103 points, 15 goals conceded and a Serie A title won with just one defeat — the complete FM26 recreation of Arrigo Sacchi's revolutionary AC Milan 4-4-2, built on high-pressing and triangle-based possession play.
When Arrigo Sacchi joined AC Milan in 1987, having left Parma, Italian football was at a tactical crossroads, with very little in way of direction going forward, following a marvellous era decades prior, led by the emergence of 'Catenaccio'. However, in the lower leagues in Italy, a tactically tantalising coach was going from strength to strength and had just been given one of the biggest roles in Italian football. In his four years at the club, Sacchi introduced an innovative, exciting way of playing and understanding football and, whilst AC Milan's success under him was temporary, his tactical ideologies continue to reverberate through European football to this very day. But what exactly attracted so many eyes to Sacchi and his sumptuous side?
The Introduction of High-Pressing
As aforementioned, Italian football, for years, had been entranced in the ideas of 'Catenaccio': a strong defensive base, which includes every outfielder defending, combined with subsequent, rapid counter-attacks. And whilst the ideas of 'Catenaccio' were slowly being phased out of the tactical norm, Italian football hadn't ever experienced the antithesis.
Arrigo Sacchi implemented his extraordinarily aggressive, high-pressing philosophy and, almost immediately, Italian football was shell-shocked. This, in large part, was the catalyst to AC Milan's tremendous domestic success in Sacchi's time at the club. Said idea was built around a key principle of Sacchi's defensive idea: no more than 25 metres between the frontline and the backline. This allowed Sacchi's side to remain very compact and difficult to break through. From within this compact base, Sacchi's side would constantly step up to play the 'offside trap'. For a detailed look at how high-pressing and defensive line settings work together in FM26, our FM26 pressing principles guide is an excellent companion read.
Fast-Paced, Possession-Based Ideology & Emphasis on Triangles
Arrigo Sacchi is one of football's great innovators; as aforementioned, his tactical strategy inspired a generation and is still inspiring many to this day. However, Sacchi himself was inspired by coaches of old. Rinus Michels and his Dutch 'total football' (totaalvoetbal) approach from the 70s immersed Arrigo Sacchi, as he worshipped the high-intensity, attacking, possession-based style of play. And you could see the effect of watching that great side in his Milan side, as they progressed play wonderfully with dynamic, often one-touch combinations.
These one-touch combinations often came off the back of Milan's overriding structural principles, which were erected by Sacchi after his time admiring Michels' sides: the emphasis on triangles. This emphasis on triangles ensured that his players would each have at least two immediate passing options, allowing them to retain the ball reliably and circulate possession with pace.
Let's Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
From build-up and goal-kicks, Milan's 'keeper (Galli) would look to distribute the ball short — tending to do so at a quicker pace to initiate Milan's attacks sooner, whilst also being able to begin rapid counter-attacks. To aid ball progression, Sacchi encouraged his side to carry the ball forward as often as possible, whilst players were also encouraged to pass the ball into space to further emphasise their idea of getting up the pitch quickly.
Sacchi's side largely utilised shorter passes in order to reliably retain possession of the ball, and they would go about their passing game relatively quickly, refusing to allow the opposition's defence even a few seconds to breathe. Furthermore, Sacchi wanted his team to spread out to further optimise their possession game, giving his players enough time and space to either pass or carry forward. Finally, upon regaining possession, Milan would launch swift, devastating counter-attacks to punish the floundering opposition.
Out of Possession
When Sacchi's side didn't have the ball for prolonged periods, they would incessantly close down the opposition as they looked to force them into errors or, at the very least, into going long and relinquishing possession. Milan's high press was very compact both horizontally and vertically, making it very difficult for opposition teams to penetrate through them.
Furthermore, Sacchi instructed his backline to consistently step up to further close down the opposition in advanced positions, often forcing the opposition into going backwards or falling for the offside trap. Finally, upon losing the ball, Sacchi's side would immediately close down the opposition to try and regain possession as quickly as possible.
Opposition Instructions
Player Roles
Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
When Milan had the ball, Galli would remain in his goal — in line with football in general back in the late 80s and early 90s — and from here he would distribute the ball short and quickly. However, his role when Milan didn't have the ball was years ahead of its time, as he had the responsibility to close the space in-behind Milan's high defensive line to sweep loose balls and close down opposition attackers running through on goal.
Full-Back | Full-Back
Both full-backs, in this system, would stay wider to enlarge the space for each of Milan's central players, including the centre-backs. From here, both full-backs were active in carrying the ball forward and could often make runs beyond their respective wingers. The only slight difference between the two full-backs was that Maldini, the left-back, was a lot more advanced in his positioning and was also more aggressive in making his overlapping runs beyond the winger on his side.
(DCR) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back
Both centre-backs, in this system, were very progressive and adventurous with the ball at their feet, as both could carry the ball forward from the back often and would tend to break the lines to find a central player to initiate Milan's attacks right through the heart of the opposition's defence. The only slight difference between the two was that the left-sided centre-back would tend to go long more often, whilst the right-sided centre-back was a bit more reserved with his passing, usually opting for a shorter pass.
(DCL) Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back
As aforementioned, the left-sided centre-back was a bit more direct in his passing compared to his centre-back partner.
Wing-Back | Full-Back — Maldini
As aforesaid, of the two full-backs, Maldini was consistently the more advanced and aggressive of the two. It's also worth a mention that Maldini regularly went long from his left-back position, often to try and find one of the two frontmen.
Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder
Of the two defensive midfielders in this system, the right-sided defensive midfielder was consistently the more 'defensive-minded' of the two, regularly dropping deeper to receive the ball. Additionally, this player would typically remain deeper, allowing his defensive midfield partner to advance further with late, third-man runs to receive at the end of a midfield, one-touch combination.
This exact pattern occurred in Milan's 1-0 win over Benfica in the 1990 UEFA Champions League Final, when Frank Rijkaard ran beyond both the midfield and attacking line to latch onto a through ball at the end of an initial one-touch combination, before coolly finishing to decide the tight final contest.
Box-to-Box Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder
The player on the left side of the double pivot often burst past the midfield line to make himself a third-man passing option. From this slightly advanced position, he could also camp just outside the penalty area, from where he could have a shot at goal from distance.
Wide Midfielder | Tracking Wide Midfielder
From this position on the right, the right midfielder would tend to move inside to allow the right-back behind him to situationally advance and overlap. However, he wasn't tied to either position, as he could drift from his position at times to aid the side's ball retention in alternate areas of the pitch. When Milan didn't have the ball, Milan's entire front four would drop deeper in line with Sacchi's aforementioned defensive principles.
Inside Winger | Tracking Wide Midfielder
On the left side, the left midfielder would drift inside more often and would largely remain in this position, drawing the opposition's right-back inside. This in turn left a large gap out wide for Maldini to exploit with arrowing, overlapping runs.
Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Centre Forward — Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit was the side's unstoppable dynamo, excelling in this 'second striker' role. From this slightly withdrawn position, Gullit would often make late runs in-behind the opposition's defence, which were largely left untracked as the opposition honed in on preventing Van Basten from getting too much joy. Said runs were often into the channels, chasing through balls from deep.
However, Gullit wasn't tied to this position as he could drop off into a deeper position to help circulate possession, or could even roam into random positions if they were optimal for the side. Finally, upon receiving the ball, Gullit could, at times, hold up play using his gargantuan frame to allow deeper runs in-behind from one of the double pivot to arrive.
Target Forward | Tracking Centre Forward — Marco Van Basten
In this position, Van Basten made life very difficult for opposing defenders as his flexibility opened up a lot of opportunities for himself and his teammates, meaning opposition defenders couldn't take their eyes off the dangerous Dutchman. Often, Van Basten would drift into the channels to open up the centre of the pitch for a deep runner to move into situationally. Finally, like Gullit, upon receiving the ball, Van Basten would tend to hold up play. For a deeper understanding of how this Target Forward and Attacking Midfielder combination creates third-man run patterns in FM26, our FM26 role synergy guide covers the exact pairings in detail.
Results
Serie A
In testing on Football Manager 26 with AC Milan, we made a mockery of the Serie A, winning the league with 103 points after winning 33 of our 38 league games — we were actually only defeated once all season! Across said 38 league games, we scored 93 goals (2.44 goals per game) and conceded just 15 goals (0.39 goals per game), whilst keeping 26 clean sheets — the league's best for each statistic.
Domestic Cups
It wasn't a perfect season, however, as we tasted heartbreak in the Supercoppa Italiana, losing 1-2 in the Final to our city rivals, Inter. On our way to the Final, we were obliged to overcome Napoli, whom we dispatched in supreme style with a 1-4 win in the Semi-Final! However, it was not all doom and gloom in the cup competitions, as we defeated Bologna 3-0 in the Final to secure the Coppa Italia — our second piece of silverware for the season. On our way to the Final, we defeated the likes of Sassuolo (1-5 AGG), Atalanta (0-1), and Lazio (0-2).
Conclusion
It's a testament to Arrigo Sacchi that he, and his incredibly innovative ideas, are still being remembered and echoed today — more than 30 years on from his time at AC Milan. At one point, he was inspired — then, very quickly, he became the inspiration, and his AC Milan side of 1987–1991 were the final form product of his ideologies. He'll, for sure, go down as one of the great innovators in European football.
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