Is intense forechecking your thing? But do you find Football Manager too complex? We’ll explain how to play like Jürgen Klopp in FM24.
Forechecking has been part of the meta in Football Manager 2024 for years. But be careful: as tempting as it sounds, it’s not a sure-fire success, of course. That’s because the settings in FM have a few pitfalls. In part one of the guide, there were tips on the most important attributes. Now it’s about the right formation and instructions.
Two German coaches in particular are closely associated with attacking pressing. On the one hand Ralf Rangnick, on the other Jürgen Klopp – who once described it as “heavy metal”. At Liverpool FC, the latter not only became world famous with this style of play, but also very successful. No wonder that many want to transfer the concept to FM24.
Fill out the formation with the right player roles
The 4-3-3 is the basis. Whether you use a false nine, as Klopp once did with Roberto Firmino, is up to you. In this case, it would be important to ensure sufficient depth via the wide forwards as soon as the striker drops deep to get involved in building attacks.
A complete striker would be ideal, as this is precisely what deep runs are designed for. After winning the ball, he could literally take off. Whether it’s a false nine, a complete striker or a pressing striker, the respective roles should be offensive. In addition, the wingers should move into the midfield.
Suitable balance in midfield and defense
With the first third ticked off, it’s now time to move into midfield. This should consist of a central midfielder, mezzala, and deep defensive midfielder. While the central midfielder is aligned offensively, the mezzala should act in a supporting role and the deep defensive midfielder defensively.
The mezzala is particularly suited to forechecking, combining defensive and offensive tasks. With the right attributes, he is able to win the ball back and organize the game afterwards. The deep-lying defensive midfielder drops between the two defenders when building up, which is why he should also have technical qualities.
The same applies to at least one of the two central defenders. This is because the defender should play as a ball-playing defender. His partner in the back four, on the other hand, should play as a “normal” central defender. A defensive orientation is planned for the duo, while the two wings should play in a supportive role. Since the deep defensive midfielder drops between the two central defensive players when building up, it would be advisable to set up one of the two wing-backs as an inverted one. Last but not least, the goalkeeper – a playing goalkeeper would be required here.
Pressing, pressing and more pressing
Once the roles have been assigned, it’s time to set the instructions. With the ball, the following applies: offensive mentality, a preferred pass on the right and left inside, high passing tempo, infrequent dribbling and creative play. In principle, the option of shooting when there is a free lane can also be taken – but this has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it can help the players to get a shot on target. On the other hand, it can also lead to rushed long shots.
As soon as the opponent has the ball, one behavior becomes more than logical: counter-pressing followed by counterattacking. In general, both the offensive and defensive pressing line should be high.
It is also not surprising that the strikers should constantly put the goalkeeper under pressure. In addition, it is advisable to let the defensive line move up more and set pressing traps on the flanks. With all these settings, at least the basis for a successful time is created – perhaps even more formative than that of Jürgen Klopp.
