The Intense Pressing Tactical Challenge - inspired by Red Bull Salzburg under Roger Schmidt

[jamez_b]

I read this excellent article on Friday by Rene Maric (Link) on Red Bull Salzburg and it got me thinking again on the very fashionable intense pressing side of football tactics. Now the beauty for me is that the real disciples of this philosophy aren't necessarily doing it at the top clubs in World. The likes of Universidad de Chile and Red Bull Salzburg have put themselves on the footballing map over the last few season and I like the notion of that. A number of players have gained international recognition as a result of being part of those teams. Who had honestly heard of Kevin Kampl, Sadio Mane, Eduardo Vargas and Marcelo Diaz before Schmidt and Sampaoli came along?

So here's the challenge...(if anyone is interested otherwise i'll just do it myself )

• 
  Pick a reasonably reputable team in a not so reputable league preferably with a bit of history (restoring former glory always makes a game interesting) - Now i'm thinking here that Eastern Europe is your best bet and i personally have settled with Dinamo Bucharest.
  

• 
  Formation can be whatever you like and will probably be determined by the players at your disposal.
  

• 
  The key fundamental of the tactic must be intensive pressing. (To try and retrieve the ball within 5 seconds of losing it) Other than that quick transition between defense and attack is a must. You can apply whatever ideas from Sampaoli or Schmidt as you see fit.
  

• 
  Put 2 or 3 unknown or rejuvenated footballers on the footballing map. (Interest from/sold to the Top European Clubs)
  

• 
  Pick up some silverware be it in Europe or Domestically. Domination is obviously the ultimate end goal of the tactic.
  

Anyway just an idea I've had for a little side project in FM. Is anyone interested in doing this? I'll be kicking my game off tonight and will share my tactic and a few screenshots of how friendlies are going tomorrow. The big thing is being able to illustrate the intense pressing working in FM as i personally have not been able to manage it in any of my games yet, hence the challenge.

Ideas for Clubs

Debrecen

Ferencvaros

Sparta Prague

Maccabi Haifa

Ludogorets Razgrad

Slovan Bratislava

Dinamo Bucharest

Red Star Belgrade

Servette (If you want a real challenge)

[JOSEPH!]

Will be following this! If I hadn't already just started a new game I would join you. I'll throw my two cents in, for whatever it is worth, and keep checking back! Good luck

[jamez_b]

Thanks JOSEPH! Well its going to be my final attempt at the intensive press on FM 2014 but I think i'm more interested to see how other people interpret the philosophies and apply them to FM.

[JD nawrat]

Interested to see how this goes because I don't think the idea of "winning the ball back after five seconds of losing it" is particularly viable in FM... but if you can do it then I'd love to know how

Might try something like this myself, the idea of Zurich in the Swiss Super League seems like an appropriate team for the ideals you've outlined - one of the biggest teams in Switzerland but overshadowed by city rivals Grasshopper (who I also considered but they've generally done better than Zurich in the last few years). They won the league in 08-09 and came runners-up the season after but since then haven't finished in the top 4 so they would fit the reputation idea.

[jamez_b]

Well this is my worry that it may not be possible but at least if every possibility is exhausted the ability to do so might be included in FM 2015

Yeah Zurich is a good shout, i've just put a list of possible teams on and I actually added Servette as i used to live near Geneva and always surprised that a city like that didn't have a team regularly competing at the top of the Swiss league and in Europe. They were before they went bankrupt in the early 2000s and had a resurgence the other year only to get relegated last season.

Dinamo Bucharest for me are an interesting one as there is a lot of history there too and they are a club i've been monitoring on my long term Panathinaikos save.

I think the big thing for me is whether you can get the press to successfully work without having to buy a whole new team. Tempted to hire a load of fitness coaches and literally focus training on fitness for the first 6 months. Keep the individual training for techincal but the team training just be on fitness.

[JD nawrat]

I've managed to get high pressing teams working without making any signings - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/385493-An-Insight-into-the-Modern-433 - the focus wasn't really on achieving the high pressing but it was central to my style of play and created a highly successful brand of football.

I would say the key components of creating a high press are high teamwork and work rate (the only two players in my Cardiff system that didn't have teamwork and work rate of 13+ were the AML and GK). Aggression, Concentration and Stamina are also very important too though to implement such a system but this is all just off the ball and winning it back. You need to have capable players for when you do win it back.

I wouldn't say you have to buy a whole new team but I think you definitely need to have hardworking, physical players whilst not neglecting the technical side of the game either. Which is obviously not going to be easy in smaller nations. The positive of course if that you do still get the hardworkers and physical players in smaller nations and the technical side becomes relative in other places.

[st. Vinny]

great idea here is a key article on him

http://spielverlagerung.com/2014/04/15/red-bull-salzburg-under-roger-schmidt-2014/

I think that a key component for pressing in fm14 is much higher def line and using roles like def wingers and def foward

[jamez_b]

So I had a start of this last night and if I’m being brutally honest it was a frustrating night. Although you can’t really tell from friendlies whether your team is going to be successful or not it still should give me some indication of my player’s movement in the system and the intensity of their pressing.

So firstly the tactic:

My idea is to go with more of Schmidt influenced tactic but with only the 1 striker. This decision is mostly based on players available.

Mentality

Standard and Very Fluid – I just find this combination works well but it maybe I need to switch to attacking or overload to get an even higher line.

Team Instructions

Be More Expressive – I find this compliments the very fluid philosophy however this could be one to drop.

Much Higher Defensive Line – Pretty self-explanatory really.

Hassle Opponents – As above though I’ve had success with my career game with a high line and this switched off and using player instructions and opposition instructions instead.

Pass into Space – When I have the ball I need to be using it for good so need to make sure the team is exploiting the any space created by the opposition.

Play Narrower – I added this after a few games as it just seemed to make the tactic a bit more solid.

Work Ball into Box – This was to curb any excessive long range shooting caused by the “Be More Expressive shout”.

Player Instructions

So that’s how I’ve set up initially but I think there is a still long way to go. First few games told me one thing….the pressing is far from intensive. Lethargic is a better word and even switching the tempo to very high I just about got a little trot out of the players rather than walk I got on normal. The issue that then brings is, given how high a line I’m playing, if the player isn’t pressured enough then he has time to find his team mate who can then play the killer pass over the top to create a CCC.

Let me show you what I mean below:

My B team AM has the ball but only the AM near him can be bothered to try and close him down. What should be happening in my head with a high line and hassle opponents is that the DM should be moving across to close down but also block the pass to the winger whilst his mate in the AM possession try and hassle the other way and block the back pass to the opposing DM C. This should limit the players options and given that he is just a young kid it is unlikely he’ll have the skill and composure to keep hold of the ball and should lead to a turnover.

Instead the pressure is so slow that he has time to turn and head wide. Still this presents an opportunity to win the ball back and the DM jogs off in pursuit whilst the AM has given up already.

So at this point the opposition DM finds himself checking his run and looking for options. Now for this to be an intensive press at this point he should have 2 opposition players in his face making him panic.

Instead the DM is seemingly day dreaming and watching him and wondering what he’s going to do with the ball rather than getting it. The AM hasn’t moved at all, he’s just stood in no man’s land not really offering anything defensively. The result is that the Opposition DM turns and plays an easy pass to the Opposition AM.

The AM is now in loads of space and subsequently turns and lofts a through ball over the top for the opposition striker to run onto and have a chance.

Now I know this is just one example but it was something that worried me in my first match and obviously proved to be my undoing in my second match against Roger Schmidt’s Red Bull Salzburg:

Now all 3 goals were scored by Alan and all came from goals over the top where the press wasn’t intense enough and their players had far too much time on the ball. Now sadly Red Bull Salzburg don’t play on FM like they do in real life and just sat back and hit me on the break time and again. Sensible given the lack of pressing that was happening but still frustrating.

Anyway it is not all bad and I followed up that loss with 2 victories against Levski and FC Bayern II

Now both show me some promise defensively though hard to tell given that the opposition was quite tired in both of the those matches. The test then drew a blank as for some reason my players could then not get above 60 percent fitness and after 2 weeks of not moving I gave up and just let my assistant manage two games against Sheriff and Ludogorets using the tactic and he lost 4-0 and 4-1 respectively.

In summary not the best of nights and still a long way to go to get any sort of intensive press going on. Now what is everyone’s opinion on hassle opponents vs oppositions instructions to close down most opposition players? Also does anyone think that tight marking will help intensify the press?

[jeid2000]

I highly recommend you read this HERE as it really helped me achieve the pressing football that I've been after.

The most important part was the Attack Mentality, which as he points out, is the best for pressing football. “Win and … dominate possession in your opponents half.” Standard doesn't cut it there.

Good luck

[JOSEPH!]

Agree with Jeid and the author of the article. Attacking mentality is key.

[jamez_b]

Yeah i guess i'd ended up with Standard as against Red Bull I tried attacking mentality and found the pressing underwhelming and then my defensive line far to high up and ultimately down 3-0 down at half time.

I'd actually browsed that article before as really like the stuff Guido writes on his blog and thedugout but i think having read it again there are interesting bits that are definitely worth a shot.

I think maybe later i'll do the following:

Switch to Attacking

Move defensive line to Push Higher up from Much higher defensive line

Higher Tempo

Stay on feet

Tighter marking

Roam from positions

Retain Possession

Think i'll lose the be more expressive and work ball into the box.

Other issue i also have is my star play Matei threw a paddy last night as i wouldn't let him move to Anji. Now has rock bottom morale so gonna be a few months until he's back to his best.

[jeid2000]

Much higher defensive line is suicide, even with pacey defenders, you're never going to catch up if the opposition breaks.

If you find the opposition parking the bus, I recommend switching to control and turning off the push higher up and higher tempo.

I'm using shouts based on tat Strikerless blog and I've got Dresden promoted in the 1st season, even though we were predicted for a 14th finish. Won the league with a 7 point margin. Only signed two players. My formation is based on the one Cleon used at the top of this forum in his Design, Create and Maintain thread.

[JOSEPH!]

If you ever come against teams that you are expected to lose against (and they sit deep and park the bus) then the premise of the thread won't work. I think the problem stems from the team selection initially. As oppose to a team with a 'reasonable reputation' it may work better with a newly promoted side or one with very low expectations in any particular league.

JDownie is one to elaborate more on this as his success with Cardiff City has probably come from taking the league by surprise (think Swansea playing possession football as they did as a newly promoted side - taking teams by surprise, succeeding first season and perhaps losing momentum is seasons thereafter as teams became used to their brand of football. Not that JDownie's Cardiff isn't maintaining their form!) where pressing is a key, albeit not the main, part of his tactic. As he said in post #6, not central to his style of play but important nonetheless.

[jamez_b]

Jeid - You see i would disagree with the statement that a much higher defensive line is always suicide, i won the champions league with Panathinaikos in 2017 playing very fluid, standard with a much higher defensive line (didn't have hassle opponents or tight marking selected though). My defenders were also only 12 and 14 for pace and acceleration respectively but played with alongside an anchor man which helped defensively.

So I know it can work but if i'm moving to an attacking mentality with the much higher defensive line it will, as you say, a suicidal high line.

JOSEPH! - I think the reason for choosing a reputable team is to trying and replicate the success seen by Red Bull and U de Chile where not only did they impress in continental competitions but also dominated their league and could still unlock defenses that aimed to park the bus without moving too far away from their philosophy of an intense press. I mean Red Bull have scored over 100 goals this season and i would suspect a lot of teams in Austria have tried to park the bus against them. I'd need to watch more games to see that in action though to try and formulate an idea of how to replicate.

I've also done a bit of analysis on my rival managers in the division to try and predict those who are likely to park the bus/potentially exploit the style of play. I'm going to try and use this to formulate my backup tactics so any contributions to how you'd setup against each manager will be greatly appreciated.

[alinp]

I highly recommend you read this HERE as it really helped me achieve the pressing football that I've been after.

The most important part was the Attack Mentality, which as he points out, is the best for pressing football. “Win and … dominate possession in your opponents half.” Standard doesn't cut it there.

Good luck

With you on that - really enjoyed that article.

From it, I tried to identify those instructions that were pressing related, as opposed to possession related. For me the key points were the Attacking/Very Fluid set up + a high line, Roaming, Hassle, Stay on Feet & Tight Marking as TI's.

Personally not a fan of multiple PI's and I think you may be using some where you should be using a TI instead + you have some that are simply not necessary, i.e. if you have Hassle on, there is no need to tell anyone to Close Down More - it's like you're telling him twice to do something he can only do once.

[JOSEPH!]

JOSEPH! - I think the reason for choosing a reputable team is to trying and replicate the success seen by Red Bull and U de Chile where not only did they impress in continental competitions but also dominated their league and could still unlock defenses that aimed to park the bus without moving too far away from their philosophy of an intense press. I mean Red Bull have scored over 100 goals this season and i would suspect a lot of teams in Austria have tried to park the bus against them. I'd need to watch more games to see that in action though to try and formulate an idea of how to replicate.

I understand why you wanted to choose the teams however there is more to their goal difference and domestic dominance than meets the eye.

RB Salzburg's success against Bayern and Ajax were both well documented. RB Salzburg's pressing and general play was complimented by their opponent's build up play (from the back). This simply isn't the case domestically where Salzburg are expected to dominate games. As you rightly pointed out, their goals scored number is extremely high and they've won the league very comfortably. Pressing isn't, however, the only caveat of their game. Their average possession over the last ten games is: 55.1% (going as high as 72% and as low as 44%).

This contradicts the image they have for themselves from their European fixtures where they press and press and, as their own coach and you put it, they try and win the ball back within five seconds and shoot quickly after with very quick and direct movement.

I think the majority of football fans in the UK (including myself until I actually looked into it) formed an opinion on RB Salzburg's general play from those two games alone. I don't doubt the intensity of their football is consistently high and they operate quite regularly at that level in the Austrian Bundesliga however against Ajax and Bayern they had the minority of possession (41% and 34%) which is why their pressing game was highlighted so much and worked so effectively (as in win the ball back, quickly break and shoot). Domestically they don't and can't operate in exactly the same manner as they seem to dominate possession.

They are clearly quite effective at beating teams who park the bus. It'd be interesting to see an analysis/footage of a game where they have had 70%+ possession and how they operate. I'm sure it would help formulate your approach in similar matches

[jamez_b]

Yeah excellent point JOSEPH! and I think i'guess my knowledge of Red Bull is pretty minimal and certainly in FM 2013 when i tried something similar with Sampaoli's approach i spent a lot of time watching their previous games on youtube to see how they approached certain teams that tried to counter their basic style.

So with it being a slow day at work i've done some investigation and i think the games i need to try and get hold of are against the bottom sides.

(Any other sites other than youtube that might have them would be greatly appreciated)

So against the bottom 3 this season RB had the following results:

Vs Wiener Neustadt

5-1(57% possession, 14 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-4-2)

8-1(65% possession, 16 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-4-1-1)

5-1(56% possession, 10 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1)

5-0(70% possession, 18 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1)

Vs Wacker Innsbruck

1-1(54% possession, 11 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-5-1)

6-0(65% possession, 22 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1)

1-0(64% possession, 9 shots, 4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1)

0-0(66% possession, 22 shots, 4-4-2 vs 5-4-1)

Vs Admira

1-0(55% possession, 14 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-4-2)

1-3(58% possession, 15 shots, 4-1-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1)

6-1(66% possession, 21 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1)

3-2 (57% possession, 15 shots, 4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1)

(Red Bull Formation is always first)

Feel sorry for Wiener Neustadt this season.

I managed to find the first 5-1 vs Wiener Neustadt on youtube just now and from what i could see in the highlights they were still operating an intensive high press. They did also concede a goal where the the right winger got space and shot across the keeper (Concede these goals all the time )

Hopefully by analysing the difference in approach between the games they drew or loss vs the games they thrashed them can help me formulate alternate instructions for when i come up against some of the weaker teams in the division.

Alinp - in terms of multiple PIs, I use these as from some previous posts on overlapping PI/TIs it made no difference having them selected if you had TI - Hassle opponent switched on however if i can see in the game that my defense are getting dragged out of position by the hassle opponents then i want to have the possibility to unselect it but still have those that can close down more and tight mark.

The option is there to be used so no harm in telling a player the same instruction more than once thus reinforce the instruction. After all in real life people are always having to reinforce things to get me to actually do it.

[JOSEPH!]

Good shout on finding games vs the bottom three. I'm sure their high pressing is still in use however only intermittently as they would have the ball for the majority of the time. We know how they play vs better teams so how they handle having the lion's share of possession would be interesting. Unfortunately my day is slowly getting busier but if you have the time keep us updated on what games you choose to analyse. I'm sure we can keep the ball rolling here and see how the tactics used will translate into FM.

[poobington]

I have done a similar thing with tromso in the norwegian league. I'm using a strikerless like this:

---------------------SK (A)-----------------

CWB------CD ©--------CD (D)---------CWB

--------------------HB (D)------------------------

-----------DLP (S)--------AP (A)----------------

-----------SS (A)----EG---SS (A)---------------

Control, Balanced

TEAM INSTRUCTIONS: Hassle Opponents, Offside Trap

Thats it no player instructions

[JD nawrat]

I think your problem with the lack of intensive press is quite simple (I could be wrong though):

1. 2 DMs, no MCs, 3 AMCs. This creates a big gap between the two sections of midfield, any opposition midfielders are going to have a big space to play in, with the attacking midfielders behind and the defensive midfielders in front. Without a super intensive tempo you're not going to be able to win the ball back quickly. It's not a huge problem because pushing much higher and hassling will work effectively at closing down the opposition, but there's still a bit of time and space for the opposition to regain their composure and work some play with the limited time and space they do have.

2. Three AMCs, two on attack duty, are not going to be all that interested in defending/helping to defend. They will get stuck in when necessary but they won't be running back thirty yards to try and win the ball. Seeing as you're playing AM/A, AM/S and AM/A, why don't you try playing them in the MC strata? You could try out MC/A, MC/S and B2B (a variety of roles will probably work more in your favour than two MC/As and one MC/S, for example). With them in the MC strata they can still get further and support your strikers but they'll also be in a position to defend/tackle/win the ball.

3. I have little to back this view of mine up but Play Narrower is not going to do much for the team with a narrow 4231. What you'll get is the midfield and defence very hard to break down through the centre with little space when they do get the ball. Play Narrower is best used when there's wingers of some variation - they drop more central forcing the team to play forwards or backwards, there's no possibility to go sideways because the wingers are encroaching constantly. With no wingers, they can just pass it backwards and sideways for a while until there's an opening. My suggestion is to either incorporate wide players or to drop Play Narrower. One of these is very easy to accomplish so I would drop the Narrow shout. but I could be wrong with this theory...it makes sense in my head though

[jamez_b]

I think your problem with the lack of intensive press is quite simple (I could be wrong though):

1. 2 DMs, no MCs, 3 AMCs. This creates a big gap between the two sections of midfield, any opposition midfielders are going to have a big space to play in, with the attacking midfielders behind and the defensive midfielders in front. Without a super intensive tempo you're not going to be able to win the ball back quickly. It's not a huge problem because pushing much higher and hassling will work effectively at closing down the opposition, but there's still a bit of time and space for the opposition to regain their composure and work some play with the limited time and space they do have.

2. Three AMCs, two on attack duty, are not going to be all that interested in defending/helping to defend. They will get stuck in when necessary but they won't be running back thirty yards to try and win the ball. Seeing as you're playing AM/A, AM/S and AM/A, why don't you try playing them in the MC strata? You could try out MC/A, MC/S and B2B (a variety of roles will probably work more in your favour than two MC/As and one MC/S, for example). With them in the MC strata they can still get further and support your strikers but they'll also be in a position to defend/tackle/win the ball.

3. I have little to back this view of mine up but Play Narrower is not going to do much for the team with a narrow 4231. What you'll get is the midfield and defence very hard to break down through the centre with little space when they do get the ball. Play Narrower is best used when there's wingers of some variation - they drop more central forcing the team to play forwards or backwards, there's no possibility to go sideways because the wingers are encroaching constantly. With no wingers, they can just pass it backwards and sideways for a while until there's an opening. My suggestion is to either incorporate wide players or to drop Play Narrower. One of these is very easy to accomplish so I would drop the Narrow shout. but I could be wrong with this theory...it makes sense in my head though

Probably easiest to address each point individually so:

1 and 2. Now although i agree that there does on paper seem like a big gap between the DMs and the AMs but on a lot of my games I've found that gap is easier to manage defensively than leaving the gap between the DCs and M Cs. I think the happy medium could be to play 1 DM and 1 M C though in terms of the AMs i can't really playing them in the M C positions as they are unfamiliar. Rotariu and Lazar are natural wingers(though Lazar is competent at Midfield centre) and Matei is really an inside forward by trade. Alternatively Serban and Paulo Assunscao are more defensive minded so i guess it'll be a case of adapting the starting formation to match the players available.

What i'm thinking then is drop Lazar and add a M C on Central Midfield - Attack (I have a player Munteanu who could play it well when he's back from injury). Then switch sides for Matei (right footed) and Rotariu (left footed) and have them as two AM Supports as if i move them to the wings ill potentially lose the press in the zone just infront of the defense or will the fact they are cutting in allow them to act more like Sane and Kampl at Red Bull and patrol the whole AM zone?

3. Yeah i see your point but i think the play narrower came about as playing wide was so disastrous and if i'm being honest the playing narrower just made me a bit more stable at the back. It was potentially something i was thinking about dropping anyway.

Should get a bit more in tonight and put some of the above comments to use. I think it'd be good to see some other examples of how people approach the idea with other teams.

[jamez_b]

So managed to do some more experimenting and decided to start the same game again and organise less friendlies as for some reason in Romania players have no fitness in June so just ended up with everyone injured as i couldn't get condition above 50%.

Anyway i've started again and have decided to change the formation slightly to a more classic 4-3-3 and probably more in line with the 4-3-3 you used at Cardiff JDownie. I've implemented all the comments on this thread and the article by Guido and come up with the following:

Now the first game didn't get off to the best of starts with my 2nd team manager doing far better than me (terrible manager stats and will shortly be getting the sack so wasn't the most enjoyable game):

I'd like to say both goals were on the break but instead they were a corner and a defensively howler and couldn't finish our chances. Ah well.

Below are the heat maps and tbh i'm pretty pleased with the positions just from watching the match in full the pressing is still not as intense and sustained as i would like but that is probably down to it being pre-season etc.

I'm also managing the Romanian national side to make things a little more interesting plus the calibre of player is significantly better than currently available at Dinamo.

So second and third match of last night were versus Bulgaria (Away) and Czech Republic (Home).

Slight changes to the original tactics (have since implemented identical for Dinamo), changed the CM Support to AP Support as i think a playmaker here will help. Also set the AP - Support and both IFs to roam position and CF to move into channels.

The result:

We were 3-0 up within 30 minutes, Rusescu getting 2 and arguably the 3rd was his as well but was recorded as an own goal. We sadly then took our foot of the pedal a bit which was slightly frustrating but can't really complain for a preseason international friendly.

Positioning is pretty good and covering a lot of the pitch:

Next up Czech Republic:

Now really should have won this match given that the Czech republic goal came from my goalie kicking the ball into the back of the striker and it flying in. Also missed quite a few good chances and Petr Cech was on form as ever:

Positioning was good even if my DM and AP operate a bit to close to each other:

Still in theory it was my second string side so can't complain too much about the result.

Final match of the evening was versus Ried. Now it seems the condition issue is the same regardless of how many or few friendlies you play as having not played a game for 10 days this time my average team's condition was still below 70% at the start of the game and lost 4 players to injury during the match.

The result was ok though:

Positioning seems to be a lot better than with the Romanian side however we weren't spending enough time higher up the pitch.

So the changes mentioned do seem to be working however still not there with the intensive press but that could well be down to a fitness issue with Dinamo. Still with Romania there were glimpses of decent pressing and i can't complain about the results but seems still a long way off where i want to get to.

I'll hopefully get a number of games in tonight as the missus is out and see whether as the fitness improves so does the intensity of the press.

[jeid2000]

Perhaps your players don't have the attributes for a high pressing game?

I tend to look for players with good stamina, work rate, positioning, decisions and anticipation.

[jamez_b]

I guess that is part of the challenge though to see whether it is possible to implement an intense press with lower rated FM players similar to how Schmidt and Sampaoli managed at RB and U de Chile.

If you look at some of the players they used to press, especially the attacking ones, their stats in FM don't lend to being able naturally to do that. This me makes me think that the intense press should be more tactically controlled rather than by a player' individual attributes. Obviously the attributes will contribute to how successful they are at implementing the instructions but at the moment i'm finding the players not trying hard enough to win the ball.

Interceptions and tackles in the opposition final third are minimal compared to those in our own half and around the half way line.

Now I'm hoping that by having my training focus as fitness and individual roles training being set with the focus on the attributes you mentioned will improve the intensity.

I'd say on the whole for Dinamo the team is probably about right with it's stats in comparison to the rest of the league but with Romania i'm blessed with numerous central midfielders that excel mentally and physically.

On that logic i think i'd expect to see Romania adopt a more intense press quicker than Dinamo however they'll suffer from that tactic knowledge being so hard to build up for international teams.

Still early days though so hopefully after tonight i should have a few more games under my belt with some fully fit players and then be able to fully see whether the pressing really is intensive or not.

I will win that ball back in 5 seconds.

[DeeDee]

Will be following this with great interest, been trying to replicate this all year with little success. Hope you manage to crack it!

[jamez_b]

Played a few games with Dinamo over the weekend and although the results were pretty good at first:

Astra 1 - 3 Dinamo

Dinamo 3 - 1 Pandurii

ACS Poli 1 - 2 Dinamo

The press was definitely not as intensive as i'd like, especially in the middle of the park. The 3 goals conceded were a warning sign of what was to come if we had a game where our finishing went wayward and the opposition's didn't.

I think the thing that worries me the most is the assistants report that two of the opposition players should be closed down more.

I physically can't instructed my players to close down anymore?!

I know it is one game that we've lost but i think it's more that i can't seem to get the tactic to replicate what i want in terms of intensity on the pitch.

I've been trialing a similar concept on my long term save with Panathinaikos to see if i can get something to work with far better players and with a slightly different formation but there is just too much leisurely strolling over to close a player down.

Went back to the game late last night with a friendly with Romania against Macedonia, 2-0 and cruising and then just all the players stopped pressing and the Macedonian midfielders just exploited the time on the ball to pop balls over the top of my high line and it finish with a 2-2 draw which could have been a lot worse had i not dropped the mentality, line and hassle opponents to combat the balls over the top.

I'll probably just keep soldiering on in between getting annoyed at the inability of my players to convert any sort of chance on my long term game. In terms of tactics i'm tempted to drop hassle opponents and use the close down on all players except the goalkeeper in opposition instructions to see if that is any better. Also use the show onto foot to create pressing traps that i know was discussed earlier when someone was trying to replicate Simeone's At Madrid.

Will see how that goes but obviously any other tips you think might improve things then let me know.