Real Life Football Tactics Recreated for Football Manager 2021

Some of you must have noticed a certain trend in the tactics we have been published on FM Scout since last year.

I'm talking about tactic replications. Real life football tactics by real life football managers, converted to Football Manager tactics.

It's an aspect of the game I personally find intriguing, but it's not easy to create this type of tactics.

It requires deeper knowledge of real tactics and proper effort with research.

This is a selection of such tactics made for Football Manager 2021. Most of them are created by Boroboy and RDF. Thanks guys!


Now let's get to the list.

Real Football Tactics converted to Football Manager 2021 Tactics

Imanol Alguacil 4-1-4-1 R. Sociedad Tactics

Attractive football controlling possession and forward risky passes.

Ralph Hasenhüttl 4-4-2 Southampton Tactics

Progressive attacking football, relying on heavy pressing and quick chance creation.

Jurgen Klopp 4-3-3 LFC Tactics

Gegenpressing is still vital, but the pressing approach has become more proactive.

Roberto De Zerbi 4-2-3-1 Sassuolo Tactics

Adventurous football with a focus on passing and movement.

Nuno Espírito Santo 3-4-3 Wolves Tactics

The wing-backs are vital to the play. A counter attacking system.

Neil Warnock 3-1-4-2 Middlesbrough Tactics

Hard work and commitment are a must. Get the ball forward as quickly as possible using the flanks.

Gennaro Gattuso 4-3-3 Napoli Tactics

Solid in defence with a short passing style; emphasis on ball retention.

Márton Bukovi 4-2-4 Strikerless Tactics

Enticing football with more dynamism, fast passing, and off the ball runs.

Antonio Conte 3-5-2 Juventus Tactics

Score and continue to attack looking for more goals, but at the same time defend compactly.

Ruben Amorim 3-4-3 Sporting CP Tactics

Build from behind with vertical passes. Attack very closely with a lot of liberty.

Ruben Amorim 3-4-3 Braga Tactics

Stretch the play, getting the ball forward and to the key attacking players.

Pep Guardiola 4-3-3 Barcelona Tactics

All-conquering tiki-taka. Highly accurate short passes with emphasis on retaining possession.

Otto Rehhagel Greece Euro 2004 Tactics

Frustrate the opponents, recover the ball and break with speed and direct play.

Ralf Rangnick 4-2-2-2 RB Leipzig Tactics

High octane football, extremely demanding on players.

Steven Gerrard 4-3-3 Rangers Tactics

Win the ball back and attack at speed, with lots of crosses coming in from the wider spaces.

Rinus Michels 3-4-3 Ajax Tactics

Total football. Lots of possession, high pressing and also plenty of goals.

Ottmar Hitzfeld 5-2-1-2 Dortmund Tactics

Hit teams on devastating counter attacks whilst being defensively sound and compact.

Claudio Ranieri 4-4-2 Leicester Tactics

Guerilla warfare. Drawing opponents out before countering with devastating effect.

Jose Mourinho 4-3-1-2 Porto Tactics

A balanced, defensively sound 4-3-1-2 with the added threat of long balls from deep.

Jurgen Klopp 4-2-3-1 Dortmund Tactics

Quick counters and ultra-aggressive yet effective counter-pressing.

Carlo Ancelotti 4-3-2-1 AC Milan Tactics

Direct fluid attacking with aggressive wingbacks on the underlap.

Jurgen Klopp 4-3-3 Liverpool Tactics

Heavy metal football. Very good defensively as well as offensively.

Antonio Conte 3-5-2 Inter Tactics

Direct aggressive style, overloading the opposition's penalty area.

Marius Șumudică 5-3-2 Gaziantep Tactics

Do not give the opponent free space and to get out of the wings quickly.

Jorge Jesus 4-4-2 Flamengo Tactics

Control possession, work hard, solid defence and a dynamic and paced attack.

Brendan Rodgers Swansea 4-2-3-1 Tactics

It’s all about the ball. Dominating it, looking to win it back quickly, owning it.

José Bordalás 4-4-2 Getafe Tactics

High energy, high tempo pressing. Disrupt the opposition and counter at a rapid pace.

Marcelo Bielsa 4-1-4-1 Leeds Tactics

Aggressive pressing, vertical possession, maximum width. Loads of chances and lots of goals.

Ralf Rangnick 4-4-2 Tactics

High pressure and constant aggression on the second balls. Very direct.

Frank Lampard 4-2-3-1 Chelsea Tactics

High possession with high tempo passing and high pressing. Wings backs are important.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær 4-2-3-1 Manchester United Tactics

Play the ball forward and attempt risky passes.

Jose Mourinho 4-2-3-1 Tottenham Tactics

Noticeable changes to his system that he adapted over the years.

Fabio Capello 3-4-1-2 Roma Tactics

Solid in defence with creativity provided by trequartista and right wing-back.

Johan Cruyff Total Football Tactics

Dominate possession, score beautiful goals and defend as one to overwhelm opponents.

Ralph Hasenhüttl 4-4-2 Tactics

Narrow attacking shape that works well in attack but also helps if you lose the ball in attacking areas.

Valeriy Lobanovskiy 4-4-2 Tactics

Very high pace of play, pounding pressing, ball often played low to the ground, very fast attacking.

Louis Van Gaal 3-4-3 Ajax 3-4-3 Tactics

Dominate possession, score goals for fun and strangle teams in defence like Ajax did in the '90s.

Maurizio Sarri 4-3-3 Tactics

Dominate possession, score beautiful goals whilst remaining strong in defence.

Pep Guardiola 4-3-3 Manchester City Tactics

Create overloads in central areas, while simultaneously stretching the field wider.

Hansi Flick 4-2-3-1 Bayern Munich Tactics

Dominate the ball, press opponents into the ground and score bags of goals.

Arsene Wenger 2003-04 Arsenal Tactics

Break down sides as players operate in lines and spaces difficult for opponents to defend.

Fatih Terim 4-1-4-1 Galatasaray Tactics

Possession and great defence. 3-man midfield help bridge the gap between defence and attack.

Julian Nagelsmann Leipzig Tactics

Master pressing to keep the ball, stop the opposition from getting anywhere near their goal, and score plenty.

Gian Piero Gasperini Atalanta Tactics

Lots of goals, intricate passing and beautiful football.

Marco Rose 4-2-3-1 Tactics

Tactically intriguing football with emphasis on transitional moments and pressing from the front.

Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid 2021 Tactics

High degree of fluidity with shape shifting formations, but without favouring a slow build-up.

Max Allegri Juventus Diamond Tactics

Play from the back retaining possession to move up the pitch like Allegri did during the 2014/15 season.

Pepa Paços de Ferreira Tactics

Low but hard pressing block and quick transitions.

Sir Alex Ferguson Man Utd Tactics

Blistering pace in attack to aid their counter-attacks and a rock-solid defence, like Fergie's Manchester United 2007-08.

Marcelo Bielsa 4-1-4-1 Leeds Tactics

Dominate the ball press high, create chances and score goals.

Johan Cruyff's 3-4-3 Tactics

Make the pitch as small as possible when out of possession, stretch the pitch when in possession.

Adi Hütter Eintracht Frankfurt Tactics

Attacking football starting with patient buildup from the back followed by quick vertical progression into the final third.

Paulo Fonseca AS Roma Tactics

Rather than being overcommitted to a press, revert to holding shape quite quickly.

Ernst Happel Feyenoord Tactics

Total Football used by Ernst Happel in 1970. Lots of Goals, solid in defence and high possession.

Sir Alex 4-4-2 Tactics

Exciting, attacking, ground-breaking 442. Play like Alex Ferguson did with Man Utd in 1998/99.

Brendan Rodgers Leicester Tactics

Plenty of possession without sacrificing goals or exposing your defence.

Julen Lopetegui Sevilla Tactics

Solid in defence and plenty of possession with a high work rate and pressing off the ball.

Ronald Koeman 3-4-3 Barcelona Tactics

The libero on attack is the most important role in this tactic.

Ronald Koeman 3-4-3 Barcelona Tactics

Wing play and crosses are crucial to Mauricio Pochettino philosophy.

Massimiliano Allegri 3-5-2 Juventus Tactics

High tempo, possession based, structured, compact, disciplined. Allegri's Juve during the 2015/16 season.

Jose Mourinho Man Utd Tactics

Suppress space in the oppositions half like Jose did during the 2017/18 season.

Pep Guardiola Man City Tactics

Dominate possession in any form successfully.

Carlo Ancelotti AC Milan Tactics

No wingers nor 5 at the back. Strikers and central mids pulling wide, while wing backs occupy these areas.



I will keep updating this list from time to time to ensure it includes all the tactic replications created for Football Manager 2021.

If there's a replication we haven't covered (here on the site) that you'd like to see, let me know in the comments.
Enjoy!