Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Tactics: Total Football 2.0 | Football Manager 2022

Erik ten Hag’s Ajax has been one of the biggest entertainers in football Europe lately. In fact, they have embraced my heart over the last couple of years. With its pressing intensity, one-twos, quick short passes and manipulation of space to dominate the opposition team, Erik ten Hag has built a Dutch team that can compete against the best teams in Europe. Some would even say they have taken up the reign from the Tiki-Taka style of play used by Pep Guardiola’ Barcelona and the Dutch Total Football, and modernized it.

By combining the German school of Gegenpressing with elements from Johan Cruyff’s football philosophy and the Dutch Total Football, Erik ten Hag have implemented a unique vertical tiki-taka style of play that dominates the opposition by exploiting overloads and interchange of positions.

It’s been attacking football at its best! Both entertaining to watch with its many goals, and brilliantly tactically executed from a coaching perspective by adhering to the rules of positional play!

Erik ten Hags Ajax Tactics is one I’ve wanted to recreate in Football Manager for a long time, but I’ve prioritized differently. Until now!

The time has finally come to give you my Football Manager 2022 Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics and look closer to the successful 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 system deployed at AFC Ajax under Erik ten Hag by analyzing their tactics for Football Manager 2022. Along with this Ajax tactical analysis, you’ll get the chance to download a megapack of Passion4FM’s FM22 Ajax tactics featuring the 4-3-3 and Ajax’s 4-2-3-1 system!

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Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Stats 2021-2022

Erik Ten Hag is currently in the leading position to take up the job as Manchester United manager due to his ability to work wonders at Ajax over the past 5 years. With limited resources and continuously being forced to re-build the squad by incorporating young Dutch talents to replace those being poached by bigger clubs, he has done a phenomenal job making Ajax into one of the leading clubs in Europe.

This season, Ajax’s performance have led to some remarkable stats.

At the time of writing, Ajax is topping the Eredivisie four points ahead of PSV with five matches yet to be played. They have roller coasted the Eredivisie this season by scoring 83 goals in 28 matches by winning 23 matches, and having 3 draws and losses in their records. So far, Ajax have managed to win 5-0 on 8 occasions – beating PSV on home soil as one of the biggest achievements to date!

By taking 20.7 shots per game, they have managed to score an outstanding 2.93 goals per game in the current season. Despite of that, their 15 goals against is even more remarkable! By conceding only 0.51 goals per game, the similarities to this Ajax side to Barcelona 2009-2010 is striking. Back then, Barcelona conceded 0.6 goals per game and scored 2.57.

Like Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, Ajax is the master of keeping possession. With an average possession of 62.7% and 638.4 passes completed per game at 84.8 pass completion percentage they have literally dominated any opposition by keeping possession by using quick-short passes to work their way into goalscoring opportunities.

Ajax’s unique playing style and attacking fluidity has seen Erik ten Hag’s Ajax has scored 575 goals in 209 games, only conceding 176 goals. That’s a remarkable 2.75 goals per game with a little as 0.84 goals conceded per game. All in all, it gives us an amazing win ratio of 74.16%!

DID YOU KNOW?
Erik ten Hag needed only 128 matches to enter the history books as the fastest manager in the league history to reach 100 wins with Ajax.

It’s no reason why Erik ten Hag is the favorite for the Manchester United job! So let’s take a closer look at what The Red Devils Fans can expect by looking closer at how Erik ten Hag likes to set up his team and how we can emulate the Ajax tactics in Football Manager 2022.

Keep reading about my tactical analysis of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics and the principles of play used by Erik ten Hag that works so wonderful for de Godenzonen.

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Tactical Analysis of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Tactics

The Playing Style of Erik Ten Hag’s Ajax

Erik ten Hag’s Ajax looks like a mix of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Münich team and Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the way they behave on and off the ball. By combining the best of Liverpool’s counter-pressing with the possession-hungry Pep’s Barcelona side, Ajax has impressed Europe with its magnificent style of play!

Erik ten Hag has created a fluid attacking system that is as balanced with the ball as without it. The team moves as one unit. It’s a perfect combination of compactness, triangles and perfect shapes on and off the ball.

All in all, it combines the best of two worlds: total control in possession and high pressing. Hard to break down for the opposition team in possession and hard to defend against out of possession.

Their gegenpressing combined with a priority to attack at greater tempo and more directly, have resulted in a unique vertical Tiki-Taka playing style that dominates any opposition. Aided by their structure and positioning in relationship to each other, it provides the perfect foundation for extreme domination of play.

By combining specific passing patterns and the focus on increasing the number of passing options for the player on the ball with aggressive press and looking to win possession as high up the pitch as possible, Ajax manage to dominate the match both in possession of the ball, in transition and off the ball.

A Quick summary of Erik ten Hag’s principles of play

• Playing to entertain and daring to play their type of game regardless of the opponent,
• intense pressing and giving the opponent as little time on the ball as possible
• movements and third man runs to create pockets of space to advance play effectively. These penetrating runs are difficult to defend against as they are often opposite of each other
  • by interchanging positions they look to ensure constant occupation of spaces to link play perfectly to progress the ball through the half-spaces.
• defensive solidity through great organization and compactness when out of possession
• playing attacking football in a unique style that is as entertaining to watch as fun to play
• individual skills (flair and vision) to turn the result in their favor along with the technical abilities in possession of the ball.

All in all, Ajax’s tactics DNA and football philosophy can only be described as Total Football 2.0!

Ajax’s Formation & Shape

At Ajax, ten Hag has favored to set up his team in a flexible 4-2-3-1 formation. At least on paper. The starting shape with a double pivot in the middle looks more like a 4-3-3 in practice.

Even though formations is just numbers for Erik ten Hag, we can split this season up in two. At the start of the 2021-2022 season, he set up his team in a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation with a double pivot who splits.

Meanwhile Edson Alvarez holds position in front of the two centre-backs and covers the larger area in front of the defence, Ryan Gravenberch is given the freedom to join the attacks and take up advanced positions as play enters middle third – moving into the channels on the left side trying to overload the left half space.

The role of Gravenberch is highly important to the teams structure. His duty is to balance the midfield and connect the defensive unit with the attacking unit. At the same time, he’s a press-resistant player who can make progressive carries and look to both cause havoc in the oppositions defensive organization by dribbling forward with the ball, and give his forwards time to recover in their correct positions.

Gravenberch is the one often initiates counter-attacking moves. When progressing forward with the ball, Gravenberch will tend to move into central areas whilst the front four stretches play by covering each channel on the pitch. In these situations, the Ajax shape will look like a 2-3-1-4.

As a box to box midfielder, it makes him better connected with Dusan Tadic (left winger) and Steven Berghuis (attacking midfielder) and more able to utilize his creativity and ability to progress play into the final third by carries – something that attracts the attention of the opposition and free up space for Tadic, Haller or Berghuis to run into.

Actually, Ryan Gravenberch’s role in the system has seen a minor evolution from the 2020-2021 season. From playing in a deeper role, more like a Segundo Volante, he’s now playing more like an Advanced Playmaker, Central Midfielder support or Box to Box Midfielder in their 4-2-3-1 system.

Essentially, it’s the defensive stability Edson Alvarez provides, that lets Gravenberch now play to his strengths further up the pitch – using spatial awareness, magnificent Paul Pogba-ish flair with the ball and excellence touch and vision to control the ball in congested space. By having Blind tucking inside behind him also free up the defensive responsibilities of Gravenberch. He doesn’t need to drop as deep to be involved with the build-up.

If we combine the overall heat maps of Berghuis, Alvarez and Gravenberch, we see their positions are very asymmetrical. Everyone has different duties and roles within the system.

On the right, Steven Berghuis will make somehow similar movements as Gravenberch – moving into channels. As an attacking midfielder he will move from his starting position in the center towards the right flank. By trying to overload on the right half space, Berghuis is able to play progressive passes into the penalty box to set up either Haller or Antony for a goal scoring opportunity, or get into goalscoring positions himself by attacking movements into space.

NB! What’s important to remark is that when the team is in possession, Gravenberch and Berghuis will often make opposite runs of each other. They are very coordinate with their play.

As play enters the final third, the forward runs of Steven Berghuis on the right side of the pitch, alongside the forward runs of either Gravenberch between the channels or Blind overlapping on the left of Tadic, creates a 2-3-5 formation. This creates a numerical superiority against the traditional back four defense. If facing a back five, the duty of Gravenberch and frequency of his forward runs can increase, making it to six players getting into positions in or around the penalty area, since you got Mazraoui who tends to underlap and make progressive runs into the left half space – moving between the oppositions fullback and central defender just like an complete wingback.

Since Gravenberch and Berghuis moves into the channels on either side of Haller with Tadic and Antony stretching play, the shape of Ajax tends to look like a 3-2-5 in possession.

Up front, Ajax uses a traditional target man. While Erik ten Hag have previously used a more unorthodox striker (False 9 or deep-lying forward), the introduction of Sebastian Haller meant Ajax had different strategies to lean on. With Sebastian Haller they now had a more direct route to goal. Besides providing more depth to the team’s structure, it gave Ajax more options when entering the final third.

DID YOU KNOW?
Gravenberch and Mazraoui is the ones in this Ajax team who makes the most progressive carries into the final third. Gravenberchs 24 carries into the final third is joint with Benzema, 1 off Cancelo and 10 off Lionel Messi.

The Wingbacks Importance & the Back Three

In possession, Ajax uses a number of variants to maintain security at the back. When the two wingbacks overlaps on either side the defensive organization is a 2-1 shape. In these situations, Alvarez holds back and protects the area just in front of the two center backs. At times, his role will resemble a deep-lying playmaker defend, half-back or a defensive midfielder.

Then you have situations where Ajax forms a 3-1 defense with a back three of Lisandro Martinez, Jürrien Timber / Perr Schuurs and Danny Blind with Alvarez in front. This is often the case when Ajax uses their 4-2-3-1 system.

However, when Ajax uses their 4-3-3 system and are attacking, they favor to use a 3-2 base to protect against quick counters and to maintain ideal circumstances to recycle possession. Now, both Alvarez and Mazraoui (as Inverted wingback) will be positioned in front of the back three – protecting the center and the left half space channel.

In both of these situations, Blind tucks inside and sits narrower to both protect against breaks and to maintain the right body shape and angle to maintain a good passing lane to the wide channel.

By having one of the wingbacks tucking inside as inverted wingbacks by holding position inside the left half space when the team is in possession, it allows for more forward runs and higher mentality of both Ryan Gravenberch and Steven Berghuis. Both players can sit in the hole as 10s, while the wingers will stay high and wide – very similar to the structures of Johan Cruyff’s 3-4-3 formation in possession.

The roles of the two wingbacks is highly important to Ajax structure in possession. Against Borussia Dortmund in October 2021, Danny Blind and Noussair Mazraoui played high and wide – tasked to create overloads down the flank. Their positioning meant that the wingers could tuck inside into the half space channels and stay more connected with the striker.

This created three distinct triangles in their pass map – on the left (Tadic – AML, Gravenberch – MCL and Blind – DL), on the right (Antony – AMR, Steven Berghuis – AMC and Mazraoui – DR), and at the back (Lisandro Martinez (DCL), Edson Alvarez (DM) and Jürrien Timber (DCR)).

Then, there have been times the two fullbacks plays more similar to the inverted wingback. By tucking inside and holding position in the half space channel when the team is in possession, it’s important that the two wingers maintains width. Their likeliness to hold back, move inside closer to the center or stay wide to stretch play often became decisive for the positional rotation in the team. Basically, it determines the positioning of the central/attacking midfielders and the wingers.

Ajax’s 4-3-3 System

After the winter break, Erik ten Hag started to use his preferred formation – a modern 4-3-3 formation more often. Here, Edson Alvarez is a single pivot who protects the area in front of the defence. This gives more freedom to Ryan Gravenberch who can hold a higher position and look to overload the left half space together with Dusan Tadic and Danny Blind.

In the 4-3-3 system, the role of Ryan Gravenberch shifts from an orthodox box to box midfielder (MCL) or a segundo volante (DMLC) to a Mezzala or central midfielder. He doesn’t need to track back as often as Danny Blind since he will cover the initial area of his starting position in the 4-2-3-1 system.

The attacking midfielder (Steven Berghuis or Davy Klaassen) becomes an attacking central midfielder, meanwhile Mazraoui plays more like an inverted wingback than a complete wingback. Often looking to overload and protect the right half space for counters and offering the chance to underlap between Berghuis and Antony.

One of the benefits with the inverted wingback is that it improves the angles for combination play. It becomes even more difficult to defend against Ajax, as they creates numerical superiority both on the left and right flank.

In possession, the 4-3-3 system change to a 2-3-2-3 or 3-4-3 depending on the location of the ball and the interchanging of position. In fact, Ajax uses a number of different variations in their structure when in possession. I’ve seen they have used everything from a 3-3-1-3 to a 3-2-5 shape in attacking phase.

The movement and positioning of Ryan Gravenberch, Edson Alvarez, Steven Berghuis together with the right inverted wingback creates a 3-4-3 shape in the build-up phase.

Over the next chapters, I’ll look closer to the Ajax tactics 2021-2022 and the principles of play Erik ten Hag favors for his sides.

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Playing Out from the back

Like any other possession-oriented teams, Ajax wish to play out from the back. Playing out from the back requires defenders with great passing and technique. Both Alvarez, Blind, Martinez and Timber got great ball control and first touch to keep control of the ball despite under pressure.

Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tends to use different variants of building up play from the defence depending on whether the opposition press high or low – defends wide or narrow. Overall, their structure when building out from the back is very much like a 2-3-2-3 – much similar to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona or what you’ll get from a traditional 4-3-3 formation when playing out of defence.

When the goalkeeper (Pasveer/Onana) is on the ball, Alvarez will drop deep between the two center backs, or maintain a high position inside the center channel forming a 2-1 shape. Timber and Martinez will move to either side of the goalkeeper – forming a passing triangle with him, while the wingbacks will push up high and wide. By stretching the play, it aims to open up the center of the pitch making it more difficult for the opposition to close down and block passing lanes through the middle.

The wingers will maintain a wide position as well. Often, Antony will hold a similar line of Mazraoui. This to keep a quality passing lane to progress play if Mazraoui receives the ball, while Tadic is positioned more into the left half space and Berghuis and Gravenberch moves closer together in the center channel.

On the ball, the goalkeeper have several passing options:

• He can play directly to the fullbacks who can progress the ball directly down the flanks. Learn more in the section about Combination Play
• He can make short passes to one of the centre backs who can then make a decision to play more direct or look to retain possession and change the angle of attack – most often to Blind who then can utilize his vision and body shape to work the ball forward.
• Haller, the 190cm tall forward, gives the goalkeeper a direct route to goal. We’ve seen a number of times, if the opposition tries to high press that he tries long kicks to the target man. It’s very much like the sweeper keeper on support in Football Manager.
• He can also aim for one of the two wingers who tries to isolate their direct opponent.

Ajax’s main aim when playing out from the back by quick short passes is clear.

One the one hand, they wish to make the opponent guess which build-up variant they will use by stretching the pitch as much as possible both in terms of depth and width to create space between the lines to progress play. The opposition must either take the tough decision of where they wish to concede space – in the middle or down the flanks. Most often, they will provide security to the center channel something that lets Ajax focus play down the flanks.

Secondly, Ajax focus on to create numerical superiority around the ball. Subtle movements like Blind first moving high and wide before dropping deep to receive the ball and create a 3-1 shape will outnumber the three forwards in a 4-3-3 formation. Then, if using two pivots, Gravenberch can occasionally drop deep to receive the ball to provide even more passing options against a high press.

When building out from back

Danny Blind is often the orchestra of attacking moves meanwhile Lisandro Martinez is often the heartbeat of build-up play. In possession of the ball, Blind makes the most frequent progressive passes, whilst Martinez tops the chart for number of touches.

While Blind often tends to look for progressive passes towards Tadic or Gravenberch, Timber looks for progressive passes to either Mazraoui in the half space, Berghuis in central areas or Antony out wide.

Actually, Antony is currently the player who have received the most progressive passes in Eredivisie for Ajax this season. With 11.89 progressive passes per 90 minutes, the number equals to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

On the ball, Blind have several passing options. He can look to combine with Gravenberch to progress play quickly and efficiently into the final third, or make the occasionally switch of play towards the left wing to try to disrupt the opposition’s shape.

If Lisandro Martinez is on the ball, he can either progress the ball forward to Ryan Gravenberch who can then carry the ball with his feet into the final third or look for more advanced passes that goes directly to the Target Forward. At the same time, Gravenberch can also make one-two’s with Dusan Tadic or Danny Blind – making the team gain ground in a short space of time. The same scenario can be seen on the right flank between Mazraoui, Berghuis and Antony.

Regardless, the structure of the 4-3-3 system, or the 4-2-3-1 system, provides perfect circumstances for combination play due to the number of passing options, the ideal positioning of the players by maintaining shape and the movements of the players to improve the quality of the passing lanes.

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Erik ten Hag’s 5 Principles of Play – Attacking Strategies

A. Recycle Possession Effectively

At the heart of the team’s playing identity you have a strong focus on keeping possession of the ball by moving the ball in intricate passing patterns.

At it’s most effective, Ajax is more decisive in possession than for instance the famous Pep’s Barcelona side. The teamwork and attacking fluidity of the team helps the players to create lovely one and two touch passing moves. Their pass and move style of play is simply astonishing to watch!

Instead of a slower build-up based on patiently waiting on the right moment to enter the final third, Erik ten Hag’s Ajax is a bit more direct. Rather than recycling possession at a low tempo like Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and patiently awaits gaps to appear in the opponent’s structure, Ajax wish to progress the ball forward by exploiting openings in the opposition’s shape quicker and earlier.

At their best they can score goals, or create major chances after as few as 5 to 6 moves – showcasing how to zig-zag the ball in perfectly executed combination play by exchanging passes at a higher tempo to lure the opponent.

Like Manchester City, they use passes to move their opponent. With quick flicks, one-two’s and short passes made in quick tempo, they want to get the ball between the lines, into the channels and behind their opponent.

Ajax’s Passing Stats

Like Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, Ajax is the master of keeping possession. With an average possession of 62.7% and 638.4 passes completed per game at 84.8 pass completion percentage they have literally dominated any opposition by keeping possession by using quick-short passes to work their way into goalscoring opportunities. They have made the most key passes in the Eredivisie and is capable of creating chances from all over the pitch.

[image Eredivisie most average passes]

In the Champions League, no other have made more progressive passes than Danny Blind (69). Behind him you have Lisandro Martinez (63) while the next Ajax player on the list is found on 8th place with 47 progressive passes (Nassouri Mazraoui).

These passing statistics could in fact resemble some of the best Pep Guardiola sides.

To achieve such passing stats, the positioning and movements off the ball is key! It’s teamwork at its highest level!

B. The Importance of Positional Play

With a fluid attacking system, Erik ten Hag have lent ideas from Johan Cruyff’s, Rinus Michel’s Total Football and Pep Guardiola’s principles of positional play to create a balanced system that helps to overload the opposition with movements and off the ball runs into multiple channels to break down the opposition team’s defensive organization in possession, whilst being compact and defensive solid to regain possession quicker and higher up the pitch.

By adhering to the principles of positional play, Erik ten Hag’s system focuses on creating numerous triangles and diamonds for the player with the ball along with numerical superiority around the ball zone. Players help each other to create better angles to pass the ball, as well as providing defensive solidity if play breaks down, by their positioning and focus on adding a spare man around the ball zone to build up fast and more vertically.

Everyone knows where to run and be, and when to do so, depending on the location of the ball and the movements of their teammates. Everyone understands how to provide cover for each others movements to remain a similar structure and shape.

For instance, if Timber brings the ball out of defence by carrying the ball forward, Edson Alvarez will drop deep to maintain a covering role. If Mazraoui overlaps on the right flank and provide the width, Antony will move inside, or if Blind moves inside, Gravenberch will move wide. The same can apply all over the pitch as players interchange positions to create passing triangles.

Positional play works to enable teams to progress the ball forwards through the creation of triangles or diamonds that give the ball-carrier space and several passing options at any given time. Then, by drawing an opponent towards the ball, a player will free up a teammate elsewhere to receive the next pass.

The Coaches Voice

As the principles of positional play dictates, player’s positioning and movement must follow strict rules – all depending on the location of the ball on the pitch. With different rules and strategies depending on which zones on the pitch the ball enters, players have the freedom to move and rotate positions within a specific framework dictated by the manager’s desire.

To quickly recap the concept of positional play, there can never be more than three players on a horizontal line or two players down a vertical lane. This means that there can never be more than two players in the wide channel, down the half space or centre channel at all times.

This means that regardless of who moves where, there are restrictions. All zones must be occupied by a player, whether we’re talking about the lanes between the lines or the five channels across the pitch. This requires great understanding of each others role and positioning within the framework and what’s makes positional play so difficult to adopt.

… to get your team to function… There are so many aspects you need to train over and over again. It takes time to find the right balance.”

Erik ten Hag

The understanding of space and the focus on maintaining a good balance within the structure is one of the keys to effective combination play and why positional play is favored.

If applied perfectly, there will be multiple players around the ball zone with a number of players in a perfect angle to play that pass and move type of football that has seen Ajax carving through the lines of the opposition in such an effective manner – moving the ball further into a more dangerous zone on the pitch in a decisive manner.

Time and time again, we’ve seen players having as many as five passing options or routes to goal. Often different opportunities, different attacking strategies that means the opposition team have to guess Ajax’s next attacking move, and where they will penetrate.

Aided by taking advantage of the concepts of positional play, Erik ten Hag’s Ajax manage to both keep possession effectively and open the opposition’s defensive structure with passes and movements.

Let us now take a closer look at how Ajax attack their opponent by looking further at some of the attacking principles Erik ten Hag has applied at Ajax.

It’s the movement of the players and their interchanging of position that lets Ajax progress the ball quickly and effectively up the pitch.

C. Third Man Runs & Decoy Movements

The interchanging of positions by constantly looking to create triangles and diamonds aims not only to increase the number of passing options for the player with the ball. Also, it aims to disrupt the organization of the opposition’s defensive structure by off-the-ball runs.

By combining numerical advantages with positional superiority and qualitative superiority, Erik ten Hag’s intention is to create space to attack in by freeing up space in specific zones depending on the ball location.

The focus on third man runs is one of the mandatory principles of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax. Even though the team defends and attacks as a coherent unit, the team needs off-the-ball runs to free up passing lanes and create space, especially centrally and between the lines.

In order to destroy the opponent, you need off the ball runs! That’s the key to success!

Erik ten Hag

What they will often do is to stack up players on one side – creating overloads and numerical superiority around the ball zone before having a player running into space on the opposite side of the playing area. It could be combination play on the left flank with Blind, Gravenberch and Tadic exchanging passes before Berghuis moving diagonally into center – attacking the space left behind Gravenberch.

The scenario is often a back pass to a player in support who makes a defensive splitting pass to a breaking player. The aim with these supporting passes is to ensure the closest marker pushes out of his line to press the player on the ball – something that leaves space behind.

By using lay offs and cut backs, Ajax wish to draw opposite markers out of their position which they eventually can attack in. The exchanges of passes serves a particular purpose – to create space to attack in!

That’s why they wish to create these triangles. Basically, you’ll have three players attracting attention with their short passes while a fourth player making a run behind which the player in the bottom of the triangle can make a diagonal through ball / progressive pass onto.

In the end, these runs will cause chaos, and they will disrupt their organization!

D. Playing between the lines

To lure the opponent, and create space, Erik ten Hag wish to apply, what he refers to as creating several 10’s. The team aims to set up Steven Berghuis and Ryan Gravenberch between the lines. Their off the ball task is to offer the team an opportunity to progress play into the final third by making third man runs, carries and thread passes to the more attacking-minded players; Antony, Dusan Tadic and Sebastian Haller.

Their spatial awareness and especially Gravenberch’s importance to the team to offer passing options further up the pitch – connecting the defensive and attacking unit is of utmost importance.

Often we see both Gravenberch and Berghuis trying to position themselves between the lines when the team builds up play. From their more central position, they look to make either underlaps between the central defender and the fullback – trying to move behind the back of the man pressing the ball, or move towards the center running diagonally behind the striker.

What you’ll often see is that both Berghuis and Gravenberch makes opposite runs of eachother. If one underlaps and moves diagonally towards the flank, the other moves centrally.

These runs have two purposes.

At the one hand, they shall try to disrupt the defensive organization of the opposition by causing chaos. In practice, Ajax looks to take advantage of positional superiority with these runs. As they move forward and make runs into space, they will create numerical superiority in that area – giving an opportunity for the player with the ball to either make a quick pass into space or take advantage of the space opened up in the center to cut inside or cross towards the center.

At the other hand, it could be seen as a decoy run: a run with the only purpose to attract the closest markers attention and drag him away from zone 14 (the area where most dangerous chances are created). The result of these opposite runs is that they help each other to get space to receive the ball.

At the same time, their runs can also be aided by attacking runs from deeper positions, whether it’s Blind moving inside or Mazraoui underlapping whilst Berghuis or Gravenberch moves wide.

One of the biggest advantages of these third man runs and focus on making underlaps is to basically free up space elsewhere on the pitch – whether that means more time for the player on the ball to pick out dangerous passes or create space for another player to receive in a more dangerous position.

Actually, by holding position between the lines, they become a great base for attacking play. Instead of underlapping they can benefit from their positions by making key passes and through balls towards Tadic, Haller or Antony due to how they create the base of an triangle on each flank. This takes into account the wingbacks overlaps on the flanks while the wingers tucks inside.

At the same time, it maintains the desire to play pass and move football by working the ball through the lines of the opposition as passing triangles and perfect angles are maintained via great body shape and positioning.

Focus of Play

The focus on creating triangles and diamonds to increase the number of passing options for the player with the ball is only one of the keys to Ajax’s success.

A major contributor to the success at Ajax is how the team manage to provide a perfect balance between width, depth and compactness both in and out of possession.

The mandatory focus for Erik ten Hag’s Ajax in possession is to exploit overloads, often down the wide channels and through the half spaces.

Ajax favors to focus play down the flanks. The left flank is often used for combination play and create overloads. Often Gravenberch moves to the left to create 3vs2 situations, while the overlapping runs of Blind creates 2vs1 against the opposite fullback.

On the right, they try to use isolation’s to dominate the opposition by setting up Antony for one-on-one situations. This concept is referred to as qualitative superiority regarding positional play. The idea is that you have a player that is better than his direct opponent and isolates them in an one-on-one situation.

E. Stretching the Pitch: Overloading vs Underloading

According to the principles of positional play, Ajax wish to create as much space as possible in the center of the park to aid ball circulation by stretching the pitch as much as possible. The players will look to try to open up passing lanes for each other with their positioning.

In the Ajax system wingers look to stretch the opposition laterally by staying wider – close to the touchline.

This strategy is used to make it more difficult for the opponent to cover all passing options on the pitch. If the opponent stays narrow and tries to avoid passes into the central areas of the pitch, Ajax got direct passing options to the flanks. Similarly, if the opposition tries to cut off the passing lanes to the wide players, there will be space between the channels to move the ball into.

At the same time, by instructing the wingers to provide the width, it will create advantagous 1v1 situations in wide areas as they try to isolate one of the defenders via movements in the half-spaces.

The positioning of Danny Blind (left) and Noussair Mazraoui will often decide the positioning of the wide players and movements of the midfielders. If they moves inside into the half space to free up the passing lane to the wide player (Dusan Tadic or Antony), either Gravenberch or Berghuis must move towards the center to draw attention away from play, or make progressive runs . Then, the positioning of the wingbacks, whether they invert (underlap) or move wide (overlap) will depend on who is in possession of the ball, in which zone the ball is in and the movements and positioning of other teammates close by.

Although Ajax’s desire is to play out from the back using short simple passes, they are no strangers to making direct passes over a greater distance forward. When the central defenders or the wingbacks is in possession of the ball, they have several options.

When Blind (left) or Mazraoui (right) is on the ball, they often tend to make progressive passes to Dusan Tadic (left wing) or Antony (right wing). Even, Martinez or Timber can look for passes to the wide players.

To do it successfully, it’s important that the two central midfielders free up passing lanes to the wingers – dragging the attention of the opponent in to the center. At the same time, the wingback on the opposite flank will move inside the half-space, just like an inverted wingback, while the wingback closest to the ball zone will drop deep to receive the ball to ensure he can progress the ball out wide.

However, on the opposite flank, the positioning of the wingback in the half-space channel will aim to better the quality of the passing lane to the winger – helping the team to progress the ball into the final third quicker and earlier.

Actually, they are pretty brilliant at unbalancing the oppositions team with movements and rotations, and using change of tempo both in passing directness and speed of exchanging passes to attack the opponent.

The concept of Stressbringers

When Ajax is in possession, the two wingers, Dusan Tadic and Antony will stay wider, almost hugging the touchline. Whether the team is playing out of defence or the ball advances into the final third, at least one of the wingers will stretch play.

Their duty to stretch play off the ball is highly important to the team’s attacking strategies. Erik ten Hag refers to them as “Stressbringers“. The initial aim with their wide positions is to try to stress the opponents out. The defender must have to keep an eye on both the ball, his marker and teammates positions as play enters his zone.

For instance, if play is located on the left flank, the right winger (Antony) will look to move away from where play is located. His positioning and movement is simply a decoy run to lure the opponent. The aim is to draw attention with his positioning – increasing the space between the channels and lines in the opposition’s defence.

It’s a perfect combination of overloading on one side while underloading on the other.

If the opponent shall have control of Antony’s future runs, he must keep him in his sight. That means positioning himself in an angle that spots his runs and is close enough to intercept his move.

If the opponent moves too much into the centre of the pitch, the winger will be free to receive the ball – either via diagonally passes where Ajax switches play quickly, or have the opportunity to make runs behind the player’s back to be the receiver of Ajax’s low crosses and through balls from zone 14.

“In most scenarios it isn’t the man on the ball who decides where the ball goes, but players without the ball. Their running actions determine the next pass.”

Johan Cruyff

It’s here the importance of the third man runs from the 10s or (8’s in the 4-3-3) comes to its force. By using positional superiority to get players between the lines or behind the opponent’s defensive line, they aim to force one of the defenders to move wide – creating space in the center for runs into channels from the attacking midfielder, or the box to box midfielder. All the time, the opposite defenders far from the ball must make a decision to either follow the movements of their teammates to contract space, or become isolated against the forward and/or the winger.

By letting Antony play to his strength and utilize his Dribbling, Flair, Acceleration and Agility against his direct opponent can quickly lead to a goalscoring opportunity.

If Antony receives a pass and comes up in an one-on-one-situation, he got several options to progress play. If the opposite marker has full control, then Antony can be aided by Mazraoui’s run and positioning, who tends to hold position inside the right half-space, but who also got the freedom to make underlaps or overlaps. Antony can either make a supporting pass to Mazraoui, or get help to overload on the right flank as these two players creates a 2vs1 situation.

Antony can also look for direct through balls and diagonal passes towards the center, where Berghuis moves into the channels behind the back of the direct opponent. Finally, he can try to beat his marker by either cutting inside or move towards the byline for a cross.

Crossing

We have now seen how Ajax uses overlaps, underlaps, movements between the lines and third man runs to manipulate space to come to goalscoring opportunities. Even though they favor to thread passes into the penalty box either to Haller or Berghuis who moves behind the opposition’s defensive line, one of their preferred attacking strategies is to take advantage of in-swinging crosses from wide positions.

A frequent strategy Ajax uses when entering the final third is to cross early into the box, often by Dusan Tadic or Danny Blind. These crosses aren’t merely coming from deep, but within the wider areas of the penalty box. As soon as the wide player is on the ball, he will without hesitation look to make either a hard low cross towards the center or an in-swinging cross.

Ajax often look to Dusan Tadics strengths in possession of the ball to unlock the opposition. The player tops the chart for the most key passes made (119), most assists (16) and most big chances created (26). The combination on the left wing often results in crosses from Dusan Tadic. So far, he’s made 247 crosses – something that makes him top the statistics there as well!

On the ball, the runs from Berghuis, Haller and Antony, along with the positioning of Gravenberch gives Tadic several options. He can make a cut back to Gravenberch, which looks to retain possession and better the angle for a through ball in the next stage.

Then, he got the option to make an in-swinging low cross towards the centre of the 6yard box, or a diagonal low cross towards the penalty spot where Berghuis often arrives. In these situations, the movements from Haller is important. He creates the space for Berghuis by dragging his marker away from target area.

That was the case when Berghuis scored one of the goals in Ajax’s 5-0 thrashing of PSV in October 2021. Then, Tadic played a hard, but accurate diagonal pass/cross towards the edge of the penalty box where Berghuis arrived to firing away a shot on goal.

However, Haller, who stands at 190cm, will of course be the main aim for a cross, as his jumping reach and physic in aerial situations will most likely beat his marker. So far, the former West Ham player have won 3.64 aerial situations per game in the Eredivisie, and 3.3 aerial duels won per game in the Champions League.

The attacking partnership between Tadic and Haller have resulted in 20 goals for Haller, where 5 of these were assisted by Tadic.

Decisiveness in the Final Third

What’s important to note, is Ajax decisiveness in the final third. In attacks, Ajax’s playing style differs quite alot to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona Tiki Taka style of play. Rather than patiently await for gaps to penetrate in, Ajax favor to attack quickly and rapidly.

Once the ball enters the area around the penalty box it’s not uncommon to see the players taking an immediate shot on goal. Whether it’s a cross or a pass leading up to the situation, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t even need to be a clear goalscoring opportunity. They prefers to fire it away, rather than play the ball from side to side. In fact, it looks more like they tend to ‘Shoot on Sight‘ to use a term we know from the team instruction in Football Manager, than working the ball into the box.

There are mainly two reasons why I believe Ajax prefers to shoot more often.

1. To avoid loosing the ball in dangerous situations which can lead to quick counters. Despite having players in cover, their attacking intent provides a vulnerability against long balls forward and balls over the top which quick agile players can exploit
2. The number of Ajax players inside the box provides opportunity to score from rebounds. Even if a shot is blocked, they got enough players to recover the possession of loose balls inside the 6 yard area.

PS! That’s not to say there have been cases where Ajax seemingly pass their way into the goal with quick short passes. All in all, it shows the number of strings Ajax have in their attacking vocabulary.

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Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Out of Possession | Defensive Strategies

Defensive Structure

Out of possession, the defensive structure of the 4-2-3-1 remains rather similar. However, rather than the wingers staying wide and the double pivot split, they will stay much more compact and narrow. The narrow shape looks to avoid passes into the central, and will make the team defend very similar to a 4-4-2 – creating a box of 4 players in zone 14. This will outnumber the opponent, especially if they are playing with a 4-3-3 or a wide 4-2-3-1 formation.

Out of possession, Ajax is a fairly man-oriented team who wish to push constant pressure on the ball. It’s pressuring out of line to minimize the playing area. It’s not uncommon to see Ajax press with five players up front.

Often, Gravenberch tight mark the opposing midfielder or pushes up to compress the space behind the attacking line – making it more difficult for the opposing team to build out with ease. At the same time , Alvarez will tight mark the opposing attacking midfielder, while Berghuis tight marks their playmaker. Essentially, it’s a mix of blocking passing lanes and keeping control of their direct marker.

Against Borussia Dortmund, the defensive duty of Alvarez, meant the team defended in a low 4-5-1 block. In this situation, the defensive midfielder dropped between the two centre backs, almost like an half back.

However, in the 4-3-3 formation, Erik ten Hag favors to defend in a 4-1-4-1 structure, or a compact and narrow 4-3-3 shape that’s very similar to the defensive shape of Klopp’s Liverpool. When using their 4-3-3 narrow defensive shape, the wingers will tuck inside, the wingbacks will push up to support press and the midfielders will man-mark their direct opponents.

By remaining fairly compact in the center it will concede space in wide areas and invite the opposition team to play out wide and down the flanks.

Nevertheless, it gives a great foundation to put pressure on the wide areas as they can set up pressing traps. By using the touchline as an defensive approach, they look to decrease the playing area for the opposing fullbacks. With fewer likely passing options, the opposing teams attacking play will become more stagnated.

Intense High-Pressing

The extraordinary possession stats is aided by ten Hag’s desire to win possession as high up the pitch, and as quickly as possible. Through relentless pressing and swarming the opposition with an aggressive high press and a high defensive line, Ajax looks to disrupt the build-up of the opposition team by limiting the number of obvious passing options for the player with the ball forcing them to make more risky passes.

According to The Analyst, no other teams have had more shots on goal (11) after a high turnover than Ajax in the Champions League 2021-22, as of November 24th, 2021. Ajax’s pressing abilities has resulted in 8.2 in PPDA (passes played per defensive actions) making them into the third best club in Europe. This means that an average of 8.2 passes are played from the opposition before Ajax successfully regains possession. Topping the list are Liverpool (7.2) and Chelsea (7.5).

Often, we see two to three Ajax players closing down the space around the opponent on the ball, limiting his time and space to make clever forward passes, while the other teammates cover the defensive zones behind the press.

At Ajax, the forwards are the first line of defense. Their aggressiveness and acceleration to close down opposing players on the ball is essential in their desire to regain possession as close to the opposition’s penalty box as possible.

Haller, Berghuis, Tadic, Antony and even Mazraoui and Blind will push out from their position to chase loose balls, cut off passing options and put pressure on the ball carrier by closing down players much more often.

When the opposition goalkeeper is in possession of the ball, Ajax wish to force play to one side – normally towards the channel where Berghuis protects. In these circumstances, it’s all about closing down passing options for their opponents by sticking particular close to their direct opponent.

The task for the wingers at this stage is to shut off any passing angles towards the fullbacks meaning the opposition team must work hard for openings to play out of defence.

Essentially, Ajax tries to overload the opposition out of possession, as well! As this illustration shows, with a combination of tight marking and numerical superiority, Ajax forces the opponent to play sideways passes at the back or be more individualistic – making it easier to intercept passes that’s not 100% accurate both in strength and length, or carries towards the center.

According to the illustration above, there are none obvious passing options for the opposition team due to Ajax’s intense high pressing. The opponent could try to make a supporting pass to his central defender, but the forward runs forward to block off that option. He eventually decides to run with the ball inside, as Ajax’s winger forces the ball on his left foot (the opposite of his playing position). The attacking midfielder, who initially tight marks their defensive midfielder wins the ball by closing down as soon as he initiates the carry of ball.

Suddenly, Ajax have five players against the oppositions four. The inverted winger on the opposite flank is free to receive the ball, and with a quick movement so is the central player. With only a few passes, Ajax is clear on goal!

You can watch the full clip of this situation in this video.

The Art of Counter-Press

The key to counter-press effectively is compactness and great balance despite players will interchanging positions. By decreasing the space between the players, and playing much more narrow, it’s easier to regain possession in the next stage.

The positioning of the players is the key here. Since the structure remains rather similar despite how the players have interchanged positions before they re-group, their compactness and balance within the defensive/attacking structure means that the team can counter-press effectively. When possession is won, they can immediately restart their attack right away and try to counter-attack.

The result is that the transition periods between attack and defend is reduced – a strategy we have come to know from Pep Guardiola’s tactics. The team looks like it’s always in possession.

Ajax’s Vulnerabilities

Often, the opposition have to look for direct balls forward. This is one of the vulnerabilities with Ajax’s high defensive line and pressure on the ball. By conceding lots of space at the back they are fragile for balls over the top. It requires that the central defenders must be quick, have great awareness and is positioned correctly to intercept the forward runs by the opposing attacker by getting his body between him and the ball.

In Football Manager 2022, especially when coming up against teams who wish to play highly direct, trying to counter-attack by long balls over the defensive line it might be useful to lower the defensive line one to two touches: from ‘Very High’ to higher or Standard.

This is also a case if you’re playing against better teams, so you don’t risk them playing in behind you through a combination of quick passes, runs from quick players á la Mbappe or Mane.

DID YOU KNOW?
Ajax is the most disciplined team in the Eredivisie.This season, they have only received 27 yellow cards and 1 red card in 28 matches. At the same time, their numbers of interceptions and tackles won doesn’t stand out either. However, they manage to force the opposition to make mistakes by rushing their decisions. The loose balls will therefore be easier to intercept or take control of.

I’ve now given you a fairly detailed tactical analysis of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics 2021-2022. In the next page(s) we’ll take a closer look at how I have tried to replicate Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics in Football Manager 2022!

PAGE 2 | FM22 Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Tactics: Total Football 2.0 Domination Explained

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Football Manager 2022 Erik ten Hag Ajax Tactics: Total Football 2.0 Domination Explained

Recreating the Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics into Football Manager 2022 have been a fun affair. Even though, it’s impossible to replicate how they play and the extraordinary attacking statistics the team have managed 100%, I’m proud to release the Football Manager 2022 Erik ten Hag Ajax Tactics: Total Football 2.0 Domination.

In the download pack, there will be multiple tactics with different interpretations of the Ajax tactics used by Erik ten Hag this season. That includes their modern 4-3-3 formation, their 4-2-3-1 with asymmetrical midfield pivots alongside two other systems that resembles more the Ajax 2019-2020 system and a defensive 4-2-3-1 tactic that you can use against better opponents.

All in all, these Football Manager 2022 Ajax tactics is highly possession oriented systems build in a similar framework with almost identical team instructions.

Even though I can’t promise you championship titles or high score lines, as this will depend on your squad strength compared to its opponent, I can promise you the feel of playing like Ajax under Erik ten Hag – within the limits of the current Football Manager match engine (22.4).

You’ll experience that you’ll dominate almost any opposition with high possession through lots of passes, high amount of key passes that unlocks ‘any’ tight defences and total control by regaining possession high up the pitch.

With a positive mentality, the team will play entertaining attacking football with fluid movements in the attacking phase to create space to get into good goalscoring opportunities whilst also being defensive solid at the back (hopefully) conceding the least number of goals.

All in all, it’s a Football Manager 2022 tactic that dominates their opponent both in terms of possession, passes and shots! At times, I’ve seen over 1000 passes completed and the opposition having no shots on target!

You can get a better picture by looking at the statistics section.

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FM22 Erik Ten Hag 4-2-3-1 Tactic

Trying to create a system that acts like a 4-3-3 in possession from a 4-2-3-1 on the paper has not been the most difficult thing, but ensuring it’s defensive solid has been problematic. After a lot of testing, I believe I’ve come up with the ideal solution. Actually, as you’ll see, the case have been about finding the right roles and duties for the central midfielders and attacking midfielder.

In my recreation of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax Tactic 4-2-3-1 system I’ve settled for a DLP-defend, a Box to Box midfielder and an Attacking Midfielder Support. While one protects the area in front of the defence, his partner will have the mentality to play more in line with the AM-S – trying to move into pocket of spaces to make themselves available for a pass.

In possession, the 4-2-3-1 will morph into a 2-3-2-3 / 3-2-5 asymmetric with the right wingback more likely to initiate forward runs on the outside or the inside of the right Inside Forward while the left fullback stays deeper and tucks inside in the build-up phase.

However, once play enters final third the wingbacks will stretch wide to maintain width as play enters the final third. Actually, the wingers (IW-S and IF-S) are asked to stay wider in the build-up stage, but they will move inside and play in close proximity to the forward as play closes in to the penalty box.

The box to box midfielder and the attacking midfielder will move into channels on either side of the Target Forward, creating overloads in and around the penalty box – creating numerical superiority against a traditional back four.

It’s not uncommon to see three to five players entering the penalty box in settled attacks. My desire is to try to take advantage of the movements into channels from Berghuis and occasionally Gravenberch by trying to set these two up for a one-on-one with the opposing goalkeeper.

These overloads will create space for the left winger to make lots of key passes and crosses into the box from the left flank.

NB! Included in the download pack is a version with the role of Gravenberch is an Advanced playmaker. In this system, if you got the right player for it, it’s no issue to change the left fullback to an inverted wingback support. This will make the left fullback cover for the higher mentality of the AP-S who will move into the holes between the opposition lines.

FM22 Erik Ten Hag 4-3-3 Tactic

The FM22 Erik ten Hag 4-3-3 tactic looks to emulate how Ajax have played after Christmas. Some would claim, it’s how they behave in the 4-2-3-1 system as well. The biggest difference from the Football Manager 2022 Ajax 4-2-3-1 tactic is the role of Mazraoui. Instead of holding a wide position in the build-up phase, the introduction of the Inverted Wingback (support), who will tuck inside, will make the team play more like Xavi’s Barcelona or Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Playing in a similar manner as Cancelo or Daniel Alves, the IWB will not only cover for the attacking mentality of Berghuis and protect against breaks, but also be able to create better passing angles to play down the right flank.

While the IWB occupies the right half space, the Central Midfielder (Attack) can move higher up the pitch playing closer to the Target Forward. Off the ball he’ll act more like an attacking midfielder as he moves into central positions or into channels. If we also takes into account the Mezzala (support) who will occasionally move to the left wide channel and naturally take up a position in the left half space, the players will occupy each zone / channel of the pitch perfectly – just like we want by adhering to the rules of positional play!

To protect against the higher mentality of the MEZ and CM-A, I’ve selected a Defensive Midfielder (Defend) to replicate Alvarez’s ‘ball-winning’ capabilities by intercepting passes, closing down the opposition and regain possession by clean tackles.

Team Instructions – In Possession

In possession, we want to retain possession and work the ball up the field by moving the ball decisively around the park to nearby teammates. By using a ‘Shorter passing‘ at a ‘Higher Tempo‘ my aim is to keep recycling the ball using intricate short passing play to advance the ball into pocket of spaces. Players will play beautiful one touch football. The tempo will ensure the opposition have difficult to close the players down or get close enough to pressure the player on the ball.

With the runs from the BBM, AM-S, IF and TF we want to make effective use of underlaps by having multiple players moving into the channels. It will increase the number of through balls and key passes made towards the center as players will look for runs made from the half spaces.

If you wish to take advantage of a vulnerability down the left flank and you wish to create more 2vs1 situations down the fe left wide channel, then you can select Overlap Left rather than Underlap. This will make the FB get forward whenever possible. This might be beneficial if the BBM has low Off the ball or the opponent are very narrow to limits the effect of Underlaps / Moves into channels.

To replicate how Ajax focus play down the flanks and tries to create overloads down the wide channels, I started in the beginning of recreating the Ajax tactics in FM22 to use Focus Play Down the Left and Right Flank. Both buttons were ticked with an attacking width of Fairly Narrow. This worked alright as far as I could see, but in order to try to create gaps between the channels for those third man runs, I’ve decided to go by a Fairly Wide Width and no particular focus of play to make my attacking play less rigid.

By focusing play down the flanks, you’ll see from this illustration that most of the passes will located down either wings. That means most key passes and crosses will come from that area as well. It’s essential you have players on the flanks who can handle the ball: Passing, Vision, Technique and Crossing.

In the final third, we want to let the player use their creativity and decisiveness to finish off the attacks. The Ajax tactic comes with ‘Work ball into box‘ ticked as we want players to make through balls, crosses or progressive passes into the penalty box. the passing tempo ensures we will attack quickly and more decisive rather than retaining the ball for the sake of it in front of the penalty box. If you find your team too patient in the final third with low amount of shots and chances, please untick Work ball into box!

To use Erik ten Hag’s words; “I want the attacks to be frivolous”. Basically, there are no specific purpose or plan to get the ball into a specific zone before trying to score goals. Instead of long settled attacks with many passes at the edge of the penalty box, we will see more swift attacks with fewer moves.

It could be a one-two and a through ball towards a breaking player who is clear on goal. Or, fewer and more direct passes from defensive or midfield line aimed towards the forwards in the attacking transition phase that leads to goalscoring opportunities. Effectively, the players Decisions, Visions and Anticipation will be more important as they will mainly decide how to behave in attacking transition and at settled attacks.

Essentially, they won’t be as static in the final third as they can finish off the attacks with long shots coming from the edge of the penalty area, or make crosses from the wide areas rather than cut backs which is more likely with Work ball into box ticked.

When to select/unselect Work ball into box? If you want more patience in the final third and you see poor shots and crosses are taken from poor angles then select Work Ball into box. Here you can use xG and Shots On Target as a parameter to see if you come to good goalscoring opportunities and your current strategy are effective against that particular opponent. If you feel you’re playing with the handbreak on, untick Work ball into box and experience even more directness.

Secondary Strategy

Should you have a player up front who can really dominate in aerial situations it might be useful to take advantage of it. By using a Winger-support on the left flank with team instruction Hit Early Crosses ticked, the player in Tadic’s role will try to deliver early crosses as quickly as possible to catch the opponent off guard.

This strategy is a great against teams parking the bus – who plays with a low block as you try to stretch the opposition’s defensive line and get in behind them by in-swinging crosses made between the defenders and the goalkeeper.

This time, I want the players to use take the type of crosses they deem necessary – either it’s a low cross towards the TF who runs into space, a whipped cross or a floated one towards the far post. Basically it all comes down to the decision of the individual player on the ball and his skills.

In Transition

If we ever should loose possession of the ball, the players will try to regain possession of the ball as quickly as possible. With Counter-Press ticked the players will set an immediate press on the ball carrier in the hope that the team will regain possession as high up the pitch as possible.

When possession is regained I want the team to take advantage of the few seconds of instability in the opposition’s structure. By trying to Counter I want to bring more directness in the attacking transition phase – asking the players to use minimal moves to move the ball forward if the opportunity arrives.

Out of Possession

To try to win possession as high up the pitch and force play to be in the opposition half, I’ve gone for a Much Higher Defensive Line and a Much Higher Line of Engagement. This ensures that the team is relative compact when trying to regain possession.

The team will defend more narrow by forcing the opposition to play down the wings. Your defensive width will be important to pay attention to, and perhaps alter from match to match depending on the opponent and how they wish to play. But as a default instruction, due to the strength of the tactics in the middle, I’ve went with Force Opposition Outside.

Player Roles & Duties of Ajax 4-2-3-1 System

Sweeper Keeper: To sweep up through balls and crosses between the penalty box and the high defensive line, I’ve gone for a sweeper keeper – attack duty. When the team is in possession, he will stray outside the penalty box providing an option to retain possession at the back and help the team to change their angle of attack from one flank to the other depending on the opposite press.

The sweeper keeper needs to be good with the ball at his feet. His First Touch, Passing and Technique alongside a two-footed goalkeeper is desired to retain possession at the back and play out of defence effectively. If you got a Sweeper Keeper with good Kicking, you could opt for a SWK-Support to make more counter-attacking passes towards the TF-A.

Selected Player Instructions: Pass Shorter

Fullback (Left): To replicate the role of Blind in the Ajax team, I’ve gone for a Fullback – Support. His discipline and awareness will be important as the team build-up play. His positioning will form a triangle on the left flank with either the DCL and MCL or MCL and AML. Due to his mentality he will occasionally sit back and protect from breaks when the team is in possession. As play enters the final third, he will tuck inside and play more centrally but if needed make overlaps to get into crossing situations from the byline. By sitting narrower almost like a IWB it will make him available for a pass very often. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see him making the most passes!

You need a player with great tactical awareness, intelligence and smartness. Good Teamwork, Anticipation, Positioning and Decisions is favor. He must also be Composed with the ball and got the passing technique to effectively retain possession / create chances from deep, as well as good Marking, Tackling and Positioning to be a great player in defensive situations.

Selected Player Instructions: Sit Narrower, Get Further Forward*,

*Can be removed for defensive solidity

Complete Wingback (Right): To replicate Mazraoui’s heat map before Christmas and his tendency to make both underlaps and overlaps, I’ve gone for a Complete Wingback support on the right flank.

The right wingback will occasionally make overlaps or underlaps depending on the situation and will play in close proximity to Antony (IF-s). My desire is that Mazraoui should not mainly be a threat with the ball, but cause chaos in the opposition defensive organization by unpredictable runs – mainly trying to overload the right half space.

The ideal CWB requires good Stamina, Flair, Off the ball and Acceleration. It helps if he also got great Vision, Crossing, Dribbling and Technique to make good use of the ball in possession either he tries to carry the ball into the penalty box, cross from byline or make a diagonal through ball into the penalty box towards Berghuis, Antony or Haller.

Selected Player Instructions: Take More Risks, Cross More Often, Cross From Byline, Cross Aim Far Post, Close Down More

NB! There’s no problem using Wingback support either.

Ball Playing Defender: The two Ball Playing defenders will need to be as good out of possession as in possession. Ideally, you want players with good First Touch, Passing, Technique to aid ball circulation when playing out from the back. Especially their First Touch will be essential as you’ll be asking your team to go about their businesses with great urgency (slightly higher tempo).

Since you’ll be playing with a high defensive line, these defenders needs to be quick enough (Acceleration and Pace) to quickly recover into defensive positions and intercept runs and counter-attacking initiatives if attacking play breaks down. Their Concentration, Positioning and Anticipation are all favorable skills.

One of these BPD are asked to Dribble More – meaning he will look to bring the ball out of defence to overload the midfield line if other passing opportunities are blocked.

Selected Player Instructions: Close Down Less, Pass Shorter, Dribble More (DCR), Mark Tighter (DCL)

Deep-Lying Playmaker (MCR): The deep-lying playmaker will be the heartbeat of the team. His primarily task is to provide balance to the team. In possession he will look to offer passing options for everyone around him. Out of possession he will look to protect the defence with great positioning. He’ll do an important job to block off passing lanes and intercept passes played into the center.

I’ve selected the DLP-D in this instance, simply to see the player move into the center more often – acting more like a single holding pivot as you’ll encounter in a 4-3-3 system.

He requires first and foremost great Positioning, Anticipation and Work Rate. It’s not uncommon to see the player making over 100 passes completed per game which makes him require good Passing, First Touch, Technique and Composure – being able to retain possession effectively despite coming under immense pressure.

Selected Player Instructions: Pass it Shorter, Tackle Harder, Mark Tighter

Box to Box Midfielder (MCL): To replicate Gravenberch role there are a few roles to select from. you could go for an Advanced playmaker support, Roaming Playmaker or the Central Midfielder for the 4-2-3-1 system. In this version, I’ve gone for the BBM midfielder – a role that typifies the modern midfielder – both press resistant, having defensive capabilities to regain possession effectively whilst also being an attacking threat with his late runs into the box. He will cover larger ground and needs the Work Rate and Stamina to run up and down the left half space – offering passing options and making overloads.

Besides that, my reason for settling down for the BBM in the 4-2-3-1 system was the ability to select Moves into Channel something that will make him able to run between the centre back and the fullback, as well as making deep runs behind the opposition’s defensive line. His inclination to roam around the pitch will also make you see him often take up positions in the center of the pitch – making him able to thread passes towards the forward or the AM.

The role in the 4-3-3 version will be Mezzala-support.

Selected Player Instructions: Moves into channel, Dribble More, Pass it Shorter, Mark Tighter

Attacking Midfielder (support): Even though Berghuis often tends to play very close to Haller, according to the heat maps I’ve seen, just like a Shadow Striker, I have emphasized the footage’s I’ve watch where Berghuis and Gravenberch almost plays on the same line. He will stay in the pocket but will have the license to roam around the pitch looking for space to receive the ball. His movements and third man runs will often make him receive the ball in dangerous positions to thread balls into goalscoring opportunities, unless he finish off the chances himself. In fact, he will be as present inside the box as the Target Forward – meaning he needs good Finishing and Long Shots.

Since the AM-S will make lots of key passes and through balls, you need a player with good Vision, Passing, Technique. His Creativity (Flair) and Off the ball movement will be necessary traits as he moves between lines. It’s not uncommon to see the player making the highest traveling distance – often over 13.5Km!

It’s essential, that the AM-S got great Stamina and Work Rate. Since he also needs to close down very often, it helps if he got good Aggression too!

Selected Player Instructions: Moves into channel, Get Further Forward, Take More Risks, Mark Tighter

Inverted Winger – Support (Left): To replicate how Ajax stretches wide in the build up, I’ve asked the Inverted Winger to stay wider. By adding hold position, the IW-S will be more disciplined in staying close to the touchline until play enters final third. From the wide channel, he can receive the ball without pressure to make lots of crosses into the box, or through balls for the BBM or TF to run onto. If the opposition tries to man mark or close him down, there will be space inside for an underlap from the BBM.

Once play moves closer to the penalty box, the IW-s will tuck inside making a front three with Haller and the IF on opposite flank.

The player in this position requires first and foremost good Crossing, Vision, Passing and Technique. His Off the ball Movements and Decisions will be valuable as you look to overload the left flank.

Selected Player Instructions: Cross More Often, Cross Aim Centre, Hold Position, Stay Wider, Take More Risks

NB! In the initial testing of this tactic I used a Winger-support along with Team Instruction Hit Early Crosses to increase the number of crosses taken. It’s recommended if you got a player with excellent Crossing skills.

Inside Forward Support (AMR): If we shall translate Antony’s role in FM22, he would be the perfect Inverted Winger on Attack duty. His ability to cut inside and overload the right half space has seen Antony make some magnificent goals. To emphasize his extraordinary technique and take advantage of his Long Shots I’ve selected the IF-S. The player in this position, will also stretch play in the build-up phase but will play more centrally in the final third becoming more of a second forward than a creator. This aims to replicate Antony’s attacking stats as the one making the second most shots per game (3.4 towards Haller’s 3.5).

By staying wider, Antony will look to isolate the opposite defender. From his position he can make diagonal runs inside, wait to receive the ball before trying to bypass his defender in a one-on-one situation, or make through balls to the onrushing forward as soon as he receives it (e.g one-two between TF and IF).

He needs to have good Acceleration, Off the ball Movement, and Flair as well as good Anticipation and Decision. His capabilities in the final third is essential too. He will receive the ball in goalscoring positions and come to chances so he requires both the Technique, Finishing and Composure to place shorts.

His abilities to make through balls from wide can also be valuable, as he will make passes behind the opposition’s defensive line that the BBM, IW or AM can run onto – coming up in a one on one with the goalkeeper.

Selected Player Instructions: Stay Wider

Target Forward Attack: Up front, you’ll have a traditional Target Forward who will lead the line. You’ll need a tall physical player who can dominate both on the ground and in aerial situations. While most of the movements comes from behind and to the sides of the Target Forward, it’s essential he got the Teamwork, Strength and Balance to hold up the ball before passing short to a player nearby.

If coming up against a team who holds a high line, threading passes to the TF can be useful. In these situations it helps if he got great Acceleration and Pace. Since he will basically be a player who holds up a position inside the box in the attacking phase, the player needs good Anticipation, Finishing, Composure and Off the ball to get into a scoring position.

Selected Player Instructions: Pass Shorter, Move into Channels

Do you want to find the ideal players for FM22 Ajax tactics? To help you better find suitable players that fits the system I’ve created a player role search filter that helps to find similar types of players as the preferred Ajax starting XI.

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Which system to select – Ajax’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3?

Whether you shall use the FM22 Ajax 4-2-3-1 tactic or the 4-3-3 system comes at the end down to personal preferences. In the end, the differences aren’t that huge. Despite of that, the introduction of the Central Midfielder Attack has seen some marvelous results. (Not that the 4-2-3-1 doesn’t deliver goals, chances and possession!) In my simulation, Berghuis scored 34 goals as CM-A while Dusan Tadic recorded 25 assists.

22 goals from Haller in the 4-3-3 formation compared to 23 goals in the testing of the 4-2-3-1 was decent, especially since he only played 21 matches from start, but scored 18 in the league.

Quick Notes About Mentality

The Ajax tactics comes with a default mentality of Positive. If you face easier opponents feel free to change the mentality to Attack. In fact, you can use the first 15 minutes of the match to assess how the match develops. Select Attacking Mentality if you want to see creative freedom and more directness in the final third whilst also retaining possession at the back.

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If you have enjoyed the read, please try out Passion4FM’s Football Manager 2022 Erik Ten Hag Ajax tactics by downloading the megapack featuring a collection of Ajax tactics for FM22.

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Or, continue reading to see how well the Ajax tactics did in Football Manager 2022!

In the next page you’ll get a closer look into the statistics and the performance of Passion4FM’s FM22 Erik ten Hag Ajax tactics. You’ll see more screenshots so you can better understand what to expect from the Passion4FM FM22 Ajax tactics.

In-Match Illustrations & Screenshots – FM22 Ajax Tactics

Third Man Runs & Combination Play (Left Flank)

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To illustrate how third man runs and combination play might look like in Football Manager 2022 we have a perfect example here.

Berghuis plays a supportive pass to Blind. Blind got different options. If he’s pressured he can play it straight back to Berghuis, to Alvarez, Martinez or make a progressive pass toward Gravenberch who moves into the space left by Berghuis, or make a direct pass towards Haller.

Once Berghuis has made the pass, he moves wide – dragging his marker towards the wide channel while both Gravenberch and Haller makes forward runs. These runs can be described as third man runs – aimed to cause chaos and pocket of spaces for a player to receive the ball in more advances areas of the pitch.

Ajax 2-3-5 Shape in the Final Third

I’ve mentioned it earlier but Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics transforms into a 2-3-5 shape in the final third. This is a great illustration of the positioning and movements in the 4-2-3-1 system when entering the final third.

Despite Tadic and Antony is instructed to Stay Wider in the build-up, they will tuck inside and play alongside the Target Forward in attacking phase. As this image shows, there will be four players taking up positions inside the box, while Gravenberch and Mazraoui will hold position on the edge of the penalty box – ready to block off counter attacking initiatives and breaks, or be a passing options (either via a lay off or a cross aimed at far post.

This screenshot also shows the 2-1 shape at the back as the two centre backs protects the half spaces while Alvarez holds position in the middle of the park (just like a single holding defensive midfielder would do).

Alvarez Role as Single holding Midfielder

The role of Alvarez will be very important in order to create a system that’s defensive solid.

Out of possession he will hold position in front of the centre backs along with the BBM.

When the team is building up play he needs to cover larger ground by moving sideways helping his teammates to have several passing options and outlets to bring the ball forward.

This illustration also shows how the fullback sits narrower to create an ideal passing angle from Martinez onto the left flank where the Inverted Winger holds a wide position.

PS! If we used an inverted wingback support for the right back in this system, he would take up a position approximately in the same area as the DLP-D. This is something we want to avoid to adhere to the rules of positional play.

Creating Several 10s / Moving Into Channels

Overloading vs Underloading

FM22 Ajax Tactics Performance & Statistics

The testing of this vertical Tiki-Taka tactic was carried out at Ajax and Anderlecht. In fact, I’ve tested it out since the first version of the FM22 ME. In a poor financial situation with a limited transfer and wage budget, a young Anderlecht squad managed to battle for the Belgium Jupiler Pro League title two seasons in a row. The first season, I was topping the league 6 points ahead of KRC Genk before the Championship Group took place and ended in 2nd despite the League table shows me 2 points ahead of KRC Genk.

With an average squad age of 22, the second season became a difficult test, especially coming up against Oostende’s Makhtar Gueye and Nick Bätzner and KRC Genk’s Paul Onuachu. Despite only conceding 25 goals but scoring the second most, I ended up in third place after two losses against Oostende and KRC Genk away in the last two matches of the season. The season wasn’t won there. With a few terrible draws against poorer opponents where I had enough chances and shots to win but which the opponent often snagged an easy equalizer.

The xG Table shows I should have scored 83.9 goals compared to the 77 goals we managed, and that I should have won the league if I had converted all the expected goals. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works in reality.

However, since this testing was merely done through a number of different versions of the match engine, I decided to a final test with the 22.4 ME with Ajax. Here’s the most important statistics from the Ajax save.

League Table

Possession

Through my tests, the replicated FM22 Erik ten Hag Ajax tactics have absolutely dominated the possession charts. The 60% possession and an average number of 843 passes completed per match at Anderlecht has been superseded by 63% possession and 936 passes completed per game at 93% pass completion with Ajax.

In fact, it was numerous times I encountered more than 1000 passes made!

Dusan Tadic was Ajax’s creative force by completing 100 key passes or 4.14 key passes per game. He topped the charts for most Chances Created (26), made the most assists (13) and ended up with an assists per 90 minutes at 0.54.

Not far away, Antony managed 12 assists with 72 key passes completed.

Pulling the strings was the player in Edson Alvarez’s role – making an average of 136 passes per game at 95% pass completion ratio.

Attacking Statistics

The season ended with 88 goals scored, or 2.59 goals per game. We scored the most goals from corner (8) and direct free-kicks (4). We created the second most chances (152) and recorded the second most shots (616) but we topped the statistics for most shots on target (297) with a shots on target ratio at 48%.

Defensive Statistics

At the other end, we had the lowest shots against in the league with 254 shots against. Only 105 of those shots against were on target. Since we dominated the opposition in their own half, it meant we didn’t need to make lots of blocks or interceptions. At the same time, we tops the chart for the least number of possession lost with 2823 meaning there are less turnover of possession to the other team which goes along with our great records of keeping possession over a longer period of time.

We were also the team who made the least number of tackles (291) and made the least number of fouls (318). Perhaps, if we had been a bit more forceful and combative out of possession we would have managed to reduce some of the goals against as we were frequently hit by counters and the opponent scored lots of goals where they only made 4-8 shots on target. In fact the feeling I have after the 22.4 ME is that the opponent scores ‘easy’ goals more often than my team and I need to fight every ball over the line as the opponent is better at blocking shots, anticipating runs and intercepting moves. At times, it’s like player’s defensive positioning and awareness of ball paths is below par.

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Nevertheless, I hope you’ll enjoy my replication of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax tactics and that you’ll do as good and perhaps better than me to win titles and glory.

Thanks for reading! Stay tune for the next piece! This time, I promise it won’t be as long wait!

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Sources: Transfermarkt, Uefa.com, Sofascore, Whoscored, FBref, AFC Ajax (Youtube), CoachesVoice, AjaxAnalysis