I’m not pretending that this subject is of any import, but this one stung, this first defeat in FIFA12 to a human opponent. (This post might just be a ruse to link to a bunch of Jonathan Wilson and Michael Cox analysis.)
The winning tactic was one of my own design, or, I should say, I was the one who transcribed it from a hybrid of Bielsa/Guardiola real-life strategy to something that actually worked in the clunking, broken-down machine that EA thinks can pass as a usable tactics menu. (I miss the times when you were good, Winning Eleven.)
The offending weapon had been left carelessly as the default for a Tottenham side, the standard lineup somehow seamlessly fitting into the 3-1-4-2 constructed on my part to imitate Barcelona. Van der Vaart just off Adebayor, Bale/Modric/Parker/Lennon across midfield, King as the “1” stepping in front of defense, and Assou-Ekotto/Kaboul/Walker as the back three. My Valencia side, though talented, was too narrow and slow to play around the fortress fronted by Ledley King, and even the pace of Jordi Alba and Miguel at the back were no match for Bale and Lennon up the wings.
End result? Tottenham 2-0 Valencia.
I should be proud of this, that the system actually worked, that the frustration it induced with its pressing and ball-keeping abilities was mind-incinerating, but instead I was distraught at my inability to find a counter-tactic.
Until I spent the next two hours trying to out-Bielsa myself against the computer.
