Welcome to the Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide! Where defence has always been the very foundation of the strategy.
In the Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide we are going to look at the best players and roles, suitable tactics and transfer recommendations.
By the end of this guide you will have fundamental understanding of how to manage Atletico Madrid.
This is our first stop in the Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide, the board and supporter objectives. This is where we review the board and supporter objectives and how they will affect our management style. A lot of these requests are tied to the identity of the club, go against them and things don’t work out you’ll be in trouble.
Let’s start with the board objectives, they have a mix between recruitment and playstyle objectives. Firstly being a big club they want to bring in the high rep players which is no surprise.
They also want direct football which lends into their club style of football, this includes all defensive or balanced tactical styles. Then they have mentioned that they want to develop players using the club’s youth system.
The supporters on the other hand, have a Christmas list. They also want direct football and high reputation football, so they are on the same page there. The next objective is something that doesn’t sit well with me, playing defensive football.
This limits our tactical styles to Catenaccio, Counter Attack or Park the Bus. None of these style are progressive enough for me and as a result I need to see what we can do about this. They also want high tempo pressing which is unusual in a defensive system, so things are not adding up here.
Want to try this with a different team? Check out the Chelsea version here.
Right let’s get on with the meat of the Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide, the key players. The key players are our foundation, they are the players that we build our team around. Once we have identified our key players I will map out the formation to see which shapes are available.
As you can see we have a strong core in our key players. This is great, especially as most defensive systems tend to be strong through the centre. It’s a shame that we are not playing attacking systems as we maybe able to play a box formation. Alvarez is our top player here, but we have a great midfield too.
Moving onto the youth prospects and wonderkids we do the same thing. Instead of filtering by current ability, we measure by potential ability. We then map out the positions this group and see what it comes up with. Then we put the two together.
So we have a real lack of attacking wide midfielders, but we have a few who play wing back or wide midfielder. These features indicate a defensive system like 4141, 442 narrow diamond or even a 442 box. Whatever we do, the majority of our players will play centre midfield.
Alvarez, Baeno and Oblak are the big three in the squad, so they system must include them.
This is where it all comes together for the Atletico Madrid FM26 guide. All the data and information from the previous sections combine to make a tactic with an identity. Let’s see what we have created.
So as you can see from the screenshot below, we have created a 433 in possession and a 4141 out of possession. The review of the Atletico squad proved to be a large factor in the formation that I chose. There are alot of good quality players in the centre of the park, so it would be silly not to go with a 3 man midfield.
Now the mentality is a contentious issue, I do not like defensive football, so my best option was to keep the mentality balanced and go with Gegenpress to satisfy the high tempo pressing that they wanted. Effectively this has created a energetic mid block press.
In terms of the roles, I have used my usual pressing set up in the out of possession tactic. This falls into line with the high tempo pressing that the supporters have asked me to follow.
This shape works even better if you use the FM26 433 transition model.
So this is ironic from the Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide, but it looks like from the key players that there needs to be a focus on defence. The main section of the defence is the left back and centre back. I never thought I would say that about one of Simeone’s teams.
As far as potential signings go, we need to be buying Argentinian players who work well in a Gegenpress. The reason for the Argentinians is the board objectives.
The attributes we need to be looking at are Work Rate, Acceleration, Stamina, Aggression and Anticipation. I worked on a project on FM24 where these attributes were the best for Gegenpress.
I think the challenge that we need to attempt with Atletico Madrid is to win la Liga. It has been a few years since the 20/21 season and this club is capable of even more. I also like the Argentine recruitment idea in the expectations section, maybe this could be a good challenge.
I must be honest I have found Atletico Madrid a chore to manage, but I feel that adds to the character of the club. Any club that recommends defensive football I have to raise questions about, because that is not how you win games. Regardless, we have put an Atletico Madrid FM26 team guide together for you to give it a go.
As you can see I gave the guide a run with Atletico Madrid and by Christmas we were 3rd in the league and joint with Barca. It’s too early to tell, but I want to be part of that title race. Hopefully a few new signings and moving players on will help freshen up the team ready for the run in.
Have fun with Atletico Madrid, it’s good team to get your teeth stuck into and has a wonderful core in the team. Good luck for now!
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