Play like
Greece!
How did a side with no previous international wins take one of the
most prestigious prizes in world football? Hard work, good
organization and a spoiling, defensive approach were the keys.
Here, Sports Interactive tester Mark Linnane explains how you can
replicate the Greek style with your FM 2005 side. It wont be
pretty
First and foremost, you need knowledge. Knowledge of your own team
and your own players, as well as your opposition.
Scouting and research form the cornerstone of understanding your
enemy, as danger men have to be identified, along with other areas
of strengths and weakness. Before being able to concoct and
implement your master plan, it is vital you are aware of who is
creating, who is scoring, and who is fouling for the other side -
and if they can be got at. Furthermore, the team's patterns of play
need to be analysed; how are they scoring and how are they
conceding. Once this is done, you can construct your system with
the intention to disturb and interrupt your opponent's standard
patterns of play. Just like Greece against Portugal.
But, wait. Am I taking things a little to far? Does knowledge of
this type and detail really have its uses in FM? Of course. In a
similar manner to the way modern clubs watch videos of their
opponents, study match reports, and use services such as 'Prozone'
and 'Carling OPTA' stats, you can use background information to
your advantage. At a basic level, simply looking to see if teams
have struggled against certain types of formation has some use.
But, if you wish to recreate Otto Rehhagel's success, this has to
be taken deeper. Initially, it is worth checking who has scored and
who has the assists, then watch a couple of games. Also, looking
through the stats from games will help you identify where a team is
dangerous and where a team is vulnerable. For example, a full back
may be short and not win many headers, allowing possible
exposure.
Once this has been done, you can now prepare your formation. If a
team is relying heavily on a single player to score a huge majority
of their goals and/or one player is providing all the assists, then
you have to decide whether or not they justify some personal
attention in the form of man-marking. If you decide not to tightly
man-mark these players, it is vital you at least ensure that they
are taken care off in other ways, be it by breaking up their
creative source, crowding them out when necessary, or another
tactic. The system deployed is critical to your success and will
probably need to be altered each time you meet someone.
With the danger areas identified and the system in place, next
comes the final piece in the jigsaw: the players. One major focus
of the Greek team was on the players fitting into the system. There
were no primadonnas. To be able to stifle the opposition, it is
important that players with the right stats are selected. To start
with, everyone needs high Workrate and Team Work. With the
foundations of success being based on containment via pressing,
Decisions are also vital. There is no point having 20s for your
Workrate and Team Work if you are closing and pressing in the wrong
areas, at the wrong times. Intelligent pressing means players wont
tire too quickly, and at times will lull teams into a false sense
of security, forcing them to make mistakes. In Greece's opening
game against Portugal, they were gifted two goals from almost
exactly this type of thing.
Obviously, Tackling is a standard requirement throughout most of
the team, but Position too, as this is vital in the stifling of the
opposition. For some specific areas and tasks, some players will
need high Marking, and most midfielders and attackers should be
well endowed when it comes to Off-The-Ball abilities. Add to this
decent Passing, and with a packed midfield, a team is able to move
the ball out of defense and through, retaining possession.
Concentration and Composure need to be evident throughout the side.
When playing a tight, defensive, pressing game, one mistake can so
easily be the difference between success and failure.
The final component required to ensure your unit is slick,
well-oiled and proficient is the presence of a player who can
deliver a dead ball. A huge advantage of setting out with a
defensive mentality is that the players you choose to start tend to
be bigger players who are good in the air. Not only does this
provide you with adequate cover against set pieces, it also offers
an extra option at the other end, -so long as you have some one who
can deliver vicious and fierce Corners and Free Kicks.
So, to emulate the success of Otto Rehhagel, there are three main
components; Research and Scouting; a system to counteract the
opposition; and the players to fit into this system. And with these
components come three fundamental issues: teamwork, tightness and
total preparation. Remember this, and the biggest scalps in the
game are there for the taking
19 Nov 2004 by k8oylos
