Delicious Story - FM26 Marcelo Bielsa Uruguay | 4-3-3 Recreation part 2

This one started as an attempt to reproduce something that is much more important than simply copying a formation on the tactics screen.

Marcelo Bielsa's football cannot really be reduced to a number.

The iconic image is obviously the 3-3-1-3 / three-at-the-back structure, but Bielsa has also used a 4-3-3, including with Uruguay and during his career at Leeds.

So this is not an adaptation built for the FM26 engine.

This is a Bielsa recreation using a 4-3-3 base.

And the most important part of the recreation is not the shape.

It is the marking system.

The Bielsa Idea

The biggest change compared with many of my previous recreations is how I approached the defensive phase.

Bielsa's systems are heavily connected to individual responsibilities and man-oriented marking mechanisms.

So instead of simply selecting a high press and expecting the tactic to behave like Bielsa, I worked much more on the individual defensive behaviour.

Each player has a specific role inside the marking structure.

The idea is to create a system where the team doesn't just press as a generic block.

Players have clear references, responsibilities and aggressive reactions depending on where the opponent receives the ball.

This is probably the most interesting part of the tactic for me.

There are new marking mechanisms implemented here that I wasn't using in the same way before.

And, to be fair, I wasn't even expecting the tactic to perform this well.

The results surprised me.

Season Results | Leeds

Premier League Champions

91 points

29 wins 4 draws 5 defeats

90 goals scored

33 goals conceded

+57 goal difference

Cups

Carabao Cup Runner-Up

FA Cup Fourth Round

For a recreation that was primarily built around reproducing Bielsa's mechanisms, rather than chasing the strongest possible FM26 setup, I'm extremely satisfied with this season.

Underlying Numbers

The league performance was backed by strong underlying data:

→ 79.24 xG→ 36.32 xGA→ 74.33 xPTS

Leeds finished with 91 actual points, significantly above the xPTS model, but the underlying performance was still comfortably strong enough to support an excellent season.

The attacking volume was also very good.

→ 19.0 shots per game→ 2.4 goals per game→ 2.0 non-penalty xG/90

Defensively:

→ 1.0 xGA per game→ 0.9 goals conceded per game→ 17 clean sheets

So despite the aggressive nature of the system, it didn't collapse defensively.

Not a Possession Recreation

Leeds averaged around 52% possession.

That is important because this wasn't designed to create possession simply for the sake of possession.

The idea was much more about:

→ vertical progression→ aggressive positioning→ width→ immediate pressure→ individual marking responsibilities→ attacking with numbers→ recovering the ball and going again

That's much closer to what I wanted from this Bielsa project.

Why a 4-3-3?

Because Bielsa is not defined by one static formation.

The three-at-the-back systems are obviously among his most iconic structures, but he has also operated with a 4-3-3.

What interests me more is what happens inside the shape.

The relationships.

The pressing.

The marking references.

The rotations.

The way players follow opponents and the way the structure changes depending on the opposition.

So the 4-3-3 isn't a compromise.

It is simply one Bielsa structure recreated inside FM26.

Tactical Structure

The base is a 4-3-3.

The attacking structure uses width from the wingers, an aggressive forward reference and midfielders capable of moving vertically and supporting attacks.

But again, I don't think the most important part of this tactic is the list of roles.

The real identity comes when the team loses the ball.

That is where the marking system becomes important.

I spent considerably more time working on who marks whom, how players react and how those individual responsibilities interact with the overall press.

That is the part of this recreation I want people to actually watch in the match engine.

Player Output

A few numbers from the season:

Dominic Calvert-Lewin 45 goals 4 assists

Wilfried Gnonto 11 goals 13 assists

Ao Tanaka 8 goals 14 assists

Gabriel Gudmundsson 4 goals 16 assists

And there was useful production throughout the team rather than everything coming from one attacking position.

Set Pieces

Leeds also finished 1st in the Premier League for goals from corners.

13 corner goals

So the open-play system wasn't the only source of attacking production.

Complete Gameplay Record

Across the full run:

47 matches

35 wins

4 draws

8 defeats

113 goals scored

39 goals conceded

+74 goal difference

74% win rate

Every match was played.

What I Learned From This Recreation

This project actually opened another direction for me.

The main takeaway isn't simply:

“the 4-3-3 works.”

It's that the marking mechanics themselves work.

And that's much more interesting because those mechanisms don't necessarily have to remain attached to this exact shape.

That's probably where the next experiment can go.

The Next Bielsa Version?

The obvious next step would be to keep the marking framework and move toward the much more iconic Bielsa structure.

Something closer to:

3-3-1-3

or one of the related three-at-the-back structures.

That would allow me to keep the same defensive principles and individual marking ideas while changing the positional architecture around them.

And that's exactly why I think this project can continue.

The important part isn't forcing every Bielsa tactic into one formation.

It's building the Bielsa mechanisms first, then seeing how they translate into different structures.

What You Get

FM26 Marcelo Bielsa Uruguay 4-3-3 Recreation

→ Tactic .fmf file→ Full save file→ Season screenshots→ Tactical setup→ Team Instructions→ Player Instructions→ Individual marking setup→ TI/PI video included for console players

Final Thoughts

I wasn't expecting this recreation to perform at this level.

The objective was first of all to reproduce a different defensive behaviour, particularly the individual marking mechanics.

Instead, we ended up with:

Premier League Champions

91 points

90 goals

33 conceded

79.24 xG

36.32 xGA

17 clean sheets

13 goals from corners

And most importantly, I think I've found a marking framework that can now be reused and developed further.

The 4-3-3 Bielsa recreation works.

Now the interesting question for the next version is not whether to abandon it.

It's how far we can take the same mechanisms when we move toward the iconic 3-3-1-3 structure.