We’re feeling like starting this one off with a bit of controversy… 😁
Alright, here it goes:
Lautaro Martínez CANNOT WAIT until Messi retires from international duty!!! 🫢😲😲
We know, We know… Shocking isn’t it?
Who wouldn’t want to play with whom many consider the greatest footballer to ever lace up a pair of cleats? It should be an honor for him to be side by side with Leo, and we’re sure he feels grateful for that opportunity, but we’re 1000% certain that he is simply agonizingly waiting for Messi to call it quits so that he can finally shine for both club and country. We mean, this is the same guy who was the top scorer in the Copa America this year, scored the goal against Colombia to win 🇦🇷 the trophy, but yet only started 2 out of the 6 matches simply due to the fact that his best Attributes don’t fit well with how Messi wants to play. And let’s have it right, we’re not just coming for Leo’s head here since it’s the same scenario in Portugal with Gonçalo Ramos (who lit up the 2022 World Cup) and Cristiano Ronaldo, whom is indispensable to the Portugal national team at the expense of Ramos who has to be waiting in the wings despite finishing as his nation’s top scorer at a major tournament…
We say all of this to let you Soccermanagerites know that Lautaro Martínez (and Goçalo Ramos, to a lesser extent) is one HELL OF A PLAYER, and just like how the Argentine is only getting the world class recognition he deserves at club level, he will have to wait a few more years to get the respect he deserves globally at the international level. Not to worry though, we aim to represent him as best as we can in today’s episode! 🎺
PLAYER BIO
Lautaro Martínez is an AWESOME Footballer! He has his own style of play and is a Manager’s dream (well, he should be…) when it comes to the options he provides as a F(C) and the most recent member of the ‘SMW Superstar’ club. He stands at only 5’8″ but you’d be surprised by what this bloke can accomplish on the pitch despite his smallerstature
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM25
As much as we want to disregard Invincibles Studio’s attributic designs, we simply cannot fault how they have represented Lautaro in this one!!!! These attributes are exactly why we believe that the Argentinian Superstar is more than deserving of his world class status within SMW… We mean, there is literally nothing he cannot do as a F(C) (look at that Aerial Ability for someone that short!). Where should we start: His Movement? Finishing? Aerial Ability? Freekicks?! The bloke is just absolutely phenomenal! His top Mental attributes are also pretty well portrayed and they are a true representation of what we must expect from the Argentine no matter where we choose to play him… The only real peeve we have with his attributes is that there is no sign of his Strength. It’s such a shame as Lautaro is without question one of the strongest players when it comes to holding onto the ball and having opponents bounce off him whilst dribbling the ball or challenging for duels. We’d personally put his Strength anywhere between 80-85
BEST ROLES
From Džeko, to Lukaku, to now Thuram, Lautaro is a player that absolutely thrives when playing with a strike partner particularly one that is more physically imposing than him. When it comes to operating as a ‘General Forward’ this is where his uniqueness comes in since Lautaro does not do the usual off the ball movement that the mass majority of ‘General Forwards’ do, but he is such a complete F(C) (in terms of what he brings to the XI) that it makes sense that this is regarded as his best role within Soccermanager 25But a man who loves partnering up in a duo and as good on the ball as Lautaro is will inevitably strive for dropping deeper into the midfield to make himself an extra creative operator for his team to utilize. And you’d be surprised how often he does this within matches in real life and how effective he is whilst doing it (starting to see what the conundrum is when he plays for La Albiceleste?)And there’s more… Lautaro also has a ridiculous amount of strength for a man of his size and uses the fact that he has a stronger ‘center of gravity’ due to being closer to the ground to his advantage by being incredibly difficult to take the ball from in a similar mold to an Argentinian and Manchester City Legend, Sergio (Kun) Agüero. But Lautaro is technically better with the ball at his feet than Agüero and therefore links up with his teammates better even if playing up front aloneWe’ve come full circle in terms of the roles that he can play comfortably in and low and behold, Lautaro can also operate as a ‘Finisher’ 🔥
P.S: With everything that’s already been mentioned, this is his least favorite role since he loves getting involved during build up play, and it’s this role he generally plays whenever he is alongside Leo for ‘La Albiceleste’. Make with this info whatever you please… His off the ball movement is up there with majority of F(C)’s in world football in addition to being incredibly fast and having a sniper of a right foot when it comes to shot power and shot accuracy. South American Strikers are just built different!!!Not only will Lautaro ball out as a Deep-lying Forward in a front 2, he can also be HIGHLY effective up front alone drifting into deeper positions to get unto the ball and make extra things happen for his team…
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
A player like Martínez is truly a god send (although we don’t believe in religion over here… 🤭) which is why any of his roles would’ve been effective enough for him to have a massive impact on your starting XI. But we personally believe that the ‘G.F’ in any 3 at the back formation will be the cream of the crop in terms of the Argentine’s capabilities to lead the line and have an impact on majority of the matches that you use him in
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMMATES
We kick things off with the best teammates for Lautaro in what we believe is his “best” role alongside his ” best” formation. Lautaro (as we’ve already mentioned) is not your typical ‘General Forward’ which means that he won’t be floating into wide areas as often as say a Gabriel Jesus or a Julian Alvarez, but this doesn’t mean that he’ll avoid the wide regions like the plague. But for extra security (in terms of getting someone to drift into those wide regions), we suggest a ‘Finisher’ next to him as Lautaro’s ideal partner. The one aspect of the Argentine that will represent his “General Forwardness” is those willing off the ball runs, so a ‘Ball Playing Defender’ who can spray it properly around the gaf will come in handy, a ‘Playmaker’ who can also provide some more creativity, and a crossing specific ‘Wingback’ will also be of importance It will basically be a similar set up if you were to choose Lautaro as your ‘Deep-lying Forward’ in a front 2, with the only adjustment (if we can even call it that) being a ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder who will make those gut busting runs into the box whenever Lautaro decides to convert into a Midfielder for any decided passage of play. Any type of ‘Target Man’ will work efficiently next to Lautaro in this structure and we’ve chosen to use the Iranian international Mehdi Taremi who is quite skilled at link up play (but a Sørloth or a Zapata would’ve also done a good job as well). Similar to Philippe Foden, Lautaro dropping deep will not stop him from making runs into the box which is why DiMarco’s attacking instincts will most definitely come in handyHere is where ze Argentine truly separates himself from the rest as not only is he capable of operating in a front 2, he’s also more than good enough to play up front by himself. Due to his excellent creative ability, he will be operating as your ‘T.T.M’ (Technical Target Man, not Through the Middle… 😉) which means that you should have a ‘Playmaker’ within the deeper regions who will be creating things from further away from goal. Players who have good movement off the ball will also be beneficial since we already know that ‘Technical Target Men’ are very good at “bounce passing” with their attacking teammates as well as creation due to a wide range of passing (Think Harry Kane or Robert Lewandowski), and we can expect Lautaro to be doing the exact same…And as always, we need to use our F(C) up front in order for him to have the understanding that he is going to be our main focal pointAlthough it is his least preferred role, Lautaro is an incredible off the ball operator, has pace for days, and will be capable of utilizing both to lead the line in a different way. As you should know by this point, ‘Finishers’ are not active in build up play and require chances to be made for them, so every other important teammate (Bastoni, Carboni, Frattesi & Buchanan) will be responsible for such creative feats. Darmian at D(L) is only there in order for us to instruct Buchanan to play as a ‘Winger’Contrary to popular belief (by nobody… 😅), in order to have a player operating as a ‘Finisher’ it will require that you tick the Use Target Man box to ensure that the F(C) knows he has to be stretching the opposition throughout his entrie time on the pitch. The only exception is if you’re using a front 2 or front 4 type formation (4-4-2A, 3-5-2, 4-2-4, 3-3-4, for example) and want to use multiple arrows for your front 2 or front 4…The 4-3-3 will forever be one of the most popular formations within the entirety of our game and you can be assured that Lautaro and co. will work their butts off in order to play as best as they could. In the 4-3-3A, Lautaro will be operating by himself up front but the attacking players (especially in this variant) will be close enough for them to consistently combine throughout the 90… If you want to get the most out of Martínez’ technical prowess then you’ll need a ‘B.P.D’, a ‘Wingback’ within the backline, a Playmaker & ‘Box to Box’ Midfielder within the middle of the park, and the option of either a ‘Winger’ or a ‘Wide Forward’ depending on personnel availableThe only way for Lautaro to know that he’s being played as a ‘G.F’ is to not tick the Use Target Man box…Lastly, the ‘D.L.F’ as a lone F(C) means that the Argentine is willing to transmit himself into the midfield in order to be of assistance which basically means that there will need to be someone who occupies that vacated space hence why we tend to put ‘Wide Forwards’ alongside a ‘Deep-lying Forawrd’ in a classic combination of a front 3 (think the infamous front 3 of Salah, Mane and Firmino for Liverpool between 2017-2022). ‘Wingbacks’ will also be necessary to provide the width that the ‘Wide Forwards’ will leave open, and runners in the midfield to ensure that both the ‘Wide Forwards’ and ‘Wingbacks’ are being covered. At least one of the M(C)’s should also be able to ‘Playmaker’When it comes to not using Lautaro Martínez, it will represent that he is being used either as a ‘General Forward’ or a ‘Deep-lying Forward’
5 weeks, 5 superstars, 5 more reasons why the S.M.B is the gift that keeps on giving! Until we have the likes of Wirtz, Leão, and Saliba to join this elite club of Superstars in the near future, we hope that you find as much value as you can from the 30+ episodes that we’ve uploaded (which you can check out by simply scrolling to the end of this page) as we move unto other things in preparation for season 13! 🌟
The Soccermanager Experience 