With everything that’s been going on within the Soccermanagerverse over the past 2 weeks, today’s series finale almost got scrapped! 😬
Thank goodness that we’re all about attention to detail over here! 🙌
Speaking of “detail”, I’ll be explaining the newest tactical strategies that have been recently uploaded within SMW on a later date, but today is all about completing the matter of ensuring that you Soccermanagerites have the greatest advantage against all of your opps since… well… you’re a Soccermanagerite. 😌
The area within this game that many seem to have forgotten actually exists, as much as we love scoring 5 goals I personally believe not conceding 5 goals gives us a better chance at winning things, and we’ll be discussing the various tactical set ups that need to be understood when you don’t have possession of the ballAs per this three part series, here is the P.S.G starting XI that you’re probably now familiar with (It’ll be really interesting to see if these lot can actually defend… 🤔)During the first two posts within this mini series we were showcasing P.S.G’s attacking tactical game against a variation of teams, but today’s a bit different since Les Parisiens will be without the ball which means that we’ll need a specific team who’s possession will make it easier for you to understand what is going on tactically from P.S.G’s defensive structure. And the team I have chosen is no other than the Ligue 1 champion’s kryptonite: Barcelona! 🙃
Additionally, we will also get to see the usage of the arrows in order to convert a base formation into a different one for the very first time within the history of these blogs! 🙌 If you take a look above you’ll see Barcelona setting up within a 4-3-3B that will be converted into a 3-2-5/3-2-2-3 when they’re in possession with Riccardo Calafiori joining Iñigo Martínez and Ronald Araújo within the backline, Eric Garcia joining Frenkie De Jong in the middle of the park, while Pedri Gonzalez and Pablo Gavi gain extra license to form either of the two in-possession formations just mentioned
DEFENCE: Backline
Before we start with P.S.G’s backline, just take a quick glance at Barca’s in possession set up…
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Got it? Aight, cool! 👍
So, a Normal backline represents where the defenders will naturally aim to be if the intention was to have a balance between not allowing too much space in behind, and not allowing the opposition too much time on the ball. Pay attention to P.S.G’s defensive 4 as their positioning will be the main differentiatorfor each option #detailsSubtle yet effective… This option purposefully squeezes the pitch in order to make the area where the ball can be played smaller which could potentially cause a turnover of possession. Of course, the challenge here is that it leaves a lot of room for opposition Attackers to run into, so proceed with caution…The most defensive of the options, not because you might relinquish possession and territory means one must avoid playing this style like the plague. It is a great alternative to use if you have some solid defensive minded players and are considering applying a “false sense of security” against your opposition so that you could potentially catch them on the break via that open space (or if you simply love defensive tactics then that works too!). Take a look at this image compared to the previous two and you’ll see that the entire Barca XI are in higher positions due to the nature of this tactical option
DEFENCE: Men Behind Ball
One thing about defending is that it gets such a bad F🤬ing rep… 🤦♂️ I’m here to let you know that simply doesn’t have to be the case.
A great example here would be if you decided to choose ‘No’ to this P.S.G team playing Men Behind Ball (which simply means instructing your players to aim to be behind wherever the opposition has possession of the ball) while operating within a 4-2-2-2. In the above scenario, Belloli Raphinha has swapped positions with Gavi and has received a pass from Araújo. Désiré Doué was putting pressure unto Araújo, but since he didn’t win the ball P.S.G now have three players out of this defensive play which means that there’s a ‘7v7’ happening in favor of Barca. Again, not saying that we should always aim to have our Men Behind the ball, but in a formation like the 4-2-2-2 it would be beneficialIn this scenario, Les Perisiens have chosen to operate with their Men Behind the ball and we can already see the massive difference:
It’s the same possessional approach from Barca with Araújo passing to Raphinha, but due to the M.B.B, Doué made sure to follow Gavi into that wide area allowing both Juan Bernat to stay closer to his backline and Ousame Dembélé to do the job of closing down Araújo. We also see a difference in the positions of Martínez and Calafiori since the better structure of P.S.G’s Men Behind Ball set up means that the French team pose a better chance of regaining possession (so the Barca backline have to be a bit more cautious)
DEFENCE: Pressing
The area that most of you are absolutely looking forward to using! Although the new claims that your pressing structure will determine the level of fitness each player exerts is still up for debate, it’s my responsibility to make it all make sense, so let’s get to it!
Pressing all over is of course an instruction to go all out in order to try and win back the ball but that all out approach rarely means that a team presses chaotically. We see here a great example of a structured press with Barca setting up in their in- possession shape, while Kang-in Lee joins Dembélé and Gonçalo Ramos in the press with Doué drifting back unto Pedri in order to allow extra defensive balance. Most Managerial games would’ve had Doué in some random ass position during the press since this P.S.G team are playing a 4-2-2-2, but not mines! 🙄Pretty self explanatory, this defensive tactical option means that your players will wait until the opposition are within your half of the field before applying pressure, and although it again allows Barca to start flexing their muscles positionally, a formation like the 4-2-2-2 will benefit from what the football world likes to call a “mid-block”… I’m sure most of you can only envision what an Own Area pressing structure looks like when you’re in the deepest area of your defensive third, but this set up here is what you must expect with this option! The major differences you Soccermanagerites should take into consideration are the positions of the back line and the front 2 compared to the previous illustration
DEFENCE: Tight Marking
Tight Marking in today’s football is what is known as going “man to man”. Not all formations work well with a tight marking scheme, and we have a prime example of what to expect if you chose to tight mark with this P.S.G team. Calafiori has passed the ball to ‘Inverted Fullback’ Eic Garcia while Les Parisiens aim to go man to man as much as possible. As a ‘Technical Target Man’, Robert Lewandowski has chosen to drop deep (which you should expect from ‘T.T.M’s’) thus drawing Lucas Hernández to follow him. In a different formation, doing this wouldn’t be a big deal, but the Frenchman’s decision has placed his team in some 💩 since Garcia has so much room that any other P.S.G player who presses him on the ball (which they’ll have no other choice but to do) will cause a negative ripple effect due to all of the gaps that will be open throughout their defensive structure. This is one of those situations that should cause a big “X.G” chance, and La Blaugrana should be furious if they don’t scoreAnd not every formation benefits from not using tight marking but we can see the difference this one displays as the Polish F(C) may have caused an outbnumbering within the middle of the park, but just look at how better P.S.G’s off the ball structure is. Also, take a look at the P.S.G players’ position within this illustration and the previous one #details
DEFENCE: Sweeper Keeper
Lastly, we end this post with the look at wether or not you should be seeking to utilize a Sweeper Keeper. Now, many of us may only view a Sweeper Keeper’s impact as whenever we see Neuer, Ederson, or Onana going 🦇💩🤪 around the centre circle, but being a Sweeper Keeper is wayyy more subtler than that (yet another reason to ask, “WHY AREN’T YOU FOLLOWING ME ON FACEBOOK??!!” 🤨)!
In this scenario we have what looks like a traditional phase of play with Araújo receiving the ball, P.S.G in a decent defensive shape, and many in the stands & watching at home expecting this ball to go to the feet of the checking Dutchman. But, what we mere mortals haven’t realized is that Lewandowski has slightly drifted away from Corrêa Marquinhos which has caught the attention of Nordi Mukiele who is now showcasing one of the flaws of being a 90 rated D(R) rather than a 92 rated one. The Frenchman’s Positioning means that Sadio Mané has the freedom of timing his run in on goal so long as Araújo has that sauce to ping it! 🦶⚽️↙️The ping indeed came true, and Mané is now in poll position to get unto a bouncing ball and in at goal. And HERE is where the Sweeper option truly matters. With the choice of ‘No’, it means that you are relying on your Keeper’s Positioning and Shot Stopping Arttributes since he will not be seeking to come off his line as a way of saying, “I back myself to save this” orrrr, “My Manager said not to do an Onana, so guess I’m stuck here…”. Bare in mind that the GK in question is Gianluigi Donnarumma and therefore would benefit more from choosing this tactical option With the given instruction, Donnarumma is now relying on his Postioning and 1v1 attributes in order to close down the angle in which Mané has to target. Still, there is the potential of an error due to the Italian not being suited to a Sweeper type of game, but the right GK can make a difference within this scenario
And there you have it, Soccermanagerite! Our look into the tactical make up of your General, Attacking, and Defending game. I HIGHLY advise that you download, screenshot, screen record these 3 posts as your manual for getting the absolute most out of the rest of your Soccermanager career since the formations and players may change, but the tactical instructions remain constant.
The Soccermanager Experience 