Football Manager 2021 Real Madrid 4-3-3 Tactic | Team Guide | FM21

Real Madrid's Football Manager 2021 tactic and team guide. Club vision, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers in and out.

Real Madrid's Football Manager 2021 tactic and team guide. Club vision, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers in and out.

Here is a brief analysis of the Real Madrid squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

About Real Madrid

Real Madrid or Real are a professional football club that ply their trade in the La Liga. Unlike most European sporting entities, Real Madrid's members (socios) have owned and operated the club throughout its history.

The club was estimated to be worth €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2019, and it was the second highest-earning football club in the world. The club is one of the most widely supported teams in the world. 

Real Madrid is one of three founding members of La Liga that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929. The club holds many long-standing rivalries, most notably El Clásico with Barcelona and El Derbi with Atlético Madrid.

Real Madrid are the 2nd most dominant team in the La Liga. Domestically, Real have won 66 trophies; 34 La Liga (a record), 19 Copa del Rey, 11 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa Eva Duarte, and 1 Copa de la Liga trophies. In international club football, the club has won 26 European and worldwide titles; 13 UEFA Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, 4 UEFA Super Cups and 4 FIFA Club World Cups.

Real Madrid are the first club to successfully defend the UEFA Champion’s League and the only club in the League’s history to have won it 3 times in a row. They also have the most semi-final appearances in the Champion’s League. With such a rich history of dominance in the sport, it is easy to see why Real Madrid remain the favourite of most FM21 Managers.

Board Requirements

Real Madrid are the defending La Liga Champions. The minimum board requirements, as you would expect, is very high, they would be;

    1. Win the La Liga

    2. Make the QF of the UEFA Champion’s League

Additionally, you will be required to play attacking football and be required to sign high profile players and youngsters under the age of 23 for the first team.

Real Madrid have top class training facilities and an excellent youth system. Their 2nd team, Real Madrid Castilla, play in the 2nd division of Spanish Football and you can give the game time to youngsters who are knocking on the doors of a first-team chance.

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Squad, Formation and Tactical Style

Real Madrid are generally an attacking team. Vertical tiki-taka is probably the best tactic to go with considering what the board wants but since the squad is versatile you can alter the formation as you see fit.

A 4-3-3 is how Real Madrid line-up in real life and is probably the best-suited formation to the available squad of players. This also helps them maintain the width with the overlapping fullbacks who are very attacking in nature.

A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-3-3 formation is as follows,

Thibaut Courtois as a sweeper keeper.

Raphael Varane & Sergio Ramos as the 2 ball-playing centre backs.

Dani Carvajal & Marcelo as the 2 wing backs who are naturally very attacking.

Casemiro, Modric & Toni Kroos make up the 3 man central midfield, with Casemiro operating as a Ball Winning Midfielder, Modric as a Deep Lying Playmaker & Kross as a Mezzala.

Eden Hazard as the left attacking midfielder in an inside forward role & Isco as an inverted winger on the right.

Karim Benzema as a lone forward in a Centre Forward or Defensive Forward role.

Alternatively, you can go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marco Asensio coming into the side as a No:10. The bench also has some strong players like Luka Jovic & Ferland Mendy who will be pushing for first-team chances.

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Key Players

The entire squad is riddled with key players with some players are the best in their positions in the entire world.

    1. Eden Hazard

Although Hazard has not had the greatest of starts to his Madrid career, he still remains one of the best players in the game. His ability to contribute with goals and assists from the left side of the pitch is invaluable and his performances will be key to having a good season.

    2. Karim Benzema

Benzema may be ageing but remains as one of the best strikers in the game. Benzema makes up for his lack of great physical attributes with excellent mental and technical attributes and is also a forward who enables players around him to score lots of goals.

    3. Sergio Ramos

Ramos is an inspirational leader and is one of the best Centre Backs in the world. He is also a massive threat from set-pieces.

    4. Luka Modric

Modric is an important playmaker that makes the Real Madrid team tick and is the man that ended the CR7/Messi monopoly on the world's best player award. He also delivers wonderful set pieces making the team a nightmare to defend against from corners and freekicks.

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Weaknesses

1. With the fullbacks being very attack-minded, Real Madrid are left open to a lot of counter-attacks and could be difficult to manage against good counter attacking teams.

2. The Real Madrid bench is definitely not as strong as it once was and managers will need to dip into the transfer market to strengthen the quality of backups.

3. Some of the best talents of the club are ageing and may be impossible to replace.

Youth Prospects

There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,

    1. Reinier

The Brazilian wonderkid can develop into one of the best-attacking mids in the game and is currently on loan at Dortmund.

    2. Rodrygo

Rodrygo is a part of the Real Madrid Castilla set up but has already played several games for Real Madrid to good effect. The versatile attacking midfielder can operate on both flanks and can contribute with plenty of goals.

    3. Takefusa Kubo

Takefusa Kubo is the youngest Japanese footballer to play and score a goal in the top 4 leagues of Europe. The attacking midfielder has been compared to the likes of Messi for his style of play and can develop into a very good player under proper management. Currently, he is on loan at Villareal.

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Potential Transfers (in)

Real Madrid already boast of some of the best stars in the world, however, these players could be welcome additions to the side.

· Kylian Mbappe

· Virgil Van Dijk

· Mohammad Salah

Potential Transfers (Out)

These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.

· Gareth Bale (unsettled at the club)

· Marco Asencio

· Marcelo

Summary

To sum, Real Madrid is a dream to manage for most FM21 managers. With a plethora of stars and the reputation of being one of the best clubs in the world, it is easy to see the allure. 

However, Real Madrid have been under the shadow of rivals Barcelona especially in La Liga where they have only won the title thrice in the last 10 seasons. 

Madrid have also not been having a great time in UCL off late which can be attributed to their ageing squad. Can you challenge yourself to take Madrid back to the very top and dominate Europe and Spain?