Space and compactness

[amir123]

Diego Simeone really surprised me in the last couple of years, because before him not a lot of managers were able to play 4-4-2 against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and others.

The main thing that Diego's team does is "mark" space, i.e force teams to the flanks isolate the wingers and aggressively winning the ball there, you can clearly see this in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1cQr83TkxE

The reason they are able to force teams to the flanks is because
the two strikers drop really deep and force the play wide, this is obvious to see in the video.

So i have two questions here:

- is it possible to mark "space"?
- is it possible to force the strikers to drop deeper?

 

[WJ]

Zonal marking is the default in FM. All you need to do is to decide whether you want to tightly mark players that come into that space.

Use a strikerless system with the Strikers at AMC. The formation screen is the defensive shape. If you need them to defend that deep, move them back.

 

[Igneos79]

Not only it's possible, it's turned on by default. Zonal marking is when everyone is assigned an area of space to mark. Man marking is when they are responsible for a particular player.

His 442 is your basic 442, nothing fancy actually. Very Fluid, because it's a flat formation, so he wants to avoid gaps, and since it's very fluid, all roaming roles. Defenders arent only responsible for defensive phase, they must support and attack aswell, including the gk, hence the use of SKa, BPDd's, and FBa's. Midfield must both support attack and defence, so wide playmakers and box to box players are used. Strikers also must support and defend, not only attack, so DFd's are used. DFd's are naturally dropping deep, and since your strategy is attack, the game is stretched wide in an effort to score easier.

 

[amir123]

Not only it's possible, it's turned on by default. Zonal marking is when everyone is assigned an area of space to mark. Man marking is when they are responsible for a particular player.

His 442 is your basic 442, nothing fancy actually. Very Fluid, becuase it's a flat formation, so he wants to avoid gaps, and since it's very fluid, all roaming roles. Defenders arent only responsible for defensive phase, they must support and attack aswell, including the gk, hence the use of SKa, BPDd's, and FBa's. Midfield must both support attack and defence, so wide playmakers and box to box players are used. Strikers also must support and defend, not only attack, so DFd's are used. Strikers are naturally dropping deep, and since they attack, the game is stretched wide in an effort to score easier.

I know that zonal marking is turned on by default, i'm talking about getting the strikers to drop deep. In the video you'll see Atletico's strikers killing the space just in front of Barcelona's MC's, so they have to go to the flanks.
What i'm asking is if it's possible to get my strikers to drop deep just like in the video, i've never seen that done (unless you tell the strikers to man mark, but that's annoying).


@WJ It's true that it's possible to this if i move them to AMC's, but doesn't that mean that the strikers stop behaving like real strikers?

thanks for the help!

 

[amir123]

Forgot to mention this, but even if you use defensive forwards, they don't drop deep like in the video, and you can't make them close down more??! :/

I find it very surprising that even in games like PES and Fifa that seemingly don't care about tactics that much, it is possible to replicate the exact Atletico Madrid tactic. Not only that but PES gives you a tactic screen for defending, and another for attacking, so you can play 433 when you're in possession and convert to 422 when defending (like RM).

 

[WJ]

@WJ It's true that it's possible to this if i move them to AMC's, but doesn't that mean that the strikers stop behaving like real strikers?

No reason why they would. Try it yourself and see?

 

[WJ]

I find it very surprising that even in games like PES and Fifa that seemingly don't care about tactics that much, it is possible to replicate the exact Atletico Madrid tactic. Not only that but PES gives you a tactic screen for defending, and another for attacking, so you can play 433 when you're in possession and convert to 422 when defending (like RM).

It's very possible here too? You set the defensive shape using the formation screen. Mentality will have a bearing on how deep and compact you are though. Also, the roles and duties you set determines that offensive shape. Very easy and simple.

 

[WJ]

Forgot to mention this, but even if you use defensive forwards, they don't drop deep like in the video, and you can't make them close down more??! :/

By the way, what mentality are you using? A Defensive Forward on Defend duty will drop quite deep.

 

[Igneos79]

Forgot to mention this, but even if you use defensive forwards, they don't drop deep like in the video, and you can't make them close down more??! :/

I find it very surprising that even in games like PES and Fifa that seemingly don't care about tactics that much, it is possible to replicate the exact Atletico Madrid tactic. Not only that but PES gives you a tactic screen for defending, and another for attacking, so you can play 433 when you're in possession and convert to 422 when defending (like RM).

Use complimentary TI's. If opponent uses a DM, they will close him down, or drop even deeper if opponent isn't using one. It's fairly easy to setup. I made something similar here http://www.fm-base.co.uk/forum/football-manager-2015-tactics/329177-proper-4-4-2-testing.html

give that a run, and see if you like it...perhaps FB 's need to be changed to attack duty, aswell as wpm's