Anatolia FC Team Analysis - Sunday League FM Re-creation

[ta11zx]

DEFENSIVE PHASE – HOW THEY DEFEND WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE THE BALL

When defending in their end – they defend with 4 players and let 1 forward (Omer) stay high up the field – he does not defend.  Instead he stays high to counter attack. You will see this in a series of clips below.

 

In the next clip – Omer is staying high and wide while the whole team is defending.
 

 

Another clip below clearly shows Omer passive defensively – waiting for the counter attack.
 

 

Here is a tactical representation of what they look like when defending.  

In the next post I will discuss Anatolia FC attacking transition and how they counter attack

[ta11zx]

ATTACKING TRANSITION – HOW THEY COUNTER ATTACK AS SOON AS THEY WIN THE BALL

In the following series – you will see how Anatolia counterattack and the 2 methods they use.

Method 1 – they win the ball and always send it to Omer (who as previously mentioned doesn't participate in the defensive phase).  Zain and another forward will join the attack and Omer will look to play Zain for a shot or a pass to the other forward for a shot on goal.  Here it is in action:

 

Zain gets the ball – sends it to Omer and moves up field for a pass back and another forward making runs.  Very slow and predicable and easy to nullify.

Here is a tactical view of how that looks: press play at the bottom left
 

 

Method 2 – the second method they use to counter attack is again, pass the ball to Omer.  Zain then makes a forward and wide run so that Omer has a 1 vs 1 with his defender.  Omer does well to beat his man and get a shot off – he is very good at 1 vs 1 battles we have to be careful to not let him beat us.

 

Here is a tactical view of this second method of counter attack. press play bottom left
 

 

They primary plan is to get Omer isolated with a defender 1 vs 1 and count on him to beat the D and shoot – this is not a bad strategy as Omer is one of the best in the league at 1 vs 1 battles on the pitch.

In the next post - I will go over how they build up play from their end.

[ta11zx]

BUILD UP – HOW THEY TRY TO GET THE BALL FROM THEIR END TO THE OTHER TEAMS END - opposition pressing from deeper position

They build up differently based on where the other team is pressing them.  You can either press high (meaning your forwards are past the halfway line and closer to their box) OR you can sit deeper (meaning your forwards are behind the halfway line).  Anatolia weak at building up regardless of where the other team press from.

If the opponents sit deep (behind halfway line), Anatolia build up and allow one of their defenders to join the attack – leaving 1 defender alone to guard against counter.  Here is a clip showing them building up with 4 players and leaving Jibs alone with a defender (very risky):
 

Here is a tactical view of what this looks like:

When the other team lets them build up – they have no idea what to do – their defenders are very poor on the ball and their decision making is also very poor – resulting in balls being given away and exposing themselves for counter attacks.  Here is a clip where Sham defend deeper – and Anatolia players simply give the ball away when they see all the options are marked.
 

In the next clip you’ll see how bad they are when they are NOT pressed- the defender has the ball – nobody is on him and he simply misses the ball and knocks it out of play.
 

In the next post - we will see how Anatolia cannot cope when they are being pressed with a high line - especially in their own end.

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by ta11zx

[ta11zx]

BUILD UP – HOW THEY TRY TO GET THE BALL FROM THEIR END TO THE OTHER TEAMS END - opposition pressing from a higher line in their end

Next, you’ll see when Anatolia defenders are pressed with a high line – they continue to make poor decisions and their poor technical ability on the ball results in easy loss of possession.  When pressed in their own end – they panic very easily and lose possession or launch a ball to nobody.

 

In the next clip – you’ll notice again that once the defenders are pressed in their end and all the option are marked – they launch a aimless longball and lose possession – opening themselves up for an easy counter attack. Notice the forwards aren’t even pressing the player on the ball – yet since all the options are marked- he launches an aimless long ball.

 

The following clip shows their defenders have absolutely no idea what to do when pressed high and have no passing angles – in this instance the defender just gives the ball to the forward.  Sham fail to take advantage of this easy chance to score.
 

 

The following clip shows Anatolia counter attack actually working - they have Omer in a 1 vs 1 situation with the defender.  Unfortunately, he failed to beat the defender but it goes to show how dangerous this is if it works.
 

 

Naturally we would analyze how Anatolia play once they actually set up in the other teams end but that's the thing - all game they failed to set up in the other teams end.  They instead relied on counter attack over and over again and have no other method of attacking.  The only way they try to set up in the other teams end - is to throw a defender forward.  Majority of the time this ends up as a failure and leaves them exposed on the counter with only 1 defender staying back.