A complete tactical recreation of De Zerbi's Spurs, covering the 2-4-4 build-up, player roles and high press.
Roberto De Zerbi is leading a revolution at Tottenham Hotspur, after successfully guiding the club away from an extraordinary, seemingly impending relegation to the EFL Championship in his first few months at the club.
Across the final seven games of last season, De Zerbi, against all the odds, managed to acquire 11 points from 21 available: a sufficient figure to stay up.
Now, with a wealth of new, technical talent at his disposal, he will be looking to build on that early, relative success to return Tottenham Hotspur to normality and, perhaps, beyond.
How De Zerbi Intends to Dominate Games This Season
In his brief time at the helm last season, De Zerbi successfully implemented a solid, progressive in-possession shape that hid the weaknesses of his poorest players and accentuated the strengths of his best.
This came from a 3-1-3-3 shape wherefrom both full-backs were given licence to move forward, yet were instructed to invert into the half-spaces.
To complement this, one of the side’s double pivot would drop in to form a back three with the side’s two centre-backs.
An example of this shape can be seen in the image below:
As the pink circles showcase, both full-backs would advance higher and invert simultaneously.
To ensure the side had sufficient defensive cover in case of a counter-attack, one of the double pivot would drop deep and to the side of the centre-backs to form a back three, as the orange circle displays.
In pre-season so far, however, De Zerbi has altered his side’s in-possession shape and it’s already reaping rewards.
Now, when Spurs have sustained possession and control, they will set up in a 2-3-5.
Both full-backs' duties of inverting last season have remained. However, they will now only invert into the midfield line - crucially, they will position themselves in the half-spaces and, sometimes, wider to offer a simple backwards passing option to the winger on their side.
With both full-backs moving into the midfield line, this allows one of the double pivot and the ‘10’ to advance higher, positioning themselves in the half-spaces to create a front five.
An example of how this may look this season, with their best team, can be seen below:
A Return to the Brighton Days
Last season, De Zerbi’s Spurs side would, at times, look to build up from deep.
However, should the opposition press them with excessive vigour, they were more than happy to bypass the press - and their technically inadequate midfield - with a direct ball over the top.
This season though, with the welcome arrival of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali in midfield, expect to see De Zerbi once again insisting on his strict principles.
This has already showcased itself in pre-season, with Spurs consistently building up in a clearly defined 4-2-4 shape - akin to that of his Brighton side, which I recreated on FM26 here.
Let’s Break Down the Tactic
In Possession
In truth, I felt I perfected the ‘In Possession’ recreation of a typical De Zerbi side in my recreation of his overperforming Brighton side, hence the distinct lack of difference between the two tactics’ respective ‘In Possession’ instructions.
Out of Possession
Once again, this was simply a case of ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
Opposition Instructions
Player Roles
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper
Antonin Kinsky’s revival, since that disastrous night in Madrid, has been nothing short of commendable and remarkable.
This season will be his season - Spurs have a gem in between the sticks.
In this system, if De Zerbi’s previous sides are anything to go by, Kinsky will be instrumental in the side’s build-up phase, moving higher to join the centre-backs as an extra man to give the side an immediate numerical advantage.
Without the ball, he’ll be crucial in sweeping loose balls in behind the Spurs defensive line.
(WBR & WBL) Wing-Back | Full-Back
Both full-backs, in this system, will likely move higher and into the midfield line in build-up, creating an immediate 2-4-4 build-up shape, just like in De Zerbi’s Brighton days.
As Spurs progress up the pitch, expect to see both full-backs sit narrower to form a solid 2-3 rest defence.
From here, both can situationally make runs beyond to reach the byline.
Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back
Both centre-backs, in this system, will likely move wider initially to create space in build-up for the ‘keeper to step up into.
Upon receiving the ball, expect to see both centre-backs frequently breaking the lines with progressive passes into dropping forward men.
Without the ball, van Hecke suits a more aggressive approach, thus the OOP role chosen.
Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Centre-Back
On the other side, I wanted Van de Ven to be a little less aggressive, yet willing to flexibly step up or drop off if the situation suffices.
Box-To-Box Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder
I felt this position, on the right side of the double pivot, was the most optimal position to platform Spurs’ new midfield man, Sandro Tonali.
From here, I wanted him to initially remain deeper to help create the side’s 2-4-4 build-up shape.
However, as the team were to progress up the pitch, I wanted him to be the one to move higher and into the right half-space.
From this position, Tonali could situationally drop into space to receive the progressive, line-breaking pass from one of the centre-backs or, alternatively, could make runs beyond the right-winger.
I added the ‘Shoot Less Often’ instruction to ensure possession was being circulated well enough.
Without the ball, I wanted to maximise Tonali’s elite ground coverage and tenacity by asking him to step up to relentlessly hassle the opposition’s deepest midfielder.
Defensive Midfielder | Defensive Midfielder
Here, I wanted to have the perfect mix of explorative, deep progression and safe retention - I felt the combination of ‘Take Fewer Risks’ and ‘More Direct Passes’ struck this balance well.
Crucially, in this role, Mateus Fernandes would be the man to remain deeper to hold down the fort for the side in the centre.
Attacking Midfielder | Centre Forward
In this position, I wanted James Maddison to move into the left half-space frequently as part of De Zerbi’s positional play methods.
From here, however, I wanted to give Maddison licence to roam from his position, particularly through dropping deep to receive the ball.
Upon receiving the ball, I gave Maddison the creative licence to unselfishly create for his team-mates.
Finally, I added the ‘Hold Up Ball’ instruction to supplement the side’s De Zerbi-based build-up strategy.
Wide Forward | Wide Midfielder
Both wingers, in this system, are instructed to stay wider to stretch the opposition’s defence.
From here, upon receiving the ball, both wingers are instructed to run at their man aggressively to create tensions in the opposition’s defensive structure and to create for their team-mates.
Furthermore, I wanted both wingers to attack the space in behind the opposition’s defensive line as frequently as possible.
Finally, I added the ‘Roam From Position’ instruction to this right-winger to open up the opportunity for a potential, smooth right-side triangle with Tonali and Porro.
Inside Forward | Wide Midfielder
On the left, I wanted Tel to be more aggressive in the potency of his runs in behind the opposition’s defence - the ‘Inside Forward’ role certainly does this.
Additionally, should James Maddison drop deeper to receive the ball, this opens up the opportunity for Tel to make a countering run in behind, with this choice of role maximising this.
Deep-Lying Forward | Centre Forward
So far in pre-season, both of Spurs’ strikers have regularly been involved in their attacks, dropping off the frontline frequently to receive the ball between the lines and link the play with quick, short, associative passes to midfielders subsequently facing forward.
I added the ‘Stay Wider’ instruction to ensure the striker was isolating the opposition’s left-sided centre-back, whilst the ‘Take More Risks’ instruction promotes creativity between the lines.
Results
Premier League
In the Premier League, we ended Spurs’ endless wait for a Premier League trophy, winning the league with 85 points after winning 25 of our 38 league games.
In fact, we were only defeated on three occasions in the league this season.
Across our 38 league games, we scored 85 goals and conceded just 24 goals: the third-best and best record for each statistic.
Domestic Cups
We made it a domestic double at Wembley in mid-March, as we defeated League One side Leicester City 4-1 to win the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2008.
On our way to Wembley, we overcame the likes of Man City (5-2 AGG), Aston Villa (1-3), and Chelsea (1-0).
We were unable to make it a tremendous treble, however, as we were knocked out by eventual winners Manchester United in the FA Cup quarter-finals, on penalties following an initial 2-2 draw.
Conclusion
Roberto De Zerbi’s reward for safely guiding a relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur side away from the depths of the Championship has been a sensational £250m+ transfer window, wherefrom the club have provided him with much-needed quality.
Now, the real challenge begins: returning the club to the UEFA Champions League spots in the Premier League on a consistent basis, before eventually competing at the elite level.
The signs, so far in pre-season, have been vastly promising, and 26/27 promises to be a season of welcome progress for the white side of North London... perhaps even better!
If you want a taste of this terrific tactic, make sure to download the tactic using the link attached to this article.
Make sure to follow FM Blog (@fmbIog) 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! Thanks for reading!
