How José Bordalás’ hard-nosed Getafe defend, disrupt and win - then how to mirror it in FM24
José Bordalás joined Getafe as the club’s new Head Coach in September 2016, with the club languishing down in the Spanish second division, known as the ‘Segunda División’ back then. In his first season, Bordalás gained the club promotion to the La Liga, wherefrom they’ve been ever-present since. Bordalás’ Getafe were relatively unknown around Europe, up until recent years where his team’s ‘anti-football’ has gained traction around the world, as he’s steadily kept Getafe in the league. In this article, I’ll be breaking down the system of the most hated team in Spain, before demonstrating my recreation of their tactics and showcasing the results said tactics achieved in testing on Football Manager 2024. Firstly, let’s analyse the system…
Why are Getafe called ‘Anti-football’?
In Spanish football, the tactical norm for teams is to, as you could probably guess, dominate possession and control the game as much as possible - some teams go about this in a more structured manner, such as Las Palmas, and other teams go about it in a more chaotic manner, take Flick’s Barcelona. Getafe, on the other hand, completely sacrifice possession and primarily focus on the art of defending and winning games through marginal gains, such as set-pieces, long balls and counter-attacks. Additionally, unlike other teams in Spain, Getafe lean HEAVILY into the ‘dark arts’, performing acts like ultra-aggressive tackling, time-wasting and winding the opposition players and fans up, whether that be through performative injury smokescreens, appearing unnecessarily passionate (which usually leads to opponents physically lashing out) and other frustratingly heinous acts.
Incredible Defensive Set-up
Getafe rely heavily on their defence in-games, and they can afford to do so as their defensive shape and system is particularly impressive. They rarely press the opposition high, rather retreating into a compact 4-4-2/4-1-4-1 mid-low block - from here, Getafe will force teams into wide areas as much as possible, wherefrom they can trap the opposition by the touchline. If the opposition does try to access the centre, Getafe players will swarm the receiver, usually resulting in a reactive back-pass to the centre-backs. To replicate this, I applied the following Opposition Instructions:
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
When Getafe has the ball, they rarely look to retain possession, rather opting for quick long balls into space for their attackers to chase - to do this, they usually tend to attack the flanks. When they’re in the final third, Getafe will try and get the ball into the box as quickly as possible, typically through direct, early crosses. Finally, Getafe are masters of the ‘Dark Arts’, as they will happily waste time often, play for set-pieces and, generally, operate in a more disciplined manner.
In Transition
When Getafe loses possession, they will immediately counter-press to try and instantly disrupt the opposition who may be trying to launch a counter-attack. When they win back possession, they will often hit teams on devastating counter-attacks. Finally, from goal-kicks, the ‘keeper will almost always go long.
Out of Possession
When Getafe don’t have the ball, they retreat into a compact mid-block that aims to block the centre of the pitch, preventing central progression. From here, they will press the opposition often to try and disrupt the opposition’s possession and progression, tackling harder to further enact the ‘Dark Arts’. Getafe initially press higher, using a high line, to try and immediately disrupt the opposition - if unsuccessful, they will drop off into their mid-block. Finally, they always try and force the opposition into wide areas.
Player Roles
Goalkeeper - Defend
In this system, the ‘keeper’s job is pretty simple: Prevent the ball from going in. This role perfects that idea. No added instructions.
Full-Back - Support
Of the two full-backs in this system, the right-sided full-back is typically the more reserved in positioning and in their attacking ventures - regarding the former, he tends to sit deeper than the left-back and, regarding the latter, he tends to cross often, however, from a deeper position. Finally, as with almost every Getafe player, he tends to be quite aggressive in tackles. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instructions:
(DCR & DCL) Central Defender - Defend
The duty of both centre-backs in this system is simple: Defend. In possession, they don’t need to be particularly progressive/take many risks, and that’s reflected by the choice of role for the pair. No added instructions.
Wing-Back - Support
Of the two full-backs in this system, the left-back is certainly the more adventurous, as he takes up a relatively higher position in-possession, whilst also sitting wider than his full-back counterpart. From this position, like his counterpart, he looks to regularly whip crosses into the box. Finally, as with his counterpart, his aggression tends to be heightened in duels/tackles. Therefore, I felt this role was ideal, with the added instructions:
Regista - Support
In this position, Milla is the heartbeat of the team, moving from side to side to receive the ball in midfield if it’s needed. Additionally. He can occasionally get forward and even crash the box. Finally, when Getafe don’t have the ball, he tends to press higher and is typically very tenacious. Therefore, I felt this role was best-fit, with the added instruction:
Ball-Winning Midfielder - Support
In this position, Arambarri is also very tenacious, almost cynical in fact, in his tackling as he regularly leaves his position to put out fires and pressure opponents across the pitch - this role best replicates that tendency, no added instructions.
Winger - Support
In this system, the right-winger holds the team’s width predominantly, before cutting inside when he gets into the final third - however, whilst he mainly holds the width, he can often drift from his position to create situational overloads. Finally, when Getafe don’t have the ball, both wingers are proactive in closing down the opposition and tackling harder. Therefore, I felt this role was best-suited, with the additional instructions:
Inverted Winger - Attack
In this system, the left-winger can also situationally drift and roam from his position, much like the right-winger. When he gets the ball, the left-winger almost always cuts inside, before deciding whether to cross the ball in or show some creativity through a through ball. Finally, as with the right-winger, the left-winger is very proactive and aggressive in the press and tackle. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instructions:
Pressing Forward - Attack
Both strikers in this system have similar duties when Getafe don’t have the ball, however, their responsibilities in possession differ largely. On the right-side, the striker must be prepared to run beyond and in-behind, whilst often attacking the wide channels with his runs - additionally, he can roam from his position to cause chaos in the counter-attack, allowing him to often arrive unmarked to end a counter-attacking move. When Getafe don’t have the ball, both strikers lead the press and are also very aggressive in tackles. Therefore, I felt this role was as close to perfection as possible, with the added instructions:
Pressing Forward - Support
On the other side, the left-sided striker must be prepared to drop deeper and hold up play, before also attacking the channels and drifting from his position - this roaming creates unpredictability in Getafe’s counter-attacks. Therefore, I felt this role was perfect, with the added instructions:
Results
La Liga
In La Liga, we completed the Getafe fairytale journey by winning the league in one of, if not, the closest title races I’ve ever seen on FM24! Despite Real Madrid possessing a significantly higher goal difference, we won the league virtue of results between the two teams - we managed to secure a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu after beating Los Blancos at home earlier in the season, resulting in our title win! Of our 38 league games, we won 30 games, drew 5 games and lost just 3 games, having scored 71 goals (4th best) and conceded just 22 goals (2nd best).
Copa del Rey
In the Copa del Rey, we ended up getting knocked out in the Fourth Round, following a 3-1 (AET) defeat at the hands of eventual competition winners Real Betis.
Conclusion
Getafe, under José Bordalás, may be one of the most hated and frustrating Spanish outfits the country has seen, but their methods are no doubt successful and, tactically at least, incredibly intriguing. Considering he’s now established them as a La Liga team over the course of over five years, who knows what this Getafe team are/could be capable of under Bordalás?! If you want a taste of this overperforming tactic, make sure to download the tactics using the link attached to this article and follow FM Blog and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves!
