{"id":17162,"date":"2017-10-20T15:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehighertempopress.com\/?p=17162"},"modified":"2017-10-19T22:44:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T21:44:39","slug":"tempo-tactics-el-pibe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thehighertempopress.com\/2017\/10\/tempo-tactics-el-pibe\/","title":{"rendered":"Tempo Tactics: El Pibe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201ca pibe with a dirty face, a mane of hair rebelling against the comb; with intelligent, roving, trickster and persuasive eyes and a sparkling gaze that seem to hint at a picaresque laugh that does not quite manage to form on his mouth, full of small teeth that might be worn down through eating \u2018yesterday\u2019s bread\u2019. His trousers are a few roughly sewn patches; his vest with Argentinian stripes, with a very low neck and with many holes eaten out by the invisible mice of use. A strip of material tied to his waist and crossing over his chest like a sash serves as braces. His knees covered with the scabs of wounds disinfected by fate; barefoot or with shoes whose holes in the toes suggest they have been made through too much shooting. His stance must be characteristic; it must seem as if he is dribbling with a rag ball. That is important: the ball cannot be any other. A rag ball and preferably bound by an old sock. If this monument is raised one day, there will be many of us who will take off our hat to it, as we do in church.<\/em>\u201d
\nBorocot\u00f3
\nEl Grafico, 1928<\/p>\n

This is how the editor of El Grafico, the long-running Argentinian sports magazine, Borocot\u00f3 described the perfect example of El Pibe – what we might now reduce down to calling a street footballer. Throughout their footballing history – except perhaps the anti-futbol years following their 1958 world cup humiliation – Argentina has revered El Pibe – that creative spark who captures fans\u2019 imaginations with tricks and dribbles. Although not unique to the country – you could argue Luis Suarez of Uruguay fits the description and Colombia’s Carlos Valderrama was nicknamed El Pibe – it is Argentina who defined the role and produced two of the greatest examples ever in Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. In fact, I could have saved word count by replacing Borocot\u00f3\u2019s quote with any photograph of Maradona in full flow. And now this season in Serie A, we have an FM17 favourite, Paulo Dybala tearing up goal scoring records and looking every bit like the next great pibe.<\/p>\n

So this is an FM blog not a history lesson. Therefore, for the purposes of FM, I want to look at what attributes represent the qualities of a pibe and what tactical systems offer el pibe the best chance to flourish. I will look at three tactics in particular, who they were set up and run them through a few examples using FM Touch to identify strengths and weaknesses. The first tactic is the oldest one – Maradona and Argentina\u2019s World Cup 1986 triumph with Bilardo\u2019s 3-5-2. The second is Guardiola\u2019s 10\/11 vintage that used Messi to great effect to beat Manchester United to win the Champions League. The final tactic brings up bang up to date and will be looking at how Allegri has changed his Juventus side for league games to get the best out of Dybala.<\/p>\n

What Makes El Pibe?<\/h3>\n

In Football Manager terms at least I would describe the attributes of the player rather than the position although it\u2019s safe to say he\u2019s a forward.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

FM Attributes of El Pibe<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Technical<\/strong>\n
      \n
    • Dribbling<\/li>\n
    • First Touch<\/li>\n
    • Technique<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • Mental<\/strong>\n
        \n
      • Determination<\/li>\n
      • Bravery<\/li>\n
      • Flair<\/li>\n
      • Vision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
      • Physical<\/strong>\n
          \n
        • Balance<\/li>\n
        • Agility<\/li>\n
        • Acceleration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
        • Preferred Moves (not essential)<\/strong>\n
            \n
          • Runs with ball often<\/li>\n
          • Likes To Round Keeper<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            In general Role\/Duty and Player Instructions you want to be looking at getting your Pibe as high an attacking mentality as possible. PIs include:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • Move Into Channels<\/li>\n
            • Roam From Position<\/li>\n
            • Dribble More<\/li>\n
            • Shorter Passing<\/li>\n
            • More Risky Passes<\/li>\n
            • Closing Down Less<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              This is what you want to see:<\/p>\n