"Rule Of Three" - Rio de la Plata #FM20

March 8, 2020

Previously on Rio de la Plata, Ángel Bastardo turned boys into men.

It’s 2022 and AI controlled Nacional have finally woken up!

Intro

The Rule of Three is a writing practice that assumes that a trio of things are more memorable to the reader, even if we don’t consciously notice it at the time. As a Blogger, using the rule of three makes me appear [somewhat] catchy and relatable (lol). An example from this blog series is Hugo, Ruslan and Ángel kicking off the FM20 blog, or the start/middle and end of most of my blog posts. Using the Rule of Three is also specifically applicable to today’s blog post which takes a look at the Uruguayan Premier Division, where the rule of three is demonstrated it its structure and design. The 3 stages of Opening, Intermedio and Closing offer managers a classic Latin American experience. Effectively three attempts to win a league title. If you don’t win the Opening, don’t worry, there’s always the Closing; and if you don’t win either: just be consistent through the mid-season Intermedio and hope to top the Overall table.

This is all topical for the generic save update you’re about to read (if you stick with me), where the rule of three remains present throughout…

Season 2022

Domestic

We began our 4th season with a nervy penalty win Vs Boston River to win our 8th trophy: the Uruguayan Super Cup. From then on though, I can’t really fault the first two and a half months of our league campaign. But FM can be cruel sometimes, especially in Uruguay’s bitesize league chunks…where a couple of bad results see us miss out on the Opening Stage win. AI controlled Nacional going unbeaten, which included a gut wrenching win in our own stadium. Sickening and equally unacceptable.

Until now, Bastardo’s Peñarol has won each of the last six possible Opening and Closing stages (and therefore three straight titles). So, Nacional’s unbeaten stage has come as a real surprise and perhaps highlights some complacency creeping into Uruguay’s most successful club. We needed a big Intermedio campaign…

Intermedio

Six wins and one draw saw us hit form in the mid-season tournament. But the complacency once again manifested itself with a wasteful draw, and subsequent penalty loss, against Montevideo Wanderers in the trophy showpiece. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s missing, perhaps it’s Mauro Zárate’s big game heroics or a lack of fibra when it matters. Something I would need to address in the Transfer Market before going into the Closing Stage.

Continental

At one point in the Copa Libertadores we looked like we were in trouble of not getting out of the group. But we finished strongly with two wins to see us qualify for the Copa Libertadores Knockouts, which is now the Board’s minimum requirement. Our reward is a re-match with Boca Juniors, who knocked us out at the Quarter Final Stage two years ago.

I’ve put weekly friendlies in place in the lead up to the end of July fixtures and it’s probably a good time to face an Argentine club like Boca Juniors, seeing that it’s in their early pre-season. Fingers crossed for a Peñarol upset!

Rule Of Three [Competitions]

What we have in Uruguay are three distinct competitions that feed points into an overall table: Opening, Closing & Mid-Season’s Intermedio. The reason for this is that you can have various winners through the year, that then play one another in the final stages in order to crown the ‘Annual Grand Champion’ (I wrote about this in a bit more detail here).

Until now, I’ve never had to worry about it. My Peñarol side have won outright by winning every Opening/Closing stage and topping each Overall Table. But Nacional’s 2022 Opening Stage win changes that, and Bastardo’s Bastards are preparing for end of year drama this time round. Additionally, 2022 could possibly give us the unique situation of three winners battling it out. Nacional have their place as Opening Stage winners, but their total collapse in the Intermedio (dropping 14 points) and our rise to form…mean we have an 8 point lead in the Overall Table (see below).

The Closing Stage could add a third team into the mix, which would make domestic football exciting again, at least for the neutrals. Or it could simply mean Nacional and Peñarol fight it out for supremacy.

One thing is for sure though, Bastardo isn’t going to cede his crown easily…

Rule Of Three [Free Transfers]

I alluded to the point previously that I needed a bit more fibra and proficiency in the big games. It just so happens that the moves to correct this deficiency also aligned itself with the Rule Of Three: Schunke, Fernández & Blandi all joining from the Argentine Superliga on Free Transfers. This brings the total number of concurrent Argentines in the Peñarol squad to six, which is three more than the First XI quota for domestic games. Nothing exceeds like excess, right?

Estudiantes de La Plata ally Jonathan Schunke is by no means a first choice CB, but he offers professionalism and experience and will be welcome in our setup. Julián Fernández, on the other hand, is a fibra machine. Strong mentally and at the peak of his physical powers, he’ll be the perfect Half-Back to compete with Agustín Álvarez, who I praised last time out on the blog. The signature of Nicolás Blandi is reminiscent of Lucas Viatri, who I inherited when kicking off this save. Like Viatri, Nicolás Blandi is ex-Boca with good movement and finishing - something I am hoping to see in the upcoming Copa Libertadores knockout games.

Rule Of Three [Months]

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar (which I will blog as Uruguay’s National Team manager) means that the domestic and continental club calendars end a month earlier in October, which produces a congested fixture list…where the games come thick and fast over three months. I believe, with the youth coming through and the aforementioned Argentine reinforcements, Peñarol can mount a defensive and retain our league title from the clutches of Nacional.

Strap in for the ride…

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

FM Grasshopper

"Boyz II Men" - Rio de la Plata #FM20

February 12, 2020

Previously on Rio de la Plata, Ángel Bastardo swapped Zárate for Zárate.

Intro

“Bastardo, ooh na-na, Half of his heart is in La Plata, ooh-na-na”

Transitioning young players into a thriving First Team squad is not as straightforward as you’d think, there are demands and expectation on Bastardo’s Peñarol like never before. Could Bastardo win his 3rd straight league title? Would they cope without the flamboyance of Mauro Zárate? Could the team challenge for the Libertadores title, 34 years after the club’s last success? Given this pressure, it takes a brave manager to put faith in youth; it takes a club with cojones to turn boys to men. This is Bastardo’s Peñarol.

Today’s post summarises Season 3, then moves on to look at Youth Development…before concluding with a v.brief update from the National team. ¡Vamos!

Season 2021

Domestic

We finished our 3rd season with a domestic treble: League, Super Cup and the mid-season Intermedio Cup (as blogged last time out). Once again our ‘stage’ coincided with a match engine update, and once again it altered the form and trends of the league. On this occasion though, it suited us…losing only once (to Danubio away) since updating shortly before the Liverpool match. The Gallardo-inspired 4-1-3-2 producing some scintillating stuff to win the Closing Stage on the final day of the season…

We top the Overall Table once again, with a healthy lead over 2nd place River Plate Montevideo. In addition, our main rivals Nacional finished in a disappointing 4th position. We scored more goals (+25) and conceded less (2) when compared with last season, so there are reasons to be cheerful…but I am still wishing for an unbeaten domestic calendar year. Maybe next year.

Our 2021 top performers (all comps) are below:

Goals: Luis Acevedo (21 goals), Mauro Zárate (16 goals) & Francisco Ginella (9 goals)
Assists: Emmanuel Mas (9 assists), Matías de los Santos (8 assists) & Agustín Canobbio (7 assists)
Average Rating: Agustín Álvarez (7.54), Ezequiel Busquets (7.49) & Matías de los Santos (7.41)

Continental
Copa Libertadores humiliation came in the form of a Second Round 4-1 exit Vs Corinthians this season. The battles with Argentina and Brazil will continue if I’m ever to win this trophy…with both nations having a duopoly over the competition in FM20:

Copa Libertadores Past Winners in FM20.png

Financially I cannot compete with either nation, and this financial gap will likely grow as Peñarol receive no domestic prize money whatsoever. The money we make instead comes from gate receipts and Libertadores prize money, so we’d need to use this carefully. I always knew this was the case when choosing my save, which has led me to keep and adhere to the Club Vision of developing players via the club’s youth system (something I noted down in my FM20 intro).

This is a nice segue into my post’s next section, but even if you don’t want to read that far…please note: 7 homegrown youngsters from the Peñarol youth system have played over twenty 1st team games this season. It might not look much at first glance, but it’s a large portion of the team’s make-up. It’s been three years in the making, but I feel I am slowly starting to realise a Peñarol Golden Generation (think América de Cali 2020, but possibly better), something that might just upset the above Libertadores duopoly in future years…

Boyz II Men

CurrentGen

I am not going to detail every young player coming through, but I’ll revisit the previous four I wrote about in my 1st season at Peñarol. These guys have been a success in the first team and although they are still here with me, I consider them to be ‘graduating’ (as Boys to Men) and who no longer require further updates after today’s post.

Agustín Canobbio - born 1998

With their movement and technical qualities Wingers make good ‘Central Wingers’. Hardly surprising is it? Agustín Canobbio hasn’t quite hit the heights from his 1st season with me, when played as a Winger (and scoring 18 goals in the process!). But I am willing to overlook Season 3 as Agustín’s year of transition: moving as a wide player and slotting into our midfield as a Mezzala on Attack. It’s also been 12 months of niggling injuries for Canobbio and this has obviously impacted on how quickly he has adapted.

The most worrying injury was 2 months out with a knee injury and then two bouts of a virus which completely ruined his fitness. The record is quite worrying:

Agustín is my top earner now and needs a good 2022 if he’s going to stay in Montevideo with Peñarol. His record to date under Bastardo: 117 appearances and 33 goals. We need more from him.

Bastardo's graduation report:

+ Slight room for growth, which will hopefully be used at becoming Natural at MC.
+ A Match Winner on his day.
- A worrying injury record and requires careful management to get the best out of him.

Matías de los Santos - born 1998

Everybody likes a Homegrown Fringe Player to Star Player fairy tale. Matías de los Santos has peaked and I’m loving it. In the Roaming Playmaker role he’s like my homemade version of Steven Gerrard, picking it up and…well roaming. He has a large influence in our game and at the epicentre for a lot of our great team moves. He recently signed a new deal removing a transfer release clause, which was a concern…seeing as he is one of Peñarol’s Favoured Personnel nowadays.

However, the major downside is that he has now probably peaked and Youth Development was not perfect for him. I never got the Player Traits from Mentoring and in return I got a decline in Determination. [Sh]It happens, we live with it and move on.

Bastardo's graduation report:

+ Matías de los Santos has a real affinity with the fans. He’s in serious contention when the Vice-Captain role becomes available.
+ Our No.8 now has 123 appearances and 21 goals for Bastardo’s Peñarol.
- The gains have dried up a bit.

Ezequiel Mechoso - born 2000

Training Ezequiel Mechoso as a Central Midfielder on Attack for the best part of two years meant that the switch to playing him as a Mezzala on Attack wasn’t so much of a jump for him in the new 4-1-3-2. Profiting from Canobbio’s injuries over 2021, Mechoso has staked a claim at this role but additionally he has also been tried out as a replacement playmaker for de los Santos. It means Mechoso gets the one thing that a player his age needs to develop: game time.

Three years ago I added an extra session to his training (Attacking Movement), and I’ve seen growth in his Anticipation (+4), Decisions (+4) and Off The Ball (+3). Instead of keeping this going, I am now going to switch his extra session in order to improve ‘Shooting’: Finishing, Long Shots and Technique. It’s really the former two I want to see improved, seeing that Mechoso will get into shooting positions in the Attacking Mezzala role.

I am confident we will see a rise here, due to Mechoso not quite at his ceiling:

Bastardo's graduation report:

+ Mechoso now has 87 games in a Peñarol shirt.
+ Peñarol’s most valued player in December 2021.
- Never naturally found a Player Trait via Mentoring.

Ezequiel Busquets - born 2000

It’s funny that the guy who impressed the least last time round is the only one to gain an International cap. Obviously that’s down to a few factors, not only am I the Uruguayan National team manager…gaining a cap internationally at Right Back is much easier than in the Uruguayan Engine Room. Nevertheless, Ezequiel Busquets impresses whenever he plays.

This is despite not making many gains. Technically there has been hardly any improvement in 3 years, instead growth appears in both the Mental and Physical areas of his game. In particular, I am happy with the +4 growth in Determination (something I sought to correct in the previous Youth Dev post)…having been in a Mentoring Group with some Elder statesmen.

3 years ago Busquets was Bastardo’s 1st choice in the Uruguayan U20 setup. In 2022, Busquets might just do enough to be in a World Cup squad [spoiler].

Bastardo's graduation report:

+ A solid Primera División Right Back.
+ Peñarol’s third highest valued player in December 2021.
- Technically may never be impressive enough to be elite level.

NextGen

So, we’ve seen four players integrated from Day 1 of this save and each of them have risen to stardom. The next four players you’ll see are a mixture of success and frustrations, which was my deliberate decision to highlight that Youth Development isn’t always straightforward. We will start with the good…

Facundo Torres - born 2000

Starting with the oldest of the new Boyz II Men project, Facu Torres has done fairly well as a make-shift Deep Lying Forward on Support duty. Especially in the final three games of the 2021 season with 4 goals and 1 assist to help us win the title. I’ve played him as a Striker in his first 12 months with us in the 1st team and he’s moved from Accomplished to Natural. There has been glimpses of a top player and I definitely plan to keep him and use him as a DLF understudy, but he’s no Mauro Zárate.

My immediate plans with Facu is to add a few Player Traits. I’m thinking either ‘Runs With Ball Often’, to make use of his Dribbling or ‘Plays One Twos’ in order to increase the likelihood of some pass and move combinations with onrushing Mezzalas.

Bastardo's reflection:

+ Potential still to fill.
+ Successfully adapted as a Natural Striker.
- Need to add some Player Traits.

Agustín Álvarez - born 2001

If there is one youngster that benefited from the move to playing a 4-1-3-2 with a Half-Back, it’s Agustín Álvarez. Before that, the deeper DM role in the side was occupied by playmakers: Walter Gargano and the two youngster previously mentioned: de los Santos & Mechoso. But ditching the wingers in favour of central runners, and advancing the playmaker role into the midfield strata, opened up a clear pathway for Álvarez…and boy did he take it!

Despite a hideous score of 1 for Aggression, Álvarez’s performances have outshone Club Captain Guzmán Pereira and he is now my 1st choice Half-Back. With 33 starts in 2021, Agustín Álvarez tops the Average Rating score with 7.54 (all comps). This has attracted the interest of China, including Shanghai Shenhua, who could trigger the €1.2m release clause at any minute.

Both learned Player Traits came from Walter Gargano via Mentoring and I feel they’ve really added to his game as a Half-Back. Especially the switching of play, where he often has full sight of the pitch given his withdrawn position in our 4-1-3-2.

Bastardo's reflection:

+ Nearing his peak.
+ Our top performer and an integral part of our new tactic.
- Perilous transfer release clause that we’ll have to review via DoF contract negotiations.

Andrés Acuña - born 2002

Now on to two guys who I feel I have let down a bit in FM20, incidentally both called Andrés. First up is Andrés Acuña, a fast striker who joined us in the 1st Youth Intake. I was immediately happy with how he looked, as I love the Advanced Forward role and there was no question that this was the role I would train him in.

After winning the Uruguayan U19 and Reserve competitions with 12 goals in 20 appearances and turning 18 years old, he looked ready for 1st team football. So I sent him off to Cerro Largo where he played 7 times and did not score, before experiencing relegation to the Segunda División. A masterclass of Youth Development right there from Bastardo! He’ll return to Peñarol for 2022 and I’m of the belief that he needs a few months with me after Cerro Largo…hopefully he’ll find his shooting boots in the Reserves and possibly with the 1st team as our 3rd choice Advanced Forward.

Bastardo's reflection:

+ At least 2 Stars of ability to fill.
+ Suits our new 4-1-3-2, where having a supporting player alongside Andrés could free him to do the one thing I demand from my most advanced forward: to score goals.
- Awful loan spell. I’m sorry Andrés.

Andrés Cabrera - born 2003

Despite not featuring in the first team, Andrés Cabrera has been included in this little update because things have not gone so well. It wasn’t that long ago that Andrés was the youngster that was the most highly rated at the club - a Newgen from the 1st Youth Intake. But I’ve included him to show that youth development in FM isn’t an exact science and there are many pitfalls in the way from preventing a guy from reaching his potential. He’s still only 18, so I’m not completely ruling out his Peñarol future…but his critical make-or-break year is now upon us.

A 4 month hip injury, days into his loan away from the club (with Club Atlético Cerro), set the tone for his 2021. I know from experience that hip injuries are nasty, a friend in youth football had one and never recovered. His brain continued to move fast post-injury but his body could never keep up. The lack of mobility is frustrating to see and I hope the same doesn’t happen to Cabrera. I recalled him right away as I wanted him to recover with our facilities and not the loanee club’s. Nursing him back to injury, FM tells me to place him on an individual rehab-training regime; in order to help him recover strength. I’ve chosen an individual focus of ‘General Rehab’ that works on all the Physical attributes (excluding Natural Fitness).

Shoulda, woulda, coulda means I’m outta of time. But in hindsight I should have kept Andrés Cabrera with me at Peñarol and tried to correct his unambitious mentality - as this will influence how he applies himself to training. I feel like I have wasted a year with him, but at 18 years of age…time is, just about, on our side.

Bastardo's reflection:

+ “Brave, committed and considered a Leader” accordingtofm.
+ Still room for growth.
- A year wasted was perhaps the kick up the arse we both needed. Trainer and Trainee, we need to be better.

Meanwhile as the Heir to Tabárez…

I have rambled on long enough, but here’s just a quick note to tell you that Uruguay qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar! A ‘final day comeback draw’ (is this a thing?) against Brazil was enough to secure our place as the 4th best qualifier. But don’t judge those rankings, Bastardo’s Uruguay are still the reigning Copa América champions and we’ll look to win the World Cup in a year’s time.

The tournaments are what make International Management bearable in Football Manager, so I’ll aim to blog this event before resigning (whatever the outcome) in order to concentrate on club duties with Peñarol. A club where boys become men…

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring,

FM Grasshopper

"The Zárate Swap" - Rio de la Plata #FM20

January 29, 2020

Previously on Rio de la Plata, Bastardo’s Peñarol won a second league title and the Caporegime neared completion.

Intro

Ángel Bastardo always knew that signing Mauro Zárate would come with controversy. After 18 goals and 12 assists in his 1st season in Uruguay, Zárate rejected Peñarol’s new contract extension…meaning he leaves in 6 month’s time for Poland…for nothing (!). Legia Warszawa are the team to offer 34-year-old Zárate one last European adventure and despite the disloyalty shown, Bastardo always respected the maverick nature of his fellow countryman. However, with Zárate’s decision came opportunities: a new Match Engine (from FM’s Public Beta), meaning that Peñarol could switch things up tactically sooner than expected, and a chance to proactively move on from the dependency on Zárate’s mercurial talents. Or could they?

Welcome to The Zárate Swap…

Season 2021

From 4-4-2 to 4-1-3-2

I expected to continue with the 4-1-4-1 that had brought success over the previous two years, albeit with some frustrating moments. These moments are probably not in relation to my tactic, more so the endemic nature of the current FM20 match engine. However a blessing arrived in early January: the public beta! Match Engine v2031 isn’t so bad now. So, I decided to go with two up top for the first time in this save: Mauro Zárate as my dreamboat Deep Lying Forward and an Advanced Forward, who could run onto his through balls and finish (usually Luis Acevedo).

Initially I tried a flat 4-4-2 and although I was getting some results, I didn’t like the highlights on offer. The football just didn’t seem exciting and I was getting some really tight games…I mean 1-0 Vs Cerro Largo FC, come on! It all culminated in a 1-0 loss away against Nacional and I quickly decided enough was enough.

Instead, we’d turn to a replication of the Marcelo Gallardo 4-1-3-2 system, which I wrote about as part of my Football Manager Tactics series. Adoption of this tactic came one season earlier than I would have hoped, as I wanted to transition and externally recruit a Mezzala or two before I tried it with Peñarol. So I quickly instructed the DoF to submit a Deadline Day offer for transfer listed Francisco Ginella (of Wanderers), who can play this role. In addition, I did the sensible thing and started re-training a wide Attacker to play the attacking variant: Agustín Canobbio. You’ll often find Wingers like Canobbio doing well in this role, as the Mezzala requirements correlate with the good Technicals of Dribbling, First Touch & Technique that effective Wingers [should] also possess.

Francisco Ginella - my new €205k signing from Wanderers.

Agustín Canobbio - re-training as an attacking Mezzala.

There’s no need to wax lyrical about this formation, as you can re-read my love for that in the Gallardo replication article. But what I would say is that this tactic is a bit of a hackz on the current v2031 match engine. If your three central midfielders can shoot, you’ll see many ridiculous volleys and long-range efforts go in. I have also found playing a Half Back with "‘Likes To Switch The Ball To The Other Flank’ extremely effective too, on numerous occasions in a match he will recycle the ball and release the Wing Backs who provide a cross to the Advanced Forward, which results in a goal.

Domestic

The switch to 4-1-3-2 brought about 8 wins and 1 draw to see us win the Opening Stage once more - the Nacional result obviously still hurts…but the recovery from that result is encouraging. Also don’t overlook that Super Cup win…Bastardo’s 5th FM20 career trophy and 4th with Peñarol.

Continental

The 2021 Copa Libertadores campaign has been tough going. We narrowly lost to Argentine 2020/21 Superliga Champions Independiente in injury time and also had frustrating draws at home in Peru Vs Melgar and away in Venezuela Vs Deportivo Lara. However, we just about did enough in the end to go through to the Knockouts with a 79th minute Acevedo equaliser in Peru’s second largest city: Arequipa.

Next up is heavyweights from Brazil, and popular figures, Corinthians.

The Zárate Swap

Usually I would stop my update here and not document the mid-season Intermedio tournament, instead leaving this for the end-of-year save update. However, it felt right to tie this in with 34-year old Mauro Zárate’s final few games for Peñarol. In short: Mauro Zárate’s hat-trick Vs Boston River (in a 6-0 demolition) ensured a 5th Peñarol FM20 trophy and our 1st Intermedio cup win of the save:

Mauro Zárate’s last touch in a Peñarol shirt was to complete a hat-trick, before being subbed to a standing ovation…

Mauro Zárate’s 18 months in Uruguay has been pretty decent: 69 games, 34 goals, 17 assists, 3 cups and 1 league title. I knew that he came with a lot of baggage and could have caused a nuisance in Uruguay, but he’s been nothing but the gifted No.10 I always hoped he’d be. It’s a real shame to be losing him, when I feel he could provide at least two more years of brilliance. So, how on earth do you replace a guy like Mauro? Well, you do The Zárate Swap:

20-year-old Tobías Zárate, nephew of Mauro, joins Team Bastardo on a Free Transfer from Vélez Sarsfield. He comes with a reputation as a goalscorer with 15 goals scored during 2020/21 whilst on loan at Santamarina in Argentina’s Primera B Nacional. It’s an obvious shame I couldn’t field Uncle and Nephew together upfront, but Tobías is gifted with the famed Zárate DNA with high Technicals in Dribbling, Finishing and Technique. Meaning that perhaps the elder Zárate will not be overly missed? Only time will tell…

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

FM Grasshopper

Football Manager Tactics: Gallardo's 4-1-3-2 (River Plate) #FM20

January 18, 2020

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. The aim would be to write about teams that are not at the forefront for most European readers, so there’s likely to be no English Premier League or German Bundesliga analysis here!

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.

Part One - Racing Club’s 4-1-3-2 🇦🇷

Part Two - San Jose Earthquakes’ 4-2-3-1 🇺🇸

For my third instalment of this series, I once again look at a talented Argentine manager…who has undoubtedly outshone the previous two managers I have previously focused on (Eduardo Coudet & Matías Almeyda). Grab a latte, tea or yerba mate and return to Argentina with me…

Intro

Marcelo Gallardo’s playing career ended in Uruguay, as a title winner with my FM20 arch rivals Nacional.

The Argentine Superliga returns to my life next week, after a near two month hiatus (strike dependant of course). During this time, there was one manager who I expected to leave Argentina when FC Barcelona’s hotseat became vacant: his name is Marcelo Gallardo. It’s my personal view that Gallardo’s brand of attacking and high intensity football would be revered by the culés of Barcelona. Yet, following Quique Setién’s appointment…Gallardo once again is overlooked and remains in his native homeland with River Plate.

Despite cruelly losing 2019’s Libertadores Final to Flamengo and ending the mid-season Superliga break in 5th position, Gallardo’s time at River has been a rip-roaring success. Becoming their most successful manager with an incredible 6 continental titles in the last 5 years (x2 Copa Libertadores, x1 Copa Sudamericana and x3 Recopas).

Unlike Barcelona’s new coach, Quique Setién, who favours a consistent tactical approach; Gallardo has instead been known to use a few fluid arrangements, usually with a holding pivot. Sometimes it will be a diamond 4-4-2, often a 4-1-3-2 and sometimes even a back three in a 3-4-1-2 or 3-1-4-2. For the purposes of today’s post however, I am basing my replication on the more prevalent use of a 4-1-3-2. Let’s begin…

Team Philosophy & Formation

A lot of literature exists around Gallardo’s River Plate, so I don’t feel the need to repeat their assessments here. In fact, on the most part, it’s challenging to summarise Gallardo’s teams concisely in a single blog; due to the sheer amount of players that have come and gone during his 5 years at River. This isn’t Gallardo’s fault, but rather the endemic nature of how football transfers happen in Argentina…with the young talent being sold to Europe at any sign of potential (Alario, Driussi & Saracchi to name just three recent departures). The current Gallardo team however sees Enzo Pérez sit as a pivot and link between the marauding midfield and also…the marauding Centre Backs. Gallardo’s team is one of possession, relentless pressing and an ambition to control the game in the opposition’s half.

The Wing Backs provide the width in this narrow formation, but it’s the trio of young players in midfielder that exemplify Gallardo’s style: creativity, dribbling, speed and stamina. So I have gone for a rather ambitious central trio of: Roaming Playmaker sitting between two Mezzalas. If all goes to plan, these players will dominate the ball and use it well…providing the strikers ammunition to shoot and score.

I have opted for a Deep Lying Forward + Advanced Forward combination, not only is this familiar to me…I also like the dynamic between Matías Suárez & Rafael Santos Borré. It is nice to have the older head as the supportive player, which happens to be Matías Suárez (31). He has a creative spark and good scores in Decisions and Flair, which means he is a handful dropping back ‘in the hole’ to link up the play. On the flip side, Advanced Forward, Rafael Santos Borré (21) will stretch the play; he likes to beat the offside trap and has the exuberance of youth on his side with high physicals and great Work Rate.

Gallardo’s team typify the ideology of a relentless press, by denying the opposition a chance to play. So, I’ve chosen a slightly more aggressive team mentality of Positive combined with ‘Counter’ and ‘Counter Press’ Team Instructions. I have also instructed the team to ‘Get Stuck In’ after enjoying the ferocity of their behaviour in the Copa Libertadores Final against Flamengo. Note - use this Team Instruction with caution, as in some games I had to turn it off mid-way through as we were amassing yellows. Sometimes just the mentality combined with Counter Press is enough for them to play with fire 🔥

In Football Manager 2020, I translate 2019/20 River Plate’s tactic as:

Specific Player Roles

There is no desire to break down every role in Gallardo’s team here, but two important roles that make the midfield so effective are the Half Back and the Mezzala(s).

Half Back

Despite not appearing as a glamorous role, the Half Back is the crux of what makes everything else work ahead of it. Enzo Pérez’s pivot role is similar to Marcelo Díaz’s in Racing’s title winning team of 2019, which I also wrote about. For this role to work, you need a player with great Positioning and other strong mental attributes such as Anticipation and Decisions. He’ll look to recycle the ball and offload it to the dynamic three central midfielders ahead of him.

You can see from the above that an opposition striker is positioning himself between our two central defenders. It’s a clever place to sit, as it gives us a problem. However, the Half Back is disciplined enough to read the pass…and recover ground in order to get back and recycle possession. This clever understanding of the game, and application to the role, kick started a move that brought about a River goal. The Half Back in this moment in time was as fundamental to the team move than the assist or the goal itself.

The Mezzala(s)

I really like the way the Mezzala operates in this 4-1-3-2, so why not go double? The Mezzala will attack the space between where a traditional Winger and a conventional Attacking Midfielder would sit, this is known as “the half space”. It’s here, in this golden sweet spot, where the Mezzala can operate with good creativity and dribbling.

I have used De La Cruz and Fernández here and they were sublime, benefiting from the shorter passing and a more laissez-faire approach to attacking play. Especially Nacho Fernández, who has a Very Attacking mentality when playing as the Attacking Mezzala role in this system; meaning he has a free licence to support attacks and play in the forwards.

It also arcs back to what I said in the intro: Gallardo demands a midfield that is full of creativity, dribbling, speed and stamina. These guys are perfect for it, and what’s more…after a few months of rehabilitation, possibly the best player on the continent: Juan Fernando Quintero will return from his knee injury. Another player who I believe can play the Mezzala exceptionally well.

Replicating Real Life

We have to appreciate that Football Manager is a game, but there are elements of River Plate’s real-life game that appear to be reflected well. Here’s an example of the Half Back’s positioning and behaviour to deal with a long ball, it’s exactly what I wrote about earlier on. It’s taken from the 2019 Libertadores Final, and despite losing out on the day…I felt River Plate were unlucky not to win the trophy. Especially in the first 15 minutes, where Flamengo simply couldn’t contain the relentless Gallardo-ball.

You can see it’s exactly like what we saw earlier, with Enzo Pérez mopping up a long ball as part of our pivot:

Pressing

Despite the two examples below showing pressing in different locations of the pitch, they both show the swarm of River Plate players amassing to deny the opposition any real meaningful amounts of possession. Our example Vs Grêmio leads on to a nice counter attacking goal, where the ball is released to Deep Lying Forward: Matías Suárez.

In the 4-1-3-2 tactic I built for this post, I left the pressing and defensive lines as they are (on standard), as we are already on a positive mentality. But in order to replicate Gallardo’s flexible pressing triggers you can simply adjust mentality or do it manually to suit your game situation. In order to be like Gallardo, I would recommend pressing the life out of weaker sides in order to suffocate them. But be more conservative against bigger opposition, or teams you feel have a good counter in them and who can escape the press.

Beautiful Football

My belief that Gallardo would be a good tactical fit for FC Barcelona is due to the passing combinations his River Plate team play: something that the Catalan club also demands from its players. I saw a lot of this beautiful football within my FM20 play-through:

The new v2031 Public Beta FM20 match engine (to grab this new build, click here), demonstrates the characteristics of Gallardo-ball.. Characteristics that are documented over on WhoScored.com (see below). By looking at the “Style of Play” to the right hand side, you can see how it links back to the Team Instructions I used at the start of this post:

Overall, this is a really fun tactic to play with, it has a good variety in attack and some lovely interchanges between a youthful & exciting midfield. I played 10 games, winning 9 and drawing once (to Grêmio in the Copa Libertadores) Goals For: 24 and Goals Against: 5. 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 2020…

As always, thanks in advance for any shares on this piece. Please let me know if you try this system with either River Plate, or any other team. It would be interesting to see how you get on.

FM Grasshopper

"Bastardo's Crown" - Rio de la Plata #FM20

January 14, 2020

Previously on Rio de la Plata, Ángel Bastardo won International honours with Uruguay.

Intro

"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" Henry IV, Part II, Act III, Scene 1.

Ángel Bastardo returned to Uruguay a hero, but the domestic battles ensured that people were quick to forget what he had done for Uruguayan football. It was also time for the Argentine himself to forget past glories and concentrate on winning a second successive league title. Peñarol had been agreeable to the Club & Country arrangement, but Bastardo knew who paid his wages. The greatest Uruguayan club side would need his utmost attention, so today’s blog post therefore updates you on the football happenings from the second-half of the 2020 campaign and the Peñarol Caporegime.

Vamos.

Season 2020

Domestic

I love the Uruguayan league setup, and even after 2 years now…it’s still feeling fresh and unfamiliar to me. Especially the Intermedio Final, which I once again refuse to progress to. I have this theory in my head that it’s harder to win as a larger side, seeing that Football Manager classes it as a cup competition. The first four games this time round in 2020 were abysmal, being schooled at home by Atenas de San Carlos was one of the lowest moments of this save (excluding 3-0 Bolivia of course). We did find form at the tail end of the tournament though, but sadly the damage was already done:

We almost made unnecessary hard work in our Closing Stage too. Despite a 13 match unbeaten run to pip Wanderers to the title on the final day, there were some needlessly tight games and frustrating draws. I don’t know whether it’s my platonic relationship with Football Manager’s v2026 match engine OR my central strikers being shockingly average, we’re simply failing to fire on all cylinders. It is something I will correct though, with a view to playing 4-1-4-1 for one more season before I move towards something more risqué in 2022 (when at that point the February/March ME update will be out). More on that in a subsequent blog post no doubt.

Anyway, we won both the Opening & Closing stages for the second year running which meant no awkward final rounds to go through. We top the Overall Table with less points & goals than last year, and annoyingly 5 more goals conceded. There is definitely work ahead in order to come back stronger in 2021:

Continental

Good progress has been made in the Copa Libertadores. We reached a Quarter Final with an end-to-end tie away in Cali, Colombia…Mauro Zárate with 2 goals in that game to cement his place as my MVP. He was my marquee signing back in January (for €900k), but he’s paid his transfer costs back by being directly involved in 30 goals this season (Goals + Assists all comps).

All in all, a Primera División title & a Quarter Final Copa Libertadores appearance means it has been a great season for us. Certainly, there are reminders that we are not quite the finished product (as that Boca 0-4 home loss showed); but it’s been another season of transitioning younger players into the team as we move away from a reliance on elder statesmen like Cristian Rodríguez (35) & Walter Gargano (36). Instead we now have a homegrown central midfield triumvirate of Agustín Álvarez (19), Ezequiel Mechoso (20) & Matías de los Santos (21). All of whom have been excellent during 2020.

Our 2020 top performers are below:

Goals: Mauro Zárate (18 goals), Agustín Canobbio (13 goals) & Luis Acevedo (8 goals)
Assists: Mauro Zárate (12 assists), Elías Pereyra (8 assists) & Matías de los Santos (3 assists)
Average Rating: Agustín Álvarez (7.23), Mauro Zárate (7.11) & Matías de los Santos (7.06)

The #GIFGoals to remember this season comes from Striker Luis Acevedo, scoring the first Peñarol goal in a 2-1 title winning victory over rivals Nacional in their crap Gran Parque Central stadium. Shades of World Cup 1998 Bergkamp Vs Argentina?

The Caporegime Part II

Before kicking off this save, I had an introductory post that outlined my plans to focus on staff recruitment in Football Manager 2020. I dubbed this my ‘Caporegime’, a Mafia term to reference the crews within an organised crime syndicate. On Day 1 of the save, thirty staff members made up the Peñarol Caporegime, which included Bastardo himself. Above them all sat two Managing Directors, Carlos Sanchez & Fernando Morena in non-footballing roles.

Over the course of two years there have been some dramatic changes to the Caporegime: Directors of Football have come and gone, coaches/scouts have been headhunted by bigger clubs and even elections have brought about a new Presidential structure. But one thing remains constant: Bastardo is overseeing it all without the need of a Technical Director (a new Staff Role that will recruit your backroom staff for you in FM20).

After two years of ploughing wage and transfer budget into the staffing side of the club, we now employ forty staff members across the three Peñarol squads (excluding our new Managing Director Guzmán, hired by new President Miguel Moreira in December 2020):

From the above, you can see that I have recruited the maximum number of First Team employees for the coaching and medical specialisms. The big change for Season 2 was to offload the incumbent Assistant Manager, Michele Fini - who I outlined as a distinctly average Assistant back when kicking this save off. I recruited his replacement internally, Álex García - who joined from managing the U19s. Note: it’s always worth checking what you have internally, Álex García’s appointment was ideal for me…as he knew all the players right away. So he hit the ground running with stuff like the Selection Advice and Coaching Reports, which I have used more frequently this year.

Álex García - Bastardo’s 2nd No.2 in two years :-)

Peñarol’s Caporegime is the best in the league and it’s only the scouting side that we now need to focus on in 2021. This has been the most volatile area as I have had a few Scouts depart for better things and new 2019 Director of Football: Pierre Aubame decided not to renew his stay with us into 2021. Finding Aubame’s replacement was difficult and for now I have settled on Ángel Moretto, who will guide our transfer activity using the ‘3 List Approach’ I outlined back at the start of this save. Moretto is not the perfect DoF, but unfortunately there was not much in the way of wages and budget to find a better replacement for Pierre Aubame (who, with no disrespect, was far too good for us).

Ángel Moretto - Bastardo’s new Director of Football.

The final staff member to quickly update you on is with regards to #ProjectVincent. Vincent van Raam was edited into my save because I speak to him about Argie-ball in real-life and consider him the Dutch pen friend I never had as a kid. Having been with me for two years now, Vincent has not bettered his judging abilities one bit; which is a real shame. Naturally, he has bettered his tactical knowledge working under Ángel Bastardo and he now understands the rules of football a bit more. There is hope for him though, Vincent now has fairly decent knowledge of South America after being sent to Argentina, Brazil, Chile & Colombia a few times on weekends away. I hope he will thank me in real-life one day, most FM Bloggers would have ditched him by now…but not me!

Next Steps

My objectives into 2021 are to better our scouting setup. We’ll recruit a further three scouts and we will also widen our Senior & Youth Packages to cover more of South America in the Player Search. Once I have fully completed my Caporegime, I will then recruit to the two new positions in FM20: Technical Director (who should maintain our position as Uruguay’s elite staffing setup) & Loan Manager (who will handle player loans away from the club), in order to see how they will do. This may likely be my third and final part of the Caporegime series, where I look to lessen the weight of Bastardo’s crown 👑

As always, thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

FM Grasshopper