructions, though it would be interesting to look into it.
Results
I hope you have found this helpful and good luck with the tactic. Feel free to make tweaks and feedback as I'm sure there could be further developments. As tactics are only a small part of the Barca ethos, I am also interested in going into further discussion on player development and philosophy, should people be interested in that.
Cheers!
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