De Zerbi-inspired press-baiting, a dynamic 2-3-2-3 attacking shape, and a man-to-man high press that suffocates everyone — the complete FM26 breakdown of Farioli's Porto 4-3-3 system.
If you are anyone like me, you have probably spent hours in Football Manager trying to recreate the perfect tactic. It is not just about winning matches; it is about capturing the philosophy of a real-life manager. Recently, I have been obsessed with Francesco Farioli's work at Porto. His approach is so fascinating that I decided to try and replicate it in FM26. In this article, I will share my journey, the challenges I faced, and whether I managed to make Farioli proud. Let's dive in!
Francesco Farioli, who once worked with Roberto De Zerbi, has developed a tactical style that heavily reflects his mentor's influence while adding his own personal twists. Their tactical philosophies are quite similar, and both make use of baiting the press to draw opponents in and exploit spaces. If you are already familiar with De Zerbi-inspired systems, our FM26 De Zerbi Brighton 4-2-3-1 tactic breakdown is the perfect companion read — it covers the same press-baiting build-up principles in detail.
Farioli's Porto sets his team up in a 4-3-3, one of the most used formations. This is the main shape. However, the football is not static anymore. As many other teams do, Porto plays a dynamic and rotational style of football.
Build-Up
In the build-up phase, the team looks like a 2-4-4. It might look familiar to you — this is the shape used by De Zerbi in build-up. The 2-4-4 is used in build-up because it creates a 7v6 numerical advantage. Thanks to this, you have one more player than the opponent in the build-up phase. It also creates very good triangles and angles to pass. Farioli likes to drop one of the central midfielders and use the goalkeeper to help building from the back.
To provide this in FM26, I used 4 at the back and 2 DM. The RDM in the game is actually the RCM in Farioli's real-life system. I needed to use him in defensive midfield because the box-to-box role is not available in the CM position in FM26. Because I'm using a box-to-box role in defensive midfield, he will drop while building from the back, and progression and the final third will see him move all the way to CAM.
Furthermore, while the RCM moves deeper, the LCM takes a higher position, though not as high as the striker. He comes back to support the build-up when needed, and is ready to punish any gaps left behind.
In Possession
When the team has the ball, the formation used is 2-3-2-3. The full-backs invert during possession. This creates more options in the centre and the space between players is reduced. The 2-3-2-3 (2-3-5) shape also creates advantages in defensive transitions — as the team uses counter-pressing, the formation allows more players to press when the ball is lost. Another purpose is shortening the length of passes.
The CMs push high and attack the half-spaces when the team has the ball. The wingers provide width and the striker provides the height. This creates a front five in possession, which allows the team to have a numerical advantage in the final third.
Out of Possession
High Press
FC Porto prioritises a high, aggressive press. Farioli's choice in high press is to go man-to-man and press aggressively. Because Farioli's principle is to have the ball and control it, they are always aggressive without the ball to win it back as quickly as possible.
Low/Mid Block Defence
In the low/mid block defence, FC Porto use a 5-4-1 with the defensive midfielder dropping into the centre-backs. The other option is to use a 4-1-4-1. Their purpose in a low block is to stay compact, not to give the opponent space, and to close the centre.
Player Roles and Instructions
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper plays an important role in Farioli's system. As the team usually builds from the back and baits the press, they always need to have one more player and passing option during build-up. The BGK role is perfectly suited for this in FM26. There are no player instructions — the default role is sufficient.
Ball-Playing Centre-Backs
Both the left and right centre-backs are assigned the Ball-Playing Centre-Back role with the instruction "Dribble Less". Both Bednarek and Kiwior have quality on the ball, and this creates an advantage while building from the back. They are instructed to "Dribble Less" because Farioli's principle is to bait the press — if we want them to carry the ball forward, they will dribble and will not wait for the opponent to press.
Full-Backs
Both the left-back and right-back are assigned the Full-Back role with the instruction "Sit Narrower". The Inverted Wing-Back role is not preferred because they do not take as narrow a position as it suggests. They are cutting inside, but not as far as Inverted Wing-Backs would.
Defensive Midfielder | Dropping Defensive Midfielder
The left-sided defensive midfielder is deployed as a standard Defensive Midfielder. He is the anchor. There are no heavy personalised instructions here because his primary job is to hold his position, offer a reliable passing option for the centre-backs, and provide defensive stability when the team pushes forward. The shorter passing strategy was chosen to ensure he only plays short passes. The DDM role is also chosen as the OOP role because he usually drops between the CBs when the ball is with the opponent.
Central Midfielders
He is placed in CM because he actually plays the CM position in real life, but I put him in DM to provide his role correctly in the game. He is where the magic happens. As mentioned in the build-up section, this player needs to operate deep during the first phase but push incredibly high during the attack. To achieve this in FM26, he is set as a Box-to-Box Midfielder with the added instructions to "Move Into Channels", "Make More Runs" and "Roam From Position". This allows him to drop deep to create that 7v6 advantage, but then burst forward into the half-spaces to join the attacking front five.
He takes on the role of a PCM when the ball is with the opponent because he presses more in midfield compared to the LCM.
Operating centrally ahead of the DMs is the Attacking Midfielder. He is instructed to "Make More Runs". While the BBM arrives from deep, this AM is already positioned high to pin the opposition midfield and attack the half-spaces. Together with the BBM, they form the central attacking threat behind the striker.
The Wingers
To stretch the opposition and create those vital gaps in the centre for our roaming midfielders, we need maximum width.
On the right, a classic Winger instructed to "Stay Wider" and "Dribble More" is used. His job is to hug the touchline, isolate his full-back 1v1, and carry the ball forward.
On the left, a slightly more aggressive Wide Forward is used. He is also instructed to "Stay Wider" and "Dribble More", but with the addition of "Make More Runs". This creates a slight asymmetry — while he stays wide in the build-up, he is also eager to attack the box and act as a secondary goal threat. This asymmetric winger approach is something you will also recognise in Fabregas' Como 4-2-3-1 FM26 tactic, where a similar left/right imbalance is used to devastating effect.
The Striker
Leading the line is a Centre Forward with the instruction to "Roam From Position". He provides the height to our 2-3-2-3 attacking shape, pinning the centre-backs. However, the roaming instruction allows him to drop in and link play, dragging defenders out of position to create massive gaps for the surging AM and BBM to exploit. This is exactly the same way Farioli uses his striker.
OOP Player Instructions
All players are instructed to "Mark Tighter" out of possession. Because Farioli uses a high man-to-man press, it is very hard to implement directly in FM26. This is the approach used instead of selecting players to mark specific opponents each match.
Team Instructions
To make this Farioli replica work, the team instructions need to perfectly balance patient build-up with aggressive, lethal execution. For a broader look at how pressing systems and build-up philosophies interact in FM26, our FM26 pressing principles guide covers the key trade-offs in detail.
In Possession
This is pure De Zerbi/Farioli philosophy. We set the build-up to "Play Through Press" with "Short" goal kicks distributed to the "Centre-Backs". The passing directness is Shorter.
Crucially, to successfully bait the press, we cannot rush our build-up. Therefore, the Tempo is set to "Standard", and interestingly, Time Wasting is also kept at "Standard". This might seem counterintuitive for an aggressive, dominant team, but in this system, this specific combination is vital. It encourages our deeper players — especially the centre-backs and goalkeeper — to hold onto the ball. They will literally put their foot on the ball and wait, deliberately slowing the game down just enough to frustrate the opposition attackers and force them to step out of their defensive shape. It is the ultimate pressing trap.
However, once that press is triggered and bypassed, the transition must be devastating. That is why "Counter-Attack" is turned on. We bait them in, break the lines, and then ruthlessly attack the space they left behind at high speed. We also use "Work Ball Into Box" to ensure high-quality chances rather than wasting possession on low-xG long shots.
Out of Possession
Without the ball, FC Porto are a nightmare to play against. They employ a High Press with a Higher Defensive Line. The Trigger Press is set to "Much More Often" alongside "Counter-Press".
Furthermore, the defensive line is instructed to "Step Up More", and we use "Mark Tighter". This ensures the man-to-man aggressive pressing style Farioli loves. If we lose the ball, we suffocate the opponent immediately to win it back before they can transition.
Did It Work? The Results
Absolutely.
Total Domination in the League
We won the Portuguese Premier League in incredible fashion, finishing with 92 points (29 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses). Going invincible in the league is a testament to how defensively solid the low-block/high-press combination was. We scored a massive 95 goals and conceded only 19, leaving us with a staggering +76 goal difference.
Looking at the league stats, we led in almost every metric: Most Goals (95), Fewest Shots Against (239), Most Clean Sheets (20), Fewest Conceded (19) and Most Dribbles Made (641) — proving our wide players did exactly what was asked of them.
Cup Success and European Glory
The domestic success transferred perfectly to cup competitions. While we suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Braga in the League Cup Final, we bounced back to destroy Sporting CP 3-0 in the PT Cup Final.
The absolute crown jewel of the season, however, was Europe. Playing Farioli-ball against the continent's best, we marched all the way to the UEFA Europa League Final, defeating VfB Stuttgart in a thrilling 3-2 victory to lift the trophy. We were the highest-scoring team in the competition with 42 goals. If dominant European runs with pressing-based tactics appeal to you, also check out how the Bodø/Glimt 4-3-3 reached the Champions League semi-finals in FM26.
General Stats
Ending the season across all competitions, the tactic yielded an incredible 81% win rate over 59 games, scoring 163 goals and conceding just 43 (+120 GD). In the league, Samu Aghehowa thrived as the roaming Centre Forward, bagging 28 goals, while Diogo Costa secured 20 clean sheets behind our bait-and-press defensive line.
Recreating a real-life philosophy in Football Manager is always a challenge, especially one as dynamic and rotational as Farioli's. But by utilising the Box-to-Box midfielder to shift shapes, manipulating the tempo to bait the press with our CBs, and unleashing a relentless man-to-man high press, this FM tactic proved to be as beautifully chaotic and successful as the real thing. If you want to explore more De Zerbi-lineage systems in FM26, our Filipe Luís Flamengo tactical recreation follows exactly the same build-up philosophy applied to a completely different context.
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