I first used this tactic on FM07. I found it on another board, tweaked it a little bit, and found some success with it. After playing my first FM08 game with a regular ol 442, I decided to start a new game using this 2-3-2-3 tactic, and using Befica. I picked Benfica because 1) they have a lot of good players that fit this tactic; 2) they have Freddy Adu (I'm American, and he is our golden boy); and 3) I went to a Benfica match this spring and it was a lot of fun (lol the crowds at MLS matches are so boring).
The types of players that should be used for this tactic:
-In addition to the usual requirements for DCs, they should have good pace and acceleration.
-The WBs are really the key to the attack.... They should be pacey, good passers, good at dribbling and delivering crosses. I experimented a bit with using my RWB Nelson as a playmaker. It worked OK, but not great.
-The two AMCs that I've used (Adu and Di Maria) are both very fast, good passers and good dribblers. They both score a lot of goals, so finishing and composure are also important for this position.
-For my three strikers, I like to play Cardozo in the middle (he's a big, strong, good in the air, but not very pacey striker) and play Nilmar and Love (more balanced strikers with good pace) on the outsides.
Here's the formation:
and here are my team instructions:
when I play against weaker teams, I go to a more attacking tactic, using the same formation. These are the team instructions for that tactic:
I have a defensive tactic that I use to protect a lead at the end of games. It's just a standard 4132 with a defensive midfielder and timewasting set on high.
ok, back to my regular tactic... here are some of the key individual instructions:
mentality:
closing down:
try through balls: (I score a lot of goals off of good through balls)
Here's a download for the tactic: link Training:
I have a different training schedule for each position (GK, DC, WB, DMC, AMC, fast strikers, strong strikers). In the beginning of the season, I turn the workload for these schedules up high. Once the players get into excellent condition, around October or November, I turn the intensity of each schedule down to medium.
Roster:
In the three seasons I've played with this team, I haven't bought very many players, since Benfica already has a lot of the types of players that fit with my tactic. But here are some of my key purchases:
-LWB Guilherme from Vasco for 8M euros in my first season- good young D/WB who became my first team LWB.
-Juan Manuel Torres from San Lorenzo for 1.4M euro in my first season- Torres was one of my favorite players to play at DMC in FM07. I tried him with my first team for a while, but he wasn't very good so I went back to playing Diego Souza at DMC.
-Vagner Love from CSKA Moscow for 4.2M euro in my second season - I didn't have enough good strikers and Love's contract with Moscow was expiring, so was able to pick him up cheaply.
-Nilmar from Ajax for 11.5M euro in my third season - another very good striker. With him and Love on the roster I was able to use Mantorras and Berseggio (strikers who were on the roster when i started the game) as cover.
-Gianni Zuiverloon for 14M euro from Napoli mid-way through my third season - David Luiz is a good young DC on Befica. He was on my first team of the first 2 and a half years of the game, but he was demanding a transfer and wasn't playing well. So I sold him to Roma for 24M euro and I bought Zuiverloon to replace him. Zuiverloon has done well in the few months I've had him.
Results:
07/08:
I didn't score as many goals as I would have liked, but I had a good season for the most part. Porto had a very strong season and ran away with the league title. I won the Portuguese League Cup. I qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League (barely)
But I lost in the first round 6-2 against Barcelona.
08/09
This season was a lot of fun to play. I scored a ton and I conceded very few goals.
I qualified for the knockout round of the champions league again, but I lost the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford, and in the second leg ManU used a very defensive tactic and I couldn't score, so I lost 2-0 on aggregates.
I won the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup, for a domestic treble.
09/10
I didn't score as many as the season before, and I conceded more. The weak teams in the league played very defensively against me, so I had a lot of 0-0 and 1-0 games. Using my aggressive tactic worked a little bit, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.
Again I won the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup. I did well the CL group stage again, but this time I did surprisingly well in the knockout stage. In the first round, I beat Real Madrid 5-2, then I beat Munich 5-1. In the semifinal against Inter, I won on penalties, and then I beat Juventus in the final 4-1.
Benfica 2-3-2-3 formation 
Linear Mode
