FM24: Okan Buruk's Galatasaray Press Tactic vs Bayern

Looking at how Okan Buruk's pressing tactic played out in the Galatasaray vs Bayern Munich match, we'll examine how FM24's GS pressing tactic blends with Okan Buruk's style through the lens of Football Manager 2024. Here's FM 24 Okan Buruk's GS vs Bayern Munich match tactic!

Okan Buruk is exceeding expectations this season in the Champions League, and with two matches left in what's considered one of the toughest groups, Group A, his side still controls its own destiny to advance from the group. With a win in the GS - MANU match, Galatasaray would carry their advantage into the final matchday. Here, we'll look at the pressing setup and style of play the team used against Bayern Munich, especially in the first leg.

We'll look at how Football Manager 2024 managers should apply the heavy pressing tactic that's been widely praised for Okan Buruk, and that GS fans spoke fondly of their team for even after the loss.

High Pressing Starts From the Opposing Goalkeeper

We're living through an era of football where building from the back is heavily in vogue. With centre-backs comfortable playing out from the back inside their own box to work the ball toward the opposing goal, pressing has always been the biggest weakness of big teams that build up play this way. To break this press, teams pick technically skilled players in every position, which creates major difficulties for the team applying the front-foot press.

It's not just defenders anymore — the goalkeeper's footwork has also become one of the most important factors in build-up play, because opponents no longer press starting from the centre-backs but from the goalkeeper, trying to disrupt a clean build-up from the back. One of the two main reasons Okan Buruk applied heavy pressing in the first leg was, of course, Neuer's absence. When you have a talent like Neuer in goal, he can build play with both feet and make the opponent's press hopeless. We saw this counter to the press in the second leg, played at Munich's home ground. The second reason for applying this kind of pressing setup is that Okan Buruk's squad suits it, and pressing football is at the core of his own managerial identity. On top of that, they were playing at home and believed that, backed by a big crowd, they could get the score in their favor against Munich in the first half.

Your Midfield Duo Needs to Be Tireless

As the term itself makes clear, the international equivalent of the Turkish term "ciğersiz" (literally "lungless," i.e. tireless) is the box-to-box midfielder, and players who fit that description have become a staple of every team. Since the front players are heavily involved in pressing, the tactic was built around a scenario where the midfield duo — Torreira and Kaan Ayhan — would constantly cover both in front of and behind them, leaving the opponent no open space. We'll get to how to set these players up in FM 24, but first it's important to properly understand what defines these two key players. They need to have very high stamina levels, good pressing ability, well-timed challenges, and be able to play quickly and accurately once they win the ball. Although Torreira played more as an 8 and Kaan Ayhan as a 6 during the match, both of GS's central midfielders — with a defensive line pushed almost up to the halfway line — tried to completely cover the entire space from midfield to the opponent's goal.

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Your Two Centre-Backs Need to Man-Mark Well

In this tactic, where you also force the opponent's attackers to play close to the halfway line, both centre-backs need to track attackers almost like a shadow, stay in close contact, and get tight to them, so nothing gets in behind and, on a long ball, the attacker can't lay it off into the space behind the defense. Davinson's pace and physicality, combined with Abdülkerim's new "beast mode" that's seen him jump at least 2-3 levels, meant they didn't let some of the world's finest strikers get on the ball and gave them a serious hard time.

• Centre-backs will know how to play a high line,
• They'll deal with long balls almost flawlessly, and
• They'll work hard to keep the team compact from front to back.

Your Striker Will Finish What Comes His Way

Galatasaray, who we'd expect to be one of the last teams to have trouble in this area, struggled badly in a match where Icardi went in carrying an injury and was having something of an off day, and they couldn't find anyone else to chip in with goals. Kerem, Zaha, and whoever played on the right flank also struggling for goals led to them losing their advantage in the second half of the match.

Looking specifically at FM 24, Galatasaray has a pretty good attacking line, with players who combine finishing quality with high stamina levels up front. Our front line will finish what comes their way and will also fit well into the press. Since our main plan is to score after winning the ball, you'll generally be launching quick counters, which is why a calm, clinical poacher striker will make this tactic shine.

Our FM 24 Okan Buruk Match Tactic Video Is Live:

Football Manager 2024 Okan Buruk GS - Bayern Tactic

While attack and defense need to be positioned somewhat differently, applying a 4-2-4 shape with a high press in principle will get you close to Okan Buruk's Galatasaray tactic in FM 24.

While it's not essential for our goalkeeper to be technically gifted on the ball, we should use a composed, forward-thinking sweeper-keeper type who can quickly deal with long balls played over the top. As mentioned above, we should use the centre-backs as standard-type centre-backs who deal with balls quickly and shut the opponent down, rather than ones built for playing out from the back in this tactic. Since we're playing a back four, we won't use wing-backs, instead positioning Kazımcan and Sacha Boey as standard full-backs, who need to know their main job is shutting down the opposing players even while contributing to attack. For the midfield duo, we'll position Torreira as a Segunda Volante and Kaan Ayhan as a Ball-Winning Midfielder, focusing entirely on energy and stamina. We'll set Kerem up as a shadow striker in this tactic and Icardi as a poacher, trusting him to finish whatever comes his way. Among the wide players, using Zaha as an inside forward and Tete as an inverted winger will be the right move to open up space in front of Sacha Boey.

FM 24 GS Okan Buruk Press Tactic: Defense

In this tactic, where we position our defensive line very close to midfield, we apply the full pressing logic and offside trap alongside the "press from the opposing goalkeeper" option. We know balls played in behind are our biggest weakness, and we accept that as the risk we're taking on.

FM 24 GS Okan Buruk Press Tactic: Attack

Our attacking mentality will always be geared toward playing direct and fast rather than through possession. While looking for quick, mixed crosses from the right or left, we'll mostly focus on Icardi, taking advantage of his passing ability to set up service for many players around him. Since the front line is a very capable unit, it's very unlikely you won't do well with the balls you win in these situations!

FM 24 Okan Buruk Galatasaray Press Tactic Instructions

1. Fernando Muslera - Sweeper Keeper
2. Kazımcan Karataş - Standard
3. Abdülkerim Bardakçı - Standard
4. Davinson Sanchez - Standard
5. Sacha Boey - Standard
6. Kaan Ayhan - Ball-Winning Midfielder
7. Lucas Torreira - Segunda Volante
8. Zaha - Inside Forward
9. Tete - Inverted Winger
10. Kerem Aktürkoğlu - Shadow Striker
11. Icardi - Poacher (Opportunist)