I have chosen to have the passing range as 'standard', in combination with PI's to certain players to pass short. Some key aspects of my tactic that I feel are representative of the way he plays are: extremely wide, extremely high tempo, and extremely urgent pressing. Bielsa's Leeds predominantly play in a 4-1-4-1 which morphs into a 3-3-1-3 at times, particularly when playing against two strikers (this can be created by using a HB in FM).īielsa is a man of extremes, and this tactic does not shy away from that. So without further ado.īielsa's principles have taken many different forms over his career from the 3-3-1-3 at Chile, to 4-2-3-1 at Athletic Club and Olympique de Marseille. Out of admiration for the man and the tactician I felt that all of these principles HAD to be included in my tactic. This includes: man marking, aggressive pressing, vertical possession, maximum width to stretch the opposition, midfielders at WB to cut in, and most importantly: the team must create loads of chances, and score lots of goals.
By this point, we all have an idea of who Bielsa is, and the unique, but principled style he plays.