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Eriksson 4-1-4-1 Lazio 1999-2000 / Won the Treble, Salas 50 Goals

I tried to emulate the tactic used by Sven Goran Eriksson at Lazio in the season 1999-2000 when he won the Italian Serie A. I won the treble!

By on Sep 03, 2023   9040 views   1 comments
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Downloads: 1119 / Size: 88.8 kB / Added: 2023-09-03
Football Manager 2023 Tactics - Eriksson 4-1-4-1 Lazio 1999-2000 / Won the Treble, Salas 50 Goals
Hi guys,

Welcome to my new tactic emulation.

This time I emulated Sven Goran Eriksson’s Lazio 4-1-4-1, the tactic he used in season 1999-2000 when he won Italian Serie A.

If we consider Serie A from the 1950s onwards as the hunting ground of the three giants of our football (Juventus, Milan, and Inter have won 55 out of the last 68 championships between 1950 and 2018), we must go back to the late 1990s and the early 2000s to see the dominance of the 'striped' teams being strongly challenged by the competition.

Those were the years of the 'seven sisters', of ambitious provincial teams that lived beyond their means, and of the Roman clubs taking the spotlight around the year 2000, coinciding with the Jubilee organized in the capital.

In the 2000/01 season, Roma won a championship that they led from the first to the last matchday. The previous season, Lazio overtook Juventus on the final matchday thanks to a remarkable comeback.

However, it wasn't just an underdog's last-minute push; it was the assertion of one of the strongest teams of that moment, in Italy and in Europe.

In fact, the president of that Lazio, Sergio Cragnotti, never hid his ambitions. 'The important thing is to be protagonists,' he said in September 1999, after winning the Cup Winners' Cup and finishing second in Serie A the previous season. 'In the end, only one team wins, and Lazio has all the prerequisites to do so even in the most prestigious continental competition. Second place and the Champions League would be another great achievement.'

He reiterated this concept after Lazio's elimination in the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Valencia in the spring of 2000. 'I'm sure we could have overcome the round against Valencia because we're superior to the Spaniards. It's a shame about that strange match in the first leg. Disappointment? Yes, a lot. Now, however, I want to build a great team to reach the Champions League final next year. We're close to making that famous leap forward.'

Even a more balanced figure like coach Sven-Göran Eriksson had expressed himself in May 2000. 'To complete the job, I want to win the Champions League. 10 years ago, I reached the final with Benfica, but there was nothing to be done against Sacchi's Milan. There's nothing missing in Rome to try again; the environment is exceptional.

The team, managed by Sven-Göran Eriksson and led by players like Verón, Nedved, Nesta, and Salas, achieved remarkable success that season.

The text covers various aspects of the team's gameplay, including their midfield excellence, offensive strategies, defensive approach, and key players' roles.



Let's analyze now how I emulated it on FM 23

First of all, the formation is a 4-1-4-1 with a more attacking variant with the inverted winger Nedved (or Mancini or Boksic) who plays as a third forward , closer to the central forward rather than in the same line with the other midfielders.

The mentality is balanced to avoid conceding too many goals.

The team instructions are as follows: fairly wide width, play out of defense, overlap right and left, focus play down the right because Conceiçao continually moves up and down the right flank like a train, slightly more direct passes, slightly higher tempo because Lazio wanted to play immediately forward, not patiently retaining the ball, but not too fast, low crosses, hit early crosses, run at defense, be more disciplined.

In transition: regroup because Lazio did not press high, but preferred to drop down thus giving space to the opponent (it was a risky move in fact defensive side was not so strong), counter-attack because as soon they could get the ball, they played long ball to counter-attack, take short kicks and distribute to center backs (Nesta and Mihajlovic were both good at playing the ball from defense, that's why I set them as bpd).

Out of possession: higher defensive line, mid block, standard pressing, get stuck in (famous Nesta sliding tackle, he was excellent and seldom got yellow cards or reds), drop off more.

Now, player roles

GK: simple gk, defend.

right back: full back, cross aim far post, close down more.

Central defenders: bpd, defend, close down more, mark tighter, tackle harder only for Nesta (right cd),

left back: wing back support close down more, cross aim far post,

defensive midfielder- defend,

right midfielder: winger, attack, cross aim far post,

left midfielder: inverted winger, attack, take more risks, cross from deep, cross aim far post, shoot more often, roam from position,

right central midfielder: box to box midfielder support,

left central midfielder advanced playmaker, pass it shorter, roam from position.
This was Veron's role, in the second tactic to make it more realistic, I tried it as Roaming Playmaker because you could find him everywhere, he was the core of Lazio playing style. You can try both.

Forward: central forward-attack: pass shorter, shoot less often.

With this tactic, Salas, my only forward, scored 50 goals in Serie A and 22 in Uefa Cup Winners Cup, and 4 goals in Italy Cup.

That's all for this tactic. I hope it works for you too. A hug from your Arrigo Sacchi.

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Downloads: 1119 / Size: 88.8 kB / Added: 2023-09-03
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