73 points and an Eredivisie title with NEC Nijmegen — the complete FM26 recreation of Dick Schreuder's chaotic 'Dickbal' 3-4-2-1, where every player roams freely and up to eight men attack at once.
Many managers pledge attacking, entertaining football at their respective clubs. Few managers, however, fully commit to attacking football, rather opting for a more controlled and pragmatic style of play that incorporates some attacking thrust. Dick Schreuder, however, is different. This season, with Eredivisie underdogs NEC Nijmegen, the 54-year-old has showcased his unwavering commitment to attacking football, resulting in the emergence of one of Europe's most exciting teams — a team that is punching well above its weight in the Netherlands and is on the cusp of an historically fantastic campaign. But why is Dick Schreuder's side so universally loved, and how is he leading a potential attacking revolution?
Extreme Positional Fluidity
Like how many managers will pledge attacking football, pundits and analysts will call a lot of sides 'fluid'. However, Schreuder's side, with their newly famed 'Dickbal', are taking this to the extreme. NEC Nijmegen's base formation, on paper, is a 3-4-2-1 — the same formation that shaped Rúben Amorim's time at Manchester United — but once Nijmegen progress forward, this shape is simply non-existent. In fact, no consistent shape remains when Nijmegen possess the ball.
Almost all of Nijmegen's outfield players can roam from their position and rotate with one another, leading to certain players vacating their position to take up a completely foreign position on the pitch. You might find a left 'wing-back' on the right wing, a 'right winger' on the left side of a classic 'defensive midfielder' position, or, perhaps, a 'centre-back' attacking on the last line like a typical 'inside forward'. It's endless!
Unwavering Attacking Mentality
NEC Nijmegen simply love attacking. This season, in the Eredivisie, they have scored 74 goals (exceeded only by champions PSV), and this is the perfect example to showcase their unrelenting quest to score goals. As part of this overarching, attacking philosophy, you will often see as many as eight outfield players progress beyond the line of the ball, as Nijmegen look to overwhelm the opposition's defence.
With so many numbers in attack, it's almost inevitable that Nijmegen will find a player in a promising, advanced position, and this is a big part of their in-possession game. An example of this intense attacking strategy can be seen below.
The Risk...
As simply scintillating as NEC Nijmegen have been going forward, they have struggled on the defensive side of the game, and this is largely due to their overexuberance on the attack. By committing so many players forward, Dick Schreuder's side can leave a lot of space behind the attacking line and, with a few successful passes in a row, the opposition can quickly pounce into said space and be through on goal in an instant.
However, Dick Schreuder allows this as part of his 'high-risk, high-reward' philosophy, and it's certainly working as NEC Nijmegen have consistently been on the right end of thrilling contests! It's this sheer acceptance and embrace of a classic 'shootout' style of play that makes Nijmegen so incredibly intriguing, as no other team fully commits to this risky style of football — and, as a regular Premier League viewer, it's certainly a breath of fresh air in the midst of the boring, pragmatic football played over here in England.
Let's Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
In build-up, Nijmegen's 'keeper will tend to slow down on the ball before, typically, distributing short — however, he isn't restricted to this as he can often go long, especially if the opposition press high aggressively. Once Nijmegen have progressed from build-up, they will tend to look for passes into space for deep runners to chase. If the pass beyond isn't on, however, their players are encouraged to constantly drive forward with the ball using marauding carries.
Upon reaching the final third, Nijmegen are incredibly flexible attacking-wise as they can situationally choose between crosses into the box and working the ball into the box. In general, Nijmegen will predominantly utilise really short passes to reliably recycle possession, doing so at a quicker pace to keep the opposition moving. Additionally, Nijmegen players will converge closer together at times to create optimal conditions for such a quick, short passing game and also any potential counter-press as a result of losing the ball. Finally, should they regain the ball, they will immediately spring rapid, devastating counter-attacks.
Out of Possession
When Nijmegen don't have the ball for prolonged periods, they will incessantly close down the opposition to try and regain the ball as quickly as possible. To supplement their high-press, the defensive line will be positioned close to the halfway line to compact the space in midfield, forcing the opposition into risky passes over their defensive line. Finally, upon losing the ball, Nijmegen will instantly counter-press to try and regain the ball as soon as possible and prevent the opposition from launching dangerous counter-attacks. For a detailed look at how high-press and counter-press systems interact in FM26, our FM26 pressing principles guide is an excellent companion read.
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
The 'keeper, in this system, is a key player in possession as he'll advance higher to become the extra man for Nijmegen in build-up — upon receiving the ball, the 'keeper will take his time to assess his passing options before releasing the ball. When Nijmegen don't have the ball, the 'keeper has the responsibility to move higher and sweep to clear loose through balls in behind the Nijmegen rearguard.
Overlapping Centre-Back | Centre-Back (Right)
In this system, on the right side, there is a common rotation that appears often: the right-sided centre-back will tend to move really high and wide, whilst the wing-back ahead of him will tend to drift inside into the right half-space — this allows the right-sided 'defensive midfielder' to drop into the vacated space. In addition to creating this rotation, the right-sided centre-back will regularly look to carry the ball forward and, at times, run beyond the midfield line with overlapping and underlapping runs to eventually reach the byline. For a deeper breakdown of how these Overlapping Centre-Back and Playmaking Wing-Back combinations generate the rotational overloads that define Dickbal, our FM26 role synergy guide covers the exact pairings in detail.
Advanced Centre-Back | Centre-Back (Central)
In the centre of the back three, the central centre-back will tend to initially remain deeper before making penetrative runs forward to beg the question of the opposition's striker: stick or twist? As with his two centre-back partners, he can carry the ball forward often.
Wide Centre-Back | Centre-Back (Left)
The left-sided centre-back, of the three centre-backs, is typically the most reserved positionally. From this position, he'll tend to stay deeper for longer periods, however, he can situationally move higher and/or wider to create optimal angles for a recycled pass or even make a run beyond the wing-back on his side.
Playmaking Wing-Back | Wing-Back (Right)
Whilst this player's position is classed as a 'right wing-back', his role and positioning vastly veers away from the traditional 'wing-back' role and positioning. From here, the right wing-back will initially hold the width, in the same fashion of a typical wing-back. However, he will then look to invert into the right half-space, especially as the centre-back behind him progresses higher and wider — he isn't restricted to these two positions, though, as he is given licence to roam wherever he pleases. Additionally, upon receiving the ball, this right wing-back will look to take on his man often, typically cutting inside.
Advanced Wing-Back | Wing-Back (Left)
The left wing-back, conversely, is a lot more traditional in his positioning and corresponding movement. He'll largely look to hold the width on the left side, before providing aggressive, overlapping runs.
Deep-Lying Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder
Along with the left-sided centre-back, the right-sided holding midfielder's positioning is probably the most 'fixed' in this system, as both will typically hold their respective positions. From this deeper position, this midfielder will often look to come towards the ball and, at times, drop into the backline — the latter occurs regularly, especially when the right-sided centre-back moves higher and wider.
Box-to-Box Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder — Kodai Sano
Kodai Sano has been simply exceptional this season for NEC Nijmegen, and the club and its supporters can expect a large number of clubs interested in securing the young, Japanese midfielder's services. His versatility has been a hallmark of his campaign, however, he has — more often than not — tended to feature alongside Nejašmić in the midfield double pivot. From here, his strong, complete skillset is given an ideal platform from which he can truly showcase his talents; he could drop deeper at times, or perhaps move wider, or even run beyond the attacking line to provide bursting, marauding runs in behind the opposition's defence. Finally, upon receiving the ball, Sano has consistently showcased his fantastic dribbling and ball-carrying qualities, along with a handy knack for spotting a riskier, more creative pass forwards.
Attacking Midfielder | Attacking Midfielder (Right)
Of the side's two '10s' in this 3-4-2-1 formation, the right-sided '10' is the more direct and attacking. From this position, whilst he is given licence to roam and will do so at will, the attacking midfielder will often move slightly higher onto the last line and make penetrative runs in behind the opposition's defence.
Free Role | Attacking Midfielder (Left)
Whilst the right-sided '10' is the more direct of the two, the left-sided '10' is the side's joker card! To put it quite frankly, the left-sided '10' has no dignified position, nor role. He's simply allowed to move anywhere and everywhere, with the primary goal of creating situational overloads and finding and attacking space — the latter of which is seen when said '10' will make runs in behind the opposition's defence, especially from deeper positions.
At times, this player will move really wide and pick up an awkward position between the advanced, left wing-back and deep, left-sided centre-back — this position, in particular, is incredibly difficult for opposition defences to account for.
Poacher | Centre Forward
In the midst of the relentless, rotating chaos around him, the striker's positioning is largely consistent: he'll remain on the shoulder of the last defender, looking to make runs in behind the opposition's defence and, sometimes, attacking the channels. Classic 'poacher' style!
Results
Eredivisie
In testing on Football Manager 26 with NEC Nijmegen, we made history as we exceeded all expectations to win the league! 73 points was, thankfully, all it took to knock the likes of PSV, Ajax, and Feyenoord off their triopoly's perch. 22 wins, 7 draws, and only 5 defeats. Across our 34 league games, we scored 62 goals (1.82 goals per game) and conceded just 29 goals (0.85 goals per game) — the league's meanest rearguard and the league's fourth most threatening attack.
However, according to the xG table, we maybe could've bettered both statistics, as we conceded over 2 more goals than expected, whilst a clinical final day display (6-0 win vs Go Ahead Eagles) prevented us from majorly underperforming our xG For numbers.
Dutch Cup
Our hopes of a dreamy, domestic double were quickly drowned as we suffered a Third Round elimination at the hands of RKC Waalwijk, losing 2-1 after extra time.
Conclusion
In a footballing world from where the most physically dominant, yet scrappy, sides win the lot, Dick Schreuder, his NEC Nijmegen side, and their rampant 'Dickbal' are flying the flag of hope that better, more exciting and entertaining days of football tactics are lying ahead. The Dutch revolutionised football in the 1970s with Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff, and the emergence of Total Football (totaalvoetbal), and I, among many, many others, am hoping lightning may strike twice — and with European football seemingly on the horizon for NEC Nijmegen, the club and their wondrous manager may have the perfect platform to demonstrate their footballing beauty on a bigger stage.
If you want a taste of this beautiful tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article and make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) and myself (@AshtonGgmu) on our respective socials. For more FM26 tactical recreations inspired by real-life football, browse the full FM Blog tactics library. I hope you have enjoyed this article, and I wish you much success with this tactic on your saves! Thanks for reading!
