Hello, this post allows me to break away from my usual Football Manager writing and explore tactical concepts around the World in the attempt to translate them into Football Manager.
Disclaimer: interpreting real world tactics and applying them into Football Manager is easier said than done. Often a team will have several systems that are deployed throughout the match based on in-game scenarios and events, making it very hard to translate this into Football Manager. So I’ve taken what I think are the key elements of their systems and player roles, based on observing key moments of real-life matches.
Previous posts in this series:
For my fifth instalment of the series and the first for Football Manager 2021, I look at the tactics and philosophies of another Argentine Manager: Diego Simeone…who enters his 10th year with La Liga’s Atlético Madrid. Please note - this playthrough (and subsequent writing) is based from time with the FM21 beta match engine, which may not necessarily behave the same upon full release (24 November 2020).
Intro
Replicating Simeone’s Atlético Madrid is not a new thing to do, a lot of football and FM literature exists on the subject for what is seen as the alternative style to what the Super Clubs of Barcelona and cross-city rivals Real Madrid demand. Simeone’s Atléti footballing philosophy is built on the pillars of commitment and defensive solidarity, in his own words:
"We have a very defined style, one which we have developed in a more visible way at other clubs. At Estudiantes, we implemented that style and it worked well - at Atlético Madrid too. I believe that the core essence of the team is fully understood by everyone - a child, a club employee or an old man...all of them know that they are going to see a strong, intense team.”
Source: AS, 2019
But there have been calls for his side to change their ways amidst the departure of the ‘Old Guard’ that personified ‘Cholismo’ over the 2010s (see Diego Godín, Felipe Luis, Juanfran as examples of players to have left in the last few years). I think these calls were justified too with the signing of 19-year-old João Félix for a club record fee of €126 million in 2019. There are certainly similarities between Félix and former Atléti Striker Antoine Griezmann, but questions remain on whether the club’s biggest outlay has the physical capacity to do a similar job as the Frenchman when tracking back into midfield. Time is of course on Félix’s side (having only turned 21 this month) but, if 2020’s transfer window is anything to go by, Simeone and his Cholismo philosophy remain alive and well with the Uruguayan signings of Luis Suárez & Lucas Torreira.
At the time of writing this piece, Simeone’s 4-4-2 has been the most commonly used setup in the formative months of the 2020/21 season and is therefore the basis of today’s replication. But it’s worth mentioning that Atléti 2020 are not afraid to adopt a 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 or even play with a back three in a 3-4-2-1. But in order to keep things concise in today’s post, it’s all about the 4-4-2. I will start with an overview of the Team Philosophy & Formation, before moving on to Team Instructions and Player Roles. I will finish with a summary of how well it’s done over some playtime during the beta build of Football Manager 2021…¡vamos!
Team Philosophy & Formation
Often labelled as a defensive coach (although he’s much more than that!), Simeone’s 4-4-2 is compact and narrow when out of possession. His team make it hard to be taken on centrally, with his wide players tucking in which forces the opposition to either go wide or hold on to it for long spells. As a coach, Simeone has drilled his players to be exceptionally disciplined at this and also aggressive/intense/dominant in 1v1 pressing situations. It is the reason why Atléti are comfortable in doing this for such long spells in a match. It appears defensive for these reasons, however it’s really just Diego Simeone playing to his squads’ strengths under the mantra and desire of “Partido a partido” (where the complete focus of the team is solely on the current match).
Higher Pressing Vs Osasuna 31.10.2020
Lower Pressing Vs Celta - 17.10.2020
In contrast, when in possession of the ball the Atléti 4-4-2 will morph as the players look to transition it quickly with the wider players and Strikers looking to break beyond the lines. Diego Simeone’s side has become so well drilled at this technique, that they can produce devastating counter attacks. Think of it like a coiled spring, where the pressure from the opposition is absorbed (through the use of the disciplined, compact and narrow shape)…until the moment possession is regained and the space in behind the opposition is exploitable through the momentum of Atléti’s ‘spring’ (athleticism combined with quick and direct passing). It’s the reason why Simeone’s 4-4-2 will never top the La Liga possession charts (at the time of writing they are 7th) but they will often top shots-per-game (currently 2nd in La Liga behind Real Madrid).
The players best suited to this philosophy, and the ones that thrive under Simeone, are athletes (both mentally and physically). In FM terms, the core Mental attributes I would look to replicate Simeone’s sacrificial outlook on football are players with high Aggression, Bravery, Teamwork & Work Rate (known as fibra - more on that here).
Aggression - a highly aggressive player is more likely to exert physical force in the tackle.
Bravery - a brave player will more likely go for the ball and put his body on the line.
Teamwork - a player with a high teamwork attribute will follow tactical instructions and complements the attacking/defensive units of the team.
Work Rate - a player with a high work rate will exert more of his physical capability during a match.
In terms of Physical attributes, you could more or less justify each one being important. But I would definitely place emphasis on high Stamina - high scores here maintain good endurance for longer.
In Football Manager 2021, I translate Diego Simeone’s current 4-4-2 tactic as:
In Possession.
In Transition.
Out of Possession.
Important points:
Use Tighter Marking - This affects all players, so really only consider this if you have a set of players good at Marking. However, for the purposes of the 4-4-2 which has a more compact shape (Standard Defensive Line + Lower Line of Engagement) and the personnel I have at Atlético Madrid…it makes perfect sense. The two banks of four will be tighter to the opposition and will be ready to pounce if there is a misplaced pass or poor first touch. However, if you had a more aggressive press with a higher line of engagement and higher defensive line…I would probably opt for not using Tighter Marking at a Team Instruction level; because of the risks involved of being skinned by faster players. So, to replicate some of the higher pressing systems that Diego Simeone does in certain games (notably with ex-Defensive Midfielder turned Supporting Striker: Marcos Llorente), I would instead do this via the Player Instructions - see below.
Similarly, the Pressing Intensity Team Instruction will affect all players too and this is a Team Instruction that requires some thought behind it. Mainly because Pressing Intensity will be directly altered by the Team Mentality you select. A more attacking mentality automatically increases the pressing levels of your team, so think twice before increasing the pressing urgency even further manually (because you could soon find yourself in trouble with central players vacating too much space in the press). For the 4-4-2 Simeone tactic I’ve selected a Balanced starting mentality for games, and combined with the compact shape and Tighter Marking, it therefore makes sense to press a bit more urgently. Why? (1) The players will naturally be pressing in a smaller compact area and (2) if a press fails, there will likely be a player nearby to cover.
If you wanted to go a step further, you could tailor your press through the use of Opposition Instructions. Here you would be able to designate which positions you want nullified, and which players in your side you want to do the pressing/tighter marking, like in the example below…where only the opposition’s offensive roles will be targeted:
Opposition instructions.
Specific Player Roles
The above 4-4-2 uses the more traditional roles in Football Manager 2021, but two I wanted to expand on is the distinction between the impact of both the Winger and the Inverted Winger (or perhaps a lack of one with certain players used - more on that in a bit). On a basic level, one cuts inside and runs with the ball (Inverted Winger) and the other runs down the line with the ball in order to cross (Winger). However, Atlético have such a variety of players that mean you get very different outputs from these two roles.
Inverted Winger
There’s often a temptation to flood your tactic with Team Instructions before thinking about anything else, but I’d much rather choose the roles first to facilitate the general movements I want from my side. With Thomas Lemar as my primary left sided Inverted Winger on Attack, he will drive centrally towards goal and take more risks in releasing the Pressing Forward and Winger on the opposite side (both on Attack duty). During the FM21 beta, I saw a noticeable difference from this role when using other players…such as Koke and Saúl who are far more combative and industrious over being explosive like Lemar.
Lemar Vs Cádiz.
Winger
On the opposite side of the pitch, the Winger will typically be wider…however the Attack duty sees him often drive into the penalty area for goal scoring opportunities. Yannick Carrasco was the guy I had the most joy with in this role…however I didn’t see much in the way of huge differences between him and Lemar as the Inverted Winger variant. Maybe it’s the Player Traits (cuts inside) that are particularly powerful this year, especially when combined with focus play instructions such as Focus Play Through The Middle (which I sometimes added to funnel attacks centrally against a side with no DM). Below is a GIF of a possessed Yannick Carrasco running inside from the right wing as an Attacking Winger and ‘Fantasy Football Assisting’ from the left side (via a saved shot). Arguably, Inverted Winger behaviour…despite playing as a Winger.
Carrasco Vs Valencia.
My brief playthrough leads me to think that, with the improvements to attacking movement and player decision making, it’s never been more important to drill down into the make-up and traits of a player when deciding on a player role for your tactic. Perhaps both Lemar and Carrasco are too similar in their attributes and traits which leads them to play in a predominantly similar way, overriding the constrains of a player role? To me, this makes real-world sense as players are behaving in a more unique and complex way. But this could just be me going a bit mad, in the blinding lights of a vastly improved and varied Match Engine. So, let’s leave this as a beta observation that we’ll maybe come back to during live.
Movement Maps - Winger (11) + Inverted Winger (21) - Vs Valencia. (Obviously I am expecting these to be different when they have the ball, looks quite cool though).
Team Performance
During this beta save, I had hoped to replicate Atlético Madrid’s aggressive real-life traits in terms of attacking efficiency (high shots-per-game). But in the four months of football I oversaw, I actually produced a passive, albeit extremely clinical, attacking unit. We’re the clear outlier compared to the rest of the league, with a shot conversion rate of 25.26% (double that of rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid) and taking only approx. 7 shots per game.
We have created a system that is true to the “Partido a partido” mindset though…with many narrow wins where we would protect our lead (which were quite stressing to watch) and showed up with big cojones when it mattered most. Like in the 3-0 demolition of Barcelona at the Wanda Metropolitano with only 37% possession. The spirit of El Cholo lives on, with the side still in the hunt for league and continental prizes going into January 2021…
However, with me running out of time before the full release of Football Manager 2021 (November 24th), I think it’s best to call time on this beta save and start thinking ahead to my proper FM21 save with Atlético Junior in Colombia…for a totally different brand of football. As always, thanks in advance for any shares on this piece.
If you can’t be bothered to set up the tactic as detailed above, I have also published it to the Steam Workshop. Left click on the image below and download into Football Manager 2021…
Please let me know if you try this system with either Atlético Madrid, or any other team. It would be interesting to see how you get on.
FM Grasshopper