Crazy Sociedad Boys

[palmamiguel92]

Before FM even came out I was already thinking about what teams was I going to manage, what tactical identity would I employ. Even nagging my friends who really (plot twist) don't even play or care about FM

 

I decided to go with Real Sociedad for this save because I think the squad really fits on what I was trying to go for here. So my idea was to something Cruijff style, really drifting completely from what I was moe used to, I've always been a very vertical and fast paced 4-4-2 guy in FM.

The 3 systems I set up were a 4-2-3-1 (which a changed in the mid season to a 4-3-3, then back to the 4-2-3-1), a 4-3-3 but with two inverted wingabcks and two offensive mids. And a 3-3-4 which I used against smaller sides and against teams who had someone sent off.

 

During the season i changed the 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 to gain a bit more stability defensively but I wasn't reall happy with Merino and Ugarte who decreased a lot in production as advanced playmakers on support, but with the regista roles, they started to dominate every single game, so back to the 4-2-3-1.

Here's how it plays out

The Regista offers me something different, Instead of tucking between the defenders he picks up the ball on the right side (like De Jong on the left at Ajax) and really the team creates right of the bat an overload on that side, creating a huge gap on the oposite side with my Left winger and wingback with lots of space to explore.

When the team reaches the final third i manage to get a fair amount of players inside the box and inside the oposition block, as you can see I play very narrow, and my wingbacks stay in a position where they can quickly react to a loss of possession, but this setup is still a risk of course, so when i see an opponent who is getting a lot of counters i sacrifice one of the midfielders to stay down leaving 3 players at the back, this should be enough to regain some solidity.

Nothing fancy here, the team's initial pressing shape is a 4-4-2, but the offensive mid quickly drops and fins his reference creating equality in the midfield.

The reaction to the loss of possession is one of the strongest points of this team, in this example my team lost the ball on the wing and immeadeatly reacted creating superiority on the ball side, and at the same time marking potential options of a flank variation. In this case I forced Sporting to play the ball long and they opted to change flanks, which resulted in David Silva winning the ball in a very promissing position.

 

These are the buildups in my two alternative systems

I prefered the inverted wingbacks on defensive duty in the first image, because for some reason they offer me a better width and react better in the defensive moments, but still a very risky system which i only use in some occasions.

In the second image I use two CBs and two IW, They really attract the opponents press, the way this sets up an opposition pressing trigger leaves a lot of space for my offensive mids and wingers to explore.

 

Here are the season's results

For some reason my 2nd leg against Real Madrid appears as a loss, but I actually won the second leg 1-0

 

And here are some of the best goals of the season

 

For the second season I beefed up the squad with the likes of Collado, Szboszlai, Aleña, Jorge, Pau Torres, Diakhité (valencia's CB) and Oriol Busquets

The obective is to do better in the Cup, do a solid Champions League, maybe reaching the 1/4 finals would be fine, depending on the draws, if we can't pass the group stage, the Europa League should be an objective. Of course try to win La Liga again. The Supercup I don't really care much about it.

Edited December 14, 2020 by palmamiguel92

[wesl]

That's a very cool set-up with the 3 at the back formation. I've considered doing something like it, but didn't think it would be stable enough. Looking forward to see what you do in season 2.

[palmamiguel92]

1 minuto atrás, wesl disse:

That's a very cool set-up with the 3 at the back formation. I've considered doing something like it, but didn't think it would be stable enough. Looking forward to see what you do in season 2.

Thank you! I only use it in specific occasions, it is very very risky to do something like that against La Liga opposition

[palmamiguel92]

So far a good start, with very dominating football in the league a good win against Man City in the first game of the Champions League Group Stage.

+ Lazio and RB Leipzig should be two fun opponents

[karanhsingh]

Very interesting stuff! 

[palmamiguel92]

Since Man City, this has been the best bit of the entire save with the team in a barbaric shape

https://streamable.com/sb83mr

https://streamable.com/5xa0wa

Two examples on how the team is already playing with closed eyes with eachother. The link up play has been amazing this season. Though calendar ahead, wouldn't be surprised to lose points but hope to keep the 1st place in La Liga and Qualify for the next round in the Champions League

[palmamiguel92]

We reached the winter break of 21/22 season.

We managed to

- consolidate the first place in La Liga

- Qualify in the Champions League Group Stage (finished 1st)

Lazio away was probably the hardest game i had in this save, i was demolished by Immobile, my defenders looked like children.