Bayer Leverkusen tactic and team guide. Club culture and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers in FM22.
Football Manager 2022 Bayer Leverkusen tactic and team guide. Club culture
and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential
transfers in FM22.
Here is a brief analysis of the squad, their club structure, the relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM2022 manager can use.
About Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen are a professional football club that ply their trade in the Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1904 by employees of the German pharmaceutical company Bayer whose headquarters are in Leverkusen and from which the club draws its unique name. Leverkusen have won 1 DFB Pokal & 1 UEFA Cup. The team were called the nearly men for their continuous 2nd place finishes from 1997-2002 (4 times). Their 2002 season was also called the treble horror as they lost out on 3 finals, including the UEFA Champion’s League final.
Recently, Leverkusen have done relatively consistently with them finishing a respectable 6th place in the 2020-2021 season.
Leverkusen are in the Europa League this season. The minimum board requirements, once you take over, will be;
· Make the top 4 of the Bundesliga (Automatic Qualification into the UCL)
· Make the SF of the DFB Pokal.
· Reach the second knockout round of the Europa League.
Additionally, you will be required to play entertaining football with an emphasis in signing young players for the first team and to be developed for the future.
Leverkusen have good training facilities and a very good youth system. However, you will need to work on improving these after you stabilize your position at the club.
· Make the SF of the DFB Pokal.
· Reach the second knockout round of the Europa League.
Additionally, you will be required to play entertaining football with an emphasis in signing young players for the first team and to be developed for the future.
Leverkusen have good training facilities and a very good youth system. However, you will need to work on improving these after you stabilize your position at the club.
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Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
Leverkusen are a team that generally like to play on the counter. They like playing a fast tempo game and release their wide midfielders/wing backs into attacking positions. So a fluid counter-attacking style of football is best suited to go with their strengths.
A 4-2-3-1 is probably the best-suited formation to the available squad of players. This also helps them maintain the width and releasing the ball quickly to counter opponents.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-2-3-1 formation is as follows;
Lukas Hradecky as a sweeper keeper.
Jonathan Tah & Edmond Tapsoba as the 2 centre backs with Tapsoba playing as a ball playing defender.
Mitchell Bakker & Jeremie Frimpong as the 2 wing backs.
Kerem Demirbay & Charles Aranguiz as the 2 central midfielders, with Demirbay playing as a deep playmaker and Aranguiz as a box to box.
Karim Bellarabi & Moussa Diaby as the 2 wingers/wide midfielders.
Florian Wirtz to be played as a number 10 as an attacking midfielder.
Patrik Schick as the lone striker up front in a Complete Forward role.
The Chilean is the former club captain and is the engine in midfield. His industry and work rate are crucial in driving the team forward.
Patrick Schick
The Czech striker is an accomplished finisher and will be the most important source of goals for Leverkusen. His fitness will be crucial to getting good results in the season.
Moussa Diaby
The young winger is quite the handful from the wing. His pace makes him a very hard player to mark and will be a crucial source of assists.
Edmond Tapsoba
The Burkinabe defender has established himself as one of the mainstays the club and is one of the better players in the league in his position.
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,
Jeremie Frimpong
The young Dutch fullback is already a highly sought-after player and, in time, can be one of the leading players for Leverkusen.
Florian Wirtz
The natural successor to Havertz, Wirtz, has been touted as one of the best young players in Germany and will be a superstar in the future.
Odilon Kossounou
The young Ivorian international is also a player with a high ceiling and,
under the right circumstances, can develop into a top player for the club.
RELATED:
Best wonderkids in Football Manager 2022
· The quality of backups in the squad may not be up to the quality and could prove fatal if your squad is affected by injuries.
· You run the risk of some talents being poached by other clubs, especially in search of higher wages.
· This is a very young squad, and the inexperience will show in big matches.
Leverkusen are not the best squad in the league with respect to squad depth, these players could be welcome additions to the side.
· Armel Bella-Kotchap
· Eddie Nketiah
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
· Robert Andrich
· Daley Sinkgraven
Weaknesses
· The quality of backups in the squad may not be up to the quality and could prove fatal if your squad is affected by injuries.
· You run the risk of some talents being poached by other clubs, especially in search of higher wages.
· This is a very young squad, and the inexperience will show in big matches.
Potential Transfers (in)
Leverkusen are not the best squad in the league with respect to squad depth, these players could be welcome additions to the side.
· Armel Bella-Kotchap
· Eddie Nketiah
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
· Robert Andrich
· Daley Sinkgraven
Summary
Leverkusen are a very exciting club to manage for many FM22 Managers.
However, dethroning the usual suspects is quite difficult and a real
challenge to even the most seasoned managers. Are you up for it?
