Alright so today I wanna share how I tried to recreate Argentina’s messy 2018 World Cup tactics in Football Manager. Everybody remembers that disaster, right? Messi trying to carry the whole team on his back. Wild stuff. Felt like trying to fix a leaky boat with duct tape. Here’s how my experiment went down.
Starting Out With High Hopes
First thing I did was dig up old articles and match reports. Wanted to see what formation Jorge Sampaoli actually used. Shockingly inconsistent! He chopped and changed like crazy. Started with this lopsided 4-2-3-1 thing, then suddenly switched to three at the back against Croatia? Madness. I scribbled down player names – Mascherano as a tired old anchor, Otamendi being a hothead, Higuain missing sitters… classic. Booted up FM and picked Argentina in the 2018 database. Felt like opening Pandora’s box.
Trying to Make Sense of the Mess
Early attempts were rough. Set up that initial formation:
- Fired up Caballero in goal (big mistake huh?)
- Tagliafico & Mercado as fullbacks bombing forward
- Mascherano + Biglia sitting deep
- Messi roaming freely behind Aguero/Higuain
Simulated the group stage. Instant chaos. The midfield? Gone. Vanished. Mascherano was running through molasses. Messi dropped way too deep trying to get the ball. Our defense crumbled faster than a cookie in milk. Conceded two against Iceland? Croatia smashed us 3-0 in the sim too. Felt depressingly accurate. Had to pause and grab coffee. What the heck was Sampaoli thinking?!
Desperate Tinkering
Okay, Croatia defeat called for Plan B (or was it Plan C?). Ditched Aguero, threw Pavón and Meza on the wings. Looked like headless chickens. Di Maria got “injured” in my sim too – spooky. Against Nigeria, sheer luck with that Rojo volley saving us. Absolutely nailed the panic. You could taste the desperation through the screen. Fiddled with player roles constantly – made Messi a straight-up False Nine, told Mascherano to just destroy anything moving, pushed the backline higher. Created zero chemistry. Players looked lost, passes went astray.
The France Match Disaster
Round of 16 against France. Knew what was coming. Started with a 3-4-2-1 this time, Aguero benched again (why?!). Mbappe burned Marcos Rojo alive. Twice. Di Maria scored a worldie… then the defense parted like the Red Sea. Let Mbappe run 60 yards untouched. Twice! Final whistle blew 4-3. Leaned back and just sighed. Recreated that sinking feeling perfectly. Messi stood still in the center circle in my sim, just like real life. Gut punch.
What I Learned
Total mess. My FM experiment proved what we all saw. No clear plan. Too much reliance on individual magic, especially Leo. The midfield was nonexistent, like playing with 9 men. Sampaoli kept changing things, confusing everyone. Playing Banega deep? Asking Meza to mark Mbappe? Football suicide. Trying to set this up in FM felt like building a house of cards during an earthquake. Constantly collapsed. That 2018 squad had talent but zero cohesive strategy. My biggest takeaway? Coaching matters. A whole darn lot. Got weird respect for how far Messi dragged that chaotic squad despite everything.
