The EURO dreams many years later | One season with A.C. Milan in FM22

Sunday, June 23, 1996. I was at the football training camp and I was ten years old. The ordinary day in the life of us, young average small kids from the post-soviet union block nation was affected by the Czech national team. Karel Poborský scored that goal against Portugal and our team progressed to the EURO ‘96 semi-final. I still remember the moments after the final whistle when our coach kicked all of us from the common room with one small television as we ran around the camp and chanted the Karel Poborský name. All of us did nothing the next day in training other than try to lob our goalkeeper.

Saturday, June 19, 2004. My youth career came to an end a month prior to this date after I was told Sparta Prague won’t offer me a professional contract because I had a dorsal bone in my left leg broken three times during one year. I was sitting in a pub with my left leg in plaster resting on a side chair and crutches were near the table. The Czech national team played against the Netherlands on this day in the EURO 2004 group. They were 0:2 down after the opening 19 minutes as Wilfried Bouma and Ruud van Nistelrooy scored. But our team won 3:2 after goals by Jan Koller, Milan Baroš a Vladimír Šmicer. This match, with all the energy from every player on the pitch, this match will always cause me goosebumps. It was not for the first time I was dancing with crutches and with my leg in plaster, but I hope it was for the last time.

Both these teams have something in common but they are both absolutely different. Poborský, Nedved, Smicer were in both teams. The ‘96 team was the outsider of the tournament. The same as many people still don’t understand how this team made it to the final, there are maybe even more people who don’t understand how the team from 2004 didn’t win the tournament and lost to Greece in the semi-final.

When Tony/FM_Grasshopper came to me with the idea to replicate some 4-4-2 formation, the variation of these Czech teams, but mainly 2004 one, came to my mind after some time including some memories from the past.

I wrote about my attempt in the latest Latte Quarterly issue together with From Eleven, One who’s post is superb. I mentioned these teams had something common. And we found something common also with FEO as my 2004 team and his 2007 Milan side included left defender Marek Jankulovski.

I played one year with AC Milan and I kept the 4-4-2 formation from the beginning to the end. The team around Kjaer-Tonali-Giroud/Leão produced so good results that I was unable to end it. And I decided to write about it something also outside of the Latte Quarterly.

My dream team

“The main thing I always liked about this team was the simple way of football the players produced. The simple triangle between the central defenders and both central midfielders worked perfectly. There was always someone available to receive the ball. It was all about the player’s abilities rather than complicated team instructions and heavy tactical style. That’s why I used only three team instructions - Distribute To Full-Backs, Counter and Counter-Press. Just make it simple.

The combination of good (BPD - Kjaer in Milan side) and ugly (CD-D with tackle harder instruction - Ujfaluši /find his tackle on Messi on YouTube/ in the Czech team, Romanogli in Milan side) central defenders. The young Daniel Maldini (would it even be FM save with Milan but without some Maldini?!?) took the MR slot as W(A) to replicate Karel Poborský and his crosses and clever finishes. Sandro Tonali as RPM to play as Tomáš Rosický - to be available to receive the ball in every situation and to be able to move forward. The CM(D) role of Tomáš Galásek (one of the most underappreciated players from this team) to just cover everything in the middle.”

— LQ, issue 9

The most accurate description of this team would probably be something like this: The simple football with freedom but with a lot of discipline, teamwork, fighting for each other and having fun from football because these players were 100% sure they know they are really good in what they are doing. And to entertain fans.

No wonder there were more fans during the exhibition match when EURO 2004 head coach Karel Brückner celebrated his 80th birthday two years ago than during a normal match at Andruv Stadion in Olomouc.

That’s what I took from these players and from this team. And I really envy all of them because I think I have never seen any other team with this confidence since 2004 at any level. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s just my feelings.

Wide roaming ball-winning box-to-box midfielder

Pavel Nedved = impossible to replicate

The shortcut of this role would be perfect in the game I would say - WRBWBBM(A). That’s how I describe the position and role of Pavel Nedved during these years. The Ballon d'Or winner from 2003 was everywhere around the pitch and he was able to play as a winger but he operated in the middle as well.

This role was 100% the hardest one to replicate and I think I was not able to do it exactly as I would like. There was one certain thing after a short time within the tactics screen. The ML position, no matter what player will play in, can’t be Inverted Winger because this role has “Dribble More” as one of the default instructions.

And Pavel Nedved didn’t dribble more. He liked to play cut inside and shoot with his stronger right foot. He liked to run everywhere around the pitch to let the left side of the pitch free for the wing-back behind him (Marek Jankulovski in the national team). And he liked to tackle harder in combination with his unstoppable and endless desire to get the ball back.

So, I decided to use WM(A) role and customise it to my own with these thoughts in my mind. I tried several players in this position/role. As I wrote in the LQ9 issue, the customised role was as demanding for these players, that none of them was able to meet all the expectations. Theo Hernández was probably the best one but he was limited by his injuries too much. I hope his physical attributes will help him to be able to meet all demanding high-intensity instructions but even he had to sub almost every time during the second half despite his physical attributes being great (click here to open his profile).

Kingsley Coman (I bought him from Bayern for €25.5M) made the most appearances in this role - 33(9), scored 5 goals and made 13 assists. Ante Rebic was quite decent here too with 9 goals and 8 assists in 16(25) appearances.

Twenty-years old Daniel Maldini, who I played mainly as a winger in the MR slot, would be maybe good in this role if he would be about two or three years younger and he would work very intensively on his physical attributes. But overall, if I will ever use such a demanding role again, I will look to play here the physically strongest player of the squad. Or try to find the best possible player in terms of physical attributes.

Sandro Tonali

I know this midfielder is a thing for a long time in the Football Manager as an honorary member of all the wonderkids lists but I’ve never managed him. Sandro Tonali can play almost every role within DM or CM thanks to his attributes in the game. First Touch, Passing, Technique, Vision or Decisions. Everything is perfect for a playmaker. But he’s not bad even if you would need him in the CM(S) role as his Marking, Tackling and Teamwork attributes are also very solid. It’s just a pleasure to have a player like him in the squad.

He was the first one I thought about when I decided to use the Roaming Playmaker role within this 4-4-2 to replicate (if it’s possible) the role of Tomas Rosicky. The former Sparta, BVB or Arsenal midfielder, and one of the best clients of Europe’s elite physios, was able to play everywhere around the pitch. Maybe it would be best to play him as Box To Box Midfielder but Rosicky always liked to be the director of the match. He liked to decide where the ball will be, where to pass & when to dribble & when to play faster & when to shoot…

The Roaming Playmaker should have freedom on the pitch. And I think Sandro Tonali who played most of the matches in this role within one season had a lot of freedom thanks to a combination with the CM(D) role next to him in the centre of the flat midfield. Frank Kessié or Tiémoué Bakayoko were always here to cover everything exactly as I wanted. Players in the CM(D) role created nothing. That was the aim. They are not on the pitch because of thinking and creating. They have to just be here to cover/defend/help others.

Sandro Tonali has Dictates Tempo trait = bingo! I’m sure it was one of the main factors that helped to make his Position/Role so good and effective during this save.

Sandro Tonali made 31(3) appearances in Serie A, scored 4 goals and made 23 assists (the second-best in Serie A was Paulo Dybala with 14 assists). He played 12 matches in the Champions League and made 10 assists. In total, 46(4) club competitive appearances with 4 goals scored and 34 assists made and an average rating of 7.61.

This was his last Serie A assist of this save in the Milan derby against Inter in the last match of the Serie A 2021/2022 season.

Jan Koller & Milan Baros vs. Olivier Giroud & Rafael Leão

Jan Koller - 91 appearances & 55 goals = the best goalscorer in the Czech/Czechoslovak national team. Milan Baroš - 93 appearances & 41 goals = the 2nd best goalscorer in the Czech/Czechoslovak national team. These two players created the most deadly forward duo and I wanted to create something similar within this save. Jan Koller was the target man/forward who was able to hold the ball, pass the ball, help with the build-up play, win the headers and also score a lot of goals. Milan Baros was that fast forward who benefited from the work of other players and who was able to find the right space and right place to score.

The equalising goal against the Netherlands after Koller’s assist is one of the best examples (click to see it in this video). And the goal against Denmark in the EURO 2004 quarter-final is also another great example (click to see it in this video). The quarter-final match against Denmark is a great combination of set-piece goal scored by Koller after corner and two goals by Baros after a great off the ball movement and perfect passes by Poborsky and Nedved.

Fuck, goosebumps everywhere.

Most of you would probably use Zlatan Ibrahimovic instead of Olivier Giroud. And you are right, it was my first thought as well. But Zlatan was injured for the opening two months of the save. Rafael Leão was the first choice Advanced Forward for the entire first season. There was a short time when I thought about using CF(A) role but I saw Leão was able to work in a big area as the advanced forward too so I decided to use this role.

Olivier Giroud became my first choice TF(A). He benefited from the near post routine a lot as he was able to score a lot of goals from it but he really was perfect for this role and it was not only about the corner/free-kick goals. His numbers at the end of the season speak for themselves. He made 28(4) appearances in Serie A, scored 31 goals and made 6 assists. He scored 6 goals in three Coppa Italia appearances and 5 goals in 12 Champions League matches. In total - 42(5) appearances, 42 goals and 6 assists.

Rafael Leão made more Serie A appearances - 33(2) and scored 27 goals and made 7 assists. He had better stats in the Champions League in comparison with Giroud - 12(1) appearances, 9 goals and 4 assists.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was able to contribute a lot as well, mainly in the TF(A) role as he scored 16 goals and made 5 assists during 1,715 minutes he spent on the pitch. Including two goals in the Champions League final against Bayern. He would contribute more for sure but I preferred playing Giroud.

Koller and Baros are the best goalscorers in the Czech/Czechoslovak national team history. Giroud and Leão were the best Serie A goalscorers of the 2021/2022 season with 31 and 27 goals. The third-best Ciro Immobile scored 26 goals. I would say this attempt to replicate this deadly offensive duo was successful.

I love the simplicity of the football this shape/roles produced and these two pictures are one of the best examples. The central defender won the ball, both central midfielders are available to receive the ball, same as the TF(A) moved deeper to help with the build-up and to pass the ball to the right space behind the defender as the Advanced Forward made the right move in the right time. And scored.

Set Pieces

Set pieces always played a big role in the tactical thinking of Karel Brückner, the head coach of the Czech national team between 2001 to 2007. It was always a pleasure to follow and watch how he reacted when some routine worked as he wanted. Even if it didn’t end with a goal. The older I am, the more I can recognise it, but also appreciated it. He was also lucky because he had a team full of clever footballers who were able to create something by themselves and more importantly, they were able to react to specific situations on the pitch.

The attacking routines was also a big factor in this short save thanks to Sandro Tonali delivery and Olivier Giroud key attributes for set pieces, mainly for corner kicks as he was our main player for the attack near post role.

Serie A: 38 matches: 22 corner kick goals & 9 indirect free kick goals | 1 corner kick & 1 indirect free-kick goal conceded
Coppa Italia Fanta: 5 matches: 4 corner kick goals | 0 goals conceded from set-pieces
UEFA Champions League: 13 matches: 10 corner kick goals | 3 corner kick goals conceded

I would like to include also goals scored after a short throw-in routine but these are not counted to the stats (unfortunately) within the game and I didn’t make my own notes this time.

How did the season go?

The easiest answer probably is that the season was ridiculous.

The save started with a narrow 1:0 win in the friendly over INTER 🔵⚫️. I couldn’t imagine what will happen during the season, I think I didn’t even expect the save will be as enjoyable as it was. Not because of the green circles and all the wins but because it was so good to see the players do what I wanted. Maybe that’s why I was almost unable to end this save and I thought about playing it for the whole FM22 edition.

Short story. We won all 38 Serie A matches with 113 goals scored and 15 goals conceded. I don’t know how many club and league records we created but probably all in terms of matches won or points earned. The league title win was confirmed after the 29th league round. That really was fast.

We won the Coppa Italia after beating INTER on penalties in the final. Olivier Giroud scored 6 goals in 2 cup appearances - 5 of them in the third round 5:2 win over Sampdoria.

What about the Champions League? It was the competition in which we suffered two defeats of this save. We lost to Real Madrid 1:2 in the group stage match in October. But we made it through to the final after beating Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain (club names fix applied). The final match was played in Saint Petersburg. We played against Bayern München. We were 1:3 down after 40 minutes and 2:3 after the first half. We scored twice in 68’ and 70’ to make it 4:3 for us before Gnabry levelled the score in the 80th minute. Robert Lewandowski’s penalty kick in the 86th minute was denied by Mike Maignan. But Lewandowski scored from a corner kick just about 20 seconds later.

And Bayern won 5:4. As I wrote on Twitter, it was exactly that match I would like to watch as a neutral fan. But I think I smiled when the processing bar was filling up after the final whistle when the game was saving.