VINCENZO MONTELLA'S TURKEY AT EURO '24

[magicomonta]

Introduction

After excellent performances in the club teams on Turkish soil, Vincenzo Montella in 2023 becomes the coach of Turkey , which he will lead to Euro '24 with two rounds to spare in the qualifying round. A national team full of young talents, the former coach of Milan and Fiorentina manages to enhance the Turks with a well-structured game that highlights their qualities.

 

However, given the lack of a real striker, Montella lines up Turkey without a real striker but with a battery of attacking midfielders who often swap positions in the final zone of the pitch. Let's find out now how they surprised everyone at Euro '24 with this tactical analysis and tactical emulation for Football Manager 24 .

Tactical analysis

 

Basic game system:  1-4-2-3-1

Offensive phase game systems: 1-3-1-4-2

Defensive phase game systems: 1-4-4-2 or 1-5-4-1

Turkey 's offensive system is 1-3-1-4-2. The build-up is done with a 3+2 involving the two central defenders and the two midfielders, so the full-backs position themselves high up from the start of the move. With the full-backs occupying the width, the wingers position themselves more internally in the half-spaces, while the attacking midfielder and the striker form the most advanced line, ready to attack the depth and fill the area on the cross together with the winger on the weak side. Sometimes, a winger and the attacking midfielder swap roles, also due to the characteristics of some of the attacking midfielders in the squad, who are more midfielders than attackers.

Construction

Turkey alternates low build-up and direct build-up without exaggerating either solution. With the low build-up Montella wants to overcome the first opponent's pressure on the side lanes, thanks to the movement of the full-backs and wingers. The direct build-up, on the other hand, directly looks for one of the most advanced players behind the opponent's defensive line, usually the cuts of the wing players.

In low build-up situations, the structure used by Vincenzo Montella 's team is a 3+2 structure that involves the goalkeeper, the two central defenders and one of the two central midfielders and the other behind the opposition's pressing line.

 

The full-backs, on the other hand, move up and are involved more as receivers of passes that go beyond the first line of pressure. The position and task of the full-backs is a constant even in the case of construction in more advanced areas of the field, when the opponent tends to drop into a medium or low block.

Turkey 's 3+1 structure means that the top corner is often marked and not very involved in the ball circulation, but this leads the opponents to occupy the centre of the pitch to mark the midfielder, leaving space to serve the full-back.

 

Offensive development and laterality

Turkey 's build-up play aims to overcome the opponent's initial pressure on one of the two flanks, where the full-backs move up to occupy the width and get closer to the wingers, who move slightly centrally in order to free up the flank for the full-back or maintain the width by advancing to the height of the opponent's defensive line.

Furthermore, the attacking midfielder or striker also helps the lateral development of the maneuver, often, one of the two moves out from the side where the team is developing the action and therefore approaches the ball. In this way Montella tries to exploit the density of players on the strong side and the quick combinations between them to advance the ball in a clean way.

 

Another solution for developing the maneuver is to, after having overloaded one flank, rely on a midfielder - usually  Çalhanoğlu  - to change play to the weak side, where the winger or full-back is tall and wide, ready to receive the ball in isolation and aim for the direct marker.

Finishing

The finishing for Turkey is not sought through the center, but more with horizontal movements or passes starting from one of the two wings. It is usually occupied by the attacking midfielder or the striker who comes towards and the winger who comes inside the field, especially Yildiz who by his characteristics tends to play more centrally.

Finalization

Turkey tends to break through the opposition's defensive line in various ways . Usually, they come to push the opposition's defense down the flanks, so there are frequent crosses and crosses for the striker, the attacking midfielder and the winger on the weak side, who attack the area. Alternatively, they look for triangulations between the winger-striker-attacking midfielder to break through centrally or to create space for a shot from outside.

 

Finally, another method is to attack the depth starting from the outside with cuts and passes from the wingers or full-backs who have moved up wide.

Non-possession phase

First defensive action

The first line of pressure, usually composed of the four offensive players, alternates two types of attitudes. The most frequent is an aggressive pressing that aims to recover the ball as soon as possible, through an interception or a tackle or by making the opponent take more risks and make a mistake in the play. This attitude is linked to the importance that the positive transition has for Turkey , which is one of its main weapons.

Except in situations where the opponent appears to be in difficulty, the goalkeeper is left free from pressing, but with all the marked outlets. The pressing is even stronger on lateral balls, where the opponent's choices are limited. Montella wants the midfield and defense to close forward to keep the team compact, the center of gravity high and not create space between the lines.

 

 

 

 

Midfield line in defensive phase

In the defensive phase, the two central midfielders form a staggered line, with the weak-side midfielder remaining further back and covering the space close to the defensive line. Sometimes, with Ayhan in this role, you can see the midfielder drop so deep as to insert himself between the two central defenders forming a five-man line, allowing Montella 's central defenders to come out more strongly to mark the players in the intermediate corridors. In this case, the attacking midfielder drops back to recompose a four-man midfield, but always maintaining the staggered formation.

Defensive laterality

Turkey also manages to defend well on the wings, where the wingers are able to fall back and help the full- back , doubling up when the opposing full-back does not overlap. The midfielders always remain central.

Football Manager 24 Tactical Emulation of Montella's Türkiye at Euro '24

Football Manager 24's tactical emulation of Montella's Turkey at Euro '24 features a clean slate tactical style with a positive mentality. The width is quite wide and the overlapping flanks are used. The tempo is high and the passes are a little shorter, leaving room for creativity and short crosses.

 

In the transition phase, the entire pitch is pressed and the counterattack is restarted. In the non-possession screen, the defense line is high and the pressing engagement line is very high. The pressing intensity is at its maximum and the goalkeeper's passes are not prevented by directing them to the sides and staying high for offside.

The roles include a free support goalkeeper and two classic central defenders. The full-backs are complete external support with stay wide and I widen the game settings. The two midfielders are a deep-lying playmaker and a mobile playmaker. In the three-quarter line we have two inverted support wingers with stay narrow and an offensive support midfielder with freedom of movement, as well as the second striker.

Football Manager 24 Tactical Emulation Results  of Montella's Turkey at Euro '24

As in all my tactical emulation for Football Manager I test it for you and in this case I tried to play Euro 24 with the official groups. I left the call-ups to the AI.

 

Vincenzo Montella 's Turkey will reach the final of Euro 24 losing three to two against Spain . They will finish in the group in second place and then eliminate in the knockout stage Poland, Romania and England.

Turkey will be the second best attack of the tournament with 19 goals. They will be the best for Xg with 13.91 As well as the best for chances created with 29.

Çalhanoğlu will be the competition's top scorer with 5 goals and second for assists with three.

 

tactics explanation and results in the video

FM 24 TURCHIA MONTELLA EURO 24 DEL MAGICOMONTA.fmf

Edited July 22 by magicomonta