Braga FM19 Team Guide – Get That Title With FC Braga

One thing I must also note before we get started is that I haven’t made any transfers so far, in a rush to get playing proper Premier League games, so if I get there, this might make for a nice squad building post at a later date, much like my Arsenal post from FM17. Anyway, on with the tactics. Those of you that have read my articles before know that I have a strong preference for narrow formations, preferably anything that forms a diamond shape in midfield, as I focus on controlling the centre of the park. This has worked well for me on most editions of Football Manager, save for FM16 – aka Crossball Manager.

My Setup for FM19

Well, FM19’s beta is here, so I thought I would do a quick article which will outline what I’ve been doing so far tactically. I’ve been playing my beta save with Arsenal – who are always fun on Football Manager – a team who I’ve played with before on previous editions of FM. They’re usually a very good beta team as well if you want to figure out what works on the latest edition of the game, and what you’re going to use tactically because they have a large amount of players in various positions. Before I start as well, I’ll say that so far I really, really like this year’s game, and some of the changes that have been made are very good, and there are some – like training – that I’m still looking forward to diving into. Bravo SI, bravo.

Of course, on this year’s version Arsenal are slightly weaker than in years past. They no longer have Alexis Sanchez, who was a vital plater for me back when I played as Arsenal on FM17, but they do still have Mesut Özil, and also possess relative new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who I’m very much looking forward to using. There’s also Lucas Torreira, a fantastic new midfielder that Arsenal have signed. All in all, once again, Arsenal look really fun to use on FM.

Spoilers: I’m very tempted to just make this my permanent save, because it’s been so enjoyable so far.

One thing I must also note before we get started is that I haven’t made any transfers so far, in a rush to get playing proper Premier League games, so if I get there, this might make for a nice squad building post at a later date, much like my Arsenal post from FM17. Anyway, on with the tactics. Those of you that have read my articles before know that I have a strong preference for narrow formations, preferably anything that forms a diamond shape in midfield, as I focus on controlling the centre of the park. This has worked well for me on most editions of Football Manager, save for FM16 – aka Crossball Manager.

This is the system that I am currently using, a 4-3-1-2, my preferred formation. I have utilised the Vertical Tiki-Taka preset tactical instructions, but tweaked them slightly as you can see to the left of the image. So far it has us sitting 3rd in the league after 7 games, with our only dropped points being a 3-2 comeback loss to Spurs, and a 1-1 draw to Chelsea when Leno decided to clear the ball straight into Hazard, leading to a tap in for Pedro in the 88th minute after we dominated the game (65% possession). It has us 2nd best in the league for goals scored with 14, and 4th best in conceded with 7 – most against Spurs.

Defensively, this is how the system looks. As you can see we are sitting very narrow, and have a small gap between our last man and our highest man – the kind of structure that Arrigo Sacchi and Marcelo Bielsa have always strived for in their tactics. As a result we have compressed the available space that West Ham have to play in, and you can see our movement towards the ball – and passing lanes – from how I’ve tracked our pressing from the white circles to the red arrows. What’s more, you can also see from our front 3, that should we win the ball, and be able to evade any possible counterpress from West Ham, then we’re 3 against 3 in the centre of the park against their system. In the end we went on to win this game 3-2, after several odd decisions by my defenders leading to goals for West Ham. Fortunately Mesut Özil and Danny Welbeck – who has taken Lacazette’s place in the team shockingly – combined to win the match for us.

When we have the ball, this is our usual shape. As you can see we control the centre of the pitch extremely effectively with our diamond shape, and the ball is regularly moved rapidly from midfielder to midfielder, making it extremely hard for the opposition to win the ball back from us – hence why we have the largest average possession in the league right now at 61%. We also have a spare man at the back should we be countered so we’re safe in this respect despite throwing quite a few men forward, and because we’ve sucked the opposition into the centre of the park because of our narrow system, the WB’s on our flanks are in acres of space, which Bellerin usually uses to full effect – I genuinely think he’s the best RB on the game, and has been for several years.

Tactically, there are still improvements that can be made. We don’t give up many goals at all, but it appears that the majority of the goals that we do concede are from our right hand side – 5 assists have come from there in total. Now this brings into question the performance of right back Hector Bellerin. However, when we look at statistics, we need to take the whole picture into account because that solely appears as if Bellerin is costing us goals, when in fact when we take into account the assists that we create, 11 of the assists for our goals are coming from his flank – and are largely because of Bellerin himself. His average rating of 7.24 suggests that his performances are a positive. My two first choice centre backs however, Mustafi and Sokratis, have average ratings of below 7 at this point, so their performances must come into question.

In terms of our average positions, you can see that we tend to position ourselves fairly high up the pitch, and although we’re structured as a 4-3-1-2, it’s really just a diamond. We have a really good shape, and one that allows me to play the brand of football I want, with quick progression of the ball and circulating around the midfield. Another important fact to mention is that I have been playing Alex Iwobi as a Mezzala in central midfield, and he’s been fantastic so far, average 7.17 and really driving the ball through midfield when needed and committing defenders as the Mezzala should. I’d encourage anyone managing Arsenal to try it.

So that’s what I’ve been using so far on FM19, and it appears to be going fairly well so far. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s a framework from which I can build. I’m almost set on what I want to do this year, and just need some edits to become available for the game in order to properly begin. So until then, thank you very much for reading, and as always, should you have any questions regarding my plans for this year, my 4-3-1-2, or just Football Manager in general, then please don’t hesitate to ask either in the comments section of this blog, or on my Twitter (@JLAspey). Thank you again.

Braga FM19 Team Guide – Get That Title With FC Braga!

Founded in 1921, Braga is a professional Portuguese club currently playing in the Portuguese Premier League. Thanks to their performances last season, they have qualified for the EURO Cup. In FM19 Braga has great youth facilities and superb training facilities, and they are enjoying perhaps the best era in the club’s history and have a proud heritage they intend to keep adding to.

FC Braga Football Manager 2019 heritage

FM19 Braga strengths and weaknesses

When you first arrive at the team (season 2018/2019) the Braga team has many strengths and very little weaknesses. In fact, there are over 40 strengths and only 6 weaknesses. That’s one of the best rations I’ve seen in Football Manager 2019, especially for a club that isn’t that big.

Some of the main strengths that need to be mentioned are really good tackling, the team has many players with a high long shot ability, the team is very agile, determined and the team, in general, possess a high level of concentration.

There is also impressive overall squad depth since there are over 4 players all capable of playing a role in the first team.

When it comes to weaknesses, you only have 1 player playing the left wing, you could use more strikers and the wage budget is low so you don’t have much room for maneuverability.

Braga Fm19 finances

Braga season expectations

The board has high expectations of you this season in Football Manager:

In League – Champions Cup Qualification

Taça de Portugal (Cup of Portugal) – Reach Semi Final

Portuguese League Cup – Reach Semi Final

Euro Cup – Reach First Knockout Round

The transfer budget starts at 2,69M pounds and a wage budget of 216,389 per week. Altering to win every single competition you can get a transfer budget of 3,68M pounds and 235,450 per week.

We, at FMBrotherhood, wouldn’t suggest saying you’ll win everything. You simply don’t have the team to do that in the first season.

Braga FM19 Squad Dynamics Introduction

First thing you’ll notice in this Braga FM19 side is that there are NO TEAM LEADERS. That is a bad thing since it means that your team is lacking players with a high leadership/determination attribute.

Team Leaders sit at the top of the pyramid and are the most influential players at the club. They typically have leadership and experience in abundance and other players will naturally gravitate towards them.

As the most significant players in the squad, they are the ones you want to keep happiest, as any grievances will not only affect them but also permeate through the rest of the squad.

Highly Influential Players are next and exhibit many of the same hallmarks as the Team Leaders do. They provide stability and bring the core of the squad together, as they will typically be more leading players than team leaders, who are generally the few who emerge from this group and take the overall lead. In this team, you have 2 Highly Influential Players who will become team leaders as the game progresses and you should look to keep them.

Braga FM 2019 Players Review

We’ve compiled a small list of your top 5 players in the team that you should look to keep no matter what.

Name	Age	Value	Ove	Att	Def	Tec	Men	Phy
Dyego Sousa	28	€ 12.8M	13	12	11	12	13	14
Ricardo Horta	23	€ 9.5M	13	14	7	13	11	12
Raul Silva	28	€ 6.5M	12	10	15	10	13	13
João Novais	24	€ 6.3M	12	14	8	13	13	12
Paulinho	25	€ 6.3M	13	13	10	13	13	12

Dyego Sousa

Dyego is your 28-year-old Target Man. He is your best striker. At the 190cm height, he is really good in the air, he has really good finishing and composure and he is a fairly ambitious and professional individual. Try to keep him in your squad.

Ricardo Horta

Ricardo is only 23 years old, which means he can still develop. He is versatile in many positions, but his best is Attacking Midfield Left. He is really skillful, with a good passing ability and really good dribbling, agility, and flair. He is your present and the future and you must keep him in your team.

Ricardo Horta FM19

Raul Silva

Raul is a central defender and he is your best one. At the age of 28, his ability isn’t going to improve anymore but it is enough to keep him in the team for a few seasons. At the amazing height of 191cm, he is good at heading the ball and as a bonus, he has a really good jumping reach.

You won’t see many players win an aerial duel against him. Good strength, good tackling, anticipation, and bravery make this guy a beast in his position. He is a very aggressive player which might cause him to get additional yellow cards during the season but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. You need these types of players to succeed!

João Novais

João is your central midfielder, he is only 24 and he can still improve a little bit. He is your best free kick taker, he is a good passer of the ball with good technique and vision.

His height and his jumping and heading ability make him a liability when it comes to contesting for balls in the air, but all other skills make up for it. He is on a long contract at the start of the game so you won’t be having any problems with him.

Joao Novais FM19

Paulinho

Paulinho is your second best striker. At the age of 25, he may or may not improve at all, depending on how you play him. He is versatile and can also play on the wing. Good finishing, good composure and technique make him an overall good striker. We say keep him for a while!

Did you know?

Did you know that Portugal is THE biggest source of wonderkids in FM19? Especially Braga and Benfica are leading the front with most of them generating there.

One individual we would like to point out is Francisco Trincão. He is only 19 and he is your biggest talent. He is a left-footed winger who plays on the AML position. Since he likes to cut inside and it is one of his starting preferred moves, you can put him on the AMR position for better impact.

Francisco Trincao FM19

If given enough time on the pitch, he can develop into a beastly player like Gareth Bale in his prime at Tottenham. His biggest strength is his dribbling and he gets past opponents easily. His only weakness is his heading and leadership. But he doesn’t need heading since he will be mostly crossing from the wing or cutting inside to shoot.

Did you know that having a B-Team can be bad for you?

Football Manager 2019 treats B teams as a special type of affiliated club. B teams are on their own when playing matches. This makes them an independent team. You can, however, coach the B team.

Braga B team relies on the club for lots of things. They are 100% dependent financially. And this is where what we mean by bad. Yes, you can use their players in your league games, but the players aren’t good enough and YOU have to pay their wages.

This is something we learned about late and we could have had a better start to the game if we had released those players at start and used the wage budget for good players.

Players to sell or release

Having such a low wage budget just forces you to offload some players to be able to buy someone good or just to give better contracts to players you want to keep for the future.

All of the players in this list don’t deserve to be kept in the team since they don’t have anything to offer for the club at the moment and their potential ability is too low, so they won’t offer anything to do the club in the future either. You better sell them as quickly as possible.
These players are mostly from your B-Team, check them out and release them as it is cheaper in the long run.

Fábio Fonseca – $650 per week
Ze Pedro – $975 per week
Miguel Inacio – $1100 per week
Alves Ruben – $1100 per week
André Ribeiro – $5,25k per week
José Nuno Xavier – $650 per week
Afonso Caetano – $1400 per week
Tiago Pereira – $1400 per week
Robert Muric – $5,25k per week

Getting rid of these will free up $17775 which is almost 10% of your total wage budget and that is huge in FM19. The general thought is that a Key Player in FM19 takes about 5% of the wage budget. Freeing up almost 10% will allow you to bring in 2 key players.

Braga FM19 formation

Our choice for the starting lineup (with no transfers) is 4-2-4 wide. It is a mainly counterattacking formation.

Your defensive line helped by both midfielders will absorb the pressure of your opponent, but your defenders have to be skilled enough to launch fast temp attacks when possession has been won.

Braga Fm19 Tactics – Formation

We simply had to use a formation that employs attacks over wings since you have really talented players in those positions and you have quite a few of them so it’s a good choice so you can rotate them and keep them happy.

Our Conclusion

Overall, Braga has a really young squad, players who can still develop and become better. You have the luxury of only having 3 players aged over 30. With a low transfer budget and low wage budget, you will most likely have to play with your current squad or try to get some loans from Spain.

Our team member from FMBrotherhood, NIK, made an amazing FM19 Braga team guide YouTube video.

In it, you can see the tactic in detail, the first team he uses and some of his thoughts about the Braga team. He goes in-depth into their attributes and he also has a small list of players who you should sign in the first transfer window to make your squad better!

Mohamed Al-Hardan FM 2019 Profile, Reviews

Mohamed Al-Hardan FM 2019 Profile, Reviews, Mohamed Al-Hardan in Football Manager 2019, Vejle, Bahrain, Bahraini, Superligaen, Mohamed Al-Hardan fm19 attributes, current ability (ca), potential ability (pa), stats, ratings, salary, traits.

4 average vote / 1 people vote.

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