Football Manager Tactics: Bradley’s 4-3-3 (Los Angeles FC) #FM20

July 24, 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.

Previous posts in this series:

Eduardo Coudet’s 4-1-3-2 at Racing Club 🇦🇷
Matías Almeyda’s 4-2-3-1 at San Jose Earthquakes 🇺🇸
Marcelo Gallardo’s 4-1-3-2 at River Plate 🇦🇷

For my fourth instalment of this series, I return to Major League Soccer in order to take a look at Bob Bradley’s Los Angeles FC…who have become an interesting team to watch in their short existence.

Intro

62-year-old Bob Bradley has had a long and mixed managerial career, from starting off in MLS to achieving USMNT fame with a 2007 Gold Cup win; before the blemish of Swansea City who he left with a disastrous 18% win record after just 11 games in the Winter of 2016.

Back now in his homeland, he’s pulled together a diverse Los Angeles squad of 13 different nationalities and has got them playing some of the best football in MLS with an exciting 4-3-3. This is the formation I am basing my replication on, and more specifically from the 6-2 win Vs cross-city rivals LA Galaxy in July 2020 for what is nicknamed: El Tráfico.

Team Philosophy & Formation

I have teased out LAFC’s style of play from watching them via highlights of the traditional 2020 MLS campaign and watching their performances in the new ‘MLS is Back Tournament’, which has run through the Summer of the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar to the teams I have looked at before in this series, Bob Bradley’s team counter-press from the front. So, let’s break down the formation from the top...

There’s a thought-provoking chat between Bob Bradley and Jesse Marsch (Red Bull Salzburg’s Manager and former pupil to Bob Bradley) over on the LAFC YouTube channel from June 2020 (see above); where Bradley goes into detail of how he wants his teams to approach pressing. One quote from Bradley in Part 2 of 2 in particular stands out for me:

“Your best pressing players have to be your attacking players, because that’s the way you’re rewarded by pressing up the field.”

Pressing from the front and placing that defensive mindset into their attacking players is a cornerstone in LAFC’s approach, and bears similarities to Klopp’s all conquering Liverpool side. LAFC’s wide 4-3-3 formation helps with this, especially the hardworking Uruguayan wide players of Diego Rossi and Brian Rodríguez pressing both Full Backs and Centre Backs alike.

Another aspect is Bradley’s desire to introduce, what he calls, ‘Double Actions’ into LAFC’s style of play. As one guy moves inside, another guy moves outside.

“The understanding of double actions, is the way you create space and advantages”.

This is a reasoning for the attack minded Diego Palacios at FB-A advancing into space vacated by the cross cutting Diego Rossi at AML. Bradley takes this a step further too with his fluid attacking trio upfront, who often switching roles and duties between games...but also within games themselves. This can partially be replicated in Football Manager 2020 below, where the two wider players switch positions and roles during various dead ball situations in the Match Engine.

Navigate via: Tactics / Player / Click on Position / Swap Positions With

Once set up, you will see above that we have Brian Rodríguez set up to play Winger - Attack via the default role for the Position at AMR...but in the same role via a Personalised role for AML (because this is defaulted to Diego Rossi as an Inside Forward on Support). Likewise, the situation occurs for Rossi’s swapped position...where he will be personalised to the Inside Forward role at AMR.

Using a Swap Position adds an unpredictable quality to your attack, in both real-life and Football Manager. Any marking strategies that the opposition have is often blown out of the window with a switch up. Where Rodríguez runs down the right, Rossi will cut inside and vice versa; and this will test the opposition’s defence and further probe for weaknesses over the course of a 90 minute match. The impact of a simple swap can really alter your tactic, and it’s something to be aware of when it occurs. For example, the new overload of W-A + FB-A on the left can be as much of a weakness as a strength depending on the game situation and opposition.

In midfield, another aspect of LAFC’s play is the occupation of the two more advanced central midfielders in the ‘Half-Space’: the sweet spot where a player can still play wide, forward to an attacker or even switch play to the other wing. On the right side, I went with Latif Blessing as a Mezzala on Attack and the industrious role of Box-to-Box Midfielder for Mark-Anthony Kaye on Support duty. Behind them I went with Eduard Atuesta as our mobile playmaker: a Regista, who will look to orchestrate play and give us technical security by keeping the ball (more on him, and this role, later).

Lastly the Defence and Goalkeeper are straightforward and not overly exotic. Bradley’s 4-3-3 does not try to do anything complicated here...other than the Full Backs alternating in terms of who advances. Another noticeable trait in certain games was the RB inverting to push up alongside DM, but I didn’t try to replicate this...as I didn’t see enough of it. In Football Manager 2020, I translate 2020 LAFC’s tactic as:

Specific Player Roles

After the opening two months of MLS games in Football Manager 2020, I discuss two roles that are shining brightly in the 4-3-3: The Regista at DM (who has a 7.51 Average Rating) and the Trequartista at ST (7.91 Average Rating).

The Regista

Despite his young age, Eduard Atuesta is the club’s Vice Captain of the squad and took the armband in place of Carlos Vela in the latest El Tráfico. In my view he needs a little boost for any future edition of Football Manager, because he is already a classy playmaker and is growing in stature in MLS.

Eduard Atuesta - the former U20 international may soon get a chance with the full national team.

His real-life performances are challenging to profile into an FM role, he is the deeper pivot of the three for sure but is often mobile enough to have an influence in the attacking play also. Due to us playing a pressing system and us wanting to suffocate the opposition a bit more, I therefore chose the Regista role. Personally the FM20 version of Eduard Atuesta needs to work on his Agility, Composure & Stamina to be an elite Regista*, nevertheless he took to the task really well. Think of him as a conductor, somebody who orchestrates the ball so that it is continually moving and probing the opposition.

*Stop and start, stop and start…being agile and having a great engine are vitally important in my opinion (despite only Composure being recommended for the Regista role out of those three attributes).

No.20 Eduard Atuesta Vs Houston Dynamo Key Stats and location of Passes Received.

Despite being in the DM strata on the Tactics screen, he will receive the ball in offensive areas (and pretty much everywhere else). His game Vs Houston Dynamo in MLS was particularly pleasing...playing 76 minutes, Atuesta had 239 touches, received the ball 119 times, made 10 key passes and gained possession 17 times (and only losing it 3 times). These statistics better any other player who played that day.

The Trequartista

MLS is notorious for having that one marquee player on the squad who is paid a ridiculous amount of money above anybody else. Somebody who usually plays as the silky attacker; who can unlock the opposition defence with a flamboyant assist or majestic solo run. For LAFC, that man is Carlos Vela and the role I have decided to use him as is the Trequartista. It’s perhaps contradictory to the Bob Bradley approach of pressing from the front, and it’s a questionable divergence from real-life (but it’s partly to force this fluid front 3, which can’t quite be replicated as-it-stands). But there is a certain allowance centrally for the LAFC attacker to roam about and do his thing in real-life, whether that’s new signing Bradley Wright Phillips dropping deep in July’s El Tráfico or Adama ‘Dio’mande pushing further forward.

Using the Trequartista has been fun. We see nice interchanges with the Inside Forward and Winger either side of him, and some lovely dribbles where Vela glides past MLS defenders with ease. The Trequartista has an FM reputation of being a lazy role, partly due to the role description saying that “the team need to carry him when defending”...however the role description does go on to say that the team will use him as “a main outlet in attack”. I didn’t really notice much in the way of him being on the periphery of things. He runs around 2km less on average per 90 (11km per 90) than the Wingers either side of him (who average 13km), but his stats still stand up well with the rest of the squad. He also averages around 4 successful dribbles per match, which is the highest in the squad and also the most devastating…seeing that these dribbles are made in advanced areas. His player trait may well be influencing this somewhat too, as Vela prefers to run through the centre with the ball.

Replicating Real Life

The game I am mainly basing my replication from is the July 2020 El Tráfico: a 6-2 LAFC win over LA Galaxy in the Disneyland Florida resort. Going into Half-Time 2-2, LAFC’s 2nd half intensity and crisp high energy transitions steamrolled LA Galaxy…with Diego Rossi scoring 4 goals on the night.

Pressing

As mentioned earlier, Bradley has his teams push the opponent’s backline through pressing. Defending from the front, led by the likes of No.9 Diego Rossi (below)…force the opposition into mistakes before LAFC quickly turnover the play with short passing.

In Football Manager 2020, the attackers when engaged and on the hunt do like to get in on the act…including the Trequartista (!):

Penetrative Passing

Due to the Player Roles/Duties and Team Mentality I have four Very Attacking mentalities in the side: Mezzala in midfield and then the front three attackers. It means LAFC bomb forward, and although it’s hard to find a goal like-for-like between FM and reality...the desire to get forward from those four guys is the replication I am after. Especially the goals between the three attackers who spread their output around nicely in terms of goals and assists.

Brian Rodríguez squaring to Diego Rossi.

Half-Space

I really miss the crowd noise in post-pandemic matches, but one good thing is that we now clearly hear what the coaches say to their players. A particularly interesting audible during El Tráfico was Bradley’s constant reminders for Latif Blessing to move into the Half-Space, on several occasions you can hear him shout “LATIF HALF-SPACE”. In July’s El Tráfico, Latif Blessing was perhaps too deep and central at times from where Bradley wanted him to be (hence the shouts)...as the Ghanaian is currently in a state of transition from Full Back/Winger to the central areas. In FM I played Latif as the Mezzala on Attack duty and we probably get closer to Bradley’s possible vision with Latif’s future role in the side. Certainly turning a Winger into a Mezzala is the fashionable thing, and something I wrote about when looking at how Matías Zaracho was used at Racing Club in 2018/19.

Blessing touches IRL Vs LA Galaxy (WhoScored.com).

I played 8 MLS matches and won all of them using this 4-3-3...albeit they were all games I would have expected to win (with greater tests like LA Galaxy still to come). The combination of Rossi-Vela-Rodríguez featured in all games, they were electric as we romped to a goal difference of +17. However, there are weaknesses…with only three clean sheets; the LAFC soft centre can be got at. If possession is lost, or the opposition can escape the press…there is nobody sitting in front of that defence to act as a screen (all three midfielders are roamers, as in real life). Nevertheless, the Board were happy:

With a bit more tweaking I think Bradley’s LAFC 4-3-3 can be replicated even further in order to further align with WhoScored’s “Style of Play”. My recreation only marginally dominates possession (with the highest being 60% vs New York Red Bull’s 40%) and I did nothing with set pieces. But overall I am happy:

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…

Note - includes the Player Swap between AML-AMR. You will have to edit this out if you don’t want this :-) — **Note** - includes the Player Swap between AML-AMR. You will have to edit this out if you don’t want this :-)

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

FM Grasshopper

"El Futuro" - La Plata: Mexico #FM20

July 20, 2020

Previously on La Plata: Mexico, Hugo Ojeda’s Dorados kept their Liga MX status with an 11th place Closing Stage finish.

Intro

Last time out on the blog, I wrote about how two experienced players helped retain our status as a Liga MX club. Despite these two players (Javier Güemez & Joaquín Laso) being absolute bargain signings in their advancing years, they only ever amounted to a 6-12 month stop gap. If Dorados de Sinaloa were to remain in the Mexican Big Time for years to come…then we had to look to the future.

Despite the likelihood of this being my final season in Mexico, it’s not a time to throw away the realism and splash the cash…it’s about leaving Dorados de Sinaloa in a good place. Ensuring we’re fit for the future, embracing the Club Vision that existed before Ojeda’s arrival and mixing well against Mexico’s elite.

This is the topic of today’s discussion. Vamos Sinaloa!

Season 2026/27

Liga MX - I was feeling upbeat after the first 5 games of the season. Unbeaten and in the playoff places…until a fairly dismal run of one win in 14 leagues games. But it’s my job to find some positive spin on this, as nobody else will do this for me.

Firstly, we’ve integrated more younger players this year (more on this later). It’s a bold strategy, seeing that 1.21 average points going into the season isn’t exactly guaranteeing no relegation fight…but my justification is that I am banking on at least a couple of teams being worse than us.

Another positive is that we’re no longer getting hammered like in the previous year’s Opening Stage. Ok, we’re drawing a lot…but I do think I’ve been unlucky in some games and some of them should have been wins. No need to panic.

We sit 16th and 1.13 on Average Points. Survival is in our hands seeing that Loros have an abysmal 0.63 Average Points and we also better a number of other teams. But we really need an improved Closing Stage, to ensure we don’t fall into an unnecessary relegation dogfight 🤞🏻

Copa MX - Good news for Sinaloa though: Dorados top a Copa MX Group and progress to the Second Round (where we meet Deportivo Toluca over two legs). Despite contrary reports, here at FM Grasshopper HQ we love a cup run and knockout games; we’ll do what we can to win silverware as we look to wrap up FM20 in style 🤞🏻

El Futuro

I have not been at Dorados long enough to complete some kind of Homegrown XI Challenge, but what Mexico does is force you to field domestic players. I really like this extra challenge and it leads you to think about how you utilise FM’s Development Centre and player pathways, from youth team through to first team squad. Mexico’s domestic player restrictions are:

Liga MX

The match squad must have at least 9 players considered Mexican-born.
Under-21 domestic players must play a combined 1000 minutes of the 19 matches played (in each stage). Teams will be deducted 3 points if they don’t reach this threshold. Note - 50% of minutes played by Under-22 domestic players also get included in this count.
The registered squad must have no more than 12 players not considered Mexican-born before their 18th birthday.

Copa MX

The match squad must have at least 9 players considered Mexican-born.
The match squad must have at least 3 Mexican under-21 players.
There must be at least 2 under-21 Mexican players in the starting eleven.

The graphic below shows the youngest 2026/27 Dorados First Team player per position, these are players that have either been integrated during the last 18 months by myself or signed with 2026/27 in mind. With the exception of Right Back, (although 22-year-old JA Pérez can play here), we have a very young core pushing for starts:

Dorados 4-4-2 with youngest First Team player per position.

Despite not having the best Youth System, I’m happy that Dorados has introduced two Academy players during my time here: Carlo Limón (who needs no further introduction on this blog) and Carlos Fernández…a graceful and technically adept Centre Back, who can also fill in at DM. But we must pay homage to Club América, who have helped us maintain Mexican National & Youth quotas with 2-year loans for Miguel Ávila‎ (who readers may remember from my time with Murciélagos FC) & Pedro Gómez. The same thanks applies to JA Pérez who made his 6-month loan permanent this Summer, swapping Club América of Mexico City for Sinaloa. From what I have seen in-game, Club América have one of the best Academies here in Mexico and their Youth Squads are filled with immense talent. I am particularly excited by the creative and unpredictable qualities of 17-year-old Pedro Gómez, who can play DLP-S in our 4-1-4-1 or more advanced as a DLF-S in the 4-4-2.

Pedro Gómez - €220k for a two-year loan.

In keeping with the club’s vision of signing young players I have externally recruited some really bright prospects during my time here too. I have previously introduced Néicer Acosta & Nazareno Yomaha as my 1st signings here at Dorados back in 2025 and have written around the conundrum of Conrado Verón last season. But the big signing, and only transfer fee in 2026/27, is that of 20-year-old Juan Martín Costanzo from Defensor Sporting for €850k. Costanzo is already versatile, by being able to play four positions across my two formations (DM, WM-S, DLP-S and CM-A). He also possesses a varied skill set between Technical/Mental & Physical attributes and can probably be channelled into any Midfield role with the right tailored training. For us at Dorados though, he will train and play in the Central Midfield - Attack role and see how he progresses there. In order to lure him away from the interests of a couple of Argentine clubs, I promised him Star Player squad status. Basically: whenever he is fit, he features.

JMC - I am hoping he un-leans the ‘Comes Deep To Get Ball’ trait to be more effective as our CM-A.

After 23 possible games (all comps) in the opening half of the season, you can see that I’ve given game-time to each youngster (below). Some have played every second of our season (Limón & Yomaha), but others have had to accept a mixture of a few starts and substitutions.

I am hoping that Dorados will be better for this. Not just in the Closing Stage, but longer term into the future years. The minutes will hopefully increase our players’ consistency, and help them move closer to their overall potential. Virtual Dorados fans should be thanking Hugo Ojeda far into the future (providing we stay up this season)!

To Be Concluded…

So, I have written about the potentially bright future that I’ll probably never get to see. Perhaps it highlights the oddity of how I play the game: taking satisfaction in the things that are yet to come…or won’t ever come…(seeing that I won’t simulate into the future this time round). We’re perhaps diverting off into a tangent here, but the end of this FM20 story is almost upon us. Although ending something I have enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, may seem like is a weird decision to take; I think it’s the right one.

Stick with us though: 6 more months of football for Ojeda’s Dorados…and a Cartel War to conclude. Strap yourselves in, this will get messy.

Thanks for reading/sharing/caring.

FM Grasshopper

"Limon-aid" - La Plata: Mexico #FM20

July 4, 2020

Previously on La Plata: Mexico, Hugo Ojeda’s Dorados were nervously looking over their shoulders in Liga MX.

Intro

A lot hung in the balance during the 6 month period that today’s blog post covers. Last time out the relegation battle was finely poised, with five teams, including Dorados battling it out to avoid the drop via Average Points. From the highs of Peñarol, Uruguay and the promotion chasing campaign of last season…getting utterly battered each week in Liga MX added a new experience for me in Football Manager 2020.

But I believe we’ve passed through the most difficult times here at Dorados de Sinaloa, and our Closing Stage was fairly comfortable. Today’s post discusses what we did, how we did it and who we mostly have to thank; before we end on the curious case of Murciélagos FC. A team Hugo Ojeda, aka The Snake Of Sinaloa, will forever be connected with.

Let’s begin…

Season 2025/26

I ended the previous blog entry with a conclusion that I needed to recruit some defensively sound players. This is exactly what we did, having spent €61k on Argentine Centre Back Joaquín Laso & Sinaloan Defensive Midfielder Javier Güemez. It should come as no surprise that these defensively focused players are ones that are mentally strong fibra warriors, seeing that the positions they play (CB and DM) benefit from having players with strong Mental attributes. It should also come as no surprise that I opted for the experienced heads when in the midst of a relegation scrap, over those heads of younger players (the benefits and reasoning listed out in my latest Byline piece for Football Manager). Another huge attraction towards these two players in particular were the 422 Liga MX appearances they shared between them, the kind of experience we immediately needed in our First XI.

Joaquín Laso, despite his advancing years, steadied the ship with his high score in Anticipation & Concentration (both 15)…it was noticeable in the FM20 match engine with the way he would step out and aggressively defend. He played every single second of the Closing Stage and was class. Javier Güemez is ex-Dorados, having come through the youth system here 15 years ago. He was the DM I felt we needed to act as a screen in front of the Centre Backs, I gave him the Defensive Midfielder role to make sure he held position and kept it simple, but also press a bit more than an Anchor Man would.

You can see their statistics, along with their ‘fibra’ attribute scores below:

The Away 4-1-4-1

The new signings slotted nicely into an away 4-1-4-1, which was recommended by FM Slackers Rensie, FM James and Samo back during my Opening Stage thumpings over in my FM Slack channel (#fmgrasshopper).

You may notice that I did not change much in the way we play between 4-4-2 and 4-1-4-1…the reason for this is that the team is setup and trained to play a direct counter-attacking style. It seems disadvantageous having one formation being completely different in terms of Team Instructions (e.g. shorter passing/low tempo football). By being similar in approach, it also helped us learn the new formation quickly too, as the familiarity in the way we press, pass etc. was already known to the players.

However, I did add ‘Distribute To Full-Backs’ early on, in order to retain the possession a bit more and build out from the Goalkeeper (whose Kicking leaves a lot to be desired anyway). Additionally, I don’t have a Deep Lying Forward upfront in a 4-1-4-1, this role who would often drop in order to keep hold of the possession from goal-kicks in the 4-4-2 and bring others into play.

Liga MX

So, by using the 4-1-4-1 in away games, or when in a comfortable position in home games, we were able to turn six defeats into draws and conceded 17 fewer goals when compared against our Opening Stage performance:

It’s only a small gain of 6 points but our Average points rose to 1.21 when combining both campaigns and it has helped established Dorados from a relegation battling side to a mid-table Liga MX outfit:

Opening Stage Past Positions [Orange] Vs Closing Stage Past Positions [Blue]. Liga MX 2025/26.

Limon-aid 🍋

I think I have to thank my friend From for the lovely titular pun work here. I also have to thank virtual Carlo Limón for being such a hero during 2025/26, because despite all of the defensive improvements made…Carlo was an ever present success story in Liga MX with 33 league starts, 17 goals + 5 assists. It’s a monumental effort from the Mexican teenager. Just like how the Firefighting 4-4-2 restored my love for counter attacking football…Carlo Limón has reaffirmed my devotion to the Advanced Forward role.

Not only is he now being dubbed as the new Luis Hernández, a cult hero from the 1998 World Cup, he also competed for the Liga MX Golden Boot (missing out by four goals in the end, finishing in 4th place). No matter the opposition this season, I was confident that Limón would always get a chance or two due to his suitability in the Advanced Forward role and the Team Instructions that generate the chances for him: Slightly More Direct Passing and Higher Tempo.

I best not GIF them all, and lots of goals are similar anyway, but below is the beauty of Carlo Limón in 3 GIFs. All taken from a golden patch where he scored 5 goals over three games in March/April, enjoy:

Carlo Limon Vs Club de Fútbol América 14.03.2026.gif — Anticipation 16

Vs Club de Fútbol América 14 March 2026

Carlo Limón vs Deportivo Guadalajara 21.03.2026.gif — Composure 15

Vs Deportivo Guadalajara 23 March 2026

Carlo Limón vs Deportivo Toluca FC 04.04.2026.gif — Finishing 15

Vs Deportivo Toluca FC 04 April 2026

The Curious Case Of Murciélagos FC

An underrated aspect within Football Manager is the interesting side plots that happen in the background of your save. Often they go unnoticed, but with Murciélagos FC an almost incredible fairy-tale was taking place right before my eyes. Hugo Ojeda’s former club were smashing Ascenso MX and were the form team in Mexico.

Readers are probably aware that Murciélagos FC were Ojeda’s first club in Mexico….in what was an 18 month roller-coaster of emotion. Ojeda’s successor in Los Mochis is fellow Venezuelan Guillermo Ramírez, who had been appointed by Ojeda as Assistant Manager. Ramírez has got the best out of the Sinaloan squad and they actually had the best record in Ascenso MX during the 2025/26 campaign (1st in Opening and 2nd in Closing). Ojeda’s signings of Enzo Cabrera and Fredy Vera in particular shining with 18 goals between them.

But this is where the injustice of the Mexican league promotion system can play out, which I personally like…but others may hate. Not only were Murciélagos FC the best team in the division (in terms of points), they bested Loros Colima in the Opening Stage playoff…only to fall apart against them during the Closing Stage Semi Final and then the resulting Ascenso MX Promotion Playoff in May 2026. 4-1 on aggregate in both two legged fixtures!

Closing Comments

So, sadly no reunion with my Sinaloan rivals on the pitch. But we’ve got our border battle to be getting on with against the Tijuana crew anyway. In a mirror image of last season, instead of spending an extra €100k per month on wages due to bonuses…we’re actually shaving around €100k per month off the wage bill due to players’ contracts ending. I’m therefore hopeful we can re-invest into the First Team and build on Dorados’ more than respectable 2025/26 campaign back in the big time. Vamos.

As always, thanks for reading/sharing & caring.

FM Grasshopper

"The Big Time" - La Plata: Mexico #FM20

June 23, 2020

Previously on La Plata: Mexico, Dorados de Sinaloa reached Liga MX.

Estadio Banorte, Culiacán. Credit: sinaloa360.com — Estadio Banorte, Culiacán. Credit: sinaloa360.com

Intro

This save was always going to get a lot harder (before it would start to get easier). 6 months into the job and we’d hit the big time: Liga MX. I had a lot of people to thank, notably Dan Gear…who said he’d like to see me cover my approach to staying up in Mexico’s top league. I thought it was a good idea for the blog, to explore the things I did and the preparations I made to ensure Liga MX survival…but the lessons for readers today are more around what I failed to do and act upon. We’d reached the big time, but with little thought about what comes next.

Perhaps I got promoted too soon (if that could be considered a thing)? Perhaps we needed another 12 months to lay the groundwork properly; building solid foundations to cope with the increased quality of the league opposition. Today’s post covers the Opening Stage of the 2025/26 Liga MX and the suffering that ensued.

Vamos.

Season 2025/26

Before this post moves on to the lessons learned, I will briefly set the scene with a run through of results and current positions in both the Liga MX and domestic cup, the Copa MX.

Liga MX - The league results makes grim reading up until November where we finally found some form, eventually ending up at 16th position in the Opening Stage table. We have the 2nd leakiest defence with 41 goals conceded from 19 games and if it wasn’t until that final month…we’d have been in serious trouble, and most likely bottom.

Average Points - Rewind back an in-game year and I was nervously focusing on the Average Points table with Murciélagos FC in the Ascenso MX. Now in November 2025, I’m doing the same with Dorados de Sinaloa albeit in a higher league. It’s perhaps the theme throughout my time in Mexico: nervously looking over one’s shoulder at opponents’ fortunes, as well as our own. This is the peril of living in a world of Average Points.

Last season’s Average Points Totals. Note - 2022/23 data missing due to the league not being loaded at the time.

For those unfamiliar with Average Points, it can decide a few things in Latin American fútbol. In Mexico’s Liga MX (for the time being at least, before promotion/relegation gets paused for many years) it dictates which single team gets relegated, and it does this by averaging out the points won over the last 3 years (so current + two years previous). As you can see from above, it was Potros UAEM who were relegated last season with an awful campaign of 10 points over both Opening + Closing Stages.

For the new campaign, Dorados will enter the Liga MX Average Points system with a clean slate like Potros did. This can be viewed as both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that our fortune is in our hands…but the curse is that there is an obvious points benchmark to meet. This benchmark is somewhere between .85 and 1.0, unless the three clubs of Club Nexaxa, Atlético San Luis & Leones Negros have solid campaigns. Meeting this benchmark is perhaps harder for Dorados, due to the sheer gulf in class between established Liga MX sides and fresh meat like us. The cynic in me views Average Points as a way to maintain the status quo in most Latin American leagues. A brief historical example is how Argentina introduced it to protect the big clubs from relegation, thus allowing them to have a bad season, if player turnover was particularly high. Note - this backfired massively back in 2011, when River Plate did what the Argentine FA viewed as impossible: achieve relegation on average points!

So, what does this mean for Hugo Ojeda’s Dorados? Well, we probably have to collect somewhere between 32 points (.85) or 38 points (1.0) over the course of the combined Opening & Closing Stages. Luckily, our Opening Stage (particularly due to November’s form) sees us sit above our target at 1.05 average points:

At least by looking into the Average Points table, we know our targets and despite being humiliated in a number of games already this season; the task remains in our hands. Four or five wins and a few draws should be enough in the remaining 19 Closing Stage fixtures to secure survival. Pray.

Copa MX - Despite being given a tough Copa MX group, we did really well to secure a 2nd Round place with a game to spare; with tight wins at home against both Santos Laguna and Deportivo Toluca. Up next is a home and away tie Vs Deportivo Guadalajara, who will be favourites to go through. Bring it on.

Lessons Learned

So, before we get into some of my questionable decisions below; I first want to first emphasise that my approach towards this Liga MX Season was one of ‘Trust’. Akin to what I did with Lorient in Football Manager 2019, whereby I trusted in the team and system that got me promoted.

(1) Top Division Wage Rises

The headline figure that probably should have set the alarm bells ringing much earlier (but did not), was that promotion would see our wage bill rise by €105k per month…equating to an increased wage bill of 25%. That’s without no new deals, or player/staff acquisitions for 2025/26. The AI Management of Dorados had been acquiring players through my FM20 save with the added sweetener of a % promotional wage rise in contracts. I am not completely innocent in this, two of those players were from deals I handled (Acosta at 30% and Yomaha at 25%)…but let’s not overlook the fact that the AI did a remarkable job of allowing 20 First Team players to have this contract clause. There are pros and cons to this approach, and let’s not forget that it ultimately worked: Dorados are in Liga MX. But it doesn’t stop the fact that this club is going to have to be frugal for the next couple of years at least.

(2) “All The Eggs In One Basket” Transfer Policy

Despite our wage bill increasing by 25%, and me not really grasping that until too late…I still thought I would have some budget going into the Liga MX season. After all, it’s a rich league with a good TV deal and high stadium attendances. Our operating balance climbed to €6m in July/August 2020, so I naturally felt relaxed about making a signing to complement the squad. In came the Free Signing of 22-year-old Conrado Verón who met the Club Vision Targets of being young and Argentine. The main reason I wanted him was to phase out Amaury Escoto’s first team role, who is entering his final few years at the club and declining to a level perhaps beneath Liga MX. I thought this was a good and logical succession plan: replace an ageing Deep Lying Forward with a younger model. In order to lure Conrado to Sinaloa, I had to offer him fairly high wages and a Number 10 squad number…but surely the Board would give me some of that sweet €6m to fix the wage bill and make further signings? This is what I was banking on anyway…

Wrong. No more money for Hugo Ojeda…Conrado Verón would be it. Despite needing a back-up Deep Lying Forward, this probably wasn’t the area where I immediately needed reinforcements. I needed defensive cover, especially after the departing Albano Ballari - my 6 month loanee who marshalled our backline - left for Club León. The 41 goals conceded is demonstrative of this and a massive oversight from a seasoned FMer, opps.

To compound my misery further, Conrado Verón hasn’t even been that good in a Dorados shirt - although he probably needs to play more (in all comps: 2 goals, 2 assists in 547 minutes played). He could obviously do it in Argentina’s 2nd tier…but the Mexican Big League is a jump up. With a five year contract we now have to see if we can make this work for both parties; and I am aware that sometimes players need a good 6-12 months before we see them adapt. But this is an example of where I got it wrong [again]. Sorry.

(3) [No] Plan B

I have already mentioned the 41 goals conceded a couple of times already in this post, it pains and sickens me. I would much rather win 1-0 than 2-1, I like the achievement of a clean sheet both in real-life and in Football Manager. But at Dorados I only changed from the v3 4-4-2 tactic mid-way into the Opening Stage during a few away games. On these occasions, I either changed the structure of the central midfield from Attack-Support to Support-Defend and kept the 4-4-2 OR sometimes took Verón out from the team and replaced the DLF role with a Defensive Midfielder at DM in a flat 4-1-4-1. The results have been mixed. Some games Dorados would put up a fight and still lose (e.g. Cruz Azul 2-1) and some games we’d get hammered (e.g. Monterrey 6-1). It’s basically a golden thread running throughout this blog post: no money, no good defensive players…therefore no Plan B. In November, seeing that we’d play at home for most games, we would just run with the expansive 4-4-2 v3 and low and behold it got us out of jail: 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. But I won’t always have a run of 4 home games on the bounce, I will most likely have to find a Plan B from somewhere.

I think that’s where my next moves need to be made: recruit defensively sound players.

Closing Comments

The upcoming 6 months are pivotal, not only for Dorados but also for Hugo Ojeda’s save narrative and this save in general. Honestly, I don’t think I can face a relegation and the immediate headache of trying to get promoted back to The Big Time once again. Mexico has been a really hard slog; so we’ll keep an eye on potential snake moves going forwards. My friend Ondrej better be on standby to make more kits…

As always, thanks for reading/sharing & caring.

FM Grasshopper

"Better than Maradona?" - La Plata: Mexico #FM20

June 11, 2020

Previously on La Plata: Mexico, Hugo Ojeda made the Promotion Playoffs with a direct 4-4-2.

In the dugout, absolutely yes.

The answer to the blog post's title question. For anyone that has not watched the Netflix docuseries “Maradona in Mexico”, I fully recommend it. The series charts Diego Armando Maradona’s time at Dorados de Sinaloa, where the club reached the playoffs each stage during 2018-19 under his management. I will not spoil it for you, but know that Hugo Ojeda could probably be classed as “Better than Maradona” now that Liga MX football has been secured for the 2025/26 season.

The way it was done was a fairy-tale in itself, finishing 7th by the skin of our teeth (as discussed last time out); before rallying around and gaining some serious momentum. Today’s post is a quick game-by-game walkthrough of the promotion playoffs, an update on a new piece of stadium interior we’ve acquired and a look to the future at Dorados de Sinaloa. I hope you enjoy.

WARNING: contains a CounterGolazo™️

Promotion Closing Stage Playoff Quarter Final

Vs Lobos de la BUAP

If Dorados were to be promoted, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. There are 4 two-legged ties (so, 8 games for those without a calculator at hand), over the course of 31 days. Our journey started with Lobos de la BUAP, who finished a place above Ojeda’s Dorados in the Closing Table. Their two best players were Centre-Backs, and I always hoped that if we could get a foothold in our opening home tie…they would struggle to score. Luckily this was the case. It was a really solid home performance led by club captain René Juárez…who put away the common 4-4-2 far post header. Our second, another header, came from loanee Albano Ballari - who on all accounts has been a terrific player for us over these past 6 months. His corner header 3 minutes from time secured daylight between Dorados and Lobos.

There isn’t much to say on the 2nd leg, other than there wasn’t much in the way of many good chances or shots-on-target. It finished Dorados 2-0 on aggregate, as we progressed with two clean sheets and no injuries or suspensions.

Promotion Closing Stage Playoff Semi Final

Vs Alebrijes de Oaxaca

The Grasshopper Derby? One thing I like about Oaxaca is that they have a grasshopper on their club badge, they obviously have great taste. So, I felt a bit embarrassed to humiliate them 6-0 on aggregate. Dorados were brilliant, and after an injury ravaged Closing Stage we finally saw the best of the experienced Deep Lying Forward Amaury Escoto. In return, this also meant Carlo Limón 🍋 was back in with the goals too…our fabulous academy 18-year-old prospect leading the line as our Advanced Forward.

Promotion Closing Stage Playoff Final

Vs Correcaminos UAT

The Return of FM Drawhopper! 4-4 on aggregate against the Closing Stage league leaders: Correcaminos UAT (CUAT). In a nice parallel with my FM19 save, we would progress via a playoff round draw and victorious penalty shootout. This was by far the biggest test of the playoffs, having seen CUAT walk the title with an 18-year-old Newgen called Hugo Cruz spearhead their attack. Once again Carlo Limón 🍋 was on fire as we raced to a 3-1 lead in the 1st leg…until Hugo Cruz inspired a late comeback. Frustrating seeing that the identified MVP, having been targeted via Player Instructions, would score…sometimes FM makes you feel powerless right?

The 2nd leg was tight…and not much to write home about until the penalty shootout, which I fired up as an impromptu stream. It introduces our first of two hackz in today’s blog:

Hackz 1: “Never choose a 6th penalty taker” - it may initially sound like a massive myth, but don’t give the AI the idea of the shootout going to the 6th taker. Simply select 5 takers, no more. I’ve done this a few times now and each time I’ve never lost a shootout: 5 takers, no 6th, win.

Ascenso MX Promotion Final

Vs CF Atlante

The BIG FM moments require special attention, so I drafted in FM Samo for the co-commentary on a live stream. Samo was tasked with full Assistant Manager duties, considering his virtual counterpart was astonishingly inadequate and not up to the task. It was a masterstroke move; not only did Samo go away and think about our upcoming games against Atlante…he also introduced the second hackz…

Hackz 2: “Against his old club” - Samorama trawled through the career records of every player in my squad, looking for some kind of advantage that we could exploit in-game. His big discovery was that Bryan Reyes, a back-up winger in my squad, had once played for Atlante (1 start and 1 substitute appearance) back in 2019. Yes, an ace up our sleeve! We could use this hackz when we needed it most, which we did with a few minutes to go when we brought on Bryan Reyes; who coolly converted home a teasing cross to score against his former club in the 89th minute. Atlante 1 - 2 Dorados.

The secondary factor underlying this win was that we had also received (unknown to us at the time) a Managerial Birthday Boost, as Hugo Ojeda celebrated his 22nd birthday with the away fans…

What a way to celebrate your 22nd birthday: an 2-1 away win Vs Atlante!

The 2nd leg was a treat to watch…with two Golazos ensuring we would win promotion to Liga MX with a 4-1 aggregate win. I have come to the conclusion that I like counter attacking goals more than any other type of goal in FM. Our 2nd on the night Vs Atlante from Edwuin Cetré at home was an absolute delight, which typifies our style: counter, direct and high tempo. Here it is below:

The Anatomy of a CounterGolazo™️

8 touches, 4 players, 3 passes, 1 goal. I wanted to break it down a bit more and look at the anatomy of this CounterGolazo, to savour it for future years when looking back on this save. Firstly, it involves only four players: Sweeper ‘Keeper (Support), Full Back (Attack), Deep Lying Forward (Support) & Winger (Attack). Secondly, it’s a good demonstration of the individual skillets that all four players possess.

GK - Nazareno Yomaha - I mentioned Yomaha last time out on the blog, he’s been my best signing by far with 22 appearances at the age of 21 and 54% of them being clean sheets. His Passing (15) and Vision (14) combination is a joy to see, and in the Sweeper ‘Keeper role he is instructed to take more risks…as shown in the CounterGolazo.

LB - Nahuel Esquivel - Esquivel is fast (15 for both Acceleration & Pace) and agile (15)…meaning he can turn it on at any moment and bomb forward. In the Attack role (and within our Counter Team Instruction) he is focused on getting into the opposition half and with his good Concentration & Decisions (both 14) he is able to read the situation and make an assist to Cetré.

ST - Amaury Escoto - 32-year-old Escoto is the wiser head in the attack. He has a player trait of coming deep to get the ball and he is competent on a technical level (First Touch 12, Technique 16) and can sometimes do the unexpected (Flair 13). In this case, he makes a simple but critical contribution to the move…assisting the assister by linking the support and attack together.

MR - Edwuin Cetré - Edwuin is my top earner (€56k per month), so I’m happy he is the guy to finish this move and get some glory. Cetré is suited to the Attacking Winger role, he is a modest athlete with Acceleration & Pace of 13 and has Off the Ball of 13. He shoots with power, which often frustrates the hell out of me, but in the case of the CounterGolazo it produced an absolute howitzer of a shot.

Here is the goal as-it-happened with Latin American commentary.

The Bust Of Gear

I don’t dispute for one second that my friend, Dan Gear, had an enormous part to play in our 15 game unbeaten run and eventual rise to the Liga MX. His tweaks from v2 to v3 of the 4-4-2 have made a considerable difference to our central play and we are definitely scoring more goals. As part of the deal, I arranged for Dorados to crowdfund the erection of a Dan Gear statue outside the stadium.

Sadly, only 500 Mexican Pesos were raised (£18)…so we therefore have to make do with The Bust Of Gear, which sits proudly in the canteen area where the club’s matchday staff take lunch. I would like to personally thank Dan for the help he provides me, and others within the FM Community.

This is for you, Dan:

El Futuro

Despite promotion being a fabulous accomplishment in young Hugo Ojeda’s short managerial career, the greater achievement is whether he can keep this Dorados team in Liga MX. The club is now mixing with the elite, and in 2025 we are witnessing a plethora of Mexican Wonderboy Newgens entering the 1st teams of some of the nation’s biggest clubs.

With Albano Ballari’s 6-month stay ending to join Club León, Dorados need a top class Centre-Back. Once we move past this headache, we then look towards an accomplished central midfielder. One with a good engine and broad set of attributes to complement the 4-4-2. The budget? Well, the club ends 2024/25 on a negative balance of €1.8m. The battle on the shores of the Pacific State of Sinaloa has only just begun…the hunt for la plata in Mexico continues.

Thanks for reading/sharing/caring,

FM Grasshopper