Y’kno Soccermanagerite, there’s an old adage in football that states: “Real Madrid never get a wonder kid wrong”, and if we were to base this statement on statistics then it’s safe to say that the adage is definitely on to something… From Santiago Bernabeu to Vinicius Júnior, there have been a plethora of ridiculously talented youngsters that can claim Real Madrid on their Youth Academy resumé who have ended up having terrific careers and were widely regarded as one of the best players within their various positions. In Martin Ødegaard, we have a player who may have slightly lost his way after leaving Madrid, but it’s safe to say that there is no doubt that the Norweigan has most definitely regained that brilliance thus keeping the old Real Madrid adage alive!
PLAYER BIO
Born in Drammen, Martin Ødegaard’s talent was well observed throughout the entirety of Europe by the time he was 13 years old which is in comparison to the likes of Messi and Neymar in terms of how much buzz he had at such a ridiculously young age. His football brain and technical prowess made him stand out like a sore thumb at the Strømsgodset youth academy, and it was only a matter of time until some of Europe’s big boys came knocking on the door of the young punk…
It was of course Real Madrid that won the race to sign the then 16 year old who was already being herald as a future Balon d’or winner with all of this attention he had been getting. But not every player has the temperament of a Jude Bellingham at age 16, and Martin lost his way in terms of performing on the pitch due to all of this pressure placed on such young shoulders in a completely foreign country to his comfort and tongue. He eventually had to go out on loan a whopping 4 times (which is quite a lot if you consider the fact that he was then touted as a future Balon d’or winner) until he finally found a place where he can settle, and boy oh boy has he settled!
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM25
It’s safe to say that SM25 have really stepped up their game in terms of representing these elite level players this year with every single one of Martin’s attributes being spot on in terms of what you can expect from the Norwegian! 👏
Unfortunately there was bound to be a few clangers which is exactly what’s happened as there is no sign of Martin’s set piece capabilities being at the World Class status it deserves, as well as no sign of his Positioning which is a real damn shame… 😬
Oh, we almost forgot to mention that Ødegaard is also not one of the fastest footballers in the world (he’s more like 59 than 89.. . 🤦♂️)
BEST ROLES
Not to take away some of the Norwegian’s shine, but it is impossible for us not to compare Martin to former German Superstar Mesut Özil in terms of playing style. They both ooze with so much class and creativity that watching them play is such a joy to behold. And this is exactly what you should expect from Martin as the specialist that he isThere are a select few douchebags within SMW who believe that Ødegaard is a Floating type of No.10 that enjoys an extra bit of freedom whilst in possession of the ball to go where ever he pleases. We don’t neccessarily agree with that notion, but we’ve got a tactical job to do here, so…Martin should actually never play anywhere other than as a ‘Classic No.10’, with the only exception being if you were to play him deeper on the pitch so that he can start his creative slaughter a bit earlier. When this is the case, Ødegaard should be played as your ONLY ‘Playmaker’ within the XI (more on this later)Players like Messi, Ødegaard, Jámes, and (James) Maddison are orchestrators at heart and are more than capable of still being your team’s main creator despite being positioned in what might be considered a floating position on paper You lads should already know that in a formation like the 4-2-3-1A Ødegaard will reak havoc alongside potentially technically decent players who can keep up with the Norwegian’s IQNot all things will run smoothly throughout your Managerial career, so there will be some occasions where you’ll need to go “gunho” and place Martin extra deeper on the pitch to be the conductor for your team. But there will most definitely need to be some non-negotiables in order for it to actually work…
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
When it’s all said and done, there really is no better formation and position for every ‘Classic No.10’ to play in than the 4-2-3-1B. As we’ve mentioned on countless occasions within these blogs, this formation was created solely for the man who is gifted that illustrious No.10 spot, and every passage of play should be formulated in order to get the best out of the guy who has the bags of tricks within his locker to single-handedly win you matches
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMMATES
Alrighty… So, let’s talk about some teammates. The one aspect of Martin’s game that isn’t up to par is his defensive work (and rightfully so). What this means is that the first thing that one should condiser is the protection that he has in order to play at his best game after game. This protection starts with a ‘Ball Winning Midfielder’ who simply sits in front of the back line and stays fixed in his defensive duties, while a defensively assured ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder should also be placed as the ‘B.W.M’s’ partner. This ‘Box to Box’ doesn’t have to solely be defensive, but he most definitely needs to know his way around a tackle since he’ll be doing the defensive work of 2 (himself and Ødegaard). Another thing to mention is that this ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder has to either be an ‘Explosive’ or ‘Traditional’ one since Ødegaard should be the ONLY creative outlet in any squad he plays for (just look at how Arsenal set up whenever he plays if you don’t want to listen to us. Do you see any other creative player within their strongest XI other than Martin? Didn’t think so…).
One of the Arsenal Captain’s greatest attributes is undoubtedly his Passing, so ‘Wingbacks’ who love flying down those Flanks will benefit largely because of this; ‘Wingers’ and ‘Wide Forwards’ will also be a must outwide (with the ‘Winger’ following the same rule as the ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder), and any F(C) that has great movement in behind will be crucial since Ødegaard isn’t a player who wants to ever run off the ball himself, so your F(C)’s hold up capability will be slightly redundantEverything we’ve mentioned above will be a waste of breath if one chooses not to use Martin Ødegaard as their playmaker…The same pattern applies here for when Martin is playing deeper in a formation like the 4-3-3B… A solid ‘B.W.M’ destroying things and giving Martin the ball every chance that he gets, an ‘Explosive or Traditional Box to Box’ Midfielder doing the long yards up and down the pitch, at least one ‘Wingback’ who loves going forward and making off the ball runs, and Attackers who are more explosive and are all about using their physical prowess to get unto the end of those delicious passes the Norwegian has a habit of cooking up 🔥Everything we’ve mentioned above will be a waste of breath if one chooses not to use Martin Ødegaard as their playmaker…
P.S: The main reason as to why we have Tomiyasu playing as a ‘Fullback’ in both formations is due to not having the type of ‘Winger’ needed to complete this team. Ideally, It would be better to have a Doku rather than a Viera or a Nelson out wide since the latters are more ‘Technical Wingers’ which forces us to have to play with a ‘Fullback’ instead of the ‘Wingback’ that could unlock Ødegaard even further and turn him into a complete creative beast.
If you were ever foolish enough to play Martin as a ‘F.A.P’ then here’s what you’ll need to do (🤦♂️)Something does not look right here… 🤮
So, the 4-2-3-1A is also another great formation to use for Ødegaard’s delight as he can bounce the ball off of some of his teammates that are closer in proximity. The overall structure remains the same however, with the biggest difference being that ‘Wide Forwards’ will be neccessary in the wide regions so that they can continually make those “out to in” runs and find themselves in on goal because of Martin’s brilliance. We’ve made a little bit of an error up front as it should say ‘Technical Target Man’ and not ‘Traditional Target Man’ (🤦♂️). This is the only exception where you’d play another Technical type of player since we’d need a F(C) who can link up with the ‘Wide Forwards’ since they only want to get in on goal, as well as play neat passes with Martin whenever the chance permits. The ‘General Forward’ has to be a player with pace since any slow F(C) pretty much kills Martin’s through ball capabilitiesYou know the drill by now…We mentioned it earlier and we’re now breaking it down for ya! 🙌
Now, a formation like the 3-4-2-1 would mean that many players immediately decide to either play Ødegaard in the double pivot position (big mistake), or play him in his current position but not surrounding him with the proper support cast. In this formation, Ødegaard will start a bit higher up the pitch but in order to get the best out of him we’ll need to of course structure the rest of the team accordingly. It’s the same midfield duo that we’ve seen throughout the entire episode as well as some willing runners out wide in the form of ‘Wingbacks’. The biggest game changer will be who you decide to play alongside Ødegaard in those ‘free 10’ positions, cause this position will need a player who is comfortable making endless runs off the ball so that Martin can get as much space on the ball in addition to extra time that’ll make him even more deadly. A ‘Support Striker’ or ‘Floating Advanced Playmaker’ will work just fine here, but they just need to be willing off the ball movers (so think Mount, Brandt, Szoboszlai for ‘F.A.P’s’, and Lookman, Endrick, Xavi for ‘Support Strikers’). And as always, the F(C) remains the same…We also stated that there will be times within your career where matches are not going your way and you’ll require to play Ødegaard in a more risky manner. We highly advise that you only do the above set up in the middle of a match around the 60th or 75th minute when you’re in dyre need of a goal. So, Ødegaard is not a defensive player by any sense of imagination which basically means that you’ll be effectively playing with 10 men when out of possession (although he does have a decent Workrate on him). Therefore, it is mandatory that the backline consists of a ‘Stopper’ and a ‘General Defender’ with the latter basically being a D(C) playing as either a D(R) or D(L) in order to get some form of defensive balance going. The other will of course be a ‘Wingback’ since we are in need of a goal after all. Next to Martin will require an athletic type ‘Ball Winning Midfielder’ who has both defensive nuance as well as being able to get up and down the pitch since an immobile ‘B.W.M’ would be a disaster with 2 physically inept players within the engine room. Up front, we of course need width in order to stretch the opposition and get more room for Ødegaard to navigate in, and a ‘Finisher’ within this XI will be non-negotiable since getting the ball from defence to attack swiftly will be very important, and with Ødegaard pulling the strings, anything will be more than possible. We’d like to reiterate that this must NOT be used at the start of a match and is only required for when the going gets tough…Before we end today’s episode we’d like to make a brief note on deciding to play Ødegaard off the No.9 in a 4-4-1-1:
This is a position that is only to be played by players who enjoy the freedom of making lots of off the ball movement without having to necessarily get unto the ball that much to assist their team in possession. It is not a formation that is related to any of the 4-2-3-1’s, and Classic No.10’s should never be played there
Coming up next, we stay in England to check out another left footed Supertar! 😎
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