Alright, so today I wanna share how I tackled setting up my team after watching that Barcelona vs Villarreal match. Honestly, it wasn’t smooth sailing from the get-go. Felt like I needed to get my own squad playing better and actually keeping the ball.
The Starting Point & Inspiration
First off, I booted up my console, loaded the save file for my team – nothing fancy, mid-table bunch. Had rewatched highlights from that Barca game, paying real close attention to how they moved off the ball, especially those midfielders and full-backs. The idea stuck in my head: could I get my guys doing something similar? Maybe not exactly like them, but close enough to control games better.
Trying Things Out (And Messing Up)
So, jumped straight into a training session in-game. Here’s what I did, step by step, winging it mostly:
- Changed the Shape: Switched from my usual flat 4-4-2 to this 4-3-3 setup. Wanted that extra midfielder for passing options.
- Roles & Instructions: Told my deepest midfielder to basically never leave our half – anchor role. The two in front? One was my playmaker, told him to roam everywhere, the other I set to run box-to-box like crazy. Wingers? Had to stay wide, told them to hug the touchline. Striker became a target man/finisher.
- Copying the Press: Set the team to press higher up the pitch after losing the ball, aiming for that Villarreal-like intensity I saw disrupting Barca early on.
- Full-Backs Push: This felt risky. Instructed both full-backs to get forward whenever we attacked, overlapping the wingers.
Played a friendly against a decent team. First half? Total disaster. Like my defenders had never met before. Conceded twice because the center-backs were left one-on-one, and those full-backs I pushed up? Got caught out miles away. Possession wasn’t bad, but everything felt slow and predictable.
Making Adjustments & Finding Balance
Okay, halftime whistle saved me. Needed to stop just copying and make it work for my team. Major changes:
- Ditched the Double Push: Couldn’t have both full-backs bombing on like madmen. Changed the left one to stay back more often for cover, letting the right one overlap since my right winger was a dribbler.
- Simplified Midfield: Took off the “roam everywhere” instruction from my playmaker. Kept getting lost. Told him to focus more on linking play centrally.
- Tweaked the Press: Pulled the defensive line back slightly from “ridiculously high” to just “pretty high.” Also changed the trigger press instruction slightly – told them to close down more selectively on key opponents, not just chase everything like headless chickens.
- Added Tempo: Increased the passing tempo a notch. Saw Villarreal doing quick switches, and my guys needed that urgency.
The Result (Mostly Okay!)
Second half felt way, way better. Actually won the friendly 2-1! Possession stayed good, around 58%. The key thing? That right winger combining with his overlapping full-back created the first goal. Keeping one full-back back helped the center-backs feel less exposed. Didn’t look exactly like Barca or Villarreal, but it felt like we had a clear plan: control the ball through the middle three, use the wings, be solid at the back. Still felt a bit vulnerable on counter-attacks down my left side though – gotta work on that positioning.
Overall? Learned loads. You can’t just copy-paste tactics from the pros. Takes tinkering, lots of small adjustments, and accepting it’ll probably be messy at first. Getting closer to having that solid setup though!