Pochettino FM19 Tactics: Press 3-4-2-1 Attack

Mauricio Pochettino is a brilliant coach and a philosopher who emphasizes on playing Highly Structured Attacking football.

Here, I have tried to emulate his tactics which were used mainly last season with Spurs in which they managed to beat Real Madrid using this tactic.

So, I wanted to try out this tactic in FM and see how it goes and it's fair to say I have had great success using this tactic in Football Manager 2019 and I have managed to win three consecutive Champions League and the Premier league.

Please follow the step by step instructions that I mention before using this tactic.

Pochettino favours a very high-pressing, attacking style of football. While doing so, he instructs his team to build from the back, intimidate and unsettle opponents with a quick-press system and work the ball into the box.

Please do note there are two tactics to use for Home and Away games so that you can get the desired results or you can completely ignore it and use any tactic you like.



TEAM INSTRUCTIONS

Mentality:
Be Positive as Pochettino emphasizes on playing good attractive brand of football

In Possession:

-Attacking width is set to fairly narrow as he generally likes to play narrow
-The approach play is Play out of defence and focus play through the middle
-Passing directness is standard with a Higher tempo and without wasting any time
-In the final third the players have to work the ball into the box
-The creative freedom is set to Be more Expressive as the players have the license to play beautiful attacking football



In Transition:

-When Possession has been lost the players have to Counter Press to try and get the ball faster
-When the Goalkeeper is in Possession he should distribute the ball to the centre backs and take short kicks



Out of Possession:

-This tactic solely relies on offside trap because of a Higher Defensive line so make sure you have some Quick centre backs as it might be exposed when playing against Quicker Players
-Pochettino likes to use a Tight Marking style and Press Extremely Urgent to unsettle the opposition.
-The style of tackling is up to you as I feel that Getting Stuck In gets too many fouls and sending offs.
-In the HOME games set the defensive width to standard and in the tough AWAY games set the width to narrow based on my recommendation but you can play any system you like. Pochettino usually like a narrow defensive width in real life.

HOME

AWAY


PLAYER INSTRUCTIONS

Sweeper Keeper(A/S):
The Goalkeeper will be on Sweeper Keeper Role and He should be on Attack duty in the Home games and in the away games he should be on Support Duty based on my Recommendation. No Particular Player Instructions needed.



Centre Backs(D):
All three centre backs will be on Defend duty with the Central Defender role and their player instructions are to Tackle Harder



Wing Backs(A):
This is undoubtedly the two most important positions on Pochettino's system as all the attacking width comes from here so make sure to have some really good attacking wing backs even if they cost a fortune! Eg. Benjamin Mendy,Kyle Walker,Luke Shaw,Trippier,etc.
The player instructions are the same for the left and right Wing backs.



Ball Winning Midfielder(D):
He is the one that provides protection for the centre backs when the two wing backs push forward.



Central Midfielder(S):
Provides the balance for the midfield as he creates chances and also defends when it is required.



Advanced Playmaker(A):
He is the main creative spark who provides assists and also sometimes score just like Eriksen does for Pochettino in real life so make sure he has good technical and passing stats.



Shadow Striker(A):
He is the one that stays generally behind the striker and assist him in the attacking phase of play just like Dele Alli does in real life.



Complete Forward(A):
He is the main Threat and he is the one to rely on for scoring the goals like Harry Kane.



RESULTS

The team that I picked to play this tactic is Manchester United as that is the club I support but you can do this with Spurs or any team you like.

I have to remind you that this is a real life emulation of Pochettino's tactic and this is no super tactic or an Unstoppable one and this might or might not be successful for you but I have had great success using this tactic.

Won the Premier league using this Tactic and three consecutive Champions Leagues.

Screenshots











As you can see from the scores that not many goals are being conceded just like Tottenham does in Real life and a solid defence is a key component in Pochettino's system.

I hope you like the tactic and please do give me your feedback after using this tactic.